November 23 - 25 Ankara to Istanbul

We had to go to Ankara to apply for residence permits.  We left Wednesday, November 20, drove to Istanbul and flew to Ankara. Friday morning we flew back to Istanbul and then checked into the Gonen Hotel** near the airport for Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. We returned to the Saros Monday via the dealership where we picked up our car which they had to repair the accident damage.

Ankara, Turkey's capital.

In the chauffeur driven van, pretending to be famous.

In the chauffeur driven van.

Thor The DarkWorld 3D at Panora Mall, Ankara: pre-assigned seating, prepaid popcorn (we opted out), Turkish subtitles, and a ten minute intermission. There was a National Film Board of Canada short film before the feature!

At the Istanbul Akvaryum - the largest aquarium in Europe depending on who you ask.  We were careful to have lunch before we paid our admission, but there were cafes and restaurant around every bend inside the aquarium.

This ray was showing off for Sam.

Poseidon's Pool

Nicole and Poseidon

Sam at the South Pole

Johanna and Nicole with a really big ice cube.

Nicole and Hercules.

Johanna and fish

Sam found a hiding place.

Sam and Nicole in the rainforest

Big trees and big fish tanks.

Cam and Johanna

Little neon green frogs. They also had other frogs and big big spiders.

Tourists.

Johanna enjoying the view from the mall attached to the aquarium.

Cam checking messages at the mall attached to the aquarium.

At the Rahmi M. Koc Museum - Istanbul A museum dedicated to transportation, communication and industry. They have a "sister" museum in Ankara. It is very small compared to this one.  If you're going, plan to spend the day! I particularly liked seeing the model ships and the submarine tour.                     http://www.rmk-museum.org.tr/english/

The cab ride from our hotel was very exciting because neither cab driver really knew where the museum was located.  The girls and I were in one cab. Cam and Sam were in the other cab.  Our driver was a "professional driver" attached to our hotel.  The other driver also in a yellow cab was "no good" according to our driver. Our driver began to swear at him loudly in Turkish about half way to the museum.

Nicole and a Beetle

This one looks like it might be fun to drive.

Too many steering wheels ... make art!

After the tour of the submarine. See we got certificates!

Submarine

If subs and boats don't interest you - you can always tour an airplane or

look at earth moving equipment.

Or read about people who sail around the world in little boats! We even took a short train ride.

Sam with the fish beside the Golden Horn.

Outside the building that houses the models.

It's not the Tardis but still pretty cool.

Heidelberg Printing Press. This printing press made me homesick for my childhood.

Johanna at the helm.  In this ship display there were charts for the Newfoundland and Labrador.

**Gonen Hotel - treated us very well. They gave us a free upgraded room. Food was excellent. Their North American "cuisine" was very tasty.  Lots of choices at the breakfast buffet. On the weekends there is someone standing by to make omletes! Staff went out of their way to be kind and helpful. Good pool, free shuttle to and from the airport, free wifi. We took the kids to the "pub" on the last night we were there.  We had supper, played pool and hung out. This was a great weekend away from the Saros!