Last days in Gaziantep... 

I’m writing after my first few days back in Radom, Poland.

I’m already at home, meeting with family and friends; so, doing the things that I was missing the most.

And the same time, I’m already missing people from Gaziantep. 

That's life!

I need to say, the experience we got was unforgettable. I’m sharing thoughts, situations and photos with 'my people' and talking about everything that happened.

Everything I learned and saw, and everyone I met.

The fact is that I feel that there is 'more of me' and I don’t mean the weight, even if that's also true.
I mean that I have more friends who I met in Turkey, more skills, more interests, and my eyes have seen more colors…

The last days were filled by:

-saying “good-bye and see you again”…

-finishing tasks we had to do

-cleaning house a little bit ;) Dan, we did a good job.

-trying to stay calm to feel I’m still there, and enjoying this time

I feel I could write this post even later, because I don’t want to finish this blog ;)

But as I said earlier to my TAŞEV and Millet Hanı family…

I need to say another big THANK YOU PEOPLE!

The project was great for me. Working in a Turkish cultural center, teaching stained glass, learning to draw, make mosaics, take photographs, dance traditional dances, and speak the Turkish language is something that I wish could happen for everybody ;)

And… all this wouldn’t have been so great if not for the people involved.

You see what Dan wrote about you...?

He is TOTALLY right, and unforgettable as well.

 

One last thing! I have photos from the last days ;) Let’s shaaaare.

Bye bicycle...

 Çok teşekkür ederim! Kendine iyi bak.

  Monika Drab- TAŞEV Volunteer

P.S. Clay, thank you for visitng me in Gaziantep ;)

Last days in Gaziantep 

So unfortunately the 5 month EVS has ended.. sad stuff but ready for the new adventures up ahead  . Will really miss some of the people that I have meet there and my co workers as well as the city , Han and my house. 
Also did my final report and the Youthpass as well as I am doing this last post in this blog :)
I am really grateful for the time there and all the things I have learned and the people I have meet, and I really hope although my schedule is pretty full for a long time from now , to see them again soon. 

People like Fevzi Yeter - I learned how to play backgammon from him even beat him once .. I had to tell this :)) .. a happy, full of interesting stories person .. and a really good fan of his team that beat the Romanian team 4-1 I see here online so he is probably very happy :))

Mahmut, best mentor so far,always friendly and helpful and fun to be around... hope he uses the book I left him :P

Monika, is probably still in Istanbul.. a really good, relaxed person as well as her lovely Clay ... to both of them I wish the best and may their feeling carry on like they are now :*

Jale , well , best coordinator you could have, and always there for us and any questions that we would have. The new volunteers are very lucky to have her as their coordinator.

Ozgur and Melih :* , the organization is like them, friendly and great and caring and I have only good words about them.

As for the other people, they are too many to put here and all of them have been unique and interesting and always there when we needed them. So generous and caring and me so lucky to have meet them.
I will miss all of them ! and hope they ask me if they ever need anything and think I can help them.

This was a great period in my life and the only reason that I was not super sad was because I was already thinking about the future and all things I have to do. 
But I consider myself lucky and it was so great that I found this super project in Turkey (where I have always wanted to stay) that day on that facebook group.
I wish all of the future EVS the same luck and we'll keep in touch!
Take care / have fun 

Dan Stefanica - Tasev volunteer :)

PS I know I have not written about everyone but you know I love you guys, however being in Romania time is very short and I am going out now
PS 2 I am using the Tavla you guys gave me ! 

See you in Copenhagen ! :*

     

Let's show something that describes traditional city jobs:

handicrafts 

There are at least 10 of these which are very popular but I will present:

Yemeni shoes 

Copper and tin working 

Mosaics

Yemeni shoes.

These are handmade shoes, made of natural leather. To make them Masters need a few years of schooling and practice. It’s a traditional handicraft which, though not very common anymore, is still very much appreciated. One of the departments at Gaziantep University has got a workshop which helps keep this handicraft alive.

Copper and tin workshop.

This is probably the most popular workshop in Gaziantep. On the streets, we can easily find men working all day to make their objects with good quality. There’s a long production process which requires a lot of skills and experience.

