Turkey from the very beginning seemed like a place simply not fit for me. Me, allergic to all the cats freely roaming around every corner of the city and a vegetarian surrounded by all the doner shops. Despite that, moving to a new city, meeting new people and discovering new places were all always my favourite activities, so I was very excited for another opportunity to do so!
My first days were focused on learning how to get around, becoming settled in the apartment, and most importantly meeting all the amazing people that I was planning on spending the next two months with. I loved walking along the streets of Izmir for the first time, discovering all of the little shops, stopping to try Turkish coffee and chai in so many places that I couldn’t count. Before I noticed, I already had my favourite spots everywhere, got used to taking the ferry to the office, listening to people singing and playing, all the hustle and bustle at the bazaar, and just being a part of all of it.
I spent my days doing language clubs with local people, getting inspired by them and sharing my experiences with them. I got the chance to conduct some workshops and unleash my passion for non-formal education. In my free time I tried to seize every minute to visit all of the museums in the area, take all the dolmuses to nearby places and just get the most of my time in Turkey.
I also got the opportunity to travel to Sivas for an on-arrival volunteer training. Those three days were surely another highlight of my time. Travelling there and meeting volunteers from even further away places sparked my curiosity. Only a week later, I found myself on a plane to Sanliurfa to visit them. There, we went to see Gobeklitepe, called by some point zero. Seeing traces of civilisations that lived 12 thousand years before was more than impressive. Standing in front of their creations, the T-shaped constructions with different animal carvings on them, and making theories about their reasonings and lifestyles felt unreal. We also experienced the life of Sanliurfa and enjoyed the cuisine of that region a lot. I feel like I saw two very different sides of Turkey, and both experiences were very valuable to me.
There is so much to discover all around Turkey, so many different perspectives and ways of living to understand, such a diverse and interesting history to learn, beautiful nature to see, and welcoming people to talk to. Now I am leaving with the impression that two months is barely enough time to scratch the surface.
In the end, I not only managed to survive, but deeply enjoyed my time in Turkey. It turned out that all the cats are amazing to observe from a distance, and the Turkish cuisine offers way more than just kebabs. I loved my stay in Izmir and will always carry this place as a piece of me.