Haci Bektas Veli and the Japanese

25/09/2021

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by Mahmut Övür, Columnist

15.10.2017

The previous day, I attended the opening of the Department of Japanese Language and Literature at Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University.

Despite all the troubled political processes surrounding us, good and different things are being done in this land that will enable us to breathe and understand what is going on.

A serious effort is being made to convey the philosophy of Hacı Bektaş Veli, which makes these lands meaningful and rich, today and tomorrow, and to bring them together with the Japanese and other peoples who have been flocking to Cappadocia for years from the other side of the world.

One of those efforts is the opening of the Department of Japanese Language and Literature.

Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University Rector Prof. Dr. Mazhar Bağlı invited myself for the opening occasion.

Cappadocia is known to the world as a natural wonder, but interestingly, the Japanese show the most attention. When my journalist friend Hıdır Geviş shared the images about the opening on social media, we encountered an interesting curiosity.

Why do the Japanese prefer Cappadocia?

The most interesting comment came from our friend Erol Göka;

“Japanese, without seeing the middle of the country they visited (which is Cappadocia) according to their beliefs, their visit would be incomplete”

I asked this comment to those who attended the opening and did academic studies on Japan. They attribute this interest to the Japanese love of Cappadocia and their voluntary promotion.

A similar situation is being said for the South Koreans, whose number has been increasing recently.

Whatever the reason, the Japanese do not leave Cappadocia alone with at least 500 thousand visitors a year, even in the most difficult times.
In the past, it even went up to 3 million…
Therefore, it is a good decision to open the Department of Japanese Language and Literature in Nevşehir.

Now it’s time to take this interest one step further and bring it together with the philosophy of Hacı Bektaş Veli, who gave the university its name…