Roman Ankara – Day 6

I made sure that we were up and at ’em earlier today. After breakfast, Phil, Rob, the girls and I headed down the hill to catch the bus to town. Today we were more prepared for the stop! We walked up Ataturk Boulevard towards the Column of Julian. We walked through a nice little park; we tried to walk under a bridge instead of navigating the crosswalk — cars in Turkey don’t stop for pedestrians — but were shooed away from the area. On the way, we entered a plaza with a huge statue of Ataturk. Phil was chased away by a policeman. At first we thought they were protecting Ataturk, but then we realized that there was a deranged man on top of one of the statues of soldiers surrounding Ataturk. Despite warnings from Rob that I might have my camera confiscated from me, I took a bunch of photos. We watched as the police talked to him, then the fire department showed up with ladders and tarps and then wrestled the man safely down from his forbidden perch.

Once the man was rescued, we heade up around the corner to the Column of Julian, then up the hill further to the Temple of Augustus and Rome. Neither was marked well, but we managed to find them hidden amongst the various buildings and mosques. The mosque was built right into the temple! We worked our way back to Ataturk Blvd and found the entrance into the Roman Baths. Wow! We could walk right up to and touch (though we didn’t) Roman columns, gravestones, pulpits and more. The baths were behind fences, but amazing to see anyway!

After we left, then we headed down Ataturk Blvd and over to Genclik Park. We wandred around the fountains, then stopped for lunch at one of the outdoor cafes. Phil ordered a “sandwich” and ended up with a hot dog! After lunch, we headed into the amusement park. Rob, the girls and I went on the ferris wheel, then Rob and Camille went on the rollercoaster. As soon as they got off, it started to rain HUGE raindrops and then continued to rain hard for an hour. We found shelter int he arcade. The girls played a few games of air hockey while we waited for the storm to pass. Once the rain let up a little, we headed out and made our way back to the bus to Bilkent. Back at the campus, we went to the store and then hiked up the hill to the apartment.