Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi: BAU

Since I have been studying here for a couple of months, I decided to write a post about it. I hope it to help students planning to "study abroad" here. The things I am writing here are my opinions and has no relation to BAU official position. And I do not get any benefits for writing this although I got scholarship to study here from UNI (not BAU).

For official information go to bachesehir.edu.tr and choose "english" language option from top right. For course description go to ects.bahcesehir.edu.tr.

Bachesehir University, located on the European edge of Bosphorus not very far from the Bosphorus Bridge, is a fairly new institution with a lot of potential. Established in 1998, it has agreements with many universities in the USA (including UNI of course), Asia and ERASMUS (again, go to the website for complete listings). I recommend studying here instead of other university because the classes, most if not all, are in English. Don't get fooled if the syllabus says the class is in English. I went to a class which was supposed to be in English but not really, but the professor was nice enough to let us know that we should drop the class within 20 minutes of staying in the class due to language barrier. Understand that both professors and students are comfortable in Turkish so learning few basic phrases before coming here and brushing your skills here will be your source of survival. But I have learned, by meeting other exchange students, that BAU is far better when it comes to use of English.

For me I do not have language problems with classes here. Before starting the semester, I got to meet a professor from Math department (graduated from a US university) who suggested me what classes I could take. Also, there is a two week add drop period where you can check out classes. Turkish lessons are not mandatory for exchange students but are recommended if you can live through midterms and finals. I did not take Turkish classes but learned a little bit from my friends and looking at "sözlük". It came in very handy while traveling around Turkey. Turkish people are nice but they are nicer when you try to put in some Turkish sentences in your conversation.

The location of campus is just perfect. There are 3-4 campuses around Istanbul (they also have "world campuses" abroad) but I all my classes were in main campus in Besiktas which is very near the famous Bosphorus Bridge and Dolmabache Palace. The main campus three buildings (they call it A, B, C and D buildings but it is hard to distinguish between B and C buildings). And on the terrace of D building there is a cafeteria for students with an amazing view of the Bosphorus and the Asian side of the city. On a clear day, you probably would want to sit up there, drink tea all day, and not go to classes: it is that beautiful. Also there is a yacht shuttle available between the Besiktas and Galata campus almost every hour. That makes it very easy for students who have classes in two campuses especially when the road traffic moves very slow. So you can call it one of the best campus in Istanbul.

The people that I got to meet here were amazing as well. The school had arranged pick up service for us here but I was unable to find my "Buddy". Fortunately I met other buddies, and they helped me find him. These group of students were our core Turkish friends. They showed us around the city, invited us to parties, helped register for our classes and helped us get our resident permit. Most of them were part of a student organization called ERASMUS Student Network (ESN) chapter of BAU. Obviously we did a lot of things among the visiting students as we learned more and more about the new place but without these people it would have been a very difficult transition. People in the community are very nice and friendly. Living in a big city, you do not expect people be so considerate to you. In addition Beste had become my go to person in everything relating to school. She is the incoming exchange student coordinator and is one of the nicest person you can meet at BAU. If you are an exchange student going to  BAU, I highly recommend you send her an email beste.oztopal@bahcesehir.edu.tr

About the professors, they are nice too. If you give them enough time, they put the efforts to know you personally. If you go the suggested problems and ask them for their feedback or help they will be more than happy to talk to you. I had similar experience.


Overall, It is a great school. You will love it there. Once you get into the academic setting here you will sink into its comforts and in the marvel of the great city. See it for yourself. All the best

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Unknown 10:28 AM  No comment

Cappadocia with ISL

According to our tour guide, Cappadocia in Turkish means "land of beautiful horses" 

It is a region of Turkey in the heart of Anatolian side. It is a solid 8-10 hours bus ride from Istanbul. 

The Group!!!!

This past March, we took a group trip to Cappadocia with a "registered" student activity organization called Istanbul Student Life. They organize lots of parties, trips and events for Erasmus, exchange and local students. This trip in particular can be summarized as, long hours in bus, meeting many new people, countless "churches", rock formation chimneys, "cultural" nightlife, and a lifetime experience on a hot air balloon. 

Cappadocia from the Balloon

So, around 200 began our trip from Istanbul on a Thursday night with 5 chartered buses. The bus did have WiFi and some interesting mix of people. So the ride there was long but not as painful as imagined. 

Friday morning we reached Cappadocia. That section of the day was more like "go there, take the picture, enjoy the view and get back to the bus". We made few stops before lunch: 

Uchisar Castle(This place)

Pigeon valley

Captain Osman valley

Devrent valley

Etc.

We stopped for an open buffet lunch around 3:00pm and then headed towards our 5 star hotel ( or 3 out of 5 star as I like to call it). I was rooming with two other friends from Bahcesehir university. 

The evening was just normal. Since we were very tired, we decided to take a nap (I usually call them a short sleep as I actually fall deep I to sleep) we ended up waking up around 7 pm right on time for "open buffet dinner" at the hotel. I think buying drinking water is a tradition in Turkey, we had to put the 1 Lt. water on our tab. The event for the night was to go to Disco but me and my roomies decided to chill at the hotel and "maybe" join them later. Clearly, that did not happen as thy got back to the hotel even before we were ready to leave. Guilty of loudness and proud of some new connections, I went to sleep pretty late that night (morning)

Day 2

This day was a highlight of the trip. Not only because of the well planned portion of the trip but also because of last minute changes and short ride on bus. 

After having the "buffet" breakfast at the hotel we headed towards the place called "Goreme Open air museum" basically it was a preserved area with lots of caves and rock formations that are thought to have been used by people in the past for various reason but mainly Christianity worship. 

Before lunch we went to two places.

• A gem/stone factory/shop
• A pottery/terracotta factory/shop 

Both of them offered huge discounts to students.

After lunch, we did took the opportunity to take part in this activity which has been one of the highlights of my life so far. HOT AIR BALLOON OVER CAPPADOCIA.

The ballooning group before the flight

Our ballooning group after landing, with the captain 

After dinner, we went for "Turkish Night". It was an event of Turkish dances (including belly dance and whirling devises), music, and not to mention, unlimited alcohol (for those who like to drink) for 50TL. Overall the day was well spent.

Turkish Night

Day 3

Our last day in Cappadocia, we checked out of the hotel around 11AM and took the bus to few other places before heading back to Istanbul. Firstly we stopped at Derinkuyu Underground City, which is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Like its name, it has a completely different world underground. 

Then we drove to Ihlara Canyon where we also stopped for lunch. It was a cool place with a historical church on the top of the rocks. We enjoyed our time there as the weather was good.

After a long lunch break (many people did not get to eat) we started our journey back to Istanbul (at around 5 PM). On our way back, we stopped by Tuz Golu or Salt Lake in the middle of Anatolia. Apparently, the gift shops kept salt from the lake which would make your hands very soft if you apply them. After a short stop we resumed our drive. We reached Istanbul very late (like around 3 AM)

Special thanks to Steph Marvel and ISL for some of the pictures posted here

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Unknown 12:41 PM  No comment

North Cyprus Day 3 and 4: Kyrenia

Girne Harbour with the castke 

Once we had gotten back to the hostel that night, Steph and I shared our stories and our pictures. We settled on tie on who had more fun (but for sure we were lonely traveler). We discussed our plan for the next day. We were taking the 8AM dolmus to Kyrenia (or Girne in Turkish).


Day 3:
Obviously we did not wake up on time so had to wait for 9 AM dolmus. Dolmus is a like a mini van. But once the dolmus started, we reached Girne in no time. We took a taxi to our hotel even though we knew it was too early to check in. But knowing that it was off season, they would accommodate us somehow. But once we got there plans changed. We paid for the hotel and left our bags there and instead of checking in, we asked for towels and headed towards the beach. It was surprising that after being in Turkey for about two months and a half and being in Cyprus for three days, we had not spent time on a beach.

Harbour from the top of the castle

After few hours of chilling we were ready for some food and some time in the touristy town of Girne. Everybody was taking so much about this place so I was getting very excited for it. Girne, long strip of land facing the Eastern Mediterranean Sea to the east and mountains to the west. The city is famous for its old harbor, a very famous castle since medieval age and churches. Also, the town has small streets providing an atmosphere for its shopping district. Not to mention there are numerous hotels and casinos like elsewhere in Northern Cyprus.

Inside the Girne Castle Museum.
Showing the Venetian torture styles 

We decided to walk around the city and learn a little bit about it by exploring. It was around lunch time and there were a lot of tourists walking around or sitting at the restaurants. The restaurant chairs are laid half way into the streets and the staff try to invite you to their restaurant. Then we went to the Girne Castle. The castle was build by the Byzantines around 10th century and had been passed through the Venetians, the Ottomans and the British. Every empire have left their mark but without disturbing its originality. It was a very big castle and the first one I have ever been to in my life. I was kind of disappointed when I did not find the drawbridge though.

The famous Girne Shipwreck of the Mediterranean
Discovered after hundreds of years

Afterwards we went for chay and then back to the hotel to check-in and take a shower. That evening we went back to the city center for dinner and walked around the town at night. It seemed very lively. I had still not given up on going to Karpaz Peninsula. So we went around few big hotels if they had a group going there (as per suggestions). We ended up deciding not going there because during low seasons there are not much people going there. Instead we decided to stay within the city and go to the St. Hilarion Castle up on the mountains.

Well I have mentioned Karpaz Peninsula many times and if you are wondering what it is, it is the peninsula part of the island. It has miles long golden untouched beaches, wild donkeys who stop your vehicles for treats, other flora and faunas, and just peace and calmness you deserve coming from the city of 16 million people (official number may vary). It sounded like a true bliss when I heard about it. but was disappointed after I could not go there.

The breathe taking view from the St. Hilarion Castle

Day 4:

On the way to the Snow White castle

St. Hilarion Castle is also known as the Sleeping Beauty Castle. People here say that Walt Disney got inspired by this castle in his story. A castle up on the mountains hidden by trees and matching stones found within the same mountain might have been the reason.

This is the Snow White Castle

Once we got off the road, we tried to hitchhike up the way. At first we were not getting successful. And later we saw a military vehicle passing by where someone shouted at us which sounded like "GO BACK". We had realized that there are military camps up there and you can only pass with a vehicle. We were thinking of going back if we did not find a ride in next few minutes which we did. A German man with Claus helped us get up there spent time with us and brought us back to Girne around noon.

We were flying back to Istanbul today but we had a lot of time to kill and nowhere to go. So we decided to go to on a walk again and try to find something. We walked for few miles and ended up on a beach. I liked this beach because it did not have sands but pebbles. The pebbles were warm and round. I probably fell asleep under the sun for a solid 30 minutes. It felt amazing, away from the city limit and under the open sky it was a perfect spring break (self created). Afterwards we walked back, took the shuttle bus to the airport, got there hours early and waited for the check-in desk to open and once we checked in we waited until we the plane arrived.

Claus, Steph and me! 

I had a very good four days in North Cyprus. It was a last minute plan and we had not planned anything in advance. The lesson from the trip is that if you have a company and are ready to do things at your guts, you will love the experience. And not to mention I got to go "abroad" while in Turkey and I did not have to get a visa in advance for that so that was cool as well. And I would recommend going to North Cyprus any time of the year even though most tourist come during summer (that is why summer here is expensive).

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Unknown 2:14 PM  No comment

Istanbul Mosques

Some of the mosques in Istanbul. Can you name them??
Hagia Sophia is not a mosque anymore and was not a mosque when it was first built.

 

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Unknown 10:31 AM  No comment