Several terrorist attacks put Turkey in the spotlight of the news this spring. Unfortunately this also had an effect on the five Summer Universities (SU) in this beautiful country. Except for the SU in Istanbul with 12 applicants, the other Summer Universities have less applications than average – so far. The Golden Times spoke with the organisers of all of these SUs – and they told us, why you should not be afraid or hesitate to come and apply for two marvellous weeks in Turkey.

AEGEE-Izmir: “Stay Right, Stay Green, Stay with Izmir Love”

SU Izmir

GT: What’s the date of your Summer University?
AEGEE-Izmir: The dates are 1st till 15th of July.
GT: What’s the main topic of your SU?
AEGEE-Izmir: This year’s topic is a combination of ecology and culture. Our participants will experience many activities and trainings with fun.
GT: What are the three main programme highlights?
AEGEE-Izmir: We will organise eco-friendly workshops and create materials we use in our daily life, we will visit cultural heritage landmarks – not only museums, but also places in nature. We will spend some time on nature walks and some time with vehicles, we offer activities where you can feel like a local, such as going to a vineyard or an apple tree field, where you can picking the fruits by yourself!
GT: Which cities or landmarks will you visit?
AEGEE-Izmir: We will be travelling all along the Aegean cost from Izmir to Fethiye.
GT: Do you think that the terrorist attacks in Turkey are influencing the number of applicants?
AEGEE-Izmir: Unfortunately, yes they are. The number decreased comparing to last years.
GT: What do you tell people who are hesitating to apply because of security reasons? How safe is it to come?
AEGEE-Izmir: Our Travelling Summer University will start in Izmir, where we will stay for a couple days. We will not stay in the most central place, only visiting some other places. The accommodation site is a fully secured area with security and restricted access with an ID card pass system. When we leave Izmir, we will be again staying in secured areas, even when are at the beach, go camping, and at other locations. As Turkey had the attacks as well as European Union countries, it can be seen that we can never say that nothing will happen, but we are trying our best to make you and us safe in each possible aspect. Izmir was declared “third terrorism area”, however we did not have any attacks except attempts and we hope that nothing will happen in the future. We are now rescheduling our programme according to the safety precautions and will offer both participants and organizers the #summerofyourlife.
GT: How can potential applicants find out more about your SU?
AEGEE-Izmir: They can visit our filled Facebook event page (www.facebook.com/events/1808094016084772), our colourful Instagram account (www.instagram.com/aegeeizmir) and check the profile on the lovely Summer Universities list:  https://www.projects.aegee.org/suct/su2016/su_list.php.

 

AEGEE-Istanbul: “İstanbul is ‘SUn’derful!”

61 Skopje Istanbul

GT: What’s the date of your SU?
AEGEE-Istanbul: 14th until 25th of July.
GT: What’s the main topic of your SU?
AEGEE-Istanbul: Our main topics are sports, local culture and history.
GT: What are the three main programme highlights?
AEGEE-Istanbul: Well, it’s hard to limit it to only three, because there are a lot of highlights! However, we think one of them is our amazing treasure hunt along the Bosphorus, the second one is visiting the historical peninsula and the third highlight is of course our boat party – it is very unique, because we will party between Asia and the European continent.
GT: Which cities or landmarks will you visit?
AEGEE-Istanbul: Basically we will visit what you can see when you search “İstanbul” in the images section on Google. For example we will visit the Blue Mosque, Topkapı Palace, Hagia Sophia, Dolmabahçe Palace, Galata Tower, the Maiden Tower and much more. We will also go for swimming to a town which is at İstanbul’s border, and to an island which is next to İstanbul as well.
GT: Do you think that the terrorist attacks in Turkey are influencing the number of applicants?
AEGEE-Istanbul: If you compare the number of applicants with last year, there is a significant decrease in the number of applicants. We are very sad to say it but it seems like it is indeed influencing the number of applicants.
GT: What do you tell people who are hesitating to apply because of security reasons? How safe is it to come?
AEGEE-Istanbul: We can completely understand people’s concerns. However, what happened in Paris and Brussels, which is the heart of Europe, shows us that terrorist attacks can happen anywhere and there is no guarantee about saying “It will never happen again” for any place or period or anything. But for now the only thing we can say is that İstanbul is safer than before, because police are everywhere, checking people especially if they see anything suspicious; also there is security staff checking bags before you use public transportation. And the most important thing is that we as organisers would never take you to the places if we know it is dangerous.
GT: Will the SU take place in any case?
AEGEE-Istanbul: Yes! We see the number of applications we already have – and these people really want to be with us. This gives us real motivation! The SU will take place in any case, because with the Network Meeting we already cancelled an event because of terrorist attacks, but now we won’t let terrorism achieve its objective!
GT: How can potential applicants find out more about your SU?
AEGEE-Istanbul: You can follow our fan and event pages on Facebook: www.facebook.com/istanbulissunderful and www.facebook.com/events/230474760620659/.

