Fifth Journey Day 126: Children’s Shouts at a Distance

"Children’s Shouts at a Distance" — Bright echoes rise to the old walls while the plateau light sharpens every edge.

Date: September 11, 2025
Location: Erzurum, Turkey

High on the citadel of Erzurum, in eastern Turkey, the air feels lifted by the Anatolian plateau—dry, cool, and startlingly clear. Fortified walls from Seljuk and Ottoman centuries hold a wide view of mountains and steppe, where light exposes every contour and a steady breeze threads the day.

Climbing the Citadel Walls

This afternoon, I walked up to the citadel and along the old city walls. The climb wasn't too steep, but I felt the altitude with each step. I felt light and free, but also a little unstable. The stone under my feet was uneven, and it felt like it had been there for centuries. I noticed how the color of the stone changed as the sun moved across it — from black to deep gray to a warm brown.

Edges in Clear Mountain Light

The city spread out below, flat in some areas and rolling in others, with mountains on all sides. The light here is bright and clear, with little to no haze. It makes the edges clearer, but it also feels exposed, as if everything must reveal its exact form. I stood for a while, looking out at the horizon, feeling the wind on my skin. I could hear the sound of the wind, but I could not hear anyone.

Children’s Shouts, Stone’s Patience

The sounds of children playing came from below, but up high, it was mostly quiet. The emptiness was not heavy; it was more like a pause stretched wide, allowing me to notice how the patterns of lichen clung to stone, or how small tufts of grass found shelter in cracks. These small, attentive details felt more important than the big picture.

From Walls to Alleys

I left slowly, following the wall until it went down towards the narrow streets. The air grew warmer, and the smell of grilled meat from a nearby stall filled the air. The change from an open space to the close feel of an alleyway felt like a change in rhythm — wide to narrow, wind to smoke.

Evening: Grounded and Unsettled

Tonight, I feel both grounded and unsettled. The stone and the clear air made it feel grounded. The horizon made it feel wide and open. I'm worried that this clarity might require more of me than I can give. Even so, I am thankful for the light that made the lines stand out more today.

Travel Notes

• Weather: Clear skies with thin high clouds; cool, dry 16°C; steady mountain breeze that sharpens light and cools the skin at altitude.
• Scents: Grilled meat and drifting smoke near the alleys; warm dust and sun-struck stone along the walls.
• Sounds: Wind pressing at the ears; faint children’s shouts from below, quickly thinned by distance; otherwise a bright, carrying quiet.
• Reflection: Clarity can feel like a demand, but it also gifts precision—lichen, cracks, horizons—each line asking to be seen.

Continue the Journey

You may also enjoy another moment from Turkey in Fourth Journey Day 157: Market Fragments from Istanbul—crowded textures to balance today’s wide air.