Day 9: Ankara










The first stop on our agenda today was at Tobb University. They have departments for medical science, politics, economics, and engineering. We also got to visit their medical lab. While at Tobb, we also listened to a lecture on Turkey’s political economy followed by lunch!

After lunch, we visited a vet clinic. We found it interesting that students go to vet school right after high school, and that it’s a five year program. The veterinarians who run the clinic also hosted us at our farm visits in the afternoon. Today is my birthday and prior to leaving the clinic, I was surprised with birthday cake and candles! If there’s anything I’ve really noticed that stands out about Turkish citizens, is that they are so welcoming, and hospitality is something they take much pride in.

Our first farm visit was at a 450 head Holstein dairy cow operation. We found dairy operations here are very similar to those in the U.S. While we were headed to our second dairy, which raised and milked Brown Swiss cows, we had some car trouble and broke down in the countryside of Turkey! We were able to call for another van, but I think we all enjoyed having some time outside of the city for the first time since our arrival on May 16th. 

We also went to an Angora goat operation where they have 5,000 animals and is one of the largest breeders in the world. Angora goats are native to this region and are used for wool production. Their wool grows to 25 cm long!

We finished the day with shopping and dinner in Ankara, where we presented our veterinarian hosts with SDSU gifts! We got our hands dirty, learned lots, and had another great day. 

Jaycen Timm



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