ALİ DAĞI - DISCOVER KAYSERİ

If you are from Kayseri, you've most certainly heared about Ali Dağı, but probably never visited it - for some reason, it seems like the nice people of this city, especially the youngsters, prefer to hang out in commercial centers, rather than to explore nature (but maybe that's about to change ;)).

Since i got here, I kept asking "Where are the trees and the birds and the bees?" - there were no bees, I can tell you that much (it's winter, after all) and, as far as I can remember, there was only one pigeon surveiling the airspace, and even that one seemed to be lost, whereas for trees... no secular woods here; still, I promise you, it is well worth climbing to the top, the good, old Ali will reward its hikers with a bewildering view of Mount Erciyes and of the surrounding hills.

A LEAP in TIME

It’s a beautiful December morning, the air is filled with possibility, one of those rare days in which you feel glad to be alive; it’s actually the 25th but, as Christmas is not celebrated here, I’m off to visit the Museum of Seljuk Civilization. The museum is located in the city center, in the Mimar Sinan Park, making it very easy to spot.
I find myself in front of an un-impressive, grey building, a complex dating from the 13th century, comprising of two attached buildings: a hospital and a medical school (medrese), named after the princess of the Sultanate of Rum, Gevher Nesibe. What stands out are probably the two portals that facilitate the entrance to the two adjoining buildings, constructed in granite stone, typical for Seljuk architecture.

My first impressions of Kayseri...

I got here five days ago, but somehow it seems longer, and I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just that so many things have happened these past few days that time seems to have expanded (contrary to the scientific allegations) - visits to authorities, awesome meals, a paper plane contest, sight seeing through the city... so much to learn, so much to discover!
OK, so maybe this is not the most "exotic" place to be, but for me, having met so many wonderful people has got me thinking that maybe, just maybe, 6 months (the period that I'm supposed to spend here) it's not such a long time after all. You don't need me to tell you about traditions, weather, geography, food, religion, touristic attractions, the fact that you won't be able to have a beer in town (except for some hotels, maybe) or get along with locals because of the language barrier, as only a handful of them speak, let's say, English, nor about the huge smog that has come to be an inherent part of the scenery, you can google it yourself.