Just thought I would throw out some of the little things remembered about 'Home in Ankara'.

Some of these things may have changed over the years after Ankara, and the American community, grew up.

No bottled soft drinks (cokes etc). Had to use seltzer bottles and coke syrup (or Ginger ale syrup, etc). Having to have a full house transformer to run 110V/60Hz gadgets and appliences in your house. Movie nights at the Ambassador's residence. Square dances at the JAMMAT complex. Taking the empty seltzer bottle CO2 cartridges and filling them with black powder and burying them in the banks along the stream that ran between Bachileveler and Ataturk's Tomb and lighting them off, blowing big holes in the embankment (Lester, are you out there?). Saturday afternoons and nights spent at Luna Park doing all the rides, especially the spinning swings where we would push each other off and then try to get the chains entangled with other riders. The Sunday afternoon group picnics, with 10-15 other families, out in the boonies along side of a stream in a little oasis type setting. Many was the time when a sheep herd would come down out of the mountains and joins us, big Anatolian sheep dogs and all. Or the times we would picnic out at the big (name forgotten) dam. Only had one teenager in school whose parents allowed him to drive. Driving laws were very strict at the time and you could get into a big hunk of trouble very easily. Remember that all the vehicles had a big garlic bulb hanging by the sunvisor. That was so the driver, had they had a drink or two, could take a bite out of should they be stopped by the cops. Big time trouble for driving under the influence. I remember having an ashek (donkey), sheep and goats in the back yard. I don't think this was something that all the families kept for pets though. Exploring the back alleys of Ulus. The Hittite Museum. Being able to buy, and use, black powder rifles.

I'm sure there are more if I just think a little harder but what are your memories of little things?

George Summers '57 (Ankara '54-'56)

Boy that brought back some images! How about the movies at JUSMATT, 16MM, sitting on folding card table chairs. Kerosene refrigerators and heaters. Panseni's VW. Water out of an O.D. green trailer at the BX. Sunday horseback riding with experienced (??) Riders. Rock and roll on BBC jammed by the Russians, Grundig console radio/record players. (Still have ours)

Thanks George.

Chris White '60 (Ankara '57-'59)

Don't forget the motercycles.

Oh yes, the Lambretta Motor scooters.......Spent a fair amount of time one that belonged to a G.I. friend.......

Leave us not to forget Crazy Jackson the taxi driver........

George, your posting about the square dances....I think I have a couple of pictures from them....

Everything went dark one day because someone stole the transformer. The Turks caught someone that they thought had done it. They "interrogated" him in the basement of the police station. There was a motorcycle up on blocks. They started it up, gunned the engine and beat him with rubber hoses. We got our transformer back.

I was a late arrival for the 57-58 school year in Oct. 57.... 15 years old...After the square dance one Saturday night, Joe Nichols and I were walking home up Ataturk blvd. As we passed in front of the Russian embassy - boom! a bomb went off behind the American embassy which was across the next street. Welcome to Turkey.