Blog 19 - Aussie in Adana is back!

Aussie in Adana is back!

 

It’s 2013 and we are back to visit family explore the city of Adana yet again.

Coming back this time feels so familiar. It seems like yesterday since we last were here but I guess it was only 1 year ago, virtually to the day, in October 2012 when we arrived for our last visit. 

We arrived on Oct the 29th this year 2013 which is the Turkish Republic Day. The Republic Day is a public holiday and celebrates the proclamation of the republic of Turkey in 1923. The day actually starts at 1pm on the 28th but it lasts 35hrs long! You can always see Turkish flags flying from apartments anywhere in Turkey all year round but on any Turkish National day, there are especially many more to be seen.

Republic Day Turkey

 

Autumn in Adana

I like this time of year in Adana, the temperate is very mild, warm but not hot, cool but not cold. Perfect really, and much like Spring in Australia. (Except in Australia we are having a particularly warm spring this year which has produced lots of forest fires that have unfortunately taken many houses) . 

2013 Australian October bushfires 

Adana in Autumn is very comfortable. The crowds are gone, and maybe some of the festivity but Adana really never sleeps. 

The parks are still pretty, the sounds still varied and constant, the people all out on the street and the foods delicious. 

Pomegranates! My favourite fruit is in plentiful supply, big, juicy and cheap to buy! 1 lira 1 kg! omg! Pomegranate heaven!!

We arrived to Adana in the early evening this time and the first thing you notice when you return to Adana is the Traffic. The traffic rules are more relaxed to say the least. And although there are some rules, they drive like there isn’t! lol You don’t see many police enforcing road rules so you require some skill to anticipate everyone’s random and somewhat erratic movements. Yet somehow it all works and people seem to know what to do, or be it, how to use their horns and voices to navigate the streets. 

I’m back. The sound the smells the sites so familiar now that it’s like coming home. I am recognised by some people and they are warm and friendly with their greetings. It’s nice.  I watch the eyes of others with their curious looks at this foreigner to their “hidden from tourism” city. How strange I must be to them.

I notice the changes, the road improvements, the street scape changes, some shops disappear, other have appeared but generally things are the same and what I expect. And I notice the familiar scenes that make it all feel like home.

Having arrived via Turkish Airlines and Emirates Airlines late on 29^th of Oct, sleep, beautiful sleep was the order of the day, or should I say, night!

After such a long journey, 3 flights and a busy couple of sleepless weeks leading up to our travel, I felt like a bus had hit me. A wave of fatigue hit like a flood as my body is telling me I can finally rest. I slept 11 hours last night and another 5 during the day, but still, every time I look at the bed it seems to call me too it. 

We went for a walk in the morning and afternoon between sleeps. My wife Aylin wanted to buy some short sleeve tops, forgetting from her time in Australia that Autumn in Adana is still warm. She came prepared for winter where I understood from last year it would still be closer to late spring in Australia.

Michael Emre, or Emre as he will now be here in Turkey is now a year older, understands more, speaks great English and his Turkish is better than mine. How easy it is for children. Not fair really! 

I find Turkish such a challenging language. Nicer on the ear than Arabic, more like the “French” of the middle east. But it is a challenging language for an Australia tongue to speak.  I have learnt most of my Turkish words by associating the words with English words. lol

Good morning sounds like good night “Goodnighten” and good bye sounds like a horse’s shackle “horseshackle” etc, etc..

I am hoping to learn more words to add to my Turkish vocabulary this time but I know without a school it won’t be easy. I will slowly learn, ever so slowly. Lots of schools here to each English but very few can be found to teach Turkish.

We visited Ataturk Park this morning, 8am but my body was telling me it was 5pm which it was in Australia. It was warm, well cool but pleasant. Everyone wakes up late apparently and slowly Adana comes to life but I still found the streets filled with people compared to back home.

I wore my Central Coast Mariners jersey, which is the jersey of Australia’s 2012/13 season Champions Football team and my favourite Aussie team. I doubt anyone in Turkey knows this jersey but I thought I’d educate you all. Central Coast Mariners – Australia’s best football team. Got it?? :-)

Whilst in the park I found a couple of new things interesting. The first I guess is not so new and probably been happening for thousands of years. One of the park attendants was sweeping the pathways with what looked like a palm branch. You don't see that back home in Australia and I thought was really nice, natural.

The second thing new was the "colours" added to the seats and rocks around the park. I inquired what these were and was told this is the colours and symbol of the peoples protests that took place in May and June 2013. What people outside of Turkey wouldn't realise because media was somewhat "controled" was that protests took place all over Turkey in mass numbers and locations. And in Ataturk Park here in Adana they took a very "festive" feel with dancing and music, along with the odd riot policeman! lol

2013 protests inTurkey

The colours are actually done quite pretty and adds another point of interest to the park.

Little Michael was entertained by some band members before moving on to the swings.

And he enjoyed the park and swings and playing hide and seek with his grandmother. He can run fast!!

