So, Macbeth was lovely. I left at intermission, because the buses stop running at ten or so and I still get nervous about taking taxis alone at night, but if timing had been different I certainly would have enjoyed staying. The upside of all that is that it means I have sort-of kind-of almost mastered the bus system! Or... at least the Buradan Oraya bus app on my smartphone... which is almost the same thing. It is a relief to me at any rate, because there was definitely a point last week where I tried to take the bus and was shamed because I didn't have a bus card. I use the term shamed loosely, but I can say for certain that without the kindness of strangers I would not have been riding that bus.
There are two different types of buses on the Ankara bus route, and no one seems to be able to tell me the technical difference. The effective difference is that one of them takes cards and the other one takes cash and the cash bus is 25 kurush (like Turkish cents) more expensive. Regardless, since that mishap I asked around and procured myself a card, and have still only used it once since. Go figure.
Anyway, back tracking to the beginning of my day, I got on a cash bus early this afternoon intending to head in to the city and explore a few museums before the opera this evening. The Opera House is in the direct vicinity of three museums that are on my list--the Religious Foundations Museum, the Art and Sculpture Museum, and the Ethnography Museum--and we had the day off for President's Day. (Fun Fact: The Embassy closes on all American and Turkish holidays, so yay for double vacation!) Now, I hadn't any trouble finding the museums, and I can tell you they were all very pretty from the outside, but Ankara, it turns out, doesn't much like Mondays.
"Pazartesi hachi hergun."
That was the sign I saw, well, everywhere. It means, "every day except Monday." So, I've learned my lesson. Museums are closed on Mondays. Don't go sightseeing on Mondays. But then what was I to do with the rest of my Monday afternoon?
Well, despite all the things that were closed, the central park just behind the Opera House was still open, as was the theme park inside it. I did not go to the theme park, but I did circle the public park around it, taking in the lay of the land. It's about as touristy a place as I've seen in Ankara; lots of little cafe restaurants blaring Turkish pop music and serving local food with a side of overpriced nargile/hookah/shisha/whatever-term-you-know-it-by. I had planned to have dinner downtown, so I picked one out for later and camped myself out with my Kindle for a couple hours. It got cold pretty quickly sitting still like that, but it was still an unusually sunny day for Ankara, so I took what I could get, eventually packing up to head back to the cafe I'd chosen for another round Turko-charades.
The hostess out front complimented my outfit, I understood that much! But she was just trying to get me inside. And once in, well, it became pretty obvious that I was not a Turk. Which is okay, because waiters are usually way too nice to girls who don't speak the language anyway. I ordered a local dish called kumpir, which amounts to a vegetarian loaded baked potato that came with carrots, peas, corn, olives, pickles, cheese, and of all things mayonnaise, and sat there reading while each successive waiter who brought me something or cleared my plate proceeded to guess my nationality. English? German? Italian? No, no, I told them. American. And then it started.
The waiter I'd told got those disbelieving wide eyes before he caught himself, gave a nervous smile, and ran off to tell his waiter friend. And then another friend, and then another, until they were all whispering about the American in the cafe, and hiding it badly if they were even trying. I'm kind of used that kind of attention by now, and I don't mind it so much anymore, but it's still amusing. At any rate, I was still offered tea afterwards, as is customary, and I still accepted because I had at least another hour to kill. The tea only bought me half an hour, but the sun was down and it was getting colder, so I went to wait in the lobby of the Opera House anyway.
As far as Opera Houses go it was nice, but possibly on par with the cheaper tickets, dress code was a bit more lax. I had hoped that would be the case, because I'd worn sneakers with my dress for the walking. They still had a coat check though, and a number of fancy chandeliers, and ushers in tuxes and so on and so forth.
It was truly a lot of fun, and I can't wait for Carmen in April. I don't care how late that one goes. I'm staying for the whole thing and no one can stop me. On the other hand, I have enough warning that I can probably manage more than one ticket for that.
There are two different types of buses on the Ankara bus route, and no one seems to be able to tell me the technical difference. The effective difference is that one of them takes cards and the other one takes cash and the cash bus is 25 kurush (like Turkish cents) more expensive. Regardless, since that mishap I asked around and procured myself a card, and have still only used it once since. Go figure.
Anyway, back tracking to the beginning of my day, I got on a cash bus early this afternoon intending to head in to the city and explore a few museums before the opera this evening. The Opera House is in the direct vicinity of three museums that are on my list--the Religious Foundations Museum, the Art and Sculpture Museum, and the Ethnography Museum--and we had the day off for President's Day. (Fun Fact: The Embassy closes on all American and Turkish holidays, so yay for double vacation!) Now, I hadn't any trouble finding the museums, and I can tell you they were all very pretty from the outside, but Ankara, it turns out, doesn't much like Mondays.
"Pazartesi hachi hergun."
That was the sign I saw, well, everywhere. It means, "every day except Monday." So, I've learned my lesson. Museums are closed on Mondays. Don't go sightseeing on Mondays. But then what was I to do with the rest of my Monday afternoon?
Well, despite all the things that were closed, the central park just behind the Opera House was still open, as was the theme park inside it. I did not go to the theme park, but I did circle the public park around it, taking in the lay of the land. It's about as touristy a place as I've seen in Ankara; lots of little cafe restaurants blaring Turkish pop music and serving local food with a side of overpriced nargile/hookah/shisha/whatever-term-you-know-it-by. I had planned to have dinner downtown, so I picked one out for later and camped myself out with my Kindle for a couple hours. It got cold pretty quickly sitting still like that, but it was still an unusually sunny day for Ankara, so I took what I could get, eventually packing up to head back to the cafe I'd chosen for another round Turko-charades.
The hostess out front complimented my outfit, I understood that much! But she was just trying to get me inside. And once in, well, it became pretty obvious that I was not a Turk. Which is okay, because waiters are usually way too nice to girls who don't speak the language anyway. I ordered a local dish called kumpir, which amounts to a vegetarian loaded baked potato that came with carrots, peas, corn, olives, pickles, cheese, and of all things mayonnaise, and sat there reading while each successive waiter who brought me something or cleared my plate proceeded to guess my nationality. English? German? Italian? No, no, I told them. American. And then it started.
The waiter I'd told got those disbelieving wide eyes before he caught himself, gave a nervous smile, and ran off to tell his waiter friend. And then another friend, and then another, until they were all whispering about the American in the cafe, and hiding it badly if they were even trying. I'm kind of used that kind of attention by now, and I don't mind it so much anymore, but it's still amusing. At any rate, I was still offered tea afterwards, as is customary, and I still accepted because I had at least another hour to kill. The tea only bought me half an hour, but the sun was down and it was getting colder, so I went to wait in the lobby of the Opera House anyway.
As far as Opera Houses go it was nice, but possibly on par with the cheaper tickets, dress code was a bit more lax. I had hoped that would be the case, because I'd worn sneakers with my dress for the walking. They still had a coat check though, and a number of fancy chandeliers, and ushers in tuxes and so on and so forth.
It was truly a lot of fun, and I can't wait for Carmen in April. I don't care how late that one goes. I'm staying for the whole thing and no one can stop me. On the other hand, I have enough warning that I can probably manage more than one ticket for that.
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