Ephesus - Izmir
Reflections
My trip to
Turkey for two weeks along with eight other students and three teachers was
exciting and tiring at every moment of every day. As a student who was born in
Australia, living in New Zealand and brought up with the ideas and beliefs of
the Turkish culture, at times I found it a little confusing. Was I a guest or a
host at the homes that I visited? Was I to speak English or Turkish to the shop
keepers at the Grand Bazaar? Visiting many of the historic places was a first
for me. So I, too, was mesmerized by the tiles at the Blue Mosque that give it
its names. I was overwhelmed by the call to prayer 5 times a day too. I felt
very emotional when we sung the national anthems at the Dawn Service in the
freezing cold weather. Sharing a room with younger girls and listening to the
driver complain was also crazy every day and every nightJ We all had our emotional moments and
opened up to one another in different ways and made bonds that would never be
broken. Close friendships were built and memories were made that could not
replace by any other at any time. Prophet Muhammad once said that to get to
know someone you should travel with them. I often thought about this saying and
I believe that I really got to know everyone on the trip very well. This was my
first time traveling to Turkey without my own family but I had made a new
family while on my way to Turkey and this is certainly not my last time to a
Turkey with a group of students. Thank you so much for all of those in Turkey
who sponsored us and to all of those students, friends and family who made this
trip so special to me. J
Hafsa – Epsom Girls Grammar School Y13 Student
Grandchildren of the Anzac’s Tour
Where does one start.
First stop was Seoul, Korea
We arrived late but after a well deserved
sleep had by all it was a short walking tour around a very small part of the
city. It was very smoggy but a fine day. Nothing opened till 11am so we were
unable to spend any money. It was good for us all to get out and have some
exercise before getting back on the plane to Turkey.
Istanbul
We arrived in Istanbul to a great welcoming committee of
all the Basar family. Fantastic! Then we had our first Turkish meal and to met
our trusted new guide Gunes.
On the first day we went to Topkapi Palace which was very impressive. It
seemed to go on forever. The grounds were amazing which is where we also had
lunch and an amazing view of the Bosporus
River. Next in line was
the Blue Mosque. It was a very surreal place and the students found it
overwhelming. The feeling inside was very spiritual and uplifting. We ended the
day with dinner and sleep ready for Sapphire, the tallest building which was a
great way to see Istanbul
and we had a 5D movie riding in a helicopter. That was fun. It visited all the
highlights of Istanbul
and showed you around with a different angle to the city. Jurassic Park
was one of the highlights especially for the children. We were shown around the
museum and then had the opportunity to sit through a 6D movie twice. The
children loved it. It was so exciting and scary at the same time. It seemed so
real. While we were in Istanbul
we got the opportunity to visit the Tulip festival. I never knew there were so
many varieties in one place. We were just lucky that we were able to go. I also
found out that Tulips originated from Turkey.
Next day was “Ebru” Marbling Art. What a
very interesting experience. The man who taught us this old art was so
enthralling that we were all engrossed. Everyone one of us came away with our
own master piece and certificate.
The Basilica Cistern was first up this day.
It was a dark and damp place to visit. We all got dripped on from the water
above. It used to be a water / rain garden. Certainly not somewhere you would
want to work all day with no sunlight, however our next stop being Hagia Sophia
was a ray of sunshine. The architecture was out of this world. On our way to
the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts we had a visit
from an ambulance due to one of the students falling on marble steps. While she
was being attended to in hospital the rest of us carried on to the museum. This
was a good place to see especially the part that showed you all about how the
Turkish people lived long long ago. The student was given the all clear later
in the afternoon from the hospital and sent back to join the group. What a
relief. She was well looked after and nothing was spared for her.
Today was a trip on a ferry over to Yalova.
Didn’t take long and we were off again, this time, to Bursa. While there we visited the Silk
Bazaar. Every one of us bought something from here. The silk was amazing. We
even shopped where the Queen of England shopped. The great mosque was filled
with people when we arrive. We had to wait for them to empty out after prayer.
Once inside it was so different to any of the other Mosques we had visited.
There was a huge font in the middle of the mosque that all then men washed with
the water that came out of the taps. Some of the women were collecting water to
take home and to drink as it was holy water.
One of the highlights was The Big Mountain.
It snowed and the children had the opportunity to have a play in the snow. Many
of the children had never seen snow so it was a fun time. I think Taner had the
best time as he was the biggest kid of all. On the way back down we visited the
Turkish Shadow Theatre for a puppet show. It was well done but the children
found it a little boring as it was all in Turkish and they found it a little
hard to follow.
Next off to Izmir. This is a lovely city. We walked along
the water front and admired the city. For dinner this night we went to a fish
restaurant. It was the first time while being in Turkey we had fish. It was
beautiful. The Turkish certainly know how to cook and entertain. We visited the
Archaeological-Historical sites in Ephesus.
What a place. So much history. Amazing. Then it was off to the House of the
Virgin Mary. This was very surreal and uplifting. I was able to light a couple
of candles and was my hands in the water. This night we were able to stay in a
hotel which was in Akcay. The next day we went walking along the board walk and
the children had an opportunity to do some shopping, then is was back in the
bus and on our way again. Finally we began the trip to Gallipoli. First to
Canakkale. On the way we stopped at Asoss. We had a lovely walk up a cobbled
stone road. When we got to the top we could look over and see Greece. Really
wasn’t that far away. Troy
was next. The horse was huge and we were able to go inside and get photos
looking out of the windows. Once in Canakkale it was an early dinner and early
to bed, for a 2am start the next day. We all needed to be on the ferry to
Gallipoli by 3am. We arrived at the dawn service at 4am and we about the last
to arrive. It was cold. Lots of people camped out over night in sleeping bags.
