The next part of our journey took us to the capital city Ankara. One of the things we really wanted to do while in Ankara was to see Ataturk's tomb. Ataturk is the hero of Turkey and the most important person to any Turk. Ataturk's picture is hung in every public building and school kids line up each morning before class to pledge allegiance to his ideals. He is the founder of the republic of Turkey as well as its first president. His successful military campaigns led to the liberation of the country and to the establishment of Turkey.
    We also planned to visit and encourage the local church which is the largest and most open church in all of Turkey. We knew there was at least one house of prayer which we hoped to be able to visit as well.
   We arrived on a Saturday and would be staying a little over a week. The very first night we went out and met with a church that has Saturday night prayer and they also hand out soup to some of the poor family's in the community. The team and I joined them for prayer and then prayed some more while they handed out the food. They thought we would be to much of a disturbance and draw to much attention if we helped with the food but we didn't mind and had a good time praying. As we were leaving they gave each of us a new testament in Turkish and said that we could hand them out as God led us but to be careful because if a Turk is caught with a bible they could be arrested.
    The next day we went to church. We had to leave an hour before it started because it would take us so long to get there. We had to take both the subway and a bus. The church was large and nice they had a good sized congregation and we enjoyed the service. It was nice to be able to gather with a large body of believers. This was the closest thing to what "normal" church that we had experienced.  After the service we met with the pastor and he talked with us about some of the challenges of sharing and discussed some of the usual arguments that Muslims bring up.
   The next day we wanted to visit Ataturk's tomb. We found out it didn't open until after noon so we were sent out in groups to prayer walk and find our own lunch before all meeting up at the tomb around 1:00. Hundreds of people visit his tomb every year and many will actually weep and still express grief over the loss of so great a leader.
             The tomb is part of a large memorial. To get to the tomb you walk up these steps

                                                       down this path

                           and into this court yard like area with a great view of the city.

                                     The building that actually holds his coffin.

                                               His coffin. He really is buried here.

           These guards are to make sure no one harms the body or dishonors the great leader.

                                   A teammate talking with some college students.

                                            Praying for the city and future visitors.

  A stunning view of the city and a great chance to pray for the thousands who live here.

     Under this whole monument is a museum filled with artifacts from the battles and life of Ataturk. We walked through it quickly and it still took us almost an hour it is one of the largest museums in all of Turkey.

     We learned a lot about Ataturk and his life by the visit and while he was truly a great leader and general, he has had a very bloody legacy and continuing to follow in his footsteps has resulted in a troubled nation that is continually facing civil wars.
    The next day the pastor asked us if we would like to go out into some of the smaller community's on the outskirts of town and pray. We agreed and a guide from the church met us around 2 :00pm the next day. We had to ride a bus for quite awhile to get out of the city and then we broke into two small groups. My group walked and prayed for about two hours but we did not meet any one or have anything to exciting happen. But the other group met a women with home they were able to share and they left her one of the new testaments.

                       The community we were walking through was a poor area.

    The next evening we were invited to a prayer house to spend the evening in worship with them. We gladly agreed to come. It was a small gathering, we made up at least half of the group but we enjoyed the time of the fellowship and learned that there was another prayer house starting. It was actually just a room in a house they had dedicated it as a prayer room. They said we would be welcome to come but we would have to come in small groups with no more then five and that we could only come for a few hours at a time or the neighbors would get suspicious. We agreed to come the next to nights. I got to go on the second night and had a great time. It was set up as most traditional prayer rooms are with lots of pillows, bibles, art supplies, music, tea, and had a very welcoming feeling.
    We kept busy during the days, dividing up into groups and going out to pray. We met many interesting people and quickly learned that it was best to go out in the evenings. Many places that appeared to be quiet and have empty streets by day, turned into exciting places as dusk fell. As evening approached vendors would put up stalls and street musicians would appear. Also lots of university students would hang out in the streets and cafes.
                                                      A busy waterside street.

 We never knew what we would see or do on a prayer walk. One day we found this life sized camel.

             Cats would jump out of dumpsters and scare us, but they were always friendly.

     The second Sunday that we were in Ankara we again went to the church. This time one of my team mates was asked to play drums for worship and she happily agreed. We also learned that there was going to be a baptism after the service so we were able to help prepare some food. After church the whole congregation would head to the kitchen for the baptism and then a buffet style meal in celebration. It was great to be able to be a part of the baptism and we had a good time getting to know some different people from church during the meal. We would be leaving the next day so we went home after church to pack and have a final time of prayer for the city as a team. The next day we boarded the bus for a last long ride back to Istanbul were the whole journey had started.