 

The history of mosaics goes back some 4,000 years or more.
Mosaics were one of the principle forms of expression in antiquity. They were a functional yet decorative feature of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean villas, temples, shops, bath houses, and eventually churches and mosques. The images inspired viewers, complemented architecture, and were considered prestigious assets by their owners.

        
Nowadays, because of the rich history that the Gaziantep region has, there are projects 
which support local mosaic workshops and this handicraft seems to be stable.
One of the most popular topics is, of course, Gypsy Girl from Zeugma city. I suppose 
every workshop has at least one copy of it in its shop.

 

Greetings!
Monika

With a dedication to Laura :):):)

Ramadan (Turkish: Ramazan) has started. This year it started on the 20^th of July.

Some people are fasting, but all of them are probably having a festive Iftar (a fast-breaking meal around 8p.m.)

So you can imagine what kind of meals Gaziantep residents might have, I will add  something here about Gaziantep’s cuisine.

The geographical location of the city made it a historical melting pot. The different cultures and novelties of two great empires strongly effected Turkish culinary culture. The ancient culinary tradition is continued nowadays.

Some dishes, like lamb liver kebabs, fresh cheese, helva and stuffed patlıcan (eggplant) have maintained constant names and recipes through the ages.

Generally, Antep’s cuisine can be described as classical, known nationally and inter-nationally.

Influences on flavor: sour flavors and fresh garlic, are found in most dishes.

There are a few kinds of each of these and, depending on the dish, chefs use different spices.

For example, in yogurt dishes, saffron and peppermint; in some other dishes and soups, tarhın; in rice pudding, cinnamon. 

There are seven sources of of sour flavor which are used according to the dishes: lemon, lemon salt, unripe grape, boiled grape juice, sumac, sumac sour and pomegranate sour.

 To make this description more vivid, I will add photos of the meals that I have tried.

Afiyet olsun!

Monika

Museums:

The Castle Museum is located right in the center of the city and it’s a nice museum filled with interesting information about the Turkish war of independence and the people that fought in it. It is quite good to visit and worth taking the time to read the information, which is also in English.



The Gaziantep Glass museum

In my opinion not very interesting and the price is 4 liras in comparison with most museums where it’s only one lira. It consists of a couple of rooms with historic artifacts and the rest are actually shops. There is also a little restaurant inside, so you get the feeling it’s not a museum at all, but just a shop where you pay entrance… I don’t recommend visiting it.


The kitchen museum

A very nice idea and worth visiting, in my opinion not for the things inside it but for the information provided and the movie offered about preparing traditional Gaziantep food and about the founder of the museum, who had a very hard life in his childhood but made this museum as a tribute to this city, its food and for his mother. I recommend going to visit it.


Beyaz Han City museum

A very nice museum that can be visited every day and that tells the story of the city, its history, its economy, about the industry here, the architecture, the traditional crafts practiced here and any other relevant information one might want to know about the city. There is an English translation, and a lot of information, meaning you will spend at least one hour visiting it. The information is very complete and accompanied by movies and artifacts.


The Mosaic museum

Today in the Zeugma Mosaics Museum 500 meter square-wide mosaics, 35 mosaic panels as well as the famous 1, 50 cm-long bronze Mars and Aphrodite statutes are in display. The museum is proudly the second biggest mosaic museum of the world. Its artifacts come from the ancient Roman city of Zeugma.

The museum, which covers a 30,000 square-meter closed place, includes conference halls and other social facilities. The museum’s construction started in April 2008, and it opened to the public early in 2011.

Take care / have fun

Dan

More about the Grand Opening


I had the job of taking pictures of the ceremony :D

Pictures from the exposition, taken during our photography classes 

My drawing <3

Us in traditional cloathes eating some traditional food :D, yummmyyyyy!

Take care \ Have fun 

Dan 

P.S. The drawing is 100 euros if you want to buy :))

Workshops.

Students are fully focused on their work and what I appreciate helpfull for each other.
The last theme- geometric abstraction is finished (for some of us), now we're trying to make a three-dimensional stained-glass.

Thanks to Sedat's photography course we're visiting cute places, trully cute. heh can't find a better word for that.

Greetings,
Monika