Afyonkarahisar: Black Fortress of Opium

Here is an image of Kocatepe Camii in Ankara. This mosque is the 2nd largest in all of Turkey and is just as beautiful inside as it is outside.

This adventure was my last in Ankara until us Fulbrighters return to the capital city for our midyear reports.

With orientation over, my year in Afyon has begun. Our welcome yesterday was a warm one: three language department colleagues greeted us and immediately bought us lunch. They're infectious good-humor kept us going throughout the day as we traveled through the dusty streets of our new hometown.



Since yesterday we've selected an apartment, bought cellphones and had many cups of tea. Here's some perspective...today I've had at least 8 cups. Two with breakfast, one at the office, one at a another office, one at a cafe and many at a 2nd after dinner cafe. Turks love tea!

Unfortunately, I haven't taken any pictures of Afyon yet. Tomorrow is a free day, so maybe I'll be able to capture a few images from atop the kocatepe (Big Hill). PS I called it Kokatep all summer...apparently c's sound like j's in Turkish. Such a yabancı (foreigner) thing to do. For future reference, I will be teaching at the phonetically spelled Afyon KoJatepE University, and I will climb the koJatepE tomorrow.