<p>Who would want to leave a fairy-tale place to go to a bureaucratic full of politicians’ city? Certainly not me. I was refusing to leave Cappadocia, the guide insisted we have to leave since there were lots of things to see and places to visit. “We have to see more nine places. Come on!”</p>
<p>This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2020/05/20/ankara-the-capital/</p>

Saffran, stone bird, and the black sea

A Tale in Red results from spending a further nine months actually ‘living’ in Turkey – from January to September 2011. Most of those nine months were spent on the road, visiting cities, monuments and archaeological sites, but, most importantly, meeting everyday people. Through 27 thousand kilometres, I immersed myself in the Turkish culture, adapting my behaviour to their traditions. I involved myself in close contact with different people – teachers, doctors, farmers, public servants, authorities, artists – and what I listened to from them was a mix of pride and shame, belief and disbelief.