Sofia's travel diary (Estonia)

01.05.23- Day 1

The journey began on the first may. At first I landed in Istanbul and then had a 2,5 hours long way to Muratli. There I met my host and her family. We had a really nice dinner. I tried the local cuisine for the first time, it was Turkish national food called dolma. Then we had an informal meeting with Erasmus students and their hosts. We had a small walk in Muratli.

02.05.23- Day 2 Muratli Anadolu Lisesi 

The second day was dedicated to school. At first we had a tour around school, then we were watching the pre- and post- activities of the countries. After that students from each country were presenting their e-books. At the end we were divided into groups and received our tasks which we had to do during the week. The task was to make a story and after that make the video the e-book based on the tale. I had a very friendly team and we hit it off fast. We started brainstorming. We had a huge amount of ideas, but we fastly found a suitable conception of the story for everybody. Then we decided to divide the tasks between the group members. 

After finishing preparing the task we had school activities. At first we played volleyball, then some kind of turkish game (I won btw), also we played ping-pong with the school teacher and chess with Muratli Anadolu Lisesi students. 

After the school we had a couple hours to rest and then me and my went to the local cafeteria The Karakus Lake to meet other students. We had a very good time.

03.05.23 Day 3- Tekirdag, Doga college 

On this day we went to Doga college, which is a fee school located in the city of Tekirdag. 

At first we had a tour around the school. It is really large and impressive with a diversified supply. After that we had games, first was scramble, we received letters and had to make words with those letters, who gets the most points wins. During the second game the teacher told us the definition and we had to find the word to the definition and the team, who brings the word first gets a point. After that we had the best part of the day, it was a horse riding course. Despite the fact that everyone had the opportunity to ride only once, it was amazing. 

Then we visited the city center and some museums of the Tekirdag. Tekirdag is a very small and cozy city with a rich history. At the end of our journey we had some free time and I decided to go to the shopping center. We did not have much time, but I managed to have lunch, shopping and coffee break. After that we returned to Muratli, went back home to change clothes and immediately went for another chill meeting with the students. We went to the football match and then to the cafeteria.

04.05.23 Day 4- Edirne 

The whole next day we spent in the Edirne. We visited different landmarks such as Sveti Georgi Bulgarian Church, Selimiye mosque and Bazaar, Health Museum Beyazid the 2nd Social complex and River Bank. Selimiye mosque made the biggest impression on me, as it was the largest mosque I have ever seen. In the middle of the day we had free time. Me and my team decided to take this time to film our video. During the shooting we faced one problem. The group of gypsy kids surrounded us and started to ask for money, after long requests to go they still stayed. Fortunately, everything ended up well, we just decided to leave the shooting spot. On our return to Muratli we decided to go to the restaurant. There I had really sweet conversations with an Italian student. We were talking on different topics. Then we went home and I had to make an ebook, it took a long time so that day I went to sleep at 3am.

05.05.23 Day 5- School day and farewell dinner 

This was my last day at Muratli. In the morning we went to school to finish our work, which we did during the week. The hardest thing to do was the video editing we spent 2,5 hours on it. The hardest part was that we had problems with internet connection, but after a long time full of stress and anxiety we finally finished all our tasks. Then every group presented their works. We also had a problem with presenting some videos, as they had high quality and the TV at Muratli school did not support such quality. But we found a solution, videos were shown from the laptop. In the evening we had a farewell dinner at Tekirdag in a really fancy restaurant. After we ate we had a Turkish party. All the students were dancing and having fun. 

Fun story: I am a dancer, so during the party I did some dance moves and some students saw that and made a circle around me, so I was in the center of the dance floor. And I had my star time, I did a little vogue session. Everyone was impressed and I have received a lot of compliments.

06.05.23 Day 6- Istanbul

Early in the morning we went from Muratli and headed to Istanbul. We had a very intense program. At first we visited Topkapi palace, that was the love from the first view. This is a place with rich and unbelievable exhibitions. We spent approximately 2 incredible hours there. After that we had free time, which we spent on lunch and also on visiting the grand bazaar. Then we went to an amazing place called basilica cistern, the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns. That is a place with unbelievable ancient architecture. 

