Turkish meeting
The 1st day
On Tuesday, January 14th, we took a night bus from Istanbul to Gerze. We arrived in the city center the following morning at about 8 am. then we joined our host family who waited for us and each is gone to his home.
After this little break, we went to the school and we met all the other pupils who were very friendly. After by 12h, the correspondents then showed us the school, we were very surprised by digital boards settled in every classrooms. Moreover, they were so nice that following the visit we went to play soccer with the Turkish students and we take and some ate in the cafeteria of their school. Then they brought us in their meeting room to present the project and all the delegations.
We finished the presentation at 5 pm and we are all gone back home. to rejoin our host families. We finally went out again in the evening with the young people of all the delegations in a coffee in the front of the Black Sea where we danced Turkish dances.
The 2nd day
On the 2nd day, we had the chance to visit the mayor of gerze’s office. He welcomed us very nicely and offered a cup of tea to everyone. Thanks to him we learned more about the organization of Gerze and of Turkey.
Then we took a bus in order to go to a different city : Sinop. It’s a bit bigger than Gerze and there are more shops and activities.
First our turkish partners led us to a small kebab restaurant where we ate tasty dishes.
Once the lunch was over, we visited the Sinop museum. It was interesting to be able to learn more about the history of Turkey. Besides, the pieces’ inscriptions were sometimes written in French so it was easier for us to understand.
We enjoyed, after that, a freetime. We went shopping in order to buy tourist souvenirs and we took great photos.
We finally took the bus to go back to Gerze and to rejoin our host families’ home.
The 3rd day
We went to the school at 9pm. Then we formed groups with all the nationalities to discuss about recipes that we could make with all our vegetables. And then all groups had to present their meal. At the end of the morning we were gathered by groups of 7 to cook our meal together. After spending a long time to cook, the jury ate the different plates and they award some prices for each group. Later we decided after the dinner to go to a coffee to spend time with all the students.
The 4th day
On Saturday, all the students have gathered at the school to receive the orders of the day. Then we were supposed to have the 5th workshop but we didn’t so we discussed with the students of the school and some have played football.
For the lunch, everybody came back to their host families. In the afternoon, we have had the 6th workshop which called for our creativity. We went to a special house which was Turkish-looking. There, a woman made us discovered the EBRU art. It’s a painting art which required a tub full of water, different colors of paint and a special brush a bit curved. To practice this art, you must soak your brush into the paint and shake it over the water. It makes some little rounds which you can give it a shade with a very thin piece of wood. After the explanation came the time of practicing. Different groups have tried and a netherland student who had never done it before made her artist-soul speaking and made an impressive work (There are the pictures of our works).
Finally, everybody came back in their host family for the evening.
Last day
On the last day, after spending the morning in the autobus, we ate in a restaurant with the Turkish and German delegations. Then, we started visiting the city of Safranbolu, which belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage. After having walked into the streets of the city and visited a typical market, we had a tasting of lukum, a Turkish specialty. We finally said goodbye to the Turkish delegation and we took a bus for Istanbul, where we spent a night before flying back to France.
Special thanks to all our Turkish friends who welcomed us so well!
Guillaume, Pierre, Charles, Clémence et Margaux