Another Fine Example of Turkish Hospitality...

I was out of town in Kayseri this weekend visiting my Fulbrighter friend Sarah. Kayseri is about 8-9 hours away, so the best way to get there is on night buses. (Also known as "knight" buses because almost anything in this country reminds me of Harry Potter.) I was going to take the knight bus back Sunday night then to get to Isparta Monday morning and go straight to school to teach. I knew it was be tiring and that I would be exhausted at school, but I am convinced this is the best way to travel here. My bus was scheduled for 11pm last night and was supposed to arrive in Isparta this morning around 8am. At about 11:15 last night, I decided to go into the bus station and attempt to ask why my bus wasn't there yet, and was told (maybe?) that the bus would be there at 11:30. (Punctual buses are very important in Turkey, as this is how most Turkish people travel around the country. Bus companies are supposedly fined for being late.) So I went back out in the 35-40 degree weather to wait for my bus, that didn't come... At 11:45 I went back into the bus station and asked when my bus would be there. Simply upon seeing how cold I was, they rushed me into their office, put a space heater directly in front of me, brought me some tea and attempted to talk to me until my bus eventually arrived at 12:15. We finally left the otogar at 12:30 and miraculously arrived in Isparta at 8:15 this morning.

Moral of the story: only purchase tickets from the well-known bus companies that will more than likely arrive on time, although I'm not sure I would have received this type of hospitality from them.