The ending of our project was a Bosphorus tour, which gives an overview on Istanbul. 

After that we went to the hotel, which is located in the center of Istanbul, so we had an opportunity to have a small night walk in Istanbul. Night Istanbul is even more beautiful. 

After that me and my friends had an evening talk about the previous week. We summed up all pros and cons.

To sum up, it was an unforgettable week, full of new experiences, emotions and acquaintances. Erasmus project is an incredible opportunity to exit from the comfort zone and try something new. What is more, it helps to improve english skills, as in normal life I do not usually have an opportunity for spontaneous speech. Also participants are able to get to know different cultures and countries. 

Agatha's travel diary (Estonia)

Day 1 - 1/05/23

So on May first we arrived in Istanbul and took a bus to the city Muratli, where we stayed. We had our first view of the city and of Turkey itself and the nature and mountains were absolutely stunning.

When we arrived I met my host and walked to her place, where I met my whole host family. They were really nice and kind. We had dinner (local cuisine, which was very interesting and delicious) and talked about our lives and differences in our cultures. After dinner we talked some more and played some board games. I felt welcomed and it was super fun!

Day 2 - 2/05/23

On the second day we visited their school - Muratli Anadolu Lisesi. We had a quick tour around the school and then we went to the library - our main work area. All of us sat down and we were welcomed to the whole project and after that we watched our pre- and post activity videos and all the students presented their e-books.

Following the presentations we were divided into groups and told our task for the week. We needed to make an e-book and a video for that book. We started working in groups and writing down ideas and the scenario for the videos and books. I loved working with my group, we had an awesome idea to incorporate things from our cultures into one story and started brainstorming. I had loads of fun and working with them was easy, we all worked off one another and our story was being written rather fast.

After the whole brainstorming session we had lunch and free time. Everyone went outside and we all chatted and played different games, like volleyball and chess and also some turkish games. It was fun and also some students from that school joined us. I liked the experience.

In the evening we all met up again with the students and hosts and went to a cafe, just chatting and joking around. We had a great time!

Day 3 - 3/05/23

On the third day in the morning we visited Doga college, which has a very nice campus and park around. They gave us a tour around the college and went outside, where we played some games with the teachers. First we were put in groups and played a big game of scrabble. It was fun and my team got second place. The second game involved running and fast thinking. They made two teams out of us all. The teacher told us a definition and we had to find that word on the board and bring it to the checkpoint. It was fun and competitive!

After some games we went over to a big building, where they had a beautiful white horse. We had the chance to ride it and take a photo with the horse. I really enjoyed this experience.

Then we had lunch and took our bus to Tekirdag. A very nice city close to the seaside. We went to a few museums, had ice cream and in our free time we went to a shopping mall. I had some coffee and did a bit of shopping.

Following our active day we returned back home and went to a cafe with our fellow Erasmus students. Once again talking a lot and joking around.

Day 4 - 4/05/23

The fourth day was spent in Edirne and sightseeing. We visited different landmarks such as Sveti Georgi Bulgarian Church, Selimiye mosque and Bazaar, Health Museum Beyazid the 2nd Social complex and the River Bank. It was all very fascinating and stunning. When we had our free time, my group decided to make our video and we started recording it all, finishing it pretty fast. So after that we went over to a cafe and got some ice cream and talked.

When we returned to Muratli, we once again met up with everyone and spent the evening talking. I remember us talking about our cultural differences, languages and social norms. It was a very engaging conversation, seeing how different countries and people live their daily lives.

Day 5 - 5/05/23

The fifth day was very bittersweet. It was our last day in Muratli, this was the day when we had to finish our project and present them. We spent the morning editing the video and finishing the e-book. After some lunch we went back to the library and did all of our finishing touches. We presented the videos and we got diplomas. We did our task!

Then we had some time to chill and get ready at home. Everyone was going to Tekirdag for a farewell party. We were in a fancy restaurant, ate some food, talked to the students and then we did some dancing with everyone. We had a bunch of fun.

