The minibus to Gündoğan

 It was a hot August morning.

The minibus was turning sharp curves of the narrow winding road like a raging bull. 

Giant cacti and bougainvillea were sprawling on hills where white houses with blue frames were scattered. 

In the minibus, retirees, tourists, and kids were travelling from their houses to downtown Gündoğan. 

The driver was a soft spoken man with blue eyes. 

Occasionally he had to press a button to reset the ticket reader mounted on a pole next to the passenger door. 

Commuters who had blue plastic cards held them against the machine, but sometimes it malfunctioned, forcing the driver reset it. 

To the driver’s and passengers’ dismay, resetting the reader took long time, with an animated hourglass appearing on the screen, creating anxiety among passengers entering the bus. 

Almost everyone had an opinion about the ticket reader. 

“It’s not reading, can you reset it again?” cried one woman, her voice muffled by a face mask, holding a large beach bag on her shoulder. 

“Is there anything we (Turks) do that works?” protested another one. 

The minibus took a left turn and entered a straight street shaded by tall needle pine trees. After a minute’s drive it entered the terminal area where it stopped. 

Passengers raced to get out, almost toppled out of the minibus, took their face masks off in relief as if surfacing from a deep sea dive.

Remains of the day

 When the sun leaves us with fleeting lights, and fireflies sing in melancholy, we need to reflect. 

No regrets from past should flow into this moment, nor we should let worries of tomorrow spoil it. 

This magical light, here and now, is ours. 

Nature’s solutions

 23 July 2022

There is a vacant land next to the apartment we live in Ankara. 

In the past there was no livelihood on it. People dumped rubbish there. Once there were big piles of used planks. Packs of stray dogs claimed it their territory, endlessly barking at night to defend it. 

We haven’t visited the apartment for three years. This year a pleasant surprise was awaiting us. 

We were told there was extraordinary rainfall in Ankara during springtime and early summer. 

As a result the land was covered with shrubs and thorny bush that have beautiful blossoms. I saw butterflies and birds. 

Nature claimed the land in a profoundly meaningful way. 

This evening I was walking around the land, and noticed how big the thorns were. It must now be impossible for humans or dogs to enter the area. 

When left alone, Mother Nature looks after herself. 

First impressions

18 July 2022, Ankara

The flight QR 313 from Doha to Ankara landed on Esenboğa Airport  before noon on a mild summer day. 

I loved this airport. It has a non pretentious, specious and functionally oriented modern architecture. Yet this time, after 3 years of Covid break, something was amiss. 

Inside the terminal it wasn’t crowded. I noticed lights were dimmed and the air was thick. I assume this may be a cost cutting measure amid the most recent economic crisis. 

I had an arduous 20 hours trip from Australia. I had acute sciatic pain and stomach pain that deprived me from sleeping, nor I could occupy my mind with other forms of distractions. 

When the plane landed I was exhausted, and I felt an immediate need to visit toilets. 

Fortunately the passport queue ran off quickly, the new passport image recognition software worked and the hunt for toilets could begin. 

After dragging along suitcases and bags along endless corridors for what felt like eternity, from a distance I recognised the most welcoming icon after McDonald’s, the featureless man and woman, the universal symbol of toilets. 

Inside, there were two closed cubicles, both of which were occupied. I was lucky, there was one man in front of me, and a long queue was forming rapidly behind me. The waiting felt like ages, and in my mind I have began to go through dire what-if scenarios, none being remotely dignifying. 

Oh the sweet sound of the toilet cubicle lock. A man was out, there was barely any smell, a clean toilet at last. 

I emerged as a new man from the toilet. You know the feeling; you could do anything, discover an exoplanet, climb the Everest or swim the Atlantic. 

As I took the escalators to the baggage collection area, I noticed I had visited the only toilet between the airplane and the baggage carousel, a terrifying realisation in hindsight.  

Once I collected my luggage, I was surprised to find a check point on the way out. For decades you could leave the terminal without your luggage checked. 

There was no queue lanes, hence the passengers formed a funnel shaped hive, its outlet reaching a security checkpoint. 

What stroke me was the grim facial expressions of custom officers. The country’s official inflation rate is now 78%. You can read the economic hardship from groceries price tags and sad faces. 

The custom officers were acting strangely though. Despite their sad outlook, they weren’t hostile nor they were picking on luggage as they normally should. They were indifferent as if they took part in a passive strike, or participated a silent protest. 

I took my luggage, got out to fresh air and headed to a taxi. 

Perfect to ride around Balmain

Sitting outside a rustic Balmain cafe at kerb washed by setting winter sun, I noticed the key was left on a Vespa scooter.

My thoughts drifted to a past world of tranquility when things were different. People had time for each other, doors were left open, keys were left on ignition. 

The world has always been raged by misery induced by war, pestilence, greed or depravity. But we maintained “pockets of resistance” reminiscent of good old days that spirit of humans persisted. 

Sometimes it helps to leave current affairs afar. Self reflection may not always be easy during daily grind of news and chores, but when we seize the chance we should seek light and reflect. It doesn’t cost anything if we allow being generous to ourselves and leave sparkles here and there. 

The rider of the Vespa returned with take-away in one hand. He placed them in the boot. We exchanged glances, and I asked,

- Do you enjoy riding Vespa?

He smiled and said:

- Perfect to ride around Balmain.