Another Turkish experience

So I got tired of my hand hurting and decided to go and get it looked at. I stuck my head into the nearest polyklinik, a walk-in clinic, but they were closed. So I headed off in the general direction of the nearest hospital. But it wasn't where I thought it was, and I had pretty much decided to phone one of our friends and ask him to go with me tomorrow. And then I saw in front of me a radiological polyclinic. I can take a hint. I went in and said something incoherent about a broken wrist (my Turkish has really suffered from the European expedition). The technician replied with a torrent of Turkish that meant, I decided, that the radiologist would see me in due course. I went and sat quietly, scanning my Turkish phrase book for anything that might come in handy, while the doctor dealt with the patients already waiting. Then the technician locked the door - I'd obviously stumbled in at the end of the day - and a lady turned up with a glass of tea. What a civilized place this is!

Eventually, after everyone had had their tea, the doctor showed up. I asked if he knew English and he said he could understand but couldn't speak it. So I described my fall and my pain in a mixture of languages that expanded to include French when he found out I was Canadian and admitted to knowing some French as well. They x-rayed my hand with some equipment that was not the newest I'd ever seen, and in a few minutes produced some pictures that showed a bit of a break. Nothing serious, and healing properly, but it means I should wear a bandage for a bit longer.

And then I asked about paying. They wouldn't let me. It was a gift to a visitor to their country, they said. "Geçmiş olsun" (get well soon), they said. And they sent me off with a couple of pictures of my bones.

How typically Turkish.

As you've noticed, we're home in Izmir now. I find it really hard to describe trips: "And then we went to... And then we saw...". That's no fun at all. So I'll just give you a couple of impressions.

Nice - not nice. Don't try driving in the city. We drove from Susan and Harry's place in the Périgord to Nice, and that was fine, but when we tried to find our downtown hotel we ended up trapped in a maze of one-way streets. We're all still friends, just. To top it all off, a pickpocket (an American woman) got my camera.

Monaco - I hate it. It feels like a black hole, sucking the energy out of me. I've found many holy places in our journeys, but this is the exact opposite, a city built out of greed.

Pisa - a highlight. We loved the moment when we turned a corner and Begüm saw the leaning tower. Her gasp made everyone around us smile. The baptistry and the cathedral beside the tower are quite lovely as well, and Pisa seems like a beautiful small city that would be worth spending a lot of time in.

Rome - surprisingly pleasant. I find the Vatican another black hole so didn't join the other two when they went to see it. Our hotel was very close to the Colosseum, and I enjoyed exploring that area on foot. We had many good meals there, including breakfasts at a charming café across the street from the hotel. And I found another camera in a little shop there for a price better than the big duty-free shops at the airport - got it with the help of an Italian Canadian who happened to be in the shop too (I eavesdropped and heard him talking about Canada with the owner, who spoke no English).

Athens - we were all exhausted by the time we got there, but there was still enough energy to wander the streets in the old section, have a great meal while watching the Acropolis light up, and climb up to the Acropolis in the morning. It was good introducing Begüm to her Greek neighbours. A lot of them turn out to be Turkish, or at least have grandparents who were born there and left in the 1923 clearances.

But Olympic Airlines (now on my least-favourite list of air carriers) was having another of its work-to-rule labour actions so we were an hour late leaving for İstanbul. We had just a few seconds to say hello to the Şamlı family as they collected their daughter, and then we grabbed the flight to İzmir. Fortunately Turkish Airlines was its usual prompt, clean, efficient, friendly self. We knew we were home at last. Whew!


So we're home for a few weeks. Early in June we'll visit the Şamlıs in İstanbul and head north to explore parts of eastern Europe. I haven't forgotten the Englishman of African origin we met in Whitby last year who said he was going to retire in Prague because it was the most beautiful city in the world. We need to see for ourselves. But for now it's time to heal and rest.