Questions & Answers about Otel havaalanına çok yakın.
If we are learning nereye (where to) and nereden (where from), which one do I use to ask 'Where is the hotel close to?'
You would use nereye. In English we say close to a place, and Turkish does the same by adding the 'to' direction suffix (-e or -a) to the location. Because the answer requires that 'to' suffix, the question word must also have it: Otel nereye yakın? (Literally: 'To where is the hotel close?').
Why is there an n in havaalanına before the final -a? Shouldn't the buffer letter for the 'to' direction be y?
Normally, yes! If a basic word ends in a vowel, you use the buffer y before adding -e or -a (like bankaya = to the bank). However, havaalanı (airport) is a compound noun made of two words: hava (air) and alan (field). When a compound noun ends in a joining vowel (the -ı at the end of havaalanı), Turkish strictly uses the buffer n instead of y before adding direction words.
Why is the 'to' suffix attached to the airport instead of the word for 'close'?
In Turkish, suffixes attach directly to the noun they modify, acting like English prepositions (to, in, on, from). Since the hotel is close to the airport, the 'to' suffix goes exactly where it belongs—on the airport (havaalanına). The adjective yakın (close) just sits at the end of the sentence.