 

AEGEE-Adana: “Fire of Mediterranean 8”

Adana Cappadocia
The SU of AEGEE-Adana will visit amazing Cappadocia.

GT: What’s the date of your Summer University?
AEGEE-Adana: 28th of July until 11th of August.
GT: What is the main topic of your SU?
AEGEE-Adana: Our Summer University’s category is history and local culture – and the main topic is to familiarize Europeans with Turkish culture and Turkish hospitality.
GT: What are the three main programme highlinghts?
AEGEE-Adana: The three main programme highlights of “Fire of Mediterranean” is visiting historical landmarks, courses on specific topics and discovering the Turkish culture in an enjoyable way – and also parties.
GT: Which cities or landmarks will you visit?
AEGEE-Adana: “Fire of Mediterranean” starts in Adana and we will visit three more cities: Mersin (Tarsus), Nevşehir (Cappadocia) and it will end in Antalya (Olympus). These are all great places that you cannot miss!
GT: Do you think that the terrorist attacks in Turkey are influencing the number of applicants?
AEGEE-Adana: The terrorist attacks in Turkey definitely are influencing the number of applicants, but we are hoping to have enough applications for the “Fire of Mediterranean” Summer University.
GT: What do you tell people who are hesitating to apply because of safety reasons? How safe is it to come?
AEGEE-Adana: We are very sorry for the terrorist attacks, which happened around the world, but the criminals of the attacks that took place in Turkey have been apprehended and security measure have been been increased. By support of our municipalities we have taken necessary measures. The aim of terror groups all over the world is to scare, but we have to go against the wishes of them and live our lives. As we say: get out of your comfort zone.
GT: How can potential applicants find out more about your SU?
AEGEE-Adana: They can check our Facebook pages www.facebook.com/aegeeadanasu8 and www.facebook.com/adanaaegeesu/ and also the AEGEE SU page: www.projects.aegee.org/suct/su2016/show.php?su_id=ADA1.

 

AEGEE-Çanakkale: “Game of Troy”

Canakkale

GT: What’s the date of your SU?
AEGEE-Çanakkale: 18th till 30th of August.
GT: What’s the main topic of your SU?
AEGEE-Çanakkale: Main topic of our Travelling Summer University (TSU) is peace that comes with sport. Our thematic categories are sports, history and local culture.
GT: What are the three main programme highlights?
AEGEE-Çanakkale: In our programme there are three main highlights. The first one is Game of Troy. It is pushing the boundaries of people with its challenging platforms. The second one is scuba diving. We will see the amazing reefs that are waiting to been seen under the water at the land of Poseidon. The third one is windsurfing in the Dardanelles.
GT: Which cities or landmarks will you visit?
AEGEE-Çanakkale: We will visit the ancient city of Troy, the temple of Apollon Smintheus at Gülpınar, as well as the ancient town Assos and its Athena Temple. We will also go to Tenedos Island for scuba diving, a boat tour and camping. Finally, we are going to do windsurfing in Dardanos and we will go to a village called Bayramiç.
GT: Do you think that the terrorist attacks in Turkey are influencing the number of applicants?
AEGEE-Çanakkale: Actually no, because there has not been any terrorist attack in Çanakkale and we are going to host more participants than last year’s TSU in Çanakkale. We think we have done everything for the safety of our participants. Also we are going to Istanbul to escort our participants which arrive at the 18th of August.
GT: What do you tell people who are hesitating to apply because of security reasons? How safe is it to come?
AEGEE-Çanakkale: Terrorism is a common bleeding wound for each country. Terror attacks happened in Turkey like in other European Countries. There is no security problem in Turkey; actually here in Turkey, also in Çanakkale, there are a lot of foreign students who come by Erasmus + Programme and other student exchange projects. You can come with inner peace. We want to see you and enjoy our time together here in Çanakkale!
GT: Will the SU take place in any case?
AEGEE-Çanakkale: We want to complete this Summer University in the most entertaining way despite the negative circumstances.
GT: How can potential applicants find out more about your SU?
AEGEE-Çanakkale: We would like to share link of our TSU promo videos, where our applicants can find out more about our TSU. You can see here the how fascinating Çanakkale is. Here are the links: https://youtu.be/if0D3kikXZc and https://youtu.be/2uQgxSdyXyE.