The service was lovely. Just sitting there and being part of it was an amazing
feeling. The sea flapped on the shore and as the sun started to rise one little
bird decided it was time to awake just at the start of a 2 minute silence. Very
eerie. After the dawn service we had a good look around Gallipoli and then
attended the service at Chunuk Bair. By this time it was really hot. The sun
had come out and it was a beautiful day. We left Gallipoli and got back onto
the ferry to return to Canakkale where we had lunch. We all attended a
Forum/Conference about Anzacs and Turks at Canakkale University.
The children sang the national athem at the start. It was an interesting
discussion, however we were all very tied by this stage and ready to get back
on the road again. We finally arrived at our accommodation back in Istanbul about 1am. The
children slept most of the time on the bus but for the rest of us it was a very
long day, but well worth the no sleep. What an experience being at Gallipoli.
On our second to last day we took a yacht
tour of the Bosporus. Certainly a great way to
see two sides of Istanbul.
There are sites you just don’t see from driving around. We disembarked and off
we went to the Grand & Spice Bazaar. While there we were able to see Daniel
Craig from the latest James Bond movie acting out a stunt. So exciting. What a
place this bazaar is. So many arms. Its almost like an octopus. Every arm sells
something different. It was just lucky that we had a guide that knew where to
go, otherwise we would have got lost. The bazaar would be a great place to
spend a good couple of days and have a really good look around. It would cost
you but worth it.
On our last day in Istanbul we went to Miniaturk. It is the
world’s largest miniature village then off to lunch. Once lunch was finished it
was to the airport for our long flight home. After our farewells to the Basar’s
and Gunes it was on the plane. We had 3 hours in Korea at the airport only but it
got us up and about. We arrived home to a warm welcome from family and friends.
It was so good to be back on home soil again after 27 hours travelling.
What a fantastic experience and none of
this could have been done without the hard work and dedication of Taner and his
wife Nazife, Gunes, and with the support from The Pearl of the Islands Foundation. Thank you so much. A trip never to
be forgotten.
Janice, Teacher, Avondale Int School
Joseph’s
Highlight day in Turkey
My
best highlight was going to Gallipoli. When we first woke up
at 2am, we went onto the ferry. We arrived on the other side it was
quite cool because it was where thousands of Anzac soldier’s died. At
the dawn service, everyone was still asleep and we sat down and watched some
tributes on a big screen TV. We saw all the soldiers who fought and
died in the war. There were 4257 Anzacs who died. In the
corner of my eye on the screen, I saw a 15 year boy who died, this made me very
sad.
I
will never forget my experience of Turkey and feel very happy that I went to
the very special place Gallipoli.
Jakaiah’s
favourite time
My
favourite part of Turkey was when we went to Gallipoli for two days. I enjoyed
this bit because I got to see where my country and grandfathers slept, fought
and died. I also enjoyed it because we had to sing the NZ National Anthem at a
University in Canakkale. I also liked it when we saw the Trojan horse that was
used in the movie Troy.
Trinity’s
magic moment
The
highlight of my trip was when we went sailing on a yacht. The weather
conditions were perfect. The trip was so long I was just inches away from
falling asleep. After an hour we got under the Bosporus Bridge that
separated the Asian side from the European side of Turkey. We then turned
around and back to the dock we came from. A few hours later we went to the
biggest Bazaar (Shopping Centre) in Turkey. Everyone was overwhelmed by
the amazing size of it. It was also split into different districts which people
sold the corresponding things.
Our First Day in Turkiye! by Imojien
Today we went down for breakfast feasting on olives,
omelette, bread and cereal. At a quarter to nine we met up with Taner, Nazife
& the boys outside. We were
officially introduced to our guide Gunes, who is from Turkiye, and speaks
fluent English! Gunes advised we would go on a short trip & then off to the
Blue Mosque.
First we went to this place and it was so cool
because there were all of these separate places to go to. So we went for a ride in the van for about
half an hour, and pulled into a car park. From there we walked the rest of the
way to the place, and the walk was nice because we saw lots of these cute
little shops that had bracelets, clothing and lots more in them.
Before we went to the place, we had to walk
through a little market, and wait for our tickets? Once we had our tickets we
went in and looked in various rooms for about half an hour. We then went to a little café and had a drink
and simets. Simets are Turkish bread and
are in the shape of a circle. Holly and I found out that “WC” means toilets,
which is something new I learned on the way. As a group we then headed off to
the Blue Mosque that was so pretty.After our trip to the Mosque we left and had
dinner. It was such a long day that by
time we got back it was already 11o’clock at night and went straight
to bed.
Lucia’s big day out
Going to Turkey was a
fantastic experience. We met many wonderful people and visited many interesting
places. One of my favourite places was the Grand Bazaar which is a market in
Istanbul, the capital of Turkey. The thing that amazed me when we first got to
the Grand Bazaar was how busy it was. Every street in the Bazaar was crammed
with people and colourful items, like scarves, carpets and gleaming jewellery.
I bought many presents for my family and practised bargaining. The first thing
I bought was a Turkish tea set that was hand painted with a beautiful
decoration but the thing I enjoyed buying the most was delicious Turkish
Delight.
Another great, but
moving, experience was visiting Gallipoli for the Anzac Day Commemoration. So
many people died for our country there. We woke on Anzac Day at 2.00am in the
morning and took a boat to Gallipoli. It was dark when we arrived and the sun
didn’t rise until after the morning service. Some day I would love to have the
same experience as I have had on this trip!
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