Day 6 - 6/05/23

The sixth day was quite active. In the morning we said our last goodbyes to our hosts and their families and left Muratli. We are going to Istanbul and we will also spend the night there in a hotel. Istanbul is a very historical and busy city. I loved the architecture and all the sightseeing we did, but It was quite hard to navigate in the city, due to it having so many people.

First we went to Topkapi palace, which was absolutely stunning and mesmerising. A very rich palace with lots to see. Next we walked over to the basilica cistern. I believe that it was my favourite place that we visited, due to it being ancient and connected to ancient Rome, which I have great interest in. Next we had a fun boat ride on the canal, where we could see Istanbul in all its glory. It was rather beautiful, but cold.

In the evening it was time to say goodbye to everyone and it was bittersweet. Hugging everyone goodbye and exchanging contacts… And then we drove off to our hotel, which was in a very active part of the city, with loads of restaurants and shops. We decided to go get some take out to our hotel room and us students spent half of the night talking about our experiences. It was very cute, reminiscing all the memories and funny moments we had. Let's say we didn't get much sleep that night :)

Conclusion

I am very thankful for this project. The memories and experiences we acquired here are unforgettable. I have printed out some photos from this week and they hang on my wall, every time I look at them I have this warm feeling. And I'm proud of myself, because this was very different from my daily life. Thank you!

Danil's travel diary (Estonia)

01.05.23- Day 1

The journey began on the first of May. At first, I landed in Istanbul and then had a 2,5 hours long way to Muratli. There I met my host and his family as well as some friends I met in Belgium. Then we had an informal meeting with Erasmus students and their hosts.

02.05.23- Day 2 Muratli Anadolu Lisesi 

The second day was dedicated to school. At first, we had a short tour around the school. Then we were watching the pre- and post-activities. After that students from each country were presenting their e-books. Then we were divided into groups and received our tasks which we had to do during the week. The task was to make an e-book and after that make a video of the e-book based on the tale. We decided to make an e-book comparing our countries. We quickly sketched out ideas of what we will compare and what we will shoot for the video. After that, we had some free time and school activities. We played volleyball, some kind of Turkish game, also a friend of mine played chess with Muratli Anadolu Lisese students (He won).

After school, we had some time to rest and then went to the local cafeteria The Karakus Lake. We had a good time.

03.05.23 Day 3- Tekirdag, Doga College 

On this day we went to Doga College. At first, we had a tour around the school. It is a really large and impressive school. After that we had a few games, first was a scramble. We received 7 letters and had to make words with those letters and who gets the most points wins. (My team made the highest-scoring word). During the second game, the teacher told us the definition and we had to find the word to the definition and the team, who brings the word first gets a point. 

We spent the second part of the day in the city centre and some museums of the Tekirdag. Tekirdag is a tiny and cosy city with a rich history. At the end of our journey, we had some free time and I decided to go to the shopping center. We did not have much time, btw I managed to have lunch and a coffee break as well as to do some shopping. After that, we returned to Muratli and went for another chill meeting with the students. We went to the football match and then to the cafeteria.

04.05.23 Day 4- Edirne 

The whole next day we spent in Edirne. We visited different landmarks such as Sveti Georgi Bulgarian Church, Selimiye mosque and Bazaar, Health Museum Beyazid the 2nd Social Complex and River Bank. Selimiye mosque made the biggest impression on me, as it was the largest mosque I have ever seen. 

In the middle of the day, we had free time. Since my team had already managed to shoot all the necessary videos, we just walked around the city and relaxed

05.05.23 Day 5- School day and farewell dinner 

This was my last day at Muratli. We went to school to finish our work, which we did during the week. The hardest thing to do was video editing. The hardest part was that we had problems with the internet connection (it was a bit slow and unstable), but after a long time full of stress and anxiety we finally finished all our tasks. Then every group presented their e-books and videos. We were awarded certificates of completion of the project. 

In the evening we had a farewell dinner at Tekirdag in a really fancy restaurant where we had a party. All the students were dancing and having fun. 

