After spending a solid three days walking around Istanbul (the first day was just getting lost at the airport, reaching the hotel, and buying a few things to eat), we are heading to the Anatolian Plateau. Today's flight departs Istanbul Airport at 9:20 AM.
However, because it is an incredibly huge airport and I wasn't sure what to expect with Turkish Airlines, I planned to arrive two hours before the flight. Since it would take just under an hour by taxi from Istanbul's old city, we decided to leave the hotel just after 6:00 AM. When we asked for a taxi, the hotel staff kindly prepared a breakfast box for us (breakfast usually starts at 7:00 AM). How grateful I am.
Waiting for the pre-booked taxi. Can you see the breakfast box the hotel prepared sitting on top of the suitcase? They packed two sandwiches made with small rolls, a sweet muffin, an apple, a mandarin orange, and juice (!!!). Seriously, I can't eat that much.I suppose this is a time when the hotel isn't really operating yet. The lights are only on where absolutely necessary. But everything is so beautiful, isn't it?These are furnishings I would never have in my own home, but the sense of unity and elegance is just amazing. Art in the Islamic cultural sphere holds many standards of beauty that I didn't have within me.I suppose this is how a chandelier is meant to be used. (I had only ever thought of them as something unnecessary.)The taxi arrived, so we traveled through a still-dark Istanbul. This is the Sultanahmet Mosque area; I had heard the lighting was beautiful, and it certainly is. (When traveling as a family, we almost never go out at night, so we rarely see things like light-ups.)This terrain, which looks like a river but is actually the sea, is just amazing in so many ways.Probably the Atatürk Bridge.The Galata Tower is also lit up.
By the way, at Turkish airports... there is a security check as soon as you enter the airport (and it wasn't just in Istanbul). You put your luggage directly onto the conveyor belt; there's no need to take anything out, and drinks seem to be fine. I suppose they are checking for firearms.
Basically, since liquids over 30cc are not allowed at security checkpoints in airports around the world today, I ended up having to hurriedly drink the juice from the lunch box I had been given, thinking, 'Wait, a security check already?'
The only information I had about Turkish airports (based on my experience at Istanbul Airport and Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport) was that there are two security checks before boarding.
It's a 1 hour and 15 minute flight from Istanbul Airport to Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport. But they even serve breakfast like this. These sandwiches were delicious, too. Turkish Airlines is amazing.We have entered the Anatolian area. There is snow over there... (~_~;)Wow, it's snow. Why did I end up in such cold weather?When we got off the plane, there was a small airport building under gloomy clouds. It was freezing!!!!
What surprised me was that 70% of the people waiting for their luggage were Japanese!!! Wait, what? Is Cappadocia that popular with Japanese people? For the first time in a while, I had the experience of 'Wow, I can hear Japanese normally at a tourist spot...'
The rental car representative came to pick us up at the airport, and we rode together to the rental car office to complete the paperwork. And the car we rode in at that moment turned out to be the car we were renting for the day (^_^;).We rented the car and headed to Göreme, where our accommodation is. It looks like it will take about 45 minutes. ...The scenery, with 'nothing but grass and trees, and a mesa (table-like plateau) visible in the distance,' looks very familiar... Wait, did we return to Utah??? LolThe landscape has started to change little by little.The Kizilirmak River is quite a large river.There are many holes in the cliffs around the road that look like they could be 'homes'.The way the strata look and the shape of the rocks, hmm, it's incredibly deja vu. Why did we come here to see the same scenery? Haha.The pointed rocks that Cappadocia is known for have started to come into view.The scenery with a light dusting of snow is beautiful. The town of Goreme has come into view.The center of Goreme. There are many shops. It's lunchtime, so shall we have something to eat?Cafe Safak is a restaurant recommended in various guidebooks as a place where 'a local mother serves local dishes.' They originally ran a youth hostel, and when they started serving their specialty dishes to guests, it quickly became popular, and now they even offer cooking classes where you can learn the cuisine of this area.Since it's cold, we got a pot of tea.Several spices are brought out so you can adjust the flavor to your liking.This is a lamb kebab sandwich.A local pancake. It also had minced meat and cheese in it, so it was quite filling.This is a 'gratin,' one of the local specialties.The item made with flour dough (it feels like a flour version of gnocchi) also had some minced meat mixed in. It is topped with a yogurt-based sauce and a red sauce (oil, chili peppers, and... maybe dried paprika?).Now that we're full, let's head to the hotel for now. Since it's a small town, we'll be in trouble if we don't check where to park.The hotel is Arif Cave Hotel. The photo is the entrance to a simple trail leading to a viewpoint (taken from Google Maps), but the hotel is a little further up. Entering past this gate is normally paid, but if you say you are staying at Arif Hotel, they will let you through.A family room with four single beds. There are all sorts of cute designs on the walls. Cave hotels are basically the mainstream in this area. It's a nice vibe.The view from just above the hotel. It's like a fairy kingdom.
Once we drop off our luggage, let's head out for some sightseeing! I want to go to the 'Goreme Open Air Museum' nearby, and if there's time, 'Uchisar Castle'.
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By the way, at Istanbul International Airport, we noticed, 'Huh? Yesterday, something serious is happening, right?' (↑ The link is to NHK News).
At this time, the protests had just begun, and I only had a vague awareness that places like Taksim Square, which I had visited the other day, were in a difficult situation. However, I vaguely thought that this country has many people who have a consciousness of building a nation and who think of politics as something close to them (partly because I had just studied history).
So, I found this video. As a world history teacher, he summarizes the main points (no, really important points) in an easy-to-understand way. You can see that the temperature difference between urban areas and the countryside like Anatolia, which I was visiting at the time, regarding their awareness, willingness to accept things, and the feeling that it is 'okay not to know' what is happening, is by no means unique to Turkey. Since I was in Turkey at just this time, I would like everyone to know about it and think about it a little. There were people who were made to follow those who pursued the interests of a few, centered on a person called the Sultan for a very long time. In that history, there were people who stood up and tried to protect the ideals of the person who was even called the father of the country. Among them, I like the people of this country who are all thinking about how to get closest to the ideal.
It is 45 minutes long, but you can hear it well enough at 1.5x speed, so please watch it.
サポート戴けるのはすっごくうれしいです。自分の「書くこと」を磨く励みにします。また、私からも他の素敵な作品へのサポートとして還元させてまいります。