Holiday in Altinova

Ali is Jordanian, but he speaks excellent English and Turkish too, and he works here at Dilko doing all sorts of general jobs - mostly helping us foreigners with things like opening a bank account etc. So when he suggested that we join a few others at his holiday home in southern Turkey over the Bayram holiday, we jumped at the chance. He was unsure whether there would be room for us to stay in his house, (if not we would stay at a nearby pension or small hotel), and whether there would be room for us in his rental car ... eventually we were booked onto an overnight coach, along with a young colleague, Stephanie, for the eight-hour journey.

Unthinkable

The three of us caught a shuttle bus - which was running quite late and already so packed with people and bags before we squeezed aboard that Peter had to stand with his feet between bags and his head bent to get under the low roof - to "Autogar": a massive concrete structure that feels like something out of a science fiction movie. There are levels and pillars and ramps, with coaches, cars and mini-buses (like our shuttle) winding their way through the veritable maze in all directions, while various offices and service stations are tucked away inside at lower levels. Finally reaching the top surface we were dropped off next to our Hakiki Coach, and proceeded (per Ali's instructions) to phone him and then hand the phone to the co-driver so he could give instructions for dropping us off because the bus was going to Ayvalik but we were going to Altinova.

The co-driver - a very young-looking (maybe 18 or so) eagerly efficient young man - was quite annoyed by having the phone thrust in his hand, and even more irritated when Stephanie and I got on the bus with our bags and then had to push our way off again to have them stowed below, and then wanted to know where the toilet was (it had been a long wait for the shuttle-bus and a long drive ahead ..) as the bus was about to leave but we thought we had another hour to go.

Between ourselves we soon labelled this already frustrated young man the "bus nazi" as he then tried to organise us into his seating arrangements. According to our tickets, Peter and I had two seats together, and Stephanie was in the window seat on the other side. The young guy came and pointed with a straight hand, fingers together, to each of us and then firmly toward the seats where he wanted us to move. We were quite confused, and tried to do as we were told, pushing our way out of our seats and into different seats several times before it occured to us what he was on about. It would be unthinkable for a single girl (Stephanie) to sit next to a man ... so he wanted me to sit next to her and Peter to take her seat.

We sorted ourselves out, but then in no time at all he was cross again and pointing at us ... oh, we had our phones still on, and the (Turkish) sign said to turn off all phones.

A long night

It took us a couple of hours to get from Autogar through the streets of Istanbul - stopping to pick up more passengers at a number of points - and across the Bosphorus into Asia, and then to the shores of the (other side of the) Sea of Marmara. Here the bus stopped in a queue waiting to get onto a ferry to go across a large bay. A lot of people jumped off and stood around smoking - it seems almost everyone smokes in Turkey - and Peter wandered off looking for a toilet. Fortunately he didn't notice the huge 'WC' sign, because all of a sudden someone in the front of the line started their engine and so did everyone else ... and the bus took off as people still tried to pile back onto the bus. As Peter said, imagine coming out of the toilet to find the bus gone - onto one of the ferries, but which one?

On the ferry we were able to get off and walk around, go to the toilet and cafe, the trip was about 45 minutes. Then we all climbed aboard and the bus drove off toward south Turkey.

Sometime near midnight we stopped at this huge bus station. It was very foggy and there were a couple of dozen buses. There were toilets again, and a couple of very efficient restaurants serving drivers and passengers.

We hadn't heard any announcement about how long we would be stopping, so we were standing around near the bus when I suddenly noticed our short bald driver climb aboard. We quickly climbed into our seats, and once again within seconds he had started the engine and was driving off.

Arriving in Altinova

Around 5am they started dropping people off at various points in the countryside. At one time we noticed we went past the same roundabout in a small town three times - the driver was lost or confused or maybe the passengers weren't paying attention to when to get off. When the driver wanted to speak to his young assistant he would flash the interior lights, and the young man would jump as if he'd been stung and rush down to the front.

It was our understanding that we would be getting off at Altinova, before the bus finally stopped in Ayvalik. So it was a little concerning for us when we arrived in Ayvalik still on the bus. We started jumping around a bit, grabbing our things, and were firmly told to sit back down. Peter thought about ringing Ali - got out his phone and turned it on - but was noticed and instructed to turn it off!

Finally (after leavig Ayvalik) the bus drove past a signpost to Altinova. The driver stopped, and reversed back, and turned down the road. Somewhere in the middle of town he stopped, and we were told to get off. We rummaged around under the bus - couldn't find Stephanie's bag. Stephanie climbed right inside to look for it.

Suddenly the driver had had enough. He started the engine, honked his horn and flashed his lights. Finally Stephanie came across her bag and scrambled out. The young chap barely had time to close the luggage door, the bus was already moving as he jumped aboard.

So there we were in the middle of a street in Altinova in the early hours of the morning.

We phoned Ali, who graciously roused himself from his alcohol-induced sleep to come and look for us. He was a bit puzzled about where to find us, as he had thought we would have been at the bus station.

Funny little town, Altinova. We found this little internet cafe amusing - sort of the interface between two eras.

The Holiday House

Ali's car screeched to a halt and he backed up the street when he suddenly caught sight of us. We piled in and drove the ten minutes or so to his beach house. There is a whole town of these little holiday homes, and almost no one around despite this being the Bayram holiday and the weather just delightful.

Three floors, three bedrooms, three toilets, and a little garden - quite a treat for people who are habitually city-dwellers. Ali had been quite clear about one reason for being there - he has only recently bought the property and there is some work that needs to be done on it. We were quite happy to join in with sanding down and re-varnishing the balcony balustrades.

Ali and his fiancee Dilek finished off the first floor balcony.

Ali was also keen for Peter's help with the garden, planting some trees,

and mowing the lawn - something he had heard of but never really seen done.

