wanderlust and waterlessness.

Whew! What a whirlwind month. I've been out-and-about in the world and I'm finally here to report back...with loads of pictures, of course.

Before I start up on my most recent activities, however, i'd like to finish a few series I began. Namely, Kerkenes and Cyprus. After that, we'll be back to a [semi]regular flow.

Unless, that is, the water situation in Ankara continues as it is...

I returned to Ankara last night amidst a three- to five- day water cut in the city. Since the beginning of August water has been cut-off regularly, two days off-two days on. This past week, the water was turned on again and a pipe burst when it couldn't withstand the rush of water. Potable water flooded streets and water reserves dropped to 4%.

Water has been a major problem in the city this year. With daytime temperatures consistently between 95-112 F sun galore and no sight of rain, Ankara has undergone a serious drought. Additionally, the lack of rain and snow in the winter and spring gave us an unusually low reservoir to begin with this summer. A new pipeline is being created to bring water from the Kizilirmak River, but it's not expected to be up and running until November. Furthermore, the water resource infrastructure in Turkey is quite old and has not been well maintained, causing problems such as burst pipes and inadequate retention.

It's a bad situation. People are traveling far outside of Ankara to stand in line for hours in the sun to fill canisters from fountains. Hospitals are strained, some are not accepting new patients unless there is an emergency. Water-borne disease is a concern, causing schools and universities to consider delayed start. Using water from taps that have recently been cut-off can also result in sickness. Health professionals are recommending all water is boiled anywhere between 10 minutes and 6 hours. Conflicting reports.

The water cuts should have been started in May, but with the election looming the mayor of Ankara chose to delay, hoping it would serve to gain votes for AK Parti. Indeed, AK Parti did win, but it's backfiring on him now as people are calling for his resignation. He, in turn, is calling this shortage a result of Global Warming and "God's will," asking people to pray for rain [rain prayer sessions have been organized in the city] and telling people to take longer summer holidays to ease the strain on the city's water supplies. He, in turn, has changed his habits--instead of taking a shower every day, he only washes his hair--and has encouraged people to do the same...and they might, if they had water to begin with. Though I doubt it--this morning my neighbor threw a big bucket of water on her balcony to clean it.

Thursday evening, the burst pipe was apparently fixed--earlier than expected--and water was turned on again. When I arrived home last night, I had water. This morning, however, it was shut-off again. This despite the fact that the mayor has claimed no cuts would occur for 10 days. I'm confused.

I think everyone is confused.

As a result, I may end up doing some more traveling, getting out of Ankara to places where there is water and where there's no concern of disease. At the moment, I don't anticipate that will be necessary. I'll try to keep you abreast of things as they progress.

In the meantime, prepare for massive posting and picturing. woo-wee!