GEEO Turkey Google Earth Presentation

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USA

Merhaba! That means hello in Turkish. Today, I’d like to share with you a great experience I had while traveling to Turkey through a non-profit organization called GEEO. GEEO helps educators travel abroad so that they can learn more about different cultures to share with their students. I was joined on my trip by teachers from all around the United States.

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Mediterranean Sea

Turkey is a country in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Can anyone share what you already know about Turkey?

Turkey is surrounded by many countries (8, in fact!). Can anyone name any of the countries bordering Turkey? (A: Greece, Georgia, Armenia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, and Syria)

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Turkey

Compared to the United States, Turkey’s land area is just slightly larger than Texas, but Turkey has a population of almost 85 million people – almost three times as many as Texas. Turkey is geographically unique and has parts of its land mass in two continents, Europe and Asia. All of the land west of Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait is in Europe, and the rest of Turkey is in Asia.

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Istanbul

Our program began in Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul. Istanbul is on both sides of the Bosporus Strait; on the left (western) side is Europe, and on the right (eastern) side is Asia.

Turkey has been at the center of two great civilizations, the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Both empires made Istanbul their capital. Does anyone know what other names Istanbul used to be called? (A: Constantinople, New Rome, Byzantium)

Because the Byzantines and the Ottomans made Istanbul the center of their empires, it has a rich history and a lot of very old (and very beautiful) art and architecture.

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Topkapi Palace

In 1453, Sultan Mehmet II led the Ottoman Empire in conquering the city of Constantinople after a long and protracted battle. He changed the city’s name to Istanbul and ordered a new palace to be constructed. Topkapi Palace would become the home to all the Ottoman Sultans for over 400 years. (Possible question: Construction started in 1459, so how old is Topkapi Palace? A: 564 years old if you are giving this presentation in 2023.)

Topkapi Palace is particularly famous for its harem. The harem was the home of the sultan and his mother, wives, daughters, sons, brothers, and high-ranking women who managed the sultan’s household. The harem is decorated from wall to ceiling with traditional tiles and art.

(If possible, show photos that you’ve taken here.)

Topkapi Palace is also where they keep the Imperial Treasury. There are several rooms where you can see large gems, jewelry, and armor.

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Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia is one of the oldest cathedrals in the world. The Hagia Sophia, or Aya Sofia, was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian sometime between 532 and 537 AD. This means that it is around 1475 years old. For about a thousand years after it was first built, it was the largest cathedral in the world. When Mehmed II conquered Istanbul, he converted the Hagia Sophia into a mosque. It was a museum for a while but is now being used as a mosque again.

The Hagia Sophia is famous for its massive dome and its beautiful mosaics.

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Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque is one of the most well-known sites in Istanbul. Its actual name is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, after the young Sultan who had the mosque built. Sultan Ahmed was only 14 years old when he became a monarch. He built the “Blue Mosque” because he wanted to build something that was even more spectacular than the Hagia Sophia.

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Hippodrome

These are the remains of Constantinople’s Hippodrome. What do you think hippodromes were used for?

Hippodromes were like sports centers and were mostly used for horse racing. Hippodrome is an ancient word that originated from Greece. In Greek, hippo means horse, and dromos means path or way. Hippodromes are commonly found in cities that were built or occupied by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Today, the Hippodrome is more like a town square or park that contains interesting monuments from the ancient Hippodrome, such as two huge Egyptian Obelisks.

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The Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the biggest and oldest covered markets in the world. Bazaar is an unusual word. It means “market,” and it comes from a Persian word that translates to “place of prices.” What do you think you can buy at the Grand Bazaar? Almost everything! Food, clothes, jewelry, furniture, leather goods, lanterns, carpets…

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Suleymaniye Mosque

The Suleymaniye Mosque is the second-largest mosque in Istanbul. The mosque was named after the Sultan who built it, Suleyman. In the garden behind the mosque are the tombs of Suleyman and his wife, Roxelana.