 

AEGEE-Eskişehir: “CrEATe the Peace with your heART”

05 Eskisehir

GT: What’s the date of your Summer University?
AEGEE-Eskişehir: 15th till 29th of July.
GT: What is the main topic of your SU?
AEGEE-Eskişehir: We have two themes: arts, creativity, cooking and civic education. We chose these, because we want to show you so many things about Turkish culture. There are so many things worth seeing: artistic places, delicious food that you should absolutely taste, amazing activities and much more. The most important thing is that we want to focus on the topic of peace. When you have peace in your life, you are able to see clearly, think clearly, plan clearly, take action clearly, clearly see the results of those actions, think clearly as to how to proceed next – and the cycle perpetuates itself.
GT: What are the three main programme highlinghts?
AEGEE-Eskişehir: You will have a wonderful experience with every activity. Especially the paragliding from Babadağ Mountain in Fethiye is very famous worldwide. During the flight you will experience exciting 360 degrees turns. Another great activity is “Find your Food, Cook your Food”. We will give you a list of ingredients and a recipe, then you will have limited time to find and cook and join the competition with your food. Finally, we would like to mention an activity where we will create Peace T-shirts. You will make your own T-shirt about the topic “What is Peace for you?”
GT: Which cities or landmarks will you visit?
AEGEE-Eskişehir: We will visit five landmarks. We will start from Eskişehir. This city has been considered a very important place since the early years of the Ottoman Empire and has the famous Wood Bazaar. Porsuk Creek with boat trips and national parks are some other important places to see there. Eskisehir is an important tourism centre with its cultural richness, natural beauty and rich cuisine. Then we will go to Pamukkale. The name means “cotton castle” in Turkish, it is a natural site in Denizli Province in Southwestern Turkey. The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. Another landmark is Datça, which has nine villages scattered along the peninsula and amazing long beaches. After that we will see Fethiye, one of Turkey’s tourist centres, and Öludeniz, which was chosen as the best tourism centre in the world by The Times and The Guardian. Finally we will go to Kaş, which has a lot of inlets with a beautiful array of fish and other sea creatures like octopus and sea turtles.
GT: Do you think that the terrorist attacks in Turkey are influencing the number of applicants?
AEGEE-Eskişehir: It is influencing the number of applicants of course. This is very normal. People might afraid due to this reason. However, it should not be forgotten that unfortunately terror is not only an issue in Turkey. People keep on going to live their life, like us. This system of thinking helps bring peace into your life.
GT: What do you tell people who are hesitating to apply because of safety reasons? How safe is it to come?
AEGEE-Eskişehir: We understand people very well, but as we said before: terrorism is reality for the whole world. Nobody can give you any guarantee for even the most reliable country. We are still living here and our project going on.
GT: Will the SU take place in any case?
AEGEE-Eskişehir: We are doing everything to bring forth this project. Also we are doing everything, as much as possible, to make our Summer university the most popular one. It will take place when all the AEGEEans believe and stay with us. We all bleed the same colour and we will defeat this calamity all together.
GT: How can potential applicants find out more about your SU?
AEGEE-Eskişehir: We have Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages as well as email address. Applicants can find photos and videos about our SU and ask us everything. Facebook: www.facebook.com/EskisehirSU/, Twitter: Eskisehirsu2016, Instagram: aegeeeskisehirsu, email: su@aegee-eskisehir.org.

Check the full list of all 75 SUs: http://www.projects.aegee.org/suct/su2016/su_list.php.

SU Izmir2