Project meeting in Samsun, Turkey

~the 3rd to the 9^th of October, 2011~

 To accomplish the fourth working visit the participants of the project were invited by the school from the city of Samsun, which is situated on the north coast of Turkey. The main objectives were: an art exhibition concerning global warming issues, bird watching,a presentation of clothes prepared from recycled materials and presentation of natural beauties.

Another interesting point of the visit was a display of cultural corners of the countries during which the students introduced some interesting information about traditional cuisine, clothes, history and industry. The guests had a possibility to taste some delicious things from all parts of Europe and that particular part of Asia. To prepare clothes students used miscellaneous materials like plastic bottles, bags and cups, newspapers. During the trip to the nature reserve we could peek the wildlife and find out a lot about the way how the government manages to protect it. In the evening students presented natural gems of their regions. Afterwards we could compare which species are common for all the countries and which are typical for each region.

Between workshops we visited Sinop, the place where a Greek philosopher known as Diogenes the Cynic was born. Students and teachers paid a visit to a museum where we could see how people lived some time ago. The next place we visited was a former prison where an exhibition of modern art was held. By sheer coincidence in the prison an international conference took place. It focused on a wide variety of topics related to the Black Sea Regional culture.

We also visited the town and province of Amasya, which stands in a steep valley, one of the scientific and cultural locations in Ottoman period. In that sublime city we also visited main historical and cultural sights.

            One of the points of our visit in Samsun was a meeting with the local educational authorities where we shared our thoughts on some education matters. The Turkish teachers also organized a meeting where we shared some educational experience. While sightseeing the city of Samsun we also saw replica of the ferry SS Bandirma, which carried Atatürk from Istanbul and arrived in Samsun on May 19th 1919, the date which traditionally marks the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence. What is interesting Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was born in Thessaloniki – the partner city in our project.

Students were glad to see a zoo where they could see a lot of animals which are endangered species. Amisos Hill was the next point during our quest through Samsun. Among other things the hill reveals monumental tombs from Hellenistic period from the reign of Mithridates dynasty. One evening we were invited to the university where we took part in a lesson in an observatory, in a captivating multimedia lecture.

The students and the teachers will remember their stay in that oriental part of the world for a long time. The hospitality of the Turkish families was incredible. Unforgettable evenings with Turkish culture will stay in our memories forever. The children as well as adults did not want to leave Samsun. Fortunately there were still two visits left. This unknown part of Turkey should be promoted in Europe equally to other regions as it hides a lot of amazing cultural places and warm-hearted people.