Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Sunday

o    All 31 students met at the airport. We were looking forward to an exciting trip with our classmates, but one was missing, Jeppe. Where was he? Poor boy, he was ill. We missed him on the trip, it was very sad not to have him with us. We arrived at Istanbul airport 16.20 O’clock. At the airport we met a very confused bus-driver. He couldn’t find his own bus. Finally we found the bus, and we were on the way to our lovely hotel.


We were positively surprised to see our hotel, because it was a lot better than our hotel in Belgium. We checked in, and shortly after we had all packed out.

 At 7 pm we met in the lobby, because we had to go out and eat with the whole class. We walked for 30 minutes, and came to a little restaurant near the Blue mosque. Our plates were filled with six different kind of meat. The girls couldn’t eat half of the plate. We walked home through the busy and vibrant streets of Istanbul. Our first impression of the city was positive. We were tired after the long day, and went straight to bed.
One day my mortal body will turn to dust, but the Turkish Republic will stand forever.” - Atatürk   

Monday

Tuesday

We ate breakfast and afterwards we walked to the blue mosque. It was about 20 minutes from our hotel. When we arrived there were masses of people. We waited for 30 minutes to get into the mosque. When we came into the blue mosque we were happily surprised. It was so beautiful, and we couldn’t stop taking pictures.


Afterwards we went to the grand bazaar and experienced the huge city on our own.

Wednesday

The day began earlier than the others. We took a big white bus to a Turkish school. When we came into the school, we were surprised to see how their school system worked. The Atatürk school was very pretty and modern . In groups we all went to different classes . Some of us were in an English class, and others were in a science class. We enjoyed the class but we wouldn’t switch our system for theirs. Afterwards we visited the Halgia Sofia museum, which is a Mosque/Church. It was really exciting to see.

Thursday

On the fifth day, we went to see the Topkapi palace. What a magnificent place! Topkapi is placed in the centre of Istanbul, surrounded by Bosporus. It was like a magic world opening right in front of us, as we entered the area! During the Osmanic Kingdom, Sultans and the famous harems ladies lived a luxurious and different life at the Topkapi palace. The palace was the official and primary residence in the city of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years (1465-1856) of their 624-year reign. The palace was a setting for state occasions and royal entertainments. Today the palace contains some of the holy relics of the Muslim world such as the Prophet Muhammed's cloak and sword.
Even though lots of tourists had decided also to see the palace, we got an impression of the lost kingdoms greatness.
After quick lunch with delicious traditional Turkish food, we went to see the underground cisterns also known as the sunken palace.  It was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. Located in the northwest corner of the cistern, the bases of two columns reuse blocks carved with the visage of Medusa. The origin of the two heads is unknown, though it is thought that the heads were brought to the cistern after being removed from a building of the late Roman period.
Walking in the dark we experienced the very special atmosphere and got some very nice photos, as a remarkable memory.

After a long amazing day with a lot of experiences, the entire class went to a local restaurant. We had an amazing meal and a typical Turkish dancer, called “the dancing dervish” entertained us.
A perfect ending of a perfect day!

Friday

Friday morning it was time to check out from our hotel. We had a fast breakfast in the buffet and went up to our room to finish packing. 
A bus picked us up at the hotel and we drove to the airport. We were all a bit sad because it had been a great trip and we got to know each other in different ways then we are used to.
We got to know a different side of Turkey. We thought the trip was instructively good and we got great inside of the Turkish religion and culture, which was the purpose of the trip.
Our teachers had arranged the trip well and we experienced something new every day, such as the Cisterns, Blue Mosque and a sail trip up Bosporus.
We landed at Copenhagen airport at around 4 a clock and many parents were waiting for us at the meeting point.
We thought it was a great trip which gained many good memories and we are looking forward to next trip!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011