Ankara

 Dear Ankara, when we first met you were so cold. Your chill was cutting to the bone, I had not experienced anything like it. You were quite a lot to take in all at once. You were dizzying, it was no wonder,I got lost so easily, when I was first getting to know you. A mix of tenacity and naivety told me to not give up on trying to get familiar with you. I had to learn your ways, even if I didn't find it pleasant, it was do or die . How was I to get by if I didn't know your language? How was I going to navigate your hustle and bustle, without observing your ebb and flow? Somehow by the grace of God, I did not get washed by the tide. That's not just because you do not have a seaside, but because even in my stumbling and clumsiness, you showed me kindness through strangers.

Fortunately, some of the strangers you kept pointing my way, stuck around for more than just giving me directions to where I needed to go.  You introduced me to, friends, no, family would be the better word. I gush when I think of all the great people you allowed for me to meet. All of them precious and cushioned in my heart. It's one of the reasons why I can look back to the time, the virus had us all at home with fondness. Getting into proximity with multiple roommates, you churned me out to have better people skills. Thanks to you, Ankara, I am a much better, friend/roommate/person to be around, and I am forever grateful for that.

Now the main reason I met you was for educational purposes. You taught me a lot more than I thought I would be able to catch onto. Most of the important lessons, I learnt where the ones you taught outside the classroom. I see whenever people ask me about my experience with you. They can never tell at first glance that I had been studying engineering, rather I had been studying life and you were my tutor. I learnt how to get bills registered in my name. I figured out how to make peanut-butter chicken. I read my bible cover to cover for the first time. I do not know how to calculate tuition fee for such courses, perhaps that way I can repay you and not forever be in your debt.

 

As the days turned into months and into years, you embedded yourself into me. Before I knew it, you became my memleket (hometown). With the air infused with cigarette smoke and exhaust fumes who wouldn't grumble at your sight. In terrible times, when the skies were always sunless, you were unbearable. On the contrary, catching a whiff of freshly baked simit, in the midst of a morning rush, the quiet you afforded me during commutes, and a summer evening of football with friends, are some of the gems you always wooed me with. You have made me feel every emotion, for me to not be blase when talking about you. Much like any of my close companions, I can complain and compliment you, because of all that I know about you, and the experiences we have had. 

 I love you Ankara, not just in the superficial sense. You have character that has grown on me over the years. You became home to me although I was an alien. Now I carry you every where I go. You have transcended municipal boundaries. Millions have come across you with billions of stories about you. You really are ethereal, more than a mega-cluster of concrete structures, you became my home.