Ankara 16 Oct - sadly no photos, not even a map!
Woke at 6 and 7, finally got up about 8, just after Brian. After breakfast I notice that that tyre, with its second new tube (this time a Pirelli with rim grommet - which was the suspected cause of the first failure) has gone down. Stones - you idiot! Both tubes have to be very carefully repaired and strengthened, using numerous patches. Eventually a satisfactory job is achieved. Meanwhile the tyre and case is transferred from the 5K to the 4½K wheel to balance everything, and the "foreigner" is put as the spare (though this latter is not blown up because we need two more rim grommets and need our only other one as a model so that people will know what we're after.
We find that both Pirelli tubes will fit in one box, so the Xmas pud now has a resting place. We now head for Ankara for repairs and spares. First we have the exhaust welded together at a bus repair depot. The pipe had fractured at a weld at the end of the straight portion - the whole of this front pipe was thus cantilevered from the mounting attached to the gearbox. Another hole does not yield to treatment, but the pipe is welded to the clip where there is yet another hole in the weld. Drive around some back streets in search of shops, but this is the car repair area. Make another detour but find ourselves where we were last night. Park car and walk. Complete all shopping except grommets and leather (for water bottle gaskets). Resolve to find old inner tube for water bottle gaskets, and head to the centre for grommets.
Lunch at the pideria (kiymali). Given instructions to go to Kizilay where there is a large, but rather shoddy department store. It is interesting to see their selection of radios (looking antediluvian) and record players, and all the food in the basement. Bottles of wine down there on the shelves with dust so thick that they look as though they've been there since 1948. Honey was nearly 5/- per lb and jam was very little cheaper.
On the way we called at a garage which was a Pirelli agent where a charming gent who spoke quite good English suggested that we should try some tyre agencies out beyond Ulus Square (where Ataturk's statue is). Pile into first dolmuş we see that's old (Bonny and Clyde), but it turns out to be an Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire. To me the engine sounds original, but it appears to have a manual three-speed gearbox with a rather non-Armstrong-looking column change (it is LHD). Brian says that they all had semi-automatic Wilson preselector gearboxes. (In Australia I had a 1954 Daimler Conquest with a Wilson preselector gearbox.) This one has about half a turn of play in the steering, and the horn is sounded by shorting the lead onto the steering column. It soon picks up a load and drives at considerable speed about as well as most Turkish drivers.
We reach Ulus Square and a short walk takes us to the Pirelli depot. Here, oh joy of joys, no waiting or explaining or any nonsense. When I hold up the required item the lad says "how many do you want? One, two, three?" Well you could have knocked me down with a feather.
Back at the camp site Brian built rice pudding and meal while I put spare back together. Discover where water system is leaking, from one of those very unMercedes clips below the passenger heater radiator. The little bastard refuses to come off. Finally it yields. After dinner and washing up I arrange jubilee clip for heater hose (involves a little changing since we've none of the right size left). Find old inner tube and start to cut out grommets. Have numerous cups of tea with locals while cutting.
Then repack car ready for departure, by this time it's perhaps 10:30 or 11 but Abdullah (the guard) kept us busy talking. He was learning to count in English and wanting to know how far away all sorts of other countries are. He is 55, has a huge moustache, three wives, six children, a Spanish pistol, a German Berretta, a French knife and a fair stock of ammunition. One could imagine him as an Ottoman. Finally, at 12:30 we went to bed.
Ankara is quite a pleasant city. It has plenty of trees, open spaces and new buildings. It lacks character but is probably a good capital. The population is over 1.2 million but it doesn't seem nearly as crowded as Istanbul. Today the population is over 5 million. Though it has a long history there was very little to see in Ankara.