Part 2 in Erkan?s adventures to go to Finland. Day 1.

… the ordeal began with the fact all State institutions in this summer seem to be under construction. In order to renew your passport, you need to go to Police Station but the one which is in the neighbourhood which is in walking distance is under repairs, so you need to drive to the new place which is close Istanbul Atatürk Airport. Well, ok, that is doable.

During the new passport application, you wonder if there is an emergency case, you can get the passport quicker. They tell you- which is not explicitly stated in the online appointment page- that if you have an invitation letter or a plane ticket, you can fill in a form and it might be quicker. When you state you actually have an invitation letter, the glorious Turkish State passport official cannot accept that if it is in English. It has to be officially translated and there is not a translation office nearby and you plan to come later to fill in the emergency form.

or you buy the plane ticket which seems to be practical. ONLY  you learn that the ticket should be bought before the passport application. And there is no guarantee that a translated invitation letter can actually work and in the mean time, you have driven to the same police station for 4 times already. It is all arbitrary, it is verbal, there is no guarantee of getting your passport. And at that stage I nearly quit but still hoping to get it soon and a week before the event I had to inform Kai that it is nearly impossible to attend the event.

However, yesterday (8 August) I got an SMS message from the Postal Service. That my passport is on its way. Despite some calls and online tracking I could not find exactly where the passport actually is. Still I wrote to Finnish consulate and unlike my own country’s institutions, they intend to be helpful. However, the official Finnish consulate is in Ankara, so i have to go to Ankara. BUT of course I have to get my passport still!

So this morning (9 August), by actually going to central postal distribution center in Topkapı, Istanbul, the passport will probably arrive at 14 at the Bahçelievler Post Office. HOWEVER this post office is also under repairs and I have to drive to BAHÇEŞEHİR for the temporary office. I now wait in a mall, a coffeehouse writing this and responding my mails. Internet connection is not good today- yes, like the weather, our connection level changes day to day. I had to switch to my mobile phone’s internet connection, which probably costs more than usual. I will try to get my passport in 2 hours. I feel like a hunter chasing for the hunt and I am definitely not happy to be a Turkish citizen. Unfortunately, we are born to this life, to this citizenship.  Trying to survive under a State which pretends to be modern but has no respect for her ordinary citizens…

let’s see how it goes, and i will let you know about the developments;)

to be continued