Raul Galvez (Arts department) and I, Marta Valera, (English language department) carried out a mobility, within the centre’s Erasmus+ project, to Konya, Turkey, where we were living the day-to-day life of the girls’ school of Buhari Kiz Anadolu Imam Hatip Lisesi, from 16th to 22nd January, 2023.
Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and it is the capital of Konya Province. The population of the Metropolitan Province is of 2,277,017, making it the sixth most populous city in Turkey, and second most populous of the Central Anatolia Region, after Ankara.
We stayed there for week. The first two days, we carried out a seminar about how to improve communication between parents and students. It was a success and more than 70 parents attended the seminar. The first day, the seminar was aimed at teachers from the school and parents. Raul was the one who explained the theory and then, I carried out some activities with them.
The second day was aimed at students. We played the board game “ludus latrunculorum” a strategy game from the Roman Empire similar to chess. Then, we created a “thanks wall”, an activity that helped students reflect on what they are grateful for and finally we did some activities in order to put their oral English skills into practice. The students had a lot of fun and all of them were asking for selfies and signatures when we finished. We felt famous for a day!
The next days, we had the opportunity to walk around the city and try the local food. We visited the Kyoto Japanese Park. Japan in Konya? Yes, that’s right. The Kyoto Japanese Park is a beautiful botanical garden located just a bit outside the city where you feel like you have been teleported from Konya to Kyoto.
Then, we went to the Mevlana Museum, a complex that holds the tomb of the 13th-century religious leader, philosopher, and poet Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, who founded the whirling dervish sect of Sufism.
We also admired the Ceramic Artistry in the Karatay Tile Works Museum, explored the village of Sille (a tiny village that sits on the edge of the city, 10 kilometers northwest of central Konya) and we even watched the whirling dervish ceremony, the main devotional ritual of the Mevlevi order. The whirling is a form of prayer and meditations that dervishes believe bring them closer to God.
One of the places that I enjoyed the most was “Ecdat Parki”. It is one of the many spectacular parks that you can visit as part of your trip to Konya. This tourist attraction is known for its jaw-dropping display of historical Seljuk and Ottoman style architecture. If you visit Konya, it is undoubtedly a must-see. There, we met the local people and we had the opportunity to learn the traditional art of painting on water from the Ottoman Empire called “Ebru” and we produced even our own work of art in just 5 minutes! We also played “Ney”, one of the most typical instruments of Classical Turkish music and even tried to make pottery.
It was a unique trip, a full cultural immersion. This experience offered us a deep insight into another culture, its languages, food, beliefs, traditions and community. We could meet incredible and generous people who were completely dedicated to ensuring we had the very best and most memorable experience.
Konya you stole our heart!
Marta Valera English teacher