How to obtain an Uzbekistan visa in Ankara: And how not to obtain a Kazakhstan visa in Ankara

February 13, 2014

The rest of the ride to Ankara was a little uneventful as the scenery became slightly subdued and the only thing of note was a gnarly steep climb through the town of Ayas.

The ride into Ankara wasn't much fun either. Having found an easy way into and out of Istanbul I was a little complacent in not researching my way into Ankara and just followed the road that I was on. To be honest I doubt there is an easy way anyway. The road I was on grew to a busy six-lane highway with little or no shoulder, no sidewalk, and traffic constantly entering and exiting from other roads and gas stations and things. But before long I came across a solution that would ensure my safety. I found a big orange road-sweeping dust cart that was driving along slowly, cleaning up the side of the road. It had a big orange flashing light and a big orange arrow directing cars to move around it. Deciding that this would make an excellent escort vehicle for me I fell in behind it and followed it closely. And it did indeed make life much safer for me as all the traffic went around it giving me lots of space, and to be honest the only real downside of the whole thing was that I got completely covered in dust and probably now have the lungs of a twenty-a-day smoker.

This was a different road sweeping truck that I passed later when I was cycling on the pavement, but it was basically the same as the one I followed

I didn't use my escort vehicle for more than a couple of kilometres as it was too slow but it got me through the worst of the roads and soon a sidewalk started which I cycled on the rest of the way. The traffic was really terrible, but the city seemed relatively nice, in the sense that the apartment blocks looked well-maintained and as I got closer to the city I saw quite a few parks that I could cycle through. The best of these was Genclik Park, close to the centre. It was dark by the time I arrived here and the park was all lit up with very cool green and pink lights. Here I sat for a while because my host Burcu was not going to be home from work until half seven. At that time I went and met her and her boyfriend, Cem, and we had dinner together before I collapsed in bed.

The next morning it was on with the visa mission. It was Friday and my plan had been to go to the Kazakhstan embassy first because it opened from 9-12 and then to the Uzbekistan embassy which opened 10-5. However, I changed my mind at the last minute when I realised that the Kazakhstan one would probably need to keep my passport, so I had to go to the Uzbekistan one first, which wouldn't. All of which was further complicated by the locations of the embassies. I was sure that I had read somewhere that all of the embassies were close to the centre, which was one of the reasons that I chose to get these visas in Ankara. However, this information proved calamitously inaccurate, with the Kazakhstan embassy eleven kilometres away on the edge of the city, and the Uzbekistan embassy also a frustrating seven kilometres from the centre. All of which was complicated even further by my refusal to use motorised transport and the fact that I didn't particularly want to cycle in this city, which is incidently the least bike-friendly place in the world.

So with all these complications my new plan was to walk to the Uzbekistan embassy and apply for that visa on the Friday, and then find a way to go to the Kazakhstan embassy on Monday. As I walked I got to see more of Ankara. It is a modern city, built specifically to be the capital, and is filled with governmental buildings and embassies. Half of the buildings seemed to be surrounded by high fences with barbed wire and heavily guarded. The roads were wide but filled with cars and everything was designed for the motor car, making even walking a dangerous and difficult activity at times. I literally had to risk my life several times just to cross the street. The streets were also lacking in the vibrancy of Istanbul's, with people simply going quietly about their business. Ankara could hardly have been more different from Istanbul, a fact I reflected on as I watched diplomats and their entourage being driven around in dark Mercedes with police escorts.

I walked past the Italian embassy, the Indian embassy, the Canadian embassy, the Afghanistan embassy. All very lovely places to go I'm sure, but not on my immmediate schedule. Eventually I arrived at the Uzbekistan embassy at around half past ten. There was a side gate and a sign which seemed to suggest that I should go here for consular services, so I rang the bell and the gate automatically unlocked. Down a short path I opened a door and found a tiny little empty room with a woman sitting behind a counter. Although she spoke little English I handed her the application form that I had finally managed to fill in online and print off, a copy of my passport, and one passport photo. She asked me to take a seat and a few moments later a man who could speak English replaced her at the counter. He asked me if I would be in Ankara for ten days and then told me my visa would be ready on the 26th.

'The 26th! Are you serious?! That's not ten days, that's twelve days! TWELVE DAYS! In this horrible city! TWELVE DAYS! The Tajikistan guy did it in twelve minutes, what do you need twelve days for?!'

Fortunately I did not verbalise any of this internal turmoil, and instead smiled and asked, "Can't you do it a bit quicker please?"

The man shook his head and pointed at the date I had put on the application, "But you don't need it until May?"

"I know, but I need to leave Ankara. It's not really my kind of city. Surely you can do it a bit quicker? Please?"

He turned and spoke with another, older, man who walked over to a calender and pointed at the 21st of February. The younger man came back and said with a smile, "Come back on the 21st, your visa will be ready."

I was relieved that it was only going to take a week. I asked if he wanted any money and he said that I would pay when I collected my visa. The whole process had taken about ten minutes, nobody had even looked at my passport. Because it had been so quick I realised as I walked out that I might still have time to get to the Kazakhstan embassy before it closed at midday and if it was as easy as this then maybe I could get my application for that one in too. So I started walking the five kilometres that I had to go, but it was up a very steep hill. Ankara is kind of in a bowl valley and because this embassy was on the edge of the city, it was at the top of the bowl. I got some nice views of the city at least, and even a snow-peaked mountain outisde of the city. What I didn't get a view of was the Kazakhstan embassy itself, because as time went on I gradually realised that I wasn't going to make it on time and then I made a wrong turn and gave up, leaving me just the ten kilometres to walk back to my hosts house. By the time I had done that I had walked a good twenty kilometres and once again I was ready to collapse in bed! Getting the ruddy visas was proving so much more hard work than simply cycling all day!

Looking down towards the centre of the city

Today's ride: 98 km (61 miles)
Total: 13,692 km (8,503 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	4
Comment on this entry	Comment	0