OUR SECOND ONLINE MEETING

Erasmus+ Project “From Intangible Expression to Digital Cultural Heritage”

The Programme

31.05.2023 - Sema Ceremony (TURKEY)

01.06.2023 - Education Information Network-EBA in English and Social Studies (TURKEY)

05.06.2023 - Tom's Adventures in an e-book (BULGARIA)

In first day of our online meeting Turkey team informed us about Sema Ceremony in their culture. 

SEMA CEREMONY-JOURNEY TO LOVER

Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi

Sema Ceremony comes from the Islamic scholar, thinker, poet and sufi called Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi. He is the universal symbol of tolerance and peace. He was born in Belh, Afghanistan but died in Konya, Turkey. He lived in the 13th century and has become a worldwide influencer. Throughout his 66 years of life, he has been able to touch everyone, from Muslim to non-Muslim, and embrace everyone no matter who they are. His works have been translated into dozens of languages.The sema tradition he left behind has been included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.

This ceremony carries mystical symbols. They whirl around during the ceremony because the basic condition of existence is to whirl. Everything in the universe survives with this rotation. Electrons, stars, planets, blood in the body, life on earth, everything revolves in a harmony.

Sema ritual has been performed for 8 centuries. It tells about the formation of the universe and the resurrection of man in the realm. Sema means listening. Sema is to whirl around your heart from right to left while listening to the sound of the universe. Mevlana made this move with the thought of reaching Allah. The whirling dervish takes off his black cardigan during the ritual and is born into the truth. While dervish whirling his right hand looks to the sky and the other looks to the earth. It symbolizes taking from the God and sharing it with people.  He takes action with the love of Allah. He realizes his servitude and turns towards the perfect human being. 

Sema ritual consists of 4 parts. These represent the 4 stages the traveler will go through.

1) Realizing one's own servitude

2) Admiration for the greatness of Allah

3) Admiration turns into love

4) To turn into the purpose of creation, into servitude. (The highest level is servitude)

                                               Clothes and Their Meanings

Sikke: It is a kind of tall felt hat. It symbolizes the tombstone and unity of the soul.

Tennure: It is a wide-skirted garment and symbolizes purity and the shroud of the soul.

Black cardigan: It symbolizes the soul and the grave.

Here are some pictures from the online meetings.

  

 

WE WERE IN BULGARIA!

Programme of Small-scale partnerships in school education of the Erasmus+ Project

From Intangible Expression to Digital Cultural Heritage

European number: 2021-Round 2-KA210-SCH-0A1738D9

Turkey-Italy-Bulgaria

After our first meeting in Italy,this time we were welcomed by the “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” Primary School from 7th to 13th May in Razlog, Bulgaria. It was again attended by 6 students and 2 teachers from each partner schools. Razlog is a town in Blagoevgrad Province in the southwestern of Bulgaria. This visit we made to Bulgaria was an experience for us where we nearly witnessed history. It is a town which is rich in traditions and customs.

On the first day of our visit we had a tour in Razlog and visited the Nicola Parapunov History Museum. It has many valuable collections of traditional local clothing and works of local craftsmen. In Bacheco village, our students had the experience of riding horse and tasted very delicious traditional foods of Bulgaria.

On the second day, we were in Bansko which is full of traditional houses. The Pririn National Park is located here and this park is included in the convention for the Preservation of World Natural and Cultural Heritage Sites. Here in Bansko, having experienced the Bulgarian folk dances and local hand crafts made our students get together and communicate in foreign language. They also shared cultural heritages by exposing to them.

On the third day we were in the secon biggest city of Bulgaria called Plovdiv. It is one of the most historical cities there. The history of the city dates back to a thousand years  Before Christ. In 2019 it became the European Capital of Culture. It is a city that contains colours.

In the end of our meeting we noticed again that we should respect and accept other people’s culture, history and traditions and also save them for the next generations. All the cultures are worth to be shared and made more visible. Beside this, we had the opportunity tu use our foreign language to communicate. We ensure the intercultural dialogue among people. Our Project encourages us to do all those things. And that’s why we love Erasmus+ projects!

 

Erasmus+ Project “From Intangible Expression to Digital Cultural Heritage”

Italy-Bulgaria-Italy

ANOTHER SMALL UNIVERSE IN THE UNIVERSE

AIELLI

Aielli…a universe that enables you to have a journey between the world and the art. As the partners of the Erasmus+ Project “From Intangible Expression to Digital Cultural Heritage” which started on the 3rd of March in 2022 gave us the opportunity to see this impressive universe on the first meeting of the Project in Italy on 27th of October. What makes this small town so attractive? What does it hide for us inside?

Aielli is a comune town in the Province of L’Aquila in the Abruzzo Region of Italy and located in the Velino –Sirente Regional Park. It is one of the highest settlements of the Fucino plain in Marsica. The village stands on a rocky ledge