06.05.23 - Istanbul

Early in the morning we went from Muratli and headed to Istanbul. We had a very intense program. At first, we visited Topkapi Palace. This is a place with rich and unbelievable exhibitions. We spent approximately 2 hours there. After that, we had free time, which we spent on lunch and also on visiting the grand bazaar. Then we went to a place called Basilica Cistern, the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns. That is a place with unbelievable ancient architecture. 

The ending of our project was a Bosphorus tour, which gives an overview of Istanbul. 

After that we went to the hotel, which is located in the center of Istanbul, so we had an opportunity to have a small night walk in Istanbul. After that, I and my friends had an evening talk about the previous week. 

To sum up, it was an unforgettable week, full of new experiences, emotions and acquaintances. Erasmus+ project is an incredible opportunity to exit from your comfort zone and try something new. What is more, it helps to improve English skills, as in normal life I do not usually have an opportunity for spontaneous speech. 

Annika's travel diary (Germany)

01.05.2023 - The first day

Our first day was spent travelling. We arrived in Istanbul in the late evening and reached Tekirdag near midnight. After a nice greeting we set up in our hotel rooms and went to sleep soon after.

02.05.2023 - The second day

On this day we visited a school, Muratli Anadolu Lisesi, where we met the other students for the first time. After a tour around the school we were able to watch the pre- and post-activities of the previous projects. Afterwards each country presented their own e-books. It was amazing to learn of so many different festives all around Europe. Soon after we were divided into several groups and given our task for the week. We were supposed to create our own story and make both videos and e-books about them. My group immediatly hit it off and we gathered a lot of great ideas. We soon decided on one that everybody was happy with and then started planning how to work on it.

After a tasty meal we had some free time and fun around the school. A friendly PE teacher even taught us a Turkish dance.

Once we were back near the hotel we explored Tekirdag and even got to see the sea. It was an incredible view.

03.05.2023 - The third day

Today we visited Doga College, another school. The students greeted us with much enthusiasm and gave us a tour around the school with a teacher. We even played some games to get to know eachother better. Afterwards we were able to ride one of the school's horses and then spend the rest of our time there exploring the school and befriending the students.

In the afternoon we visited a few museums in the city. It was an amazing opportunity to learn about the country's past. It was a little stressful, but we started filming a bit. After that we had some time to visit a shopping centre. Here we found nice clothes and ate dinner. 

04.05.2023 - the fourth day

On our fourth day we spent a lot of time on the bus, because we were visiting another city: Edirne. There was a lot to see: churches, mosques and a river bank. Everybody ate lunch together, so we had a lot of fun. In the afternoon we got some free time which my group spent filming more scenes for our video. It was a nice time during which I got to know the others better. Even though we had the honour to see so many amazing sights, my favourite part of the day was still the bus drive back, because we got to play cards with the other students.

05.05.2023 - the fifth day

This was our last day around Tekirdag and we spent it at school to finish our projects. The majority of the morning was spent editing. I am incredibly thankful to the members of my group who have put so much effort and time into this project. It was amazing to work with you!

Even though there were some issues with the internet connection we all managed to present our work. It was delighting to see all the different stories that everybody has been working on. 

In the evening we had a farewell dinner at a nice restaurant where everybody was dancing and having fun. But on that evening we had to say goodbye to the Turkish students which made us very sad. It was amazing to meet them!

06.05.2023 - the sixth day

Today we travelled to Istanbul. It was astonishing to visit another country's capital and see those busy streets. We spent some time at Topkapi Palace which had wonderful exhibits and an amazing view over the sea. Afterwards we had some free time which we used to visit the Grand Bazaar. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but I have to admit that it was a little intimidating since we didn't want to get lost. Soon after we visited my favourite place this week: the Basilica Cistern. I really enjoyed the architecture and the atmosphere that it created. 

In the evening we had a boat tour along the Bosphorus. Even though it was quite long we all enjoyed the view.

It got a little sad afterwards, because we had to say goodbye to most of the other students. At least we stayed at the same hotel as the Portuguese students, so we were able to talk to them some more in the evening. It was incredible to get to know all the people that were part of this project.

