After 13 hours of travelling the Finns arrived in Gaziantep after midnight. Mr Erdem and Mr Tasman were waiting at the airport for our group. The accommodation was, to our delight, at their homes.
In the morning, after a refreshing shower, we were served a delicious Turkish breakfast. We got to taste traditional family Sunday breakfast. One delicacy was the pistachio pastry which is served on Sunday mornings only in Gaziantep. It was very rich so one would need to exercise for half an hour.
Mr Erdem has three sons and a friendly, hospitable wife. The family lives in a new block of flats. There were several large rooms and two bathrooms and a modern kitchen.
In the afternoon Yunus and Mehmet Emin and his family were kind enough to take us sightseeing before going to huge mall called Sanko Park. There we were able to buy quality products. Next to the mall there was a great park. We saw skilful roller-skaters. They were also keen on making contact with us. Janne’s hobby as photographer was noticed by a crowd of young people.
The Plaza hotel was to be our home for the coming week. The rooms were large and the beds were great. We had dinner at the restaurant and we enjoyed mixed grill and twist of angels’ hair.
On Monday at noon Yunus came to pick us up for a trip to the local bazaar. We were able to watch various craftsmen at their work e.g. a coppersmith. We enjoyed narrow paths, the atmosphere and the busy trade. We visited a shoemaker’s shop and bought ourselves absolutely fabulous lambskin Yemeni shoes. We had lunch among ordinary Turkish people in a place where it was also possible to have a moment for peace and prayer.
After this exciting trip we went to our host’s school. Mr Mehmet Emin Erdem was to be found in his pleasant office where we had tea whilst he explained about his school. Mr Erdem took us kindly around the vast school where there are 2860 pupils and 86 teachers. Mr Erdem is the head of the whole school with five deputy principals.
The children were enthusiastic about our presence and greeted us warmly, sang songs and practised their English with us. We were able to meet the teachers too in their lounge. The male teachers look really good with their suits on. Matron brought everyone refreshing tea and biscuits. The teachers asked many interesting questions on topics such as welfare, educational questions and teachers’ salaries.
The English were coming to the airport and we wanted to come along with the bus and welcome them. They were a happy lot. The Slovaks arrived some hours later. We all had dinner together and chatted a long time. On the whole it was a perfect start for the Turkish week. Only the Czechs had yet to arrive……
