A red car stopped at the roadside.
When I waved, they waved back. A person I hadn't seen in seven years was standing right in front of me.
From Eskişehir to Ankara, by YHT (high-speed train)
At 8:30 a.m. I checked out of the hostel and walked toward the station.
I really liked Eskişehir. Maybe because it was early in the morning, there were few people around; it was quiet and clear. It felt good just to walk. I felt like I was able to properly say goodbye to one of my favorite towns.
To Ankara by YHT (high-speed train). One and a half hours.
When I sat in a face-to-face seat, I noticed that seat reservations on Turkish trains are separated into 'men's seats' and 'women's seats.' I thought it was out of consideration for Muslims. For some reason I felt a little hesitant to choose a seat next to a woman. It was a strange experience.
On the metro, I met Berkay and the others.
I arrived at Ankara Station. A grand stone-built station. It felt very much like a capital.
When I was about to pass through the gate to take the subway to the hostel, a Turkish couple next to me spoke to me. "Today is a holiday, so the metro and buses are all free," they said. They asked where I was going; when I told them the nearest station to the hostel, they said they were going the same way and suggested we go together.
His name was Berkay. He works as a server security engineer at a bank. His girlfriend is also a security engineer. While waiting for the train, we sat on a bench and talked about many things. Berkay spoke slowly and was calm. When they were together, you could naturally tell that their hearts were in sync.
Even after I got off, they guided me to the bus stop. They waited with me until the bus came, and just before I boarded, I realized that Berkay had paid the bus fare, saying this bus required payment.
Within thirty minutes of arriving in Ankara.
Seven years later, Nihat's red car.
After taking a short nap, I left the hostel.
The real reason I came to Ankara today was to meet Nihat. We first met in 2019 at a short training program in Russia. While everyone else stuck together with other Japanese people, I really wanted to make friends from abroad, so I went over to talk to him who was nearby. My English at the time was terrible and I could barely understand what he was saying. Still, we took a photo together and exchanged Facebook. It was probably about five minutes.
Seven years passed and we hardly kept in touch. But when I learned he was in Ankara, I changed my plans on short notice to come and see him.
A red car stopped at the roadside. When I waved, they waved back. That moment was special.
I shook his hand and told him, 'You were the first foreign friend I ever had.'
A Turkish breakfast that filled the table.
We drove to a cafe.
Nihat ordered, without even looking at the menu, 'Turkish breakfast, please.' While I couldn't imagine what would come, plates were brought out one after another.
Bread, butter, two kinds of jam. Scrambled eggs and ham. French fries. A mountain of cheese. Condensed milk. Olives. Tomato salad. Chai. There was enough to cover the table. I thought it was like a British afternoon tea.
The table disappeared.
We talked for about an hour. Nihat is a nationalist and seems to love Turkey more with each passing year. He's a history buff and, spreading out a map, taught me about the Ottoman and Byzantine empires. The stories you hear in Armenia and in Turkey are, of course, somewhat different. But I think the interesting thing about travel is being able to hear both side by side.
At the end, Nihat paid by card. While he went to the restroom, I happened to glance at the receipt. 1,980 lira (about 7,000 yen). 3,500 yen per person. While thinking it was too expensive, I was full of gratitude.
A shopping mall and a time filled with Turkish conversations.
From 4:00 p.m., I met up with two of Nihat's friends and we went to a cafe in the shopping mall. Four of us in total.
The two friends were shy and looked away as soon as our eyes met. Amid the flurry of Turkish conversation, I just listened.
When you're in a circle where you don't understand the language, your mind goes into rest mode. It's similar to meditation. You don't think about anything; you just take it in as sound. There's no pressure to speak. That, surprisingly, felt pleasant.
A local eatery and Ankara at night.
After Nihat saw me off, I returned to the hostel and went out for dinner alone.
A nearby local eatery. Chicken rice, bean soup, tomato salad. The uncle there was kind and, when he realized I was Japanese, he spoke to me with great curiosity. The Turkish man sitting next to me said at the end, 'Enjoy your travel.'
I felt like people would come closer if I stayed as I was.
After eating, I walked alone through downtown Ankara. It was crowded and lively. Nightclubs, live shows, lines of young people. But no one paid any attention to me as a foreigner. I really liked that atmosphere.
Back at the hostel, I opened my notebook.
There was a message Nihat had written for me. It was a day in which seven years were condensed into one.
