The Relation of the visit in Turkey

Comenius – To live in agreement. Together against

violence and conflicts.

On 28th of February students and teachers from Poland started their journey to Turkey. The representatives of Spain, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia got there one day later.   The meeting took place in Tarsus and was realized thanks to the project “Comenius – To live in agreement. Together against violence and conflicts.” 

Tarsus is an incredible city in the south of Turkey, between Adana and Mersin. It is one of the oldest settlements in the whole world. This place is said to be the heart of civilizations, religions and cultures. Its history is very interesting and goes back to 10000 years ago.  

All guests were surprised with the positive attitude of Turkish people who were open-minded, nice and helpful. They showed us their traditions, national symbols, customs and daily life. We could know Turkey with all senses. 

We had an occasion to try Turkish food. We were even in the heart of world’s kebab! All of us could taste unusual drinks like Salgam, Atol and original Turkish coffee. There were also offered some extraordinary sweets and national dishes. 

The participants of “Comenius” were shown a lot of amazing places, buildings and monuments. They could get to know that Tarsus hides many mysteries, secrets, legends and signs of world’s history…

Students and teachers followed the track of religions and history. They found St. Paul’s Well and his church.

The well is a very important symbol for all pilgrims. The water here is supposed to be holy and useful for healing.

Donuktaş Roman Temple appears to be a massive stone block. Local people do not know the origin of this building. The whole place is said to be very mysterious. We got to know that the temple is a very unique one – similar creation has not been found anywhere else in the world so far.

These places prove that Tarsus is influenced by various religions. The city is full of tolerance and positive emotions.  

Cleopatra’s Gate is undoubtedly one of the most legendary objects here. It was suspected to be the meeting point of Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius. It was the entrance to Tarsus, a major Roman city hundred years ago. People used to sail under the gate by boats when the city was located at the Mediterranean coast.  

All of us could admire the beauty of Mersin which is a large maritime city with a harbour. We had an opportunity to sail on the beautiful sea and visit the remnants of the old castle. 

Every entrant of the meeting was able to get to know an unusual culture of Asian part of Turkey. We could also integrate and share our opinions and experiences with other teenagers. During this weekly trip we realized lessons about violence and conflicts. We tried to know each other better through making cards about ourselves, talking, thinking up some new ideas to improve the world, traveling, communication, etc. 

One of the most memorable activities was making up “The forest of Memory”. The other one was creating a tree with bread in order to feed birds during the winter. 

This journey taught us a lot of important things. We had not even thought how strong friendship can be after just one week. We hope to see our friends as soon as possible.