Blog 8: Dentist, Boot shines, Playgrounds, food.
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DENTISTS
Today my wife went to the dentist here in Adana which is always a scary affair. I chose to use the time whilst she was “under the drill” practicing Turkish over lunch. But before I get to that, let me just recommend to you a great dentist. I know from experience in Australia, there is nothing worse than finding dentist hunting, and a good one is very important. Even more so when you’re in a foreign land.
Last year my wife was taken to a family dentist here in Adana and I was more than a little scared by what I saw. We ended up having no work done, deferring to dentists back in Australia. The equipment I saw here looked out of the 1950’s and the Dentist maybe still practiced from that time. LOL He was a nice old gentleman though but he had real human skull in the cabinet. That was too much for me. Creepy!! Lol
So we tried back home in Australia and the price was going to be a few thousand and really couldn’t afford it. Hmm, Denist, or flights to Turkey?? Turkey won.
Aylin had constantly said to me that the dentist were very high quality in Turkey but after seeing my first dental practice the year before I was very skeptical of this claim.
But I now am greatly relieved and actually very impressed with the new dental place we found last week and visited today.
Tel (0322) 453 6888
www.adanadental.com
https://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&q=Cemalpasa+Mah.+Toros+Cad.+No+22/A+Feriha+Yalcin+Adana+turkey&ie=UTF-8&ei=YVOhUNypK8K2hQf92YCYDA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg
We found this practice to be modern, soothing, welcoming and equipment first rate. The Dentist that has been working on my wife’s teeth is “Birgul Altay Bayan” and she is very competent and was excellent with my wife (who is also paranoid about pain). Lol Although a little more expensive on Turkish standards, they are certainly less than what we would pay back home and of a comparable standard. The building they practice in was better than any I've found back home also and much less scary!
ARCADIA CAFE - Toros Cd
Whilst my wife was with this dentist, I walked two blocks down on Toros Cd to eat. I chose this day “Arcadia Café” . My choice of this Café was because it looked clean, had some big pictures outside of what I could expect to eat inside. It also looked like I could hide away inside and frankly, trap my little two year old in a seat where he could watch things outside, but not wander around! Lol
Good Choice. My Turkish was adequate to order and answer questions asked of me, the café was clean, seats and tables comfortable and they played nice music to set gentle atmosphere. I sat in the corner with my boy and he was quite content to sit and chat with me and eat all the fries from my meal.
I ordered the picture special "Tavuk Izgara" The food was great, tasty chicken pieces, rice, fries, onion rings, very nice salad, water and I ordered a cola, all for about 12 lira ( about $7 Australian ) Good value and nice food.
Toros Cd Play Ground / park
This is a great little park and I am pleased to report it does have soft-fall!! J A little harder than the stuff we have at home but it is much better surface for kids than dirt! Lol Michael and I had a great play. He deserved it, being such a good boy today.
Shoe Polisher - Toros Cd
Right next to the playground on the pathway, again Toros Cd was a Shoe Polisher man. These carts are all over the place in Adana but this guy was great and his equipment was polished and in very good nick.
Previously this year I had brought a pair of “Skechers Boots” from the UK via ebay. I brought them for work because the stanard work issue boots are heavy and harsh, have no style!
I love these Skecher boots, they fit great but the workmanship was poor and inside the first 2 months they were coming apart at the seams, both on the same side. So I brought them with me to Turkey knowing the boot repairers in Adana can work wonders.
And they did. For $10 lira they sewed new patches over the torn parts that look like they were made with the boot.
Next was to polish them up. And this guy in the picture took to the job with passion. He did such a fabulous job, the result was much better than the new product. I am so happy with my boots now.
The price for the polish (which was really a lot of work) was 2 lira (about $1.15 Australia). I paid him 5 lira because it was worth much more to me to see my boots looking so good. I recommend a boot shine as a “MUST TRY”in Adana. He was a nice chap too! J
After some further walking, a few little excursions in to women’s clothing shops (boring!! lol ) with my wife and her mother, we dispatched little Michael into the safe keeping of my wife’s mother and set off on foot for the old city parts in Adana (the old clock tower district).
TIP: If you walk this district beware, the pathways can be treacherous and the traffic always a hazard to navigate. Be alert also for “pick pockets” or teams of pick pockets. Keep your wallet in your front pockets and be aware of people bumping into you, trying to distract you whilst they fleece you of your valuables. A request for directions or “did you drop something?” could be a front to distract you. It’s safe but STAY ALERT!
There's lots to see and a book of discriptions but I'll let the pictures do the talking as it's late and I need some sleep.
We walked a fair way by this stage (comfortable walk) and the photos start on this big roundabout near Kemeralti Cami (Mosque).
We didn’t go in there but took pictures on the outside of both Kemeralti Cami Mosque and the “Haman” Turkish baths which are very ancient and look s fantastic from an outside.
I haven’t been able to bring myself to have a Turkish bath yet (too intimate rolling around with soap and water with another man, half to fully naked, not for this Aussie! Lol ) But if you’re going to have one, that would be the place!
Next passed by Yag Cami Mosque as well, built in 1501 by Ramazanoglu Halil Bey.
Everything is very old here. Quite impressive to an Aussie from a Country short on historical buildings, it’s very old here! (Australia discovered officially 1770)
From there we walked down a very narrow street with many shoe shops, Turkish delight shops, Mecca souvenir shops and shops of all descriptions from old times.
Gun shop after gun shop which was a little alarming! The ancient clock tower which dates back to the 18th century, signaled our turnaround point.
We did more than all this today and had another ATOM smoothie on the way home, but today was long and I'm a little tired! lol
Remember if you want to see an older blog, click the right hand titles at the tope or at the base where it says "older blog"
I will be away at a resort city for the next week so if you want to contact me, email me. Also I've answered all the comments on previous blogs so check there if you commented.
Again. These photos taken with REAL 3D camera so if you would like a copy of any picture for your 3D TV email me at andrewaylin@yahoo.com.au and I’ll email you chosen picture. You just load them in a USB drive and plug them into TV.
Cheers
Andrew
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