Okay, so it’s more like the bordertown of Greece, but the people were Greek! I am absolutely not going to base my ideas about Greeks on this little trip, I have an Athens trip this summer I am looking forward to for that. For personal reasons, I had to leave my country, and then return at a later date. Don’t worry, it wasn’t anything sketchy—however, that was the general attitude I got.. (More on that later!) I decided going to Edirne, which is 2 hours away by bus, and then from there I decided that crossing over to Greece would be the best. Two-way tickets for $15? Not bad at all. So, I bought my tickets, and left for Edirne at 13.00.

13.15 - Left for Edirne

The bus was ride was boring. The bus was hot and crowded. It wasn’t horrible, but it also wasn’t something that I wanted to subject myself to. I slept anyways.

15:20 - Arrive in Edirne

The bus ride was a bit longer than I expected. I had to get on a shuttle that would take me to the center of Edirne, and that took another 20 minutes. By the time I was in the center, and had oriented myself it was already four o’clock. My return ticket was at seven o’clock. I saw an Ulusoy (the bus company) agent, so I asked them what time the return shuttle would be. They said 18:20. That meant I had to go to Greece, and come back in two and a half hours. No problem.

16:15 - Off to the Border

I asked around, and was told to go to Kapıkule. I looked at Google Maps the night before, and remember seeing that it wasn’t that long of a distance. Some guy I asked said Kapıkule was twenty minutes away. Huh? I asked him if he was sure, and he nodded. I said, “We’re talking about Greece, right?” Suddenly, he pointed across the street and said “No, for Greece you have to go to Pazarkule. That’s the bus. Catch it quick!” I ran across the street accompanied with the man’s shouts and waves directed at the bus. I jumped on, and told them I wanted to go to the border. Only a dollar? That’s not bad.

16:25 - Bus ride

The bus was hot and crowded, what a surprise. Most of the passengers were men who were on their military duty. Since it was the weekend, they were out on the town. Actually, all these guys were already returning to their barracks, as I found out when nearly 90% of the bus got off at the military base. We passed through this little town called Karaağaç, and suddenly I was the only one left—still no border. Was this really the right way? The bus driver said another bus was coming along, and he was going to put me on that one. Okay..?

16:40 - Second Bus Ride

I got on this other bus that was also headed to another military base. This one was right on the border, or so I thought. We approached the gates, and the guy told me it was the last stop. Wait, I wasn’t here for visiting a soldier. “You’re actually going to cross the border?” I explained, and him drop me off directly where Turkey ends and “No Man’s Land” begins. After a couple minutes we were there.

16:45 - Going through Customs

The policemen took an interest in my name. Started asking me many questions. What are you going to do there, why are you going, what do you study, and “Looks like you don’t have a visa.” Cue in flash the American passport. “Why don’t we go ahead and stamp that one?” I didn’t want them to. That was only going to confuse American customs the next time I entered the US (since it shows me leaving Turkey, when there is no pre-dated entrance—Dun dun dun..) The only way, they argued, was for me to pay some fee, and get some random sticker on my Turkish passport. It was only $10, no biggie. Nevertheless, this other police said that I was waived, and told me to move on. I don’t know, but I sure hope it wasn’t my charm.

16:55 - Hello Greece!

I started walking on this long road. It was cold, snowy and muddy. There was no soul aroud, except the two young Greek soldiers I past. Honestly, I worried a bit about getting back in time. The bus driver told me there wasn’t any buses after him, and the only way was a taxi. (None of those either!) I called Ulusoy to get my ticket pushed back an hour, they said that my reservation didn’t show up—I didn’t exist in their system. Great, just what I needed. I just got annoyed, and hoped to solve this as I approached the Greek customs. There was a booth with a man in it; I handed my American passport. The questions began again, but nothing too invasive. Ulusoy guy on the phone was still confirming my name for the 10th time. The Greek cop gave me my passport, and pointed me towards the other window. Still no luck with Ulusoy.

17:00 - Notable Conversation

I was still on the phone. The customs guy got upset and told me to hang up, which I did. Then he went through my passport, and asked the many invasive questions. It’s okay, I am used to it. Something he said was a bit funny, but also offensive. A little background: many of my American friends complain about how they have low approval rates, and I tell them it’s because how they are seen/perceived from the outside (government actions, cultural and social behaviours that are, also negatively, exagerrated on TV). Back to the story—the guy asked me if I came all this way “Just to look around?” I nodded, and then he asked me with a smile if I had anything to declare “So, any guns or drugs?” I got a bit confused, and told him that I was not carrying such things—he was also free to check. What did he respond with? “Don’t worry, this is not ‘Amerika’” He giggled, handed me my passport, and slid his little window shut. As I walked away, I couldn’t help but hear the many laughs.

17:35 - Freezing the Greek Way

I was already thinking of going back. I didn’t know what’s going on with my Ulusoy situation, but now my phone was roaming so I just decided to call later.  It was also cold, everything was closed, I didn’t have any € on me, and no one was taking credit cards. This town turned out to be more old-fashioned than I thought. I went into this little cafe to use their restroom. Apparently the Greeks also still use ‘a la turca’ style toilets. Huh, we are closer to each other than I thought. Come on, after all our bathroom rituals are similar!

17:45 - Back on the Path

Luckily, the ‘funny’ one was busy with another guy. So, I just handed my stuff to another Greek official who waved me goodbye. As I crossed into Turkey, it was getting dark. I really didn’t want to get stuck on these dark and wet roads without some sort of transportation. The Turkish cop stamped my passport, welcomed me back. He also gave me a suspicious look wondering why I was back so soon. I said to myself, “I have a bus to catch!” He mentioned that they can call a taxi for me. I took them up on that offer, and waited in the tiny duty-free shop while the taxi was on its way. I asked the store attendant to get me Ulusoy’s local number off the internet, which he did. I called them, and confirmed my ticket. Presumably, the Ulusoy guy on the phone earlier was going through reservations, and not already purchased tickets. I thought it was still not-so-smart to have tickets separated on two different systems like that. However, at least there was no problem with my ticket.  I was hungry, since I didn’t have the chance to eat anything. Therefore, when the taxi driver arrived I asked him if he could get me to the shuttle stop in time if we were to stop somewhere to get some ‘ciğer’ (liver). Edirne is famous for their liver, and boy it’s some good food. He looked at me and said, “Do you know Popstar?” (Basically, it’s the Turkish ‘American Idol’). Apparenlty, this restaurant he was taking me to had sent over special liver to the studios where it was taped as a show of appreciation and prestige.

18:15 - Bizim (Our) Restaurant

I received one large portion of liver inside a huge loaf of bread (Think of a thick French baguette). I told them to put everything on it. I got my sandwich for $3, what a sweet deal, and headed of to the shuttle. The shuttle was waiting, so I got out of the taxi, and handed the driver $14. Nevertheless, the shuttle left actually ten minutes late, therefore, the rush was a bit unnecessary. Did I say the sandwich was phenomenal? Well, it was finger-licking good. Seriously.

19:10 - On the Bus Back to Istanbul

It’s 20:30 right now, and I’ve spent nearly half an hour writing this on my iPhone. I have halved the distance back already, now to find something else to keep me busy. What a day.