7 hour driving adventure

I had to go to Ankara to help my sister and her husband a little bit because they were overwhelmed with caring for his family. Mom is trying to help them out by staying with them a few days to cook and supervise the cleaning lady but, there is only so much she can do and she is old too.

Actually mom had an episode of a nose bleed herself too but luckily hers was not so bad and possibly due to the blood thinners she has to use.

I came back yesterday and it took me 7 hours to drive back which usually takes no more than 4 hours. I drive a stick shift so, imagine driving in stop and go traffic for over two hours as I approached Istanbul. I need pain killers for my aching legs but I need to work so, I do not want to feel drowsy. There was a religious holiday and a lot of people went away and it looked like everyone decided to return on the same day. Today is a national holiday but I guess people wanted to come home a day early and rest.

I was totally drained but as soon as I got home I hung up my flag for today. October 29, 1923 is the day Turkey became a republic and a new country. At that day, the new constitution replaced the old Ottoman constitution by the Turkish parliament. It is a big deal for those of us who are keen  followers of Ataturk, his principles and ideals and who believe in secularism and the modern Turkish Society. I am not going to talk about politics here but I do not like where we are headed for the last few years and I do not appreciate the present prime minister.

I had cooked for long holiday but since I had to go to Ankara, I took all the food to my sister's which she really appreciated. I must go shopping but I think I will do it tomorrow with other errands. Today, I will make do with what I have at home since, I must work and complete a report.