07.05.2023 - the seventh day

Our flight back to Germany was taking off in the morning, so we had to get up extremely early. After a pleasant flight we landed back home in Germany. 

This project was an incredible opportunity which I am thankful for. I am happy that I was able to meet so many amazing people while also gaining a lot of different experiences.

Giada's Travel Diary (from Italy)

01/05/23 - First Day

Our journey started on the 1st of May. On this date we had the fly for Instanbul. When we arrived in Turkey a shuttle took us in Muratli, near Tekirdag, where all the host families took us. In the evening, all the Turkish students organized to take us on a tour of the city.

02/05/23 - Second Day

The second day we went to Muratli’s school where are all the Erasmus students presented their pre-activity (some videos and some presentations). During the break, we played volleyball with the Turkish students. It was very funny. After that, the Turkish teachers explained us what we were going to do in the following days. We had lunch all together at the school canteen. The food was amazing, we ate chicken with rice and potatoes. In the afternoon, we stayed with the student of the school, playing some games. In the evening, the Turkish students, took all of us to a great park near a lake.

03/05/23 - Third Day

During the third day in Turkey, we went to visit a private college in Tekirdag. The collage was very big and beautiful, and there we did a lot of activities with the students of the college, for example words game. We also had the possibility to do a mini tour by horse. At lunch we ate at the school canteen and in the afternoon we went around the city of Tekirdag. We went to a museum and to a shopping centre. During the whole day we recorded some scenes for the Erasmus project. In the evening, all the students met in a bar to spend time together.   

04/05/23 - Fourth Day

On the fourth day of this Erasmus we went to Edirne. We had the possibility to enter in a mosque and visit a lot of places of cult. We also visit a museum and went to a typical Turkish market. At lunch we ate meatballs and fried liver all together. After that we also visited some monuments and an abandoned train. During this trip we had to record other scenes, like the day before, for the final project. That was very funny and helpful to improving the language because you had to talk with the other Erasmus guys to create something together. In the evening we met another time in a bar. That night was beautiful, we spent a lot of time together, talking of our different cultures.

05/05/23 - Fifth Day

We spent the fifth day of the week at school, to edit the different scenes that we recorded during the previous days. That morning was a full one, but after a hard work we finally finished our video. We presented all the videos created during the week and discussed about them. In the evening, after preparing the baggages, all of the students and all of the teachers went to a restaurant for a kind of final party. There was a lot of music and students danced together. We spent great time for the last night in Muratli.

06/05/23 - Sixth Day

On this morning we woke up very early because we had to take the bus for Instanbul. After two hours of traveling we arrived at the destination. During the day we visited a lot of places in Instanbul, for example mosques and gardens or rooms of an old palace. In the afternoon we took a ferry to get a tour. It was a great experience, I really loved watching Istanbul from the sea. At the end of the day we had to say goodbye each other because the following day everyone was going to leave and we went to our hotel.

07/05/23 - Seventh Day           

08/05/23 - Eighth Day             

09/05/23 - Ninth Day

We stayed in Istanbul for more three days. In this days we visited a lot of the city: mosques, place of cult, monuments, famous squares, parks… It was very nice to go around the city like that. The last day we went to Grand Bazaar, the biggest market in all the city. We also tried some typical food, like kebab.

This experience was very nice and helpful. It helped me to improve my English, but also gave me independence and maturity. I met amazing people of all over the world, who taught me part of their culture. I am so grateful that I had the possibility to do this.    

The day I liked the most

Istanbul- 06.05.23

The bus came to the hotel around 07:30h to pick us german girls and all the teachers up.