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Anitkabir

Next, we took a long drive to Ankara, which is the capital of Turkey. Here you can see the Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

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Ataturk’s Tomb

Ataturk is very important in Turkish history, as he was a leader in the Turkish War of Independence. Up until 1922, Turkey was still ruled by the Ottoman Empire. Ataturk led the resistance movement and became the first President of the Republic of Turkey.

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Tuz Golu Salt Lake

Tuz Golu means “salt lake” in Turkish. Lake Tuz is the second largest lake in Turkey, and it is one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world. What do you think a hypersaline lake is? (A: A landlocked body of water that has such high levels of sodium chloride (salt) that it has a higher level of salt than the ocean).

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Göreme

We traveled southeast of Ankara to the mountainous region of Turkey called Cappadocia. The town of Göreme is surrounded by rock formations known as “hoodoo” or “fairy chimneys.” The fairy chimneys are created by rock erosion and are shaped by the winds and flood waters. You can also find fairy chimneys in the United States in the Badlands in North or South Dakota or in the “Four Corners” region in the Southwest.

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Göreme Open Air Museum

The Göreme Open Air Museum is a site where you can visit several cave churches. These churches were carved from the fairy chimney rock dating back to the 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th centuries.

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Hot Air Ballooning

One of the best ways to see Cappadocia is by taking a ride in a hot air balloon. Some members of our group did just that.

Here is a Rick Steves video about hot air ballooning in Cappadocia.

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Zelve

We visited what remains of an ancient monastery carved into the rock. We saw frescoes and climbed up into rooms and passages where priests used to live. (Show photos if possible.)

Read more about the history of Zelve here.

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Derinkuyu Underground City

Derinkuyu is an underground city that was created as a refuge against invasions. It is made up of about 18 levels, though we were only able to visit a few of them, as many levels have not yet been excavated. The city had an underground river, and it was large enough to have sheltered as many as 20,000 people together with their livestock and food stores. It was abandoned in 1923 and then discovered in 1963.

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Mevlana Museum

We traveled to Konya to visit the Mevlana Tomb and Museum. Rumi Mevlana was a 13th-century poet and Sufi mystic. Has anyone heard of Whirling Dervishes? Mevlana’s followers founded the order that is now famously called the Whirling Dervishes because of their religious rituals where they whirl in circles.

If you wish, you can show a couple of minutes of this video (starting at 2:16).

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Beysehir homestay

Our group had the opportunity to stay at a local home in Beysehir, which is a large town near a lake. (Share your experience staying in a Turkish home. What was it like? What did you eat for breakfast?)

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Antalya

Antalya is a beautiful city in the southwest of Turkey. It is surrounded by mountains, and it borders the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

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Hadrian’s Gate

One of the most famous sites in Antalya is Hadrian’s Gate. The triumphal arch was built to welcome the Roman Emperor Hadrian when he visited the city in the year 130. Can you think of other examples of triumphal arches in the world? (A: Arc de Triomphe, Paris; Arch of Titus, Rome; Wellington Arch, London) (Arches in the US: Washington Square Park, New York; Millennial Gate, Atlanta)

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Overnight Boat Trip

We went on an overnight boat trip on the Mediterranean Sea. (Share your experience on the overnight boat trip. What did you eat? Where did you sleep? What was it like?)

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Simena Castle

During the boat trip, we visited Simena Castle. The castle is in a village called Kalekӧy and was built by the Byzantines in the Middle Ages to fight pirates!

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Kaş

Kaş is a small town on the coast that was most likely founded by the Lycians, an ancient civilization. The Lycians had unique-looking tombs that were large and had a pointed crest like an upside-down boat at the top. The Lycians also had tombs carved into the rocks and cliffs.

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Pamukkale

Pamukkale is both the name of this town and the name of the ancient terraces made of calcium carbonate. (Describe what it felt like to walk on it. What did it look like? What did it feel like? Share your photos if possible. You can also ask if anyone has been to the Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park, where they have similar travertine terraces.)

