Day 7 : The Day of Three Cities

Today is going to be a long one. We wake at 3:15 and are on the road by 4am. It's about a 4 hour drive to Ankara, where we are to drop the car off before 9am. It was a beautiful drive through the Turkish countryside.

We arrive at the Ankara airport, and after driving around the same loop multiple times, we figure out where to return the car. We go in through security and use the restroom to freshen up and then go in search of food. We hang for a bit until about 2 hours before our bus leaves. We go back outside in search of the airport transfer bus that goes to the otogar. It was more difficult than it should have been, but as always, we come across kind strangers that point us in the right direction.

Ankara, Turkey's capital city, was extremely unappealing from the bus window. It was huge, overcrowded, smoggy. Just your typical jam-packed, dirty city. We repeatedly state how happy we are we did not plan to stay in Ankara. We arrive at the otogar, and it's HUGE! Like a giant sports arena. We find our bus "port" and wait for it's arrival. We board and off we go to our next stop: Safranbolu!!

View from the bus out at the otogar before departure

After a relatively short (3 hours) bus trip, we arrive in Safranbolu. We had the kindest bus driver EVER who, once we arrived at the otogar, made sure we were set up with a cab to take us to our hostel. He made a phone call and everything! 10 minutes later, we are in the heart of an UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a gorgeous town that was made a world heritage site due to the unique architecture throughout the city. 

We meet the owners of the hostel. It's a cute old man & woman and their son. The son speaks English and gives us the run down. We then venture out into the city. First stop: ice cream! We continue to wander until we come across an artisan market with all kinds of cool things. Safranbolu is a city of winding, cobblestone streets with adorable shops, restaurants, and bakeries. 

 A street through the art market

When hunger sets in we search for a restaurant and settle on one in the art market. It was not very good. But the woman was so sweet. We wander a bit more to an area that overlooks the city. The views were pretty incredible. 

Eventually we make it back to our hostel and settle in for a good, full night's rest. FINALLY!