Saturday

Saturday began in a very leisurely way - some people went out to the shops or to the bazaar whilst others just chilled in the hotel. Eventually we were loaded into the coach again and this time we were on our way to a formal lunch as guests of the brother of the Mete Uygun school benefactor. Mr Uygun was a businessman who studied business in England and who now runs a fabric factory in or near to Gaziantep. Some of his customers are high street names in the UK.











The meal was in a hotel restaurant. The waiters were very friendly and they entertained the children during the long wait to be served. We were very grateful and all would like to thank Mr Uygun for his generosity.

When all were fed and watered it was time to take the coach out of the city again and this time we turned off the road at the foot of a small hill which was covered with a forest of Turkish pine trees.











The coach had to negotiate several hairpin bends before reaching the top of the hill. At the top was a popular picnic and play area with fine panoramic views over the surrounding countryside. We stopped to take in the scenery and to relax a while before returning to our hotel.

Friday

On Friday morning we left the hotel at a reasonable hour and boarded the coach for the short drive through Gaziantep and out into the suburbs and the surrounding countryside.



As we neared Gaziantep Zoo the countryside suddenly became a lush green colour. Clearly a lot of effort was being put in to maintaining a very large expanse of grass.

It was still early in the day for the zoo so we were allowed through the gates with no hassle at all. After an hour or so walking around, the sun was beginning to climb high in the sky. Humans and some other animals dived for the shade but there were plenty of animals, like this lioness, enjoying the heat.














Human beings saved from extinction by specially shaded enclosures at Gaziantep Zoo.

After the zoo we drove back into Gaziantep where we were lunch guests of the municipality at the Civic Centre. Here we ate in the canteen. Food was served on individual trays. Each tray had several indentations pressed into it and the different courses could be kept separate. The meal was very enjoyable. Thank you Gaziantep city council!















After lunch we made a 'whistle stop' at a small, but very interesting museum of culture and local history. Here were exhibits displaying all of the famous local crafts, such as weaving, mother of pearl inlaying, copper and pewter decorating, Yemeni shoe making and so on.











Later in the day we were able to find all these things for sale in the bazaars.

On leaving the museum we were joined by a representative of the city tourism section and he showed us around the new botanic gardens.

It was obvious that the plantings were all new and that they would have a good few years of growing to do before the gardens would be looking at their best. Nonetheless it was a pleasant spot to stroll through and we enjoyed watching butterflies and hummingbird hawk moths visiting flowers to the sound of the nearby water fountains. Staff at the gardens were handing out bottles of water to the hot and thirsty visitors. Actually we felt some rain as we were leaving. Several drops in fact! However, it was only playing with us and the sun quickly regained the upper hand.















Later that afternoon, after we had been returned to our hotel, we were transferred by car to the area of the city where the most popular bazaars are to be found.











Walking through the narrow lanes of the bazaars was a noisy affair with the 'tap-tap' of metal workers and the sound of people and traffic outside. We saw all of the local crafts on sale and some of the children were keen to show off their bargaining skills.











In the centre of the noisy bazaar was a beautiful, tranquil courtyard with white-painted walls and bright red rugs. The walls were hung with local copper and pewter pots, Yemeni slippers and other locally-made objects. Under a central, shaded area there were low tables with bubble-pipes, everything red with rugs.

Fantastic!

Thursday

When we woke up in the morning we didn’t expect how wonderful day is going to happen.
Our journey was leading to HALFETI town.
We left the hotel at 9 o’clock and the journey to HALFETI was taking two hours. During the journey we could see the surrounding. We were surprised by the soil that was dried with big stones, pistachios and olives trees. When we were travelling we stopped at the place called BIRECIK for a very short time to see a kind of bird called a bald ibis. Typical feature for them is that they’re bald and they live only six months in cages, next six months they spend in the nature. They’re similar to pigeons in that they have a homing instinct and there are only 103 birds in Turkey.
After the two hours journey we got to HALFETI town. It’s a town near Euphrates river. It’s very old and on the other side of Euphrates, there is RUMKALE, a castle which is near to HALFETI.
We were on the cruise on the lake under which there was an old town. Seven years ago this town was flooded and all the people had to move to their new houses.
Our next stop was in SANLIURFA. This town is 250 km from Gaziantep. We had lunch there and after that we were walking up the castle and then stayed there to see an incredibly beautiful view of this town. Very nice experience for us was to see the mosque and Muslims believers praying in their church. It was built on a place where the prophet Abraham was born. The next interesting thing was the lake full of fish. People believe that they’re holy and if they eat them they may die. After the day full of experiences we’re looking forward for another day because we never know what is going to bring us.

Wednesday

After a long sleep we had a delicious breakfast. As every day the tables were perfectly set and covered with a huge variety of foods. The children have hardly ever seen such amount of goodies.

….an enjoyable moment in front of our luxury hotel. We are waiting for the bus taking us to a private school.

