ERZURUM
Merhabalar!
Believe it or not, I started writing this blog post in
early August… 3 months passed and here I am, trying to finally finish what I
have started.
For those who don’t know, last summer I spent in Turkey.
If you are wondering what I was doing there. Well, I went there on Erasmus +
internship program. “Worked” in International Cooperation Office of Erzurum
Technical University. It is a very young university as it was established only
in 2010. Despite that it’s growing and developing extremely fast. I’m sincerely
curious to see how it will look after several years! All the best of luck to
the university staff that I encountered and got to know, during my stay! Thank
you!!!
My lovely internship place!~
Paieškos rezultatai
Žiniatinklio rezultatai
My internship took place in a small city of eastern
Anatolia (Asian Turkey) called ERZURUM. This city is mainly popular for its cold
winters, winter sports, students and Cağ
kebabı. 100 km. north of Erzurum in the
Tortum district there is Tortum Waterfall, which is the largest Waterfall in
Turkey, a must-see place for sure, especially if you dreamed of seeing one in-person.
Like I did. I still remember the excitement I felt when I saw it.
So yeah, why Erzurum, a place that not many know of,
heck that, I didn’t even know of it too? To be fair, as my graduation was approaching,
and post graduate Erasmus + internship application deadlines were just around
the corner. I decided to use my last opportunity to go somewhere. As I was looking
for a place that would be of my interest, I stumbled upon an advert for an internship
in International Cooperation Office. Only a few seconds later I saw that it’s
in Turkey and after my last trip to Turkey, especially that one day in Istanbul…Turkey,
wasn’t on my “Country to go to so soon” list. So, I put that advert on hold for
a few days. Frankly speaking, I wanted internship in Spain or somewhere in
southern Europe. Long story short, I ended up giving Turkey a go and sent an
email to the university. As you already guessed, I got the internship and in less
than 4 months my flight touched down in Erzurum, where I had the best summer of
my life, until now.
Before I came to Erzurum, I didn’t know what to expect...
My acquaintances haven’t spoke highly of it and most of their reactions were,
“WHAT??”, “ERZURUM?”, “Why?”, “It’s so dangerous”, “So controversial, you
better hide your eyes and hair.”, etc... I assume you can imagine what was going
through my mind. To add up, the images or videos that I tried to find online,
on social media weren’t the pleasant type, there was barely any information
about the city in English too. Fortunately, out of all my friends, I found one person
who physically visited the city and like others were extremely supportive of me
going there and didn’t say much about it, they just simply encouraged me even
though I’m sure that at the back of their head they also thought the same thing
“Erzurum? ***, why?” but they just didn’t say anything about it and were happy
for me. For that I am very grateful to them.
So yeah, I was in one of the most “controversial”
cities in Turkey, did I feel out of place? Not really. Did I have to cover
myself, especially my hair? No, I didn’t, because majority of them don’t even
do that. In fact, the rate of lighter shade hair and people with different range
of eye colors in Erzurum is higher than the west Turkey for sure. Also, people aren't as bad as some people made it out to
be, at least to me they weren't. They smiled and actually didn't stare at me
like I am some kind of alien. I‘m mostly referring to women, because they tend
to do that... Especial in west part of the country. In Erzurum I felt more
welcomed. People were pretty helpful too and tried their best to speak in
English as far as their capabilities allowed them too. At most cases they used
google translator if they wanted to say something. They put so much effort in
to making you feel comfortable that at times it can be too overwhelming, especially
to people that are used to doing things on their own. Don‘t get me wrong, not
all of them are like that. Just like in my country and any other, there are
as*holes. So don‘t judge a country based on it‘s people. If you met one as* of
a person in one country doesn't mean that all of them are like that. During my
stay in Erzurum I was living in dormitory and during those 2 months, I lived
with 7 different people. My first roommates were the typical bad-ass Turkish ladies,
our first encounter wasn't the most pleasant one for sure, and after less than
a month we parted our ways with me moving to another room for several weeks
until I moved to another dormitory. Despite that, I enjoyed my time and created
at least a few nice memories with every single person that I met, no matter how
fake they were. My point here is, not to pay too much importance to people,
just talk to them and enjoy your time, after all, it might be the first and
last time you see them.
Talking about weather...
Oh boy summer in is perfect there. A bit hot but since there‘s no humidity and
there is wind, it is so refreshing. I forgot to mention that Erzurum is situated
1757 meters (5766 feet) above the sea level and doesn’t have much trees meaning
that I do get more or less a closer and direct contact with the sun. Let me
tell you, one hour is plenty enough to get a serious sunburn, experienced it on
my own flesh. Last summer didn’t rain much. In those two months, I think it
rained around 4-5 days, mostly evenings too, that is nothing, am I right?
The city itself is small
but lovely. It has places that are full of history and looks extremely
wonderful. Surely I don‘t recommend going to some areas, especially alone but
that applies to every country in this world.
Tea is everything in here. You know how in Europe
people would say that the most relaxing evening is having a pin of beer or some
sort of alcohol with a cigarette so in Turkey, instead of alcohol they say tea
with cigarette and friends’ company. You can get tea everywhere and anywhere, I’m
not joking, tea with a slice of lemon is perfect too. However, I am still not a
tea person… They tried to make me into one, but my stomach can not handle too
much tea, it just cannot. Meat is also a thing here; they consume so much meat!!!
2 months doesn’t seem like a short time, but it passes
by as quickly as any day does. I should have stayed longer and expanded my stay,
but I do not regret anything, and I doubt I would do anything differently if I
have a chase to reverse time. During my stay, I met amazing people. I signed up
for something that I was always against. Tried it and I still am against it. I
saw things, felt things and don’t regret anything.
Even up to this day, I come back to those summer
memories and all because I am a person who lives of memories. I still listen to
Turkish music that I got to know during my stay, I will share it with you all. I
will also promote a few businesses that are worth checking out, especially if
you are living or are planning to visit Erzurum. Also, a few personal places that
are definitely worth going to, best quality in town!!!
Erzurum is the city that I'm sure will find myself coming back too, over and over again. Not sure I will be ready to go there next year but in 2021
for sure, I want to see winter that everyone spoke so highly about.
MY TOP TURKISH SONGS FROM MY SP PLAYLIST:
- Oldu Olanlar
by DJ Tarkan, Sagopa Kajmer
- Yol by Fikri
Karayel, Tolga Erzurumlu
- Geceler by
Ezhel
- Felaket bu
Ezhel
- Ay Tenli Kadın
by Ufuk Beydemir
- Fight Kulüp
by Ben Fero, Ceza, Ezhel, Killa Hakan
- Sen Istersin
by Sedef Sebüktekin, Canozan
- 321 by Ben
Fero
- Demet Akalın
by Ben Fero
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Make sure to check their INSTAGRAM out and give a follow.
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