Don't know what to do with myself by mattkrause1969

Last night, after a full day walking 40 kilometers (25 miles), double my usual, I rolled into the town of Beysehir, population 40,000. My back and hips were cramping up bad from all that walking. God only knows what possessed me to try to cram two days of walking into one.

The first hotel I went to was full. The manager there drove me across town to the Ogretmen Evi (Teacher House).

In Turkey most towns over 15,000 people have an Ogretmen Evi. An Ogretmen Evi is a government-run hotel officially for teachers only, but each property’s manager defines "teacher" differently, and last night, fortunately for me, the manager of this property defined "teacher" as "anyone who needs a room."

Ogretmen Evis tend to be a little bit on the spartan side. Concrete walls, cement or hard-tile floors, dark hallways, etc. They also tend to be on the cheap side, price-wise.

This particular Ogretmen Evi was also full. Almost, that is. They did have one room left, the suite with lake view, which, since it was late and the place was full otherwise, the very nice and accommodating manager saw fit to give to me for the regular room price.

This suite has two rooms, two overstuffed couches, a queen-sized bed, chairs all over the place, more drawers and chests than you can shake a stick at, and a bathroom with a sunken, full-sized bathtub. Breakfast is included.

Twenty-four hours ago I was camping in the dirt in a pear orchard by the side of the road.