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Our tour leader, who was very knowledgeable and efficient, managed to promote us places on an Alitalia flight to Rome. That was the only line other than Israels own El Al that was flying in. But the airport was busy militarily during the day so flights didn't leave till about 11 or 12 PM. We learned in the afternoon that we'd go that night but it was a long dismal lobby wait for the time to arrive to go to Lod. Then we flew to Rome and bussed to Ostia where they had found space for us-its nearer the airport than Rome itself- and we got to bed pretty pooped at 3 AM. But it was hardly worth it as we had to be up at 7 AM to eat, pack, bus to the airport and catch a flight to Istanbul. Arriving there we had to walk about a quar- ter mile to the Domestic airport and sit around - or stand since it was very crowded - waiting for 3 hours to catch a Turkish Airlines plane to Ankara. When we arrived at our hotel there we were a pretty bedraggled bunch I can tell you. But although we missed Cypress we were back on schedule. again so that the rest of the tour could go on without a hitch.

So now we had Turkey to “do”. My first discovery was that it was a lot of country geographically speaking and one that I knew little or nothing about to begin with, although I've always been interested in really ancient history I never realized how much of it involved territory now within the borders of modern Turkey. Our first day was a full days excursion out to Hattusas whose claim to fame is that it was the capitol city of the Hittite kingdom about 4000 years ago. It has about 5 miles of wall around it and with many escape and supply tunnels one of which is 45 miles long and still open. These were the people that swept down thru Syria, Lebanon and Israel and battled the Egyption Pharaohs.

Next day we did a bit of Ankara itself. This city was founded and more or less designed by the founder of modern Turkey Mustafa Kemel Atta- turk. It is a very interesting and beautiful city but has one thing in common with Los Angeles, it was laid out in a valley between mountains which was fine in the days when it was first built. But as industrialization pro- gressed and auto transportation multiplied the smog problem became considerable. The pollution is just held above the city by the surrounding mountains with nothing to blow it away. It's as though the city were at the bottom of a coffee cup with thousands of feet of coffee (pollution) above it. Attaturks monument is here and it is about the most colossal individual memorial I've ever seen. It is a great flagstone courtyard about 100 yards square with his tomb and mausoleum at one end. The opposite side as I re- member is open with a long vista across a rolling park. The other two sides are enclosed by 2 story buildings which are museums, offices and barracks for the guards. These brawny fellows pace back and forth all over the place

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