Project meeting in Konya

EUROPEAN APPROACH   - Project meeting in Konya

9 - 14 November 2011

Notes by the Finnish group

Wednesday 9 November

The Finnish group travelled via Istanbul to Konya on Turkish Airlines flights.  To start with we were pleased to notice that TK offered a very good service in the way of food and drinks. During our stay in Konya we stayed at Hotel Selçuk. The groups from other countries stayed there, too.

Thursday 10 November

We walked through the city centre to our host School called Meram Halk Egitimi Merkezi Ve A.S.O. Müdürlügü - Meram Education Centre.  We were taken by bus outside the city centre.  There was a guided visit at Zazadinhan Caravansherai, a guest house/fortress from 13th century.  Then the bus took us to Sille, a place where early Christians had had dwellings inside caves and also a church.  There was also a mosque and a synagogue in the area and people of different religions lived in peace with each other at that time.

In the afternoon we visited Meram Park and river area, Ince Minare mosque (from outside) and Karatya Medrese museum.

In the evening there was the meeting and exhibition customary to our project. The groups from different countries had exhibition tables plus typical products for tasting.  The theme of the exhibition and the meeting was handicraft, although delicacies from each country played a considerable part.  The food table of the hosts was really abundant.  The most outstanding product on it was the typical Turkish desert Baklava - sweet and fatty but very delicious.  A group of young people performed a traditional wedding dance. It was an impressive performance.

Friday 11 November

We made a day-tour to Cappadocia region. On the way we visited Sultanhani Caravancherai, another guest house/fortress from 13th century.

In Cappadocia, in the Uchisar valley, there are mountain peaks of different sizes caused by a volcano eruption and erosion, and an ancient castle.  In the old times people made caves inside the mountains as dwellings for themselves and for their animals. Caves were also used for storing food etc.

Nowadays, especially in the town of Göreme many of the caves are enlarged and hotels are built partly inside the caves.  Some of the hotels are so expensive that only world-famous celebrities and other rich people can stay in them. The area is also suitable for air balloon flying.  This service is profitable for the local entrepreneurs. Our bus ride continued via Göreme to the village of Avanos.

On the way we visited a jewelry factory which makes e.g. vases and other products of local onyx. Avanos is the handicraft centre of Cappadocia.  We visited a 350-years-old pottery workshop located in a cave. We followed pottery making with traditional methods.  The clay for the products comes from the surrounding area.

Saturday 12 November

There was a lecture about the history of Konya at the school.  Afterwards we walked through a big bazaar area to a restaurant where we were served a traditional Konyan wedding meal.  Especially the ocra soup, wine leave rolls and the dessert were very delicious.  The main dish was lamb stew which had been cooked for three hours.  Good but rather heavy.  After the five-course meal it was appropriate to do some walking.  We visited the Mevlana Museum 

In the evening we watched a "Whirling Dervish" dance performance at Mevlana Cultural Centre. Both the building (over 2000 seats) and the performance were a unique experience.

Sunday 13 November

There was the presentation of the portfolios at the school.  Each country presented what they had learned and done during the previous course period.  The Estonian group showed a DVD on Finnish music, Poland had a presentation on Greece, Portugal on Finland, Greece on Polish Christmas and Italy on Estonia.  The Italians also showed some handicraft - how to make paper flowers and decorations of "magic dough".  The Greeks showed us how to make ceramic products without a wheel.

We were reminded of the fragility of life as we learned that one of our hosts had perished quite unexpectedly. We honor his memory.

In the afternoon there was the coordinators' meeting and in the meantime the others had an opportunity to go to Turkish bath. - And indeed we did have several refreshed ladies with rosy cheeks to company us for dinner, which was served in the Stadyum Restaurant. There was Turkish classical and also modern music performed by a band and a singer. 

Monday 14 November

No good things last forever and nor did our stay.  We had to leave the hotel and our host Tahir at 07.15, pack ourselves and our luggage in a bus and head for the airport for a flight to Istanbul and on to Helsinki.

We extend our sincere thanks to our hosts Tahir, Nazir, Kemal, Azis and others, the names of whom I don't have.  (Unfortunately, the Turkish family names are beyond my capacity).  We also thank our good guides who gave us a lot of interesting information at the places we visited.  The hosts had really done great work in preparing the meeting and other programme.  We keep the good memories for a long time to come.

Liisa Nyqvist

KONYA IN BRIEF

* Konya is situated in Central Turkey, appr. 200 km south of Ankara. The city of Konya has 1.2 million inhabitants. The Konya province has about 2.5 million people.

Konya lays over 1000 meters above sea level.  The actual Konya area is very flat but surrounded by mountains. The climate is continental.

* The general impression of the city is dominated by several mosques and the call for prayer coming from the minarets five times a day. Otherwise a visitor cannot notice a big difference compared eg. with a West-European city. In many places in the city one can see new and handsome apartment buildings. Many are also under construction.

* Economic life is brisk.  There is a big bazaar area, shops owned by international companies, but also a lot of small private businesses. Konya also has considerable industry.  Outside the city there are three industrial areas where the factories produce eg. spare parts for cars, electric and electronic equipment, tractors, textile products and food products, eg. dairy products and sugar. Making bricks is a traditional industry. As source of energy coal, natural gas and oil coming eg. from Russia and Iran are used. There are some hot springs in Turkey.  They have also been used for heating.  In the countryside many people use wood and straws.  

* Agriculture is important.  Eg. turnips, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat, barley, corn, apples, plums   and pears are grown in Konya region. The farmers also keep Cattle and sheep.

* Education system in Turkey in general is the same as in the countries of Central Europe. May be one difference is that high school last for four years.  There are two state universities and two private ones in Konya. 

* Vacation: People who have permanent employment have 30 days holiday a year. Nowadays also many women with family go to work. Depending on the economy of the family people like to spend at least a part of their holiday on the seaside.

* The culture in the Konya region is very old.  The recent excavations show that there have been people in the area as early as 6800 BC. Konya, as other areas of Turkey, have in the course of the centuries been concurred and ruled by different tribes and nations. The most outstanding period of history from which buildings and data has been preserved seems to be the Selçuk period. On 11th, 12th and 13th centuries Konya was the capital of the Selçuk Sultanate. From that period are preserved eg. Zazadinhan and Sultanhani "Caravansherais" - Guest houses.

* Caravansherai was a combined accommodation building and fortress guarded by soldiers.  Such buildings were built in 13th century.  The region was on the Silk Road and there had to be caravansherais at every 40 km distance, so that travelers could get shelter for themselves and their animals. Normally, there were two different areas in the building: one to be used in winter and one in summer.

* Karatay Medrese museum is one of Konya's many museums.  Originally it was a school where Koran, Islamic law and astronomy was thought. Now it includes a collection of ancient ceramics.

* Mevlana (Rumi) was a great poet and humanist, the most esteemed representative in the history of Islamic thought. He was born in Belkh in 1207.  He arrived in Anatolia with his father and settled in Konya. Mevlana had many students and connections to other teachers. He has written several famous books.  In his works, the predominant themes are love, the Universal meaning of Islam, and the mystical soul.  Mevlana died in Konya on 17 December 1273.  His life and his work is presented in the Mevlana museum, which also comprises his mausoleum.

* Whirling Dervish:  Mevlana founded the Sufi Mevlevi order which became famous for a specific dance of its members.  The dancers repeat a whirling movement and thus reach different stages of mind.  This "whirling monks" dance tradition has been preserved until today.  The performances can be watched eg. in the Mevlana Cultural Centre in Konya. The performance consists of five different parts.  These parts together form a unity called SEMA