Monday, August 14, 2006
Yesterday it reached over 100 degrees, but I'm still walking around, taking in as much as I can. I'm still drawn to the differences, the unique (at least to me). Three days I watched my neighbors separating large "wraps" of sheep wool (thick matted wool, connected as if someone had shorn a sheep like one tries to peel an apple in one long go). They were using sticks on it, and hanging small bundles of it on their fence. I saw a truck load of watermelon being unloaded, by hand, by three men. One on the truck pitched a melon through the air underhanded down to a second man, who swung his melon about 14 feet across the sidewalk to a third man by his stand. They probably had 60 watermelons to throw that way.
A most interesting difference is in driving. Despite bouts of road rage, we are much more civilized drivers in the U.S. Here cars run pellmell (sp?) everywhere. There are very few stop lights, and no stop signs that I can see, so cars creep into intersections, watching for cars (smaller European models) which seem to weave down the streets and roadways. This may largely be due to the absence of street lines, either down the center of streets or along the shoulders. The major highways may be three or four cars wide, but with an absence of lines cars tend to go everywhere, passing on the right, crowding cars over to one side, forming as many or few lanes as they wish. At 55 miles an hour, it creates quite a liberating feeling (I only have been a passenger, but I don't have too much fear, as everyone has to remain alert since they don't know what the other cars will do). On the narrower streets, u-turns, especially at intersections, are incredibly commonplace, and one more thing to look for when trying to cross the street.
The drivers display a liberal use of the horn here, not the long, leaning on horn of New York City, but several quick taps saying "step back, don't pull out, I'm coming" as they hurtle down the road.
When they do place traffic lights, the cars that stop tend to line up as many as they can fit across the road. This is especially disconcerting when the light is on a traffic circle, so cars stop on a turn, and with an absence of lanes, it resembles the start of some warped car rally. Added to this is that the red starts flashing, to let drivers know the light will soon change. Even more tempting to lead-footed drivers, a few lights have an electric countdown, like a basketball shot clock, that is posted next to the light. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... but by then, cars behind are already honking. The installers fortunately created countdown clocks that turn green too, so that you know how many seconds before the light will turn red, so you can speed up to make your light.
Due to the lack of specific markings, etc., I also notice cars go where, at least in the U.S., they shouldn't go. Yesterday I was in a car, and the driver saw a parking spot about 100 yards back. No matter that it was a one-way street, or that it was a three-lane one-way street. He did a quick u-turn and drove into the oncoming traffic, then parallel parked the wrong way, heading into traffic that swept by as if nothing was wrong. When we later left, it only took another u-turn to be on our way.
Added to the cars, there also Dolmus's, which are buses (or rather large vans) that run from one set area of Ankara to another, and back again. You only have to wave one down and it will stop, then start up again, headed for it's destination. The driver doesn't wait for payment, but takes off, so you either claw your way forward or pass your money up through other passengers. These buses come by the main streets every 30-60 seconds, so you can always get a ride (for about 1.20 U.S. dollars, and they run from many areas (imagine such a system for New York City dwellers, from Brooklyn to Manhatten, or Queens, etc. - the streets flooded with these mini buses).
Now it's time for me to go home on my own two feet.
A most interesting difference is in driving. Despite bouts of road rage, we are much more civilized drivers in the U.S. Here cars run pellmell (sp?) everywhere. There are very few stop lights, and no stop signs that I can see, so cars creep into intersections, watching for cars (smaller European models) which seem to weave down the streets and roadways. This may largely be due to the absence of street lines, either down the center of streets or along the shoulders. The major highways may be three or four cars wide, but with an absence of lines cars tend to go everywhere, passing on the right, crowding cars over to one side, forming as many or few lanes as they wish. At 55 miles an hour, it creates quite a liberating feeling (I only have been a passenger, but I don't have too much fear, as everyone has to remain alert since they don't know what the other cars will do). On the narrower streets, u-turns, especially at intersections, are incredibly commonplace, and one more thing to look for when trying to cross the street.
The drivers display a liberal use of the horn here, not the long, leaning on horn of New York City, but several quick taps saying "step back, don't pull out, I'm coming" as they hurtle down the road.
When they do place traffic lights, the cars that stop tend to line up as many as they can fit across the road. This is especially disconcerting when the light is on a traffic circle, so cars stop on a turn, and with an absence of lanes, it resembles the start of some warped car rally. Added to this is that the red starts flashing, to let drivers know the light will soon change. Even more tempting to lead-footed drivers, a few lights have an electric countdown, like a basketball shot clock, that is posted next to the light. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... but by then, cars behind are already honking. The installers fortunately created countdown clocks that turn green too, so that you know how many seconds before the light will turn red, so you can speed up to make your light.
Due to the lack of specific markings, etc., I also notice cars go where, at least in the U.S., they shouldn't go. Yesterday I was in a car, and the driver saw a parking spot about 100 yards back. No matter that it was a one-way street, or that it was a three-lane one-way street. He did a quick u-turn and drove into the oncoming traffic, then parallel parked the wrong way, heading into traffic that swept by as if nothing was wrong. When we later left, it only took another u-turn to be on our way.
Added to the cars, there also Dolmus's, which are buses (or rather large vans) that run from one set area of Ankara to another, and back again. You only have to wave one down and it will stop, then start up again, headed for it's destination. The driver doesn't wait for payment, but takes off, so you either claw your way forward or pass your money up through other passengers. These buses come by the main streets every 30-60 seconds, so you can always get a ride (for about 1.20 U.S. dollars, and they run from many areas (imagine such a system for New York City dwellers, from Brooklyn to Manhatten, or Queens, etc. - the streets flooded with these mini buses).
Now it's time for me to go home on my own two feet.
# posted by Michael Strich @ 4:26 AM 