Cahit Nakıboğlu Private School – main entrance

We were amazed by school’s spacious meeting room which looked like a cinema. What came afterwards was almost breathtaking. Traditional Turkish songs interpreted by both the pupils and their teachers were an unforgettable experience for everybody.

The school we were privileged to visit was equipped in an extremely advanced way. Remarkable notices in English spread all over the school attracted not only us teachers but also children.

…no wonder children like coming here. Comfortable desks, chairs…in general pleasant school environment.

While the children were enjoying their time in the school gym,

the teachers were holding a Project conference. We went through the future project assignments and planned next meeting in the Czech Republic in May 2010.

In the evening we were kindly invited to a café for delicious Turkish ice-cream by our host friends Mehmed and Yunus.

Tuesday

The first official project day began with breakfast together in the hotel. We were then warmly greeted by four old friends; the Turkish children who went to Finland were waiting outside to escort us on our incredible journey, as the day turned out to be.

A short walk from the hotel, along the tree-lined streets sometimes loud with the sound of traffic, we found ourselves outside Gaziantep museum. More exciting though for our young guides was the presence of the football stadium opposite!

The museum contained many artefacts from different eras, ranging from the prehistoric up to the early Islamic period. Most spectacular were the many Roman mosaics on display.

Much more could be written about the museum visit but it would take a week to write it all up – so we will move on.

Lunch was very special this day as we were invited to a restaurant by the Chief Education Officer for the whole of Gaziantep (1.5 million population). The food was very good but the innocent-looking roasted green pepper should have come with a warning label. They were not the sweet variety that we Europeans are used to! More water please!!!

After lunch we walked further along until we came to the ruined castle which stands on a small hill in the centre of Gaziantep.

Unfortunately much of the castle was closed due to the ongoing restoration work. However, we did manage to visit one side of it and we were able to enter its stone corridors, bedecked with exhibits and video screens depicting the struggle for Turkish independence and the end of the Ottoman era. The walk up to the entrance was full of modern cast statues, also depicting the struggle for independence. The British occupation after the end of the First World War and the ensuing French forces in the city will never be forgotten here. The Armenian question remains unanswered, except to say “This is Turkey and we are proud to be Turkish!”

Those who lost their lives at the hands of the foreign troops are spoken of as martyrs. They are venerated and they certainly will live on forever in the hearts of the people.

The streets around the castle were alive to the sounds of hammering. Artisans were on the street outside their workshops applying intricate designs to copper and pewter vessels of all shapes and sizes.

People were pushing carts laden with fruit and vegetables, an old tractor puttered past pulling a trailer laden with water melons, several small shops had spices and selections of dried produce such as nuts, seeds, lentils, dried fruit and dried vegetables.

We were shown into another small museum with displays covering the subject of Turkish and local cuisine. Despite being full from lunch it was not difficult to start to feel hungry again. It was like being inside one of the best cookery books in the world! Time to move on.

Just before we were shown onto a coach for the next part of the day the females of the party were shown into some old public baths near the foot of the castle. Today was “ladies day” at the baths so the men had to stay outside and admire the small patch of green grass which was kept alive by the application of water at regular intervals. Needless to say it was frowned upon to walk on the grass.

The coach took us some distance away in the city to our goal – our host school. The school is in a rundown part of the town which is inhabited by some of the poorest people. The short walk from the coach stop past about 100 m of residential housing was one of the most culturally surprising aspects of the visit so far. The local population, mainly female and infants dressed in headscarves and wearing gypsy-style dresses, crowded the doorways or stepped out onto the street. As the walls of the school came into view a loud rhythmic banging started up, along with a deafening noise of human cheering and shouting. What was happening? The answer was waiting round the corner as the high wall ended in the school gates and we walked in. Hundreds of small children were crowded together in front of the school building jumping up and down to the rhythm of a big bass drum. A piper was playing a scream pipe but we couldn’t hear it above the noise. Every small child wanted to shake our hands and to say something in English. After about 500 handshakes it became apparent that some of the children were coming several times over. Their enthusiasm overwhelmed us.

Eventually we, and the contents of the school yard, entered the building. Local pupils went to their classrooms and we were shown into the staffroom where the local teachers had prepared drinks and sweet treats for their guests.
Some classrooms were visited and the reception class were engaged in one of their favourite games of “stand up, sit down”.

The walk back to the bus was met with just as much curiosity as had been our arrival, maybe not as noisy though.

Some notable remarks of the day:

For much of the day our group was accompanied by a civil police officer who had been hired to deal with any possible problems which we might have had with the local population. It is now apparent that we must be the only European visitors ever to have visited Gaziantep and we have been given the status of celebrities. The guard at the school gates had to close them quickly behind us to prevent the curious local inhabitants from following us inside the school compound. We were often having English spoken to us as we walked past people, although it appears that very little is spoken in the town. Everywhere the people have been very warm and friendly and very willing to use whatever English they have.

Saturday to Monday

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……