People Watching at the Mall

On Monday afternoon (August 19th), I went with 5 other new teachers & 2 spouses to a mall called Kent Park which I was told was about 15 minutes away from the campus and out of the Bilkent area.  We took the SMD free bus from the University into the city.  We were advised that when we got to the area in which we wanted to stop, just stand up because there is no bell pull on any public busses.

So off we went!  When we saw the giant sign that said Kent Park, we stood up on the bus as it hurtled at about 70 mph down the freeway and about 4 blocks later we were let off at a bus shelter on the freeway on the opposite side of the road from the mall.  Then we had to climb 2 flights of stairs to walk across a narrow pedestrian bridge to the other side of the highway and then down 2 flights of stairs.  Then it was about a 4 block walk back the way we came to the entrance of the parking lot for the mall. The pedestrian bridge was not as scary as I thought it might be because the bridge is between the overhead road signs so I could not see the traffic below as we crossed it.  After entering the mall, we decided on a meeting time & place so that we would go home together.  Most of the others were shopping for some housewares or clothing.  I was there to people watch because I am not much of a mall shopper and I satisfied my needs earlier this week at the REAL (the Swiss version of Wal-Mart) near the campus earlier this week.

Before the new teachers came to Ankara, we were told that as a Muslim country, Turkish women especially were conservative in their dress and to avoid short skirts and shorts as well as plunging necklines and sleeveless tops.  At the mall, I saw a few women dressed in traditional dress with headscarves, but most women were wearing jeans with blouses or T-shirts or short sleeveless dresses with 6 inch stiletto heels or tops that showed cleavage.  I saw even some shorts.  All in all Kent Park mall--which is a 5 story upscale mall  and seemed to be very much like Water Tower Place in Chicago--with stores like LaCoste, Calvin Klein Jeans, Mac, H & M and Starbucks could have been almost any upscale mall in the states and the people shopping there could have been seen in any American mall.  The only noticeable difference at the mall from an American mall is that all shoppers upon entering the mall must go through a security checkpoint like at an airport.  Purses go on a conveyor to be x-rayed and people go through a metal detector.  At the small mall near campus, bags and purses are wanded by a security guard at every entrance.

For the trip back to our apartments, we took cabs.  In my cab we had 5 of us and the fare back with tip was 5 Turkish Lira each (about $2.50)--super cheap.  I think in the future, if I ever go to a mall again (I am not much of a mall shopper), I will take a cab both ways with a small group instead of the bus.  It is weird, I have not been inside a mall in the USA for over 5 years, but I get a typical mall experience for the 1st time in years in Ankara, Turkey!