Public transportation is somewhat of a taboo in Iraq, there are lots of taxis but a real bus system has not been implemented yet to the Kurdistan region. We looked forward to the public transportation of Turkey, it is always dependable, fast, and comfortable. Well, that is what the bus system in Turkey is “suppose to be” like.
We started out from our guesthouse around 11am and planned to hop on the first of many busses heading to Ankara that July 3rd afternoon. We checked the time for all the departing buses and found one leaving in 45 minutes, so we bought the two tickets and waited in the already hot hot sun. The 1pm departure was pushed back to 1:45pm and most of those extra minutes where spent in a non AC bus, they waited to turn the AC once we started off down the road. We were making good time, stopped for snacks once, and with 168 km to go we broke down. We all got off the bus, still really hot out, even though it was late afternoon, and sat along the road for over 2 hours. There were no signs of a mechanic coming or a replacement bus. Eventually someone managed to flag another bus down and we were able to hop on it since it was going close to Ankara.
The bus was empty except for about 8 people, we found some seats and off we went. Within minutes we were stuck in a traffic jam that took about 30 minutes or so to get through. Nightfall came and after Alex spoke to the others on the bus in Turkish we decided it was easier to get off the bus before the bus went to the station, closer to our final destination. We got dropped off along the highway in the middle of the evening, walked through this tall grassy area in order to get to the exit ramp of the highway, walked down that and then waited for the bus.
We hopped on the local bus that took 45 minutes to get from one end of town to the other. Grabbed a taxi at the end of the bus line and FINALLY after 10 hours of bus mishaps we arrived at our friends’s placed. From the door of our guesthouse in Istanbul to the door of our friend’s place who is working at the American Embassy in Ankara, it took over 12 hours. Upon arrival we were greeted with tacos, a strawberry and blueberry 4th of July flag cake, and Samuel Adams beer.
We arrived safe, a bit tired and cranky but all was well. If this is just one example of what we will have to endure while traveling through Central Asia, it will be more interesting than we thought!