Tourist in Your Own City

Of course the rain pissed down and the winds howled on the one day I had to head out after work.  I went for a walk (getting mildly wet) to find the airport bus and journey to pick up my parents.  I found it without too much effort (Ishilay had called ahead), read my book and enjoyed the rolling scenery (amidst the rain stained windows) for the forty minute ride.  Naturally I forgot my scarf and hat (and it was cold) so I went for a cup of tea to warm up as there is nowhere indoors to wait for incoming flights.  Fortunately their plane was smack dab on time, and as Malatya is not a large airport, the luggage wait was quite prompt as well.  I whisked them back onto the bus and we headed home.  The rain quieted a bit as we walked up to our apartment, and I got them settled and with a glass of wine as I cooked dinner (Turkish manti- very similar to ravioli) and we waited for Joe to get home.

              

Last winter snow (we hope)

           The next morning we awoke to falling snow and many inches of it already sticking to the ground. Dad had managed to pinch a muscle in his back at some point the day before, and as Joe and I were working it gave him the opportunity to ice and rest it without feeling obligated to go outside.  We forwent our outing to the pub that evening and instead I came home when my classes finished and Mom and I went for a walk around the neighbourhood before coming in and making soup.  Joe joined us after work, and we played a game of Yahtzee and called it a night.

               

         By Monday morning, Dad was still in same pain (back pain is the worst) but the weather was sunny- a stark contrast to the day before, so we took the bus into town and went for a beautiful walk (albeit a little slower than usual) and down to the market before heading up to a restaurant on the hill that has a stunning view of the city. 

          
           By that point Dad’s back had had enough so I went off to Buglem (my standing Monday tradition) and met them back home by about 7.  I refreshed Mom’s backgammon knowledge and we had a relaxing evening.  Joe came home with a “walking stick” (you know the time, skinny, with a curved handle- rhymes with bane,) which we all got a good laugh out of- but it did make a difference as he healed, and good news.  There is a doctor is his speaking class and he wrote Dad a prescription for a muscle relaxant that would cut off the pain receptors and allow him to heal much faster and so on Tuesday we did just that.  Back into Malatya- armed with the walking stick- and found a pharmacist who spoke good English.  The only downside was that he couldn’t drink alcohol on this medicine, so after a stroll through the market and lunch, we headed for afternoon beers.  Needless to say I was a little tired at work, but the others came home and relaxed.

               

View of Malatya

Relaxing at the Pub

            On Wednesday morning the weather was miserable again, so Mom and I gave the boys a break and went to the mall for some shopping.  Mom found a cute top, but I have expensive taste and no “spare” money, so I did not fare as well.  By the time the boys came in, the power was out so Dad got to walk down eleven flights of stairs (our apartment is on the top floor) in order to get to the bus.  We met them in town and took them for a tour of our school, including coffee with Habib.  Our boss wanted to meet them, but he wasn’t there so we went for a walk to a doner shop and got them their first Turkish doner for lunch, before heading back to the school for an awkward conversation with the boss where he invited us to dinner the next day.  We accepted (as is polite in Turkish custom), and then blamed Dad’s back the next day and declined.  Joe and I both had classes that night, and I had moved Buglem from Thursday to Wednesday in order to have a relaxing day, and so M and D came home and skyped Em and did various other things and Joe and I both got home late.

             

              Our final day in Malatya shone bright and sunny again, Dad was continuing on the mend, and we found the bus to Battalgazi (the ancient part of Malatya) and although we didn’t know where we were going, we managed to find some ruins with English signs, and although they were poorly translated, they sufficed in getting the point across.  We finished up in Battalgazi and had a huge final lunch at one of our favourite restaurants, before dropping Joe at work and heading home.  We all rested for an hour and then Mom and I went on another walk (no one wanted dinner that night) and sorted out a way for them to get to the airport the next morning (Joe was a huge help and the secretary at work booked them a cab, so it was all easy-peasy.)  Mom and I drank and Dad watched us wistfully.  We had a lovely final evening, and it was nice that it wasn’t a final goodbye, as we will be seeing them in Cappadocia in just over a week!

p.s. all photos courtesy @brendadarlenedelvillepratt