From Muratli we drove about 2h30minutes to Istanbul. In Istanbul our programm started with a big guided tour at ‘Topkapi Palace‘. We had a wonderful view over the sea next to the Palace. It's a beautiful place with a big garden and a lot to see, everything looks very special and expensive. After the tour we had free time, so we went to a little restaurant and had lunch. Then we went to the ‘Grand Bazar‘, which was huge and overfilled with a heap of people. It‘s very easy to get lost because of the many little streets. We all went together to ‘The Basilica Cistern‘, where we saw a lot of architecture, an amazing atmosphere. Then we walked to the Bosphorous for our ‘Bosphorous Tour‘, where we were on the boat for a long time. We were on top of the boat with a beautiful view. We also laughed a lot together. Time after time it got darker and colder so we went inside the boat and got tea and coffee. Everything on land and the bridges were illuminated, which was such an amazing view. After the tour it was time to say goodbye because we were in different hotels except for the Portuguese. Close to the hotel we went to a little restaurant to have dinner with our teachers. Late at night we met the Portuguese students again and talked a lot to them. Then it was also time to say goodbye to the Portuguese students because we left the hotel at different times. 
 

It was such a beautiful day. I will never forget it.                           ~Hannah (Germany)

Catharina's travel diary (Germany)

Day one - 01.05.2023

Our first day started early in the morning at the airport but due to our flight being delayed we arrived in Istanbul late in the evening. We were greeted by our driver who took us to our hotel in Tekirdag. After a long day we were happy to finally make it to our destination despite it being near midnight.

Day two - 02.05.2023

For our second day the visit of Muratli's school and the presentations of different cultural festives/events were planned. It was very intresting to learn about other European customs and what other Erasmus students have created during their own projects. Later on we were allowed to explore the school by ourselves and get to know the other students both from the Erasmus project and from the school itself.

We were then devided in different goups with one student from each country while the teachers introduced us to the task we had to complete in the next few days. First ideas were discussed within the groups and everyone was very enthusiastic and looked forward to the project.

In the evening the German students went out to explore Tekirdag and get to know the Turkish cuisine better. We let the atmosphere of the city and the sea soak in before heading back to the hotel.

Day three - 03.05.2023

As the third day started we were not sure what to expect. We were told that we'd visit the Doga college but didn't have much information beforehand. Therefore we were pleasantly surprised. The students of the Doga college greated us warmly and showed us their school proudly. We got to see different projects like the school's indoor garden and after that we played vocabulary games in the school's beautiful garden. A highlight was the horseback riding which many students had looked forward to previously.

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing with the other students and exploring the school grounds before we left to visit two historic museums, one of them was the house of a Hungarian national hero named Rakoczi.

We finished the day by paying the large shopping mall of Tekirdag a visit where all of us had lots of fun.

Day four - 04.05.2023

By the fourth day we already knew that it would once again be an exhausting yet interesting day. We visited the city Edirne where we went into the Selimiye mosque and also visited the local Bazaar. For lunch the entire group went to a restaurant with Turkish specialities like fried liver.

After that we were allowed to explore the city center on our own which many groups took as an opportunity to finish their filming. We also visited other landmarks in the area and enjoyed some snacks and drinks at the river bank.

Day five - 05.05.2023

Unfortunately I became sick on the fifth day which led me to stay at the hotel for the day. My fellow students took great care of me though and told me everything that had happened that day. I was very grateful and fortunately also felt better towards the evening which is why I was able to join the rest of the students again at the 'goodbye-party'. The the evening turned out to be really fun with lots of laughter and dancing.

Day six - 06.05.2023

All the students got up early in the morning to prepare for the long drive to Istanbul. We first visited the Topkapi palace with many incredible historic artefacts. Then we had our lunch break and were free to explore the Grand Bazaar. It was truly an unique experience since the Bazaar was huge and buzzing with life. 

We then went on to visit the Basilica Cistern which is known globally for its incredible architecture. Since it has been used in various filmsets I was especially excited to see it in real life.

Our last program point planned for the day was a Bosphorus tour which was both freezing cold and magnificent at the same time. It helped us visualize Istanbul's unique situatian better as the city is both on the European and Asian continent with the Bosphorus as its border.

We then said our final goodbyes to the other students before heading to our hotel.

For me this day was probably the most impressive day during the entire Erasmus project.

Day 7 - 07.05.2023

We had to get up extremely early for our flight back home  but it was overall a calm and pleasant flight. 

I was happy to finally be back in Germany but I also felt very grateful for the opportunity to participate at the Erasmus project and getting to meet incredible people in Turkey as well as creating life-long memories.