Languages, a vehicle for success

In the opinion of many people, Istanbul is one of the most fascinating cities in the history of the world, the city of two continents or the city of Mosques,……or the hearth of Turkey.
We held our third meeting in Istanbul since 1st to 7th of March 2009. Three students and two teachers from Jimena Secondary School participated in this Comenius meeting

ADNAN MENDERES ANATOLIAN HIGH SCHOOL is located in a very important socio-economical area. It has 44 teachers and 592 students. They say that all their students get a standard high school education in terms of the Turkish National Education Policy. Students get this school after an exam in all Turkey.

The students made Power point presentations about “High School rules” and “Holidays” which were shown in the second and the third days of the meeting. They were very interesting sessions for everybody. The Comenius teachers made a Presentation about “School System”, after we were exchanging information and analyzing the professional teachers activities from multiple aspects.
We could visit other vocational schools in the same district. All students wear school uniform, consisting of white shirt with a black polo.

Istanbul is situated on two continents. The east part of the city is in Asia, and the west part in Europe. On the South it is bounded by the Sea of Marmora, on the North – by Black Sea. The sea route from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea requires passing through the Bosporus and Istanbul.

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, which combines continents and cultures. Its population is 15 million people and the city is one of the biggest industrial and cultural centres in Turkey. Beautiful mosques, Christian sanctuaries, palaces, modern buildings, it is no chance that Istanbul is famous as the Cradle of Civilizations.

All together, students and teachers visited this great city. At first Istanbul seems too crowded with cars and people everywhere, but perhaps that is one of its charms. Turkish people were wonderful and pleasant guides and they got to show us what Istanbul is like. We could visit the great palace of Topkapi;

….. the Hagia Sofia, the “church of holy wisdom”, the most important Byzantine architecture found in Istanbul; the Blue Mosque and surroundings; the Dolmabahce Palace, how lucky to see the Bosporus from this place, how lucky the Sultans were to own such property! ….and the Grand Bazaar, a labyrinth of small shops of Turkish souvenirs, lamps, carpets, potteries, jewelleries, chessboards (very pretty), ….

Istanbul is a living museum with its historical sites in open air!