This interesting arrangement we noticed when the weeds were cleared away is apparently all part of anti-earthquake measures. These houses are all structured to fall a certain way to limit damage and injuries.

Inside the house had all mod cons. The obligatory spiral staircase that seems to be part of Turkish architecture:

A lovely little kitchen where we all (us three, Ali and Dilek, and friends Omer and Burcu) pitched in to prepare food and clean up.

And outside on the verandah (as with all these holiday homes, we noticed) a little fireplace - where Ali cooked up some delicious chicken wings.

Altinova Beach

It wasn't all work, of course, the weather was just perfect, and the beach only five minutes' walk away.

Look at the crowds! Well, maybe in the other direction ...

I guess its packed in the summer! Maybe everyone thinks the water is cold this time of year.

That's Stephanie with her feet floating. Her big surprise was, "Oh! Its salt!" This is the Aegean Sea, Steph, not Lake Michigan ...

A night on the town - Ayvalik

Ali wanted to show us a good time (after all the hard work!) so we all - seven of us - piled into the tiny rental car and drove to Ayvalik ... we had to keep the window open with Stephanie's head hanging out.

We drove through town - what a pretty place, all hills and bays (not flat like Altinova) - and across a causeway to an island. Ah, here is where all the people were!

We managed to snag one of the hundreds of tables by the waterside and enjoyed some excellent (as ever) Turkish cuisine - although more expensive than we usually indulge in here in Istanbul.

Then we wandered through the stalls at a touristy market place - Steph bought some shell ear-rings that she was very pleased with. (We were very puzzled on the Altinova beach to find a lot of pebbles on the tide-line, but no shells.) Then we followed our ears to an old barn that had been converted into a pub.

It was very dark and smokey, and the skinny singer sang loudly in Turkish. We squeezed back into the little car and trundled home to the little house by the beach.

Stranded

We had bought open return bus tickets, but when we tried to book our return there were no vacancies. That's okay, said Ali, there is another friend driving down here later and they will drive you back. Then said friend changed their mind, and we had to try the buses again. Finally we managed to get a booking a day later, after Ali and friends had returned to Istanbul.

Altinova is a lovely quiet little place ... I sat on a bench by the beach and I could hear only one sound - a bee buzzing near my feet. An excellent change from Istanbul city! But what to do? Even the few restaurants and shops were mostly closed. We had no vehicle. The most excitement was when a pack of dogs came and barked at me when I tried to go for a bit of a walk ...

Drinking Tea

Turkish tea - or "chay" - is very mellow and pleasant. It is served in these delightful little glasses, with a tiny teaspoon to stir in your sugar-lumps.

It takes a little longer to make than tea-bag tea, relieves some of the boredom.

And then there was the (burst) keg of beer we found Ali had forgotten about when we cleaned out the freezer.

Lots of froth, but not drinkable, however a passing cat tried licking the spills off the keg we left near the gate with the garbage.

There were interesting signs to take photos of. What do you think it means ...?

We discovered a pack of cards, and Stephanie taught Peter how to play the Turkish game "Pishta', endlessly ...

And, of course, we all had turns on my Palm games.

After we had packed up and cleaned up, we still had hours to spare. We thought maybe the sun setting over the Aegean Sea might be worth a look. We were aware that the sun wouldn't sink into the sea because there are some Greek Islands in between. So we went and spent a couple of hours watching the sun go down.

At first the Greek islands were invisible in the haze, but as the sun got lower we could just see the outline. In the end, the display was not nearly as spectacular as we had hoped ... well, not spectacular at all, really. Pretty, though.

Back on the Bus

The taxi Ali had organised before he left turned up early to take us to the bus station - but we were thoroughly ready.

We got on the coach ready to face another 'bus nazi', and when they started trying to move us around I insisted I wanted to sit with my husband, and so they found another (loudly complaining!) woman to sit next to Stephanie. We were familiar this time with the big bus station food stop, and the ferry, and Autogar when we arrived there about 8 in the morning. We were very tired having not slept, and we were told there would be a shuttle bus to take us back to Bakirkoy - so when a little man with no neck pointed to an empty mini-bus and opened the sliding door from a distance with a special remote (which he was obviously very proud of because he then proceeded to open and close it several times ...) we obediently climbed aboard. After a few minutes it occured to us that there was no way this bus would go anywhere until it was full, but we were too tired to climb off and go find and negotiate the Metro railway, which we knew was not far away.

Over the next hour, more and more people and a great deal more bags arrived on our bus. One chap had to stand - Peter was glad it wasn't him this time. The bus headed off through the Autogar maze and out onto the street, and we breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly it stopped on the side of a wide, busy road-way, right under an overpass footpath, and we were ordered off. We had no idea where we were, we looked frantically every which way but recognised nothing. Someone in the back of the bus suddenly asked if we spoke German - Stephanie does, and he explained to her that if we went over the pedestrian walkway we could catch a Dolmus (mini-bus) to Bakirkoy. Peter was the last to get off the bus, and as he tried to extricate his feet from among the bags and boxes he crashed his poor head into the closing mechanism at the top of the door, and stepped out dazed and in great pain (but fortunately only very slight bleeding).

We climbed up the steps of the overpass, and suddenly Stephanie realised we could turn either way from where we stood, we had no idea which side of the street to look for the Dolmus. Looking down onto the road we noticed a taxi sitting by the road, so we headed down and climbed aboard. We asked him what the fare would be, and he told us five ... but we weren't sure if he had said "five each". We decided we would pay whatever it took, we just wanted to get home to bed.

To our relief we were in Bakirkoy in about ten minutes, and he did only charge us five altogether.

Yep, it was a good holiday. Back to work the next morning.