Lakes offer alternative vacation opportunities

Turkey has a special geographic area called ‘Lakeland,' which contains many small lakes extending between five cities that offer alternative tourism activities

A number of large and small lakes in Turkey's Göller Yöresi (Lakeland), which extends from Antalya to Isparta, Konya, Burdur and Afyonkarahisar, offer alternative tourism opportunities. Among them, the lakes in Burdur stand out for their natural beauty, vegetation and wide-range of bird species. According to the information obtained by Anadolu Agency (AA) from officials from the Burdur Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism and the Regional Directorate of Natural Protection and National Parks, Lake Salda, which is 9.86-meters-long and 6,800-meters-wide, is situated in a closed basin formed on a tectonic hollow in Burdur's Yeşilova district. It is 185-meters-deep and features clean sand. With its 301 aquatic and terrestrial plants from 61 different families, Lake Salda also offers clear, turquoise water. Bicycle tours, diving and bird watching are the most popular activities to do while enjoying the lake's tranquilizing atmosphere. Lake Salda is also a must-see stop for professional photographers.

Turkish violinist Muhammed Yıldırır sets a new world record as the fastest violinist

Turkish violinist Muhammed Yıldırır set a new world record as the fastest violinist by playing a famous interlude in only 37.84 seconds, surpassing Britain's Ben Lee who played it in 54.24 seconds and getting him into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Yıldırır performed "Flight of the Bumblebee" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, a high-tempo piece that takes more than one minute to play for other violinists, in the presence of Guinness representatives at an Istanbul concert.

7 sources to help learn about Turkish culture

For those who are eager to learn more about Turkish culture, there are many websites and mobile apps that provide detailed information about authentic features of the country, such as cuisine, history, music and touristic spots

Wieliczka Salt Mine (Poland): Deep into planet Earth.

During our recent visit to Poland in May 2015, we went on an incredible trip under the Earth, where we even  had lunch! Can you believe it?

   


There's such a place and it's called Wieliczka. Inscribed in the UNESCO world Heritage Sites List since its very beginning in 1978, together with other 11 places in the world, it's one of the oldest companies (not to say the oldest one) still running in Europe today. Its visit is like a quick look onto the history of this beautiful friendly country.
The article explains the mine from the point of view of a group of students, 15-16 year olds, who visited it as part of an Erasmus + KA2 project.
Enjoy the trip!

Link to the document where the article appears:
Wieliczka Salt Mine (Poland): Deep into planet Earth. PDF document.

Enjoy interviews!

You are invited to listen or to watch a few interviews conducted and recorded by students participating in our meeting in Bieruń. 

The links below include conversations with people chosen by students. Enjoy all the talks!

1. Charlotte Gustafsson - a teacher of Swedish and English and a coordinator of Swedish team. The interview has been prepared by: Bartek Blacha (P), Felicia Lindblad (S), Amelie Johansson (S), Mario García (E), Rares Ilies (R), Daniel Seoane (E), Şura Dinç (T), Sara Miernik (P) and Oliwia Długoń (P).

Our Trip to Poland

It was a fantastic journey!  This project, Erasmus +, has helped us to meet people from other countries and improve our English level. 

                             Outside the school.
 
We left from our school on Friday 22nd at 7.30 pm. We arrived at Santiago’s airport at 8.30 pm. We took the plane after doing the control and we got to Madrid at 11 pm. We slept at Viky’s hostel, but we only slept more or less half an hour.

About three tons of waste removed from Bosphorus

A 2,950 kilograms of solid waste has been removed from the Bosphorus as part of a special project "Clean Marine Broom", Ali Ağaoğlu, head of the Ağaoğlu Group, announced in a statement on Thursday.

The "Clean Marine Broom" project, organized with the support of the Turkish Ağaoğlu Group, began on May 22 and collected nearly three tons of solid waste in just over one week.

Turkish doctor invents device to diagnose skin cancer in 10 seconds

Canan Dağdeviren, the first Turk to be elected as a Junior Fellow to the Harvard University Society of Fellows and made it on Forbes's "30 Under 30 in Science" list, invented a device that can easily and quickly diagnose skin cancer. The device is pasted to the skin like a tattoo and provides results in less than 10 seconds. Dağdeviren's research was published in "Nature Materials" magazine.Dağdeviren talked about her invention to Anadolu Agency (AA) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she is continuing her research. Explaining that the device exerts pressure on the skin in order to determine the structure of the skin, she said the device shows whether the skin has a tendency to develop cancer cells or not. "The structure of skin cancer has been already discovered by scientists. When the results show any resemblance to skin cancer, the patient undergoes other tests such as a biopsy," she said. She added that the device was tested on a patient who was suspected of having cancer and the doctors conducted a biopsy thereafter. "I sent my own data and highlighted the places that looked concerning. When the biopsy results came back two weeks later, they overlapped with my results. This is a fast, painless and easy method," Dağdeviren said.

Istanbul Shopping Fest brings joy and summer colors to the city

Launched on May 6, the fifth annual Istanbul Shopping Fest continues with exclusive events and discount opportunities. Istanbul will witness a shopping spree in different corners of the city until June 28.

Organized by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, the Turkish Federation of Shopping Centers and Retailers, the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's Kültür A.Ş, the fifth annual Istanbul Shopping Fest, which brings Istanbul's gastronomy, history and cultural values together across Istanbul, one of Europe's most dazzling cities. The festival will continue until June 28 and will turn Istanbul into a center of attraction for shopping and entertainment. With its unique atmosphere, blending the East's orientalism and West's dynamism, Istanbul will enable its residents and guests to experience the joy of shopping as well as discover new tastes and places.

The heart of the Jewish quarters in Cracow. Part II.

CURIOUS JEWISH SYMBOLS FOUND ON OUR WAY:

INTRODUCTION.
Our teachers had previously asked us to pay attention to any strange symbols to us we might find on our way. They had told us to take photographs because, later on, we would have to investigate if the symbols had any meaning. Below, you can have a look at the conclusions we got after our investigation.

Hamsa (in Jewish), Hand of Fatima (in Muslim):
This is a talisman frequently used for protection amongst Jewish and Muslims. It is a hand-shaped symbol, a sign of protection against all evils and it is potent in deflecting the evil eye. 
It’s also called: Khamsa, Hamsa, Chamsa amongst Jewish while amongst Muslims, it is known as  Hand of Fatima after Mahoma’s daughter, Fátima Azzahara  or The Eye of Fatima (some of them may display an eye in their interior).  

Photographs from Szeroka, Kazimierz, where a restaurant was displaying this symbol (we guess that for protection).

The heart of the Jewish quarters in Cracow. Part I

A WALK FROM FLORIANSKA TO PODGORZE: Deep into the heart of the Jewish quarters in Cracow.
Following some indications prepared by the teachers involved in the visit to Poland beforehand, it was decided that the students would be in charge of guiding our tour to Podgorze in Cracow, with a previous stop at Kazimierz.