Fast, ha, Aylin had to tell me to slow down too as my walking pace was set on “work speed”, not holiday speed. Habits are hard to break and I found walking slow and relaxed very difficult to do!

  

So I can relax now and once again enjoy the wonderful Turkish city of Adana. I wonder what journeys and adventures I can bring to you all this time??

Stay tuned to Aussie in Adana 2013!

Blog 4: PEDESTRIAN PERILS IN ADANA

Blog 4: PEDESTRIAN PERILS IN ADANA

A few things you need to know about the perils of a pedestrian here in Adana.

1: Cars are King

Pedestrians have no rights. Or if they do, nobody takes any notice of them. You cross a road at your peril because very few cars will ever stop for you. In fact, if you invade their road space they may even aim at you and force you off the road beeping all the way.

When I arrived at Istanbul airport this time I walked out of the terminal to witness a taxi try to nudge a man with obvious disability off a crossing, right in front of airport police. 3 times the taxi aimed at him, stop, starting to intimidate the poor fellow.  I was shocked and even tried to take a picture of the taxi. But it’s normal here. They certainly won’t slow down.

Occasionally they will offer you passage, but I suspect it’s because they want to have a closer look at my wife! Can’t blame them for that and she is wearing her evil eye to protect her anyway! J Even when they have proper pedestrian crossing nobody really stops, so be very careful!!! Don’t trust what is common manners or rules at home because the rules are different here.

2: Adana pathways are minefields.

Pathways are OH&S Hazard. I am sure every Council in Australia would be sued if they had pathways like those in Adana. But nobody sues anyone here, they just use common sense (something often lacking in Australia as everyone wants to blame someone else for their own silly mistakes). If there is a hole, you avoid it or step over it! These pathways are not disability friendly and even the baby pram you’ll need to lift constantly every few metres. Best to wheel the pram on the road but then you are taking your life in you hands so… just take a taxi! Lol

3: Seat belts are not fashionable.

People do not wear seat belts here. Well maybe 1 in 20 do. And you won’t see many baby’s seats in cars.  So make your plans on how you will protect your children in a car. I’m glad Aylin’s family have been “converted” and all wear seat belts and have even purchased a car seat for our little Michael. It makes me feel much safer and happy.
 I remember before my wife and I were married I insisted she wear seat belts when her co-workers drove her to work. They were so insulted they simply drove faster and more erratic to compensate for the perceived “lack of faith in their driving skills”. Omg!

4: Adana Bus drivers are stunt drivers!

Buses around the city are mini buses. What they lack in size they make up for by being very regular.  Normally only 1 lira will get you around town on these buses and if you miss one bus, another will be long before 5 minutes. A great system! Better than our big buses back home that you wait hours for and get charged 10 times the price for the privilege of waiting! What at joke that is! I wish we could take some lessons from the Turks!
These buses come with usually with two, sometimes 3 staff. One to drive, one to take money and  make “friendly” gestures at other drivers, (lol) and one to jump out at every stop and call out the many destinations of the bus. How they paid for 3 staff with a 1 lira ride is beyond me! Lol And fuel prices around 3.40 – 3.60 lira a litre!

You pay your 1 lira by handing your lira to the person in front of you on the bus and they hand it to the person in front of them until it makes it to the drivers cashier. Then the change if any, comes back the same way. Very unusual to watch!

There is a down side to this great service though. Bus drivers are stunt drivers in Adana!!! I tried to hold a camera once and film the trip. I couldn’t! It a rollercoaster ride so hang on for your life!!

5: Only an Adanali (person from Adana) can navigate the roads of Adana.

There are no line markings on city roads in Adana, many being made from cobble stones. It’s an old city remember and those cobble stones are no doubt heritage listed! lol Only main highways and major roads have line markings and that doesn’t mean you have to obey them. Why would you do that? lol
Basically everyone drives where they want on the road and a bit like my 2 year old draws a straight line! lol They indicate mostly with a beep or not at all! (So you hear a barrage of horns all day!)  You just know you can’t trust anyone to keep to any system of rules.

But ironically it all works and everyone knows how to drive this way in Adana. In 5 trips to Adana I have only witnessed one bus scrape another and that was sorted out by a system of obscene hand gestures and colourful Turkish sayings like “may all of Turkey sit in your mouth” or something that sounds like “sit” anyway! Lol

At intersections cars just push their way across until the flow of traffic goes their way. Scary but it works!!
(Tip: if you are a major highway doing 120km, you are in the slow lane!)

 6: Car and bikes have no carrying capacity limits enforced.

There seems to be no maxim load in a car or bike. I remember one of my previous trips to the city of Mesin (not far from Adana) witnessing a man with his wife and 2 small kids riding on a small motor bike with not 1 or 2, but 5 gas bottles attached to the bike!!!  And none of them wearing any type of helmet or protective clothing. The father in sandals! They rode straight past police and the police did nothing! I was amazed and then later realised it was no isolated example. Lol

Bottom line, keep your eyes open and always be alert on the streets of Adana!