I had intended to spend a few in one of Turkey's largest and instead spent only a few hours and skidaddled. I have countryside on the brain I think because now on my travels the dynamics of big cities irritate me. Upon arrival I took a taxi ride (mistake which I hopefully will not have to repeat) from the bus station to the center of the city. The twenty minutes in the taxi cost me the same money as the seven hour bus ride from Izmir to Can. As I sat in the taxi and watched the counter increase with hellish speed I laughed at the irony of it. How that taxi driver sleeps at night I know not.

I was set to meet Floyd's friend Yener at a Burger King (all taxi drivers know this location apparantly) but had no idea what he looked like. I sat in front of Burger King looking as foreign as a chap can look without holding a neon sign. I figured the bags and the blond beard would be a dead ringer but I now realize I should have accosted all entering the premises to ask if they knew Floyd. Yener somehow entered unaware of my presence and I lost feeling in the lower half of my body as result of the cold. After the thousandth fan of grilled meat entered the restaurant I realized enough was enough. Also two young chaps had decided to use the area in front of me as soccer goal and were kicking a plastic cup dangerously close to my forehead. I searched for and eventually found a payphone and discovered that Yener was already inside the restaurant. Despite valiant attempts at prevention the tone of the ol' voice changed. In the walk back I regained my composure however and was all smiles (perhaps not "all" but I had at least one good one in me) once more.

Two comments turned the tide of my possible stay. The first was that he would have only the hours of 8-10pm to do anything. The second was that I would pay about thirty euro minimum for the night in a hotel. Extended stay in the city suddenly had all the appeal of a hot jam roll from behind. I told Yener I would prefer to take the night bus on to Can. We went to a cafe and chatted for a while before I headed back to the bus station. Speaking of the cafe brings up a quick question that anyone may attempt to answer for me. Why is it that in a big city a cup of tea costs 1.50 while in a small town the same cup and quality costs 0.50? You must pay for the view that a concrete jungle provides I take it. I got a free shuttle (was unaware of this possibility at entrance) back to the otogar (bus station) and had two hours to wait before departure back here to Can. I have added four new albums of pictures to Lovable Quirks with more to come upon development. The first two I put up are from my travels. The other two are old sets of pictures from 2004 when we (siblings and friends) hiked into the Grand Canyon. It was one of the best experiences of fun and friendship that I have yet had in this life. For those of you who don't know, Lovable Quirks is not only for my pictures but also my family and friends in Phoenix. Pictures from birthdays and Thai festivals are happenings in Phoenix.

Below are links to some music that I heard in Greece. The first two are by Greek artists and give me some major goosebumps each time I listen. I'm not sure why but I find the voices of the artists intoxicating. The last two are good driving tunes that you may or may not have heard before. The last by Bob Sinclair is a great feel good tune. Click the links to listen or right click and do "Save link as" to download.

Mixalis Xatzigiannis- Ola i tipota

Mple- Ton Idio to Theo

Juanes- Adios le Pido

Bob Sinclair- World Hold On