LTT Turkey May 9th - 12th, 2022

 SATURDAY May 7th

The weekend was mainly just traveling, on Saturday we boarded the train to Helsinki, where we stayed at a hotel for the night.  

 SUNDAY May 8th

On Sunday we travelled to the airport on a local train. When we got to the airport we exchanged our money to Turkish liras and looked around at the airport shops and kiosks. We boarded the flight to Istanbul. The flight lasted for about 5 hours and we were served a delicious meal during the flight. When we finally arrived at Istanbul airport, we ate some food and boarded another flight to Samsun. On the flight we were served another, smaller meal. When we landed, we got onto a bus which was supposed to take us to Amasya, but it was stopped by the traffic police because there was something wrong with our transport vehicle and we had to wait outside the airport for about an hour after which the replacement bus finally arrived, and we got safely to Amasya. It was really late that we just went to sleep after arriving.

in Tikkurila waiting for the local train to the airport

at the airport waiting to board the plane to Istanbul

 

cold and tired in Samsun waiting for the transport to Amasya

 

MONDAY May 9th

Sehit Ferhat Ünelli Bilim ve Sanat Merkezi - the school

We went to the school. During the first class all the countries had their presentations.  

Teemu

Enni

the audience

the Finnish team

After that we went to a forest where there was a beautiful lake. We picked some flowers for Thursday's terrarium project. The teacher presented some experiments on acids and bases. We also ate some snacks.  

 

 

 

 

 

Oula, Minttu, Enni and Teemu

Oula taking part in the experiment

the whole group by the lake

team Finland

We also took many pictures in the forest and actually everywhere. We drove for about an hour back to school. And then we went back to our hosts' homes. In the evening we had dinner together with the girls. After the dinner we all just walked around the city and then went bowling which was fun. After bowling we went to a cafe and got to know each other better.  

TUESDAY May 10th

In the morning we walked around in Amasya in two groups, went to a museum and visited a mosque. The mosque was beautiful.  

Sabuncuoğlu Şerefeddin Museum (a historical hospital for mentally ill people) 

 

half of the group

 

the castle on top of the hill

                 Sultan Beyazıt mosque, the biggest one in Amasya                 

    

 

inside the mosque

walking in Amasya, the Kings' graves in the background

Amasya Archeology Museum                                   

 

 

"world's first selfie"

After visiting a few more museums we went to eat. The food was so good.  

barbeque lunch at the university

time for some play

  

 

the group at the university

Then we went to the university laborotaries to make study the plants and we were there for three hours. After one hour we ate some snacks. After those labs at the university the day ended. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost every one of us went to a cafe and we talked about everything. That was so nice. After that we went back to our hosts' houses and changed clothes. In the evening we went to a restaurant and played a Turkish game. After playing that game a few times we walked some distance to a playground. We played basketball and volleyball. It was so fun. 

WEDNESDAY May 11th

On Wednesday we took a 1-hour bus ride to the Samsun shopping mall where we ate some delicious food and bought everything from clothes to electronics, after which we went to a museum where we got to see some wax figures and learn about Samsun's history.  

After the museum we went to a beach by the Black Sea, where we played volleyball again and had some Turkish ice cream. The drive back to Amasya was very long, and we arrived back home pretty late. 

by the Black Sea

 

THURSDAY May 12th 

We went to school in the morning to prepare for the laboratory work. We made soap, lipbalm, candles and hand disinfectant from aromatic plants in the school lab. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also put seeds of the trees in clay and papermash and threw them in the backyard of the school.

Then we had some snacks and team building activities. Then we prepared the terrariums with the material collected from nature on Monday. 

 

 FRIDAY May 13th

We went to the school and planted some trees in the school grounds,every country their own.

 

the Finnish students after planting a tree

 Then we prepared the exhibition with the terraiums and the things we made on   Thursday. We had lunch  and played a Kahoot. We got our certificates.

 

 

 

the products and terrariums

  

 

an Erasmus cake

 

the Finnish team with the certificates and the head of the school

 We had a great time in the evening with all the students at a cafe in town.

 SATURDAY May 14th

We left very early for the airport. We flew first from Amasya to Istanbul and then to Helsinki. We had to stay in Helsinki overnight. We were back in Joensuu on Sunday at around eight in the evening.

 Thank you Turkey!

Written by Oula, Teemu, Enni and Minttu.

Pictures copyright: SinikkaL