Bolu and Ankara —> Cappadocia

There was a gym with weights in our hotel so we decided to get up early before breakfast and do a workout - it felt great and our bodies loved us for it!

We left Bolu and stopped in the capital of Turkey, Ankara (despite most people thinking that the capital is Istanbul, it is in fact not!). Around 5 million people live in Ankara.

We visited the mausoleum of Atatürk, a national hero for the Turkish people and the founder of the Republic of Turkey. He was a former general in the Gallipoli wars but later was involved in politics and focused on bettering the lives of Turkish people and population and modernising Turkey. In 1923, when the Republic was formed, he modernised the country by:
- giving more rights to women including ensuring they could vote in elections (in 1934 - which was actually the first country to give women the right to vote);
- changing the Russian alphabet from the Arabic alphabet;
- changed the traditional hat to a more European hat;
- modernised education in Turkey;
- changed the legal system to a civil law system; and
- abolished sultan and caliphate titles.

Atatürk was the first president of the Republic of Turkey until he died in 1938. His name Atatürk was given to him by the people which means ‘father of the Turks’. He moved the capital of Turkey from Istanbul to Ankara to get away from the Ottoman influence (also Ankara is much more centrally located within Turkey) and gave Turkey its independence in 1923.

The mausoleum was beautiful, with the main entrance lined with 24 lions which represent the 24 Turkish tribes that existed in the Ottoman period which came from Central Asia to Turkey. Throughout the mausoleum there are different personal effects of Atatürk such as his cars, weapons, clothing etc as well as his coffin which is guarded at all times. We also saw the tomb of Islet Inonu who was the first prime minister and second president of the Republic of Turkey. We were also lucky enough to see the changing of the guard ceremony where the navy, Air Force and army are represented as protectors of this beautiful monument.

We made one more stop on our way to Cappadocia which was Tuz Golu, the second largest lake in Turkey which are salt flats in the summer time (when the lake dries out). We were able to walk out onto the dried lake and used some of our skills we acquired in Bolivia to take some cool perspective photos!

Hazal (our guide for the tour) told us more about Turkey throughout the day on our bus (we will have the same bus for the next fortnight during the tour travelling around Turkey). Some of the facts included that:
- There are 81 provinces in Turkey.
- 10 years ago, the political system in Turkey changed. Previously, people voted for a party and there was a prime minister selected by that elected party. Now, there is a president which the people elect.
- The judges in the High Court are assigned by the government (so are not independent of the government).
- The current political party has been in power for 20 years.

We also learnt some Turkish words and phrases on the bus.

We then arrived in Cappadocia around 5.30pm and went to a lookout point. We had some wine while watching an incredible sunset and taking in some beautiful views of the landscape.

We then went to a local family’s home where we shared a traditional turkish meal and ate sitting on cushions on the ground. The food consisted of lentil soup, bean soup, stuffed eggplant and some delicious sweets. It was the family’s sons 3rd birthday and so we sung him happy birthday (which we learnt in Turkish) and had cake! It was a very lovely experience.

We returned to the hotel to sleep and get ready for our early alarm for tomorrow!Read more