Getting to know the city I live in:  Istanbul

Here it is….

The 6th of October is the Independence Day of Istanbul.  Our teachers asked us to bring photos of Istanbul to school.  At home, we looked at Istanbul photos with our parents, and then we chose our favorites and brought them to school.  Of course, we all wondered what this was about.  First we listened to our teachers talk about Istanbul, then they answered our questions.  By this time, our curiosity was aroused and we talked about the symbols of Istanbul.  Just listening and watching was not enough for us:  we wanted to see the symbols with our own eyes.  Each “star” class chose one of the symbols and then recreated it as a group project.  We wanted everyone to see “our” Istanbul, so we hung them near the entrance of our school.  The two balloon classes also participated in this project by selecting and making one of the symbols which they put into their portfolios.

Istanbul is such a big and beautiful city, and we realized that we could not finish this project in one day.  Nirva Abla came to our rescue and answered all our questions.  Nirva Abla is the assistant in our part of the school and has a masters degree in Art History from Istanbul University.  “I will explain Istanbul to you, and I will show photographs and videos of its famous historical sites.”  We got very excited about this and immediately accepted her offer. We realised that Istanbul is a very big city, and we wouldn’t be able to finish this in one day.  So, Nirva Abla suggested that she visits us once a month to talk about the different sites.  We loved this idea and we are looking forward to hosting her in our classrooms to learn more about Istanbul.  This month, she talked about Anadolu and Rumeli Fortresses.  Every month, Nirva Abla has promised to come and be our guest speaker.  Next is the Galata Tower, then Ayasofya, then Topkapı Palace, then Mimar Sinan’s masterpieces, then Dolmabahçe Palace, and finally Yıldız Palace.  We cannot wait for Nirva Abla’s next visit…