Zafer Bayramı

Today is Turkey's 'Victory Day'- their independence day celebrating Ataturk's victory over the Greeks. There are gigantic Turkish flags hanging from nearly every building, along with several humongous images of Ataturk everywhere. I was eating breakfast with my friend from Denmark outside, and we were able to see several military planes in formation fly overhead. The TV showed the parade with lots of armored tanks and other military weapons.

That afternoon, we went to the Kizilay section of Ankara, where students hang out, and walked around. It was a holiday so there were some extra stalls selling other items (besides the usual flowers). Besides that, most of the excitement had settled down (including the heat). We had lunch inside a cafe, where we managed to break a hooka (there is another word for it in Turkish). Afterwards, Sener lead us to a cafe where we could drink. He says that "All the study abroad students, they say this is what they want. So, we take them somewhere so they can drink."