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Hierapolis

Hieropolis was an ancient Greco-Roman city (Greek, then Roman) built next to Pamukkale, as it was believed that the hot springs there could heal people. The city has been destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt several times over the centuries. We walked through the ruins of the ancient city. (Share what you saw—did you see the amphitheater, the necropolis?)

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Ephesus

We visited the ruins of Ephesus, which has some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in the world. In ancient times, Ephesus was one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean world, and at its peak, about 250,000 people lived there.

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Ephesus Theatre

Ephesus has a huge amphitheater, which was used in the past for dramas and gladiator fights. It could seat 25,000 people at a time. (Can you compare this seating capacity to a local sporting venue?)

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Library of Celsus

One of the most amazing sites we saw in Ephesus was the façade of the Library of Celsus. Archaeologists believe it once held an impressive collection of over 12,000 scrolls. It is named after the man who had it built, Celsus, who was a wealthy local politician.

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Temple of Artemis

The Temple of Artemis was once one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Dedicated to the Greek Goddess Artemis, the temple was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times, and the final and greatest form of the temple stood for over 600 years before its ultimate destruction in the 5th century. What is left today is a single column in a field of grass.

Can anyone name one of the other six Wonders of the Ancient World? (A: Pyramids of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes, Lighthouse of Alexandria)

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Basilica of St. John

The Basilica of St. John was once a great church constructed by the Emperor Justinian. Do you remember what else the Emperor Justinian had built? (A: The Hagia Sophia) Justinian had the basilica built at the site, which was believed to be where St. John’s tomb was located.

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Ayvalik

Ayvalik is a small seaside town that is predominantly Greek in origin. The town has a local specialty called Ayvalik Toast, which is made with thick white bread, fresh tomatoes, salami, cheese, mayo, and ketchup.

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Troy

Troy was an ancient city. It was made famous by Homer’s poem, The Iliad (which is followed by The Odyssey), and the Greek myth of the Trojan Horse.

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The Trojan Horse

Here you can see a reconstruction of the Trojan horse that we were able to climb up. Does anyone know the story of the Trojan Horse? According to Greek myth, Troy and Sparta went to war when Paris, a prince from Troy, abducted Helen (who was supposed to be the most beautiful woman in the world) from her husband, the king of Sparta. Troy was destroyed after they were tricked by the Spartans into accepting a huge wooden horse that the Spartans gave them as a “gift.” The Trojans didn’t know that hundreds of soldiers were hiding inside the horse. When the Trojans were sleeping, the soldiers crept out of the horse and destroyed the city.

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Dardanelles

The Dardanelles are a narrow strait that connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. The Dardanelles are strategically important as they are a passageway to the Black Sea.

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Çanakkale

Next, we visited Çanakkale, which is the closest city to the ancient ruins of Troy. Have you ever seen the movie Troy with Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom?

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Another Trojan Horse

The producers of the movie gifted the “Trojan Horse” they used in the movie to the city of Çanakkale. Here’s a clip of the Trojan Horse being wheeled into the city in the movie Troy.

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Dur Yolcu

On the hillside of Canakkale is the Dur Yolcu memorial. It shows a soldier next to a red flame with the words “Dur Yolcu,” which means “stop wayfarer” or “stop passenger.” This is a reference to the battle between the Turks and the Allied forces (made up mostly of Australians, New Zealanders, British, and South African soldiers), which took place on the slopes of Gallipoli during World War I.

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Lone Pine Cemetery

We visited Lone Pine Cemetery, which commemorates the Australians and New Zealanders who died in Gallipoli during World War I. It is a very solemn but peaceful place. Each year, on April 25^th, thousands of Australians and New Zealanders gather in Gallipoli to commemorate the landing of the ANZAC soldiers.

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Alay Sehitligi

We also visited the cemetery where the Turkish soldiers who died in Gallipoli were laid to rest.