An Afternoon on the Town

As of last week we are thankful for the privilege of using "The Accent." We share this beautiful 2000 Hyundai Accent with the Curtis's and it allows us a little more freedom than walking or taking the bus. On Tuesday's we have the day off from langauge class and so we used it as an opportunity to explore some new areas of town that we were previously unfamiliar with. Our first stop was the symphony, where we bought tickets for Friday night. This was much harder than I expected as there are many one-way and no-way streets in this part of town and we were "forced" to make use of the car's off-road capabilities in order to get back on the main road. After that we headed to the outskirts of town where the US-Turkish Air Force base is located. We heard there were some neat shops and restaurants in this part of town and were interested in checking them out. Our information proved correct as we made our way into a great rug shop where the owner was very eager to make us a "super" deal on not just one, but three rugs. There are some beautiful, hand-made rugs in this region and if we ever save enough money we hope to purchase one. We got Erol's card and told him we would come back when our American friends come to town, because we know they will want to buy one or three. He wouldn't let us leave before seeing his restaurant, "Happy House", that was just around the corner. His cook showed us around and as we had tea with him we talked about his picture of the Last Supper hanging in the lounge room. I thought things were going well but when I realized that he was more interested in Jayme than in the conversation we cut our visit short and made our way back into town. As we were driving by the big mosque we couldn't pass up a stop at McD's. It's the only one in town and the fries and ketchup taste just like home! It was also good to see that if we ever get in a bind, they will deliver. You never know when desperate times will call for desperate measures.