After reading all t eposts, I wonder how dull Ankara really is? It couldn't possibly that dead... I hae to work there for 9 months!

I'll be moving to Ankara in Late Aug. and want to travel as light as possible. I have been told to bring lots of English language books and tampons as they are hard to find and expenssive. Any truth to that?

What would you recomend as essential travel gear for someone making Turkey their home for a year?

I'll be in the Krakusunlar area, if I remember correctly. Can anyone give me info about the area?
Any places to go work out/ run ?

Thanks in advance for the info!

Ankara's not dead. It's just less lively than Istanbul. It feels odd to have to say this, but Ankara's a big modern city with bars, nightclubs, shops, theatres, an opera house and a loads of foreigners. We have shops and supermarkets and all that. Bacon's available in places and there are a couple of stores that specialise in meeting the dietary cravings of our American cousins. There are a couple of English language bookshops, but they're pretty weak and I'd suggest you take whatever textbooks or reference materials you know you'll need. I can't comment on tampons. Arikan will know.

One thing I would say is that you should pack for summer AND winter. You'll be here nine months so you're almost certain to get an Ankara winter and they're harsher than you'd expect. In fact by mid-February you'll wonder if you'll ever see green again. Bring thermals, fleeces and a pair of good solid boots for ice and snow.

I notice you've asked about yoga classes. There are two or three that I know of. My girlfriend goes, on and off. I'll send more details once I've spoken to Her Majesty.

I don't recognise the name of the area where you'll be staying. Can you give more details? Happy to help with any other questions.

Tampons are hard to find, especially if one is not familiar with concepts like Carrefour or pharmacies. Also toilet paper, Lariam and Sagrotan are worthwhile to bring along and the one English book you definitely need is "Where There is no Doctor" by David Werner.

We have toilet paper in Ankara, fear not.