The Rails Back to Istanbul

The journey out of Tbilisi, was on rail at eleven at night headed to Batumi, Georgia. The train departed and arrvied without any problems. With sunrise, we had arrived at the Black Sea. The city of Batumi has a lot of character. It has a large port and a backdrop of high mountain tops. The time I spent in Batumi was spent wondering around the city.
There is a beautiful boulevard that meets the sea and heads into the city center. This street is covered in sculptures, fountains, and citizens enjoying the sunny afternoon. Well, that is all I can say about Georgia. It was a wonderful week of discovering a new place, but alas, it was time to head back to Turkey.
On our way back to Istanbul, we made a stop in Ankara, the capital of the country. This city was expanded very quickly as Ataturk rose to power in the 1920's. Ankara is beautiful city and much more interesting than I thought. I was expecting an industrial city, built around the political center. We went to the Ataturk Mausoleum to see what all good Turks should go to see in their life.
It was built to resemble an Egyptian Temple. It was more impressive than I was expecting. Many people were in the museum. The day was quite enjoyable and at night we jumped aboard the night train back to Istanbul. Here I sit, back in Istanbul starting to pack up my things to head back to California. It will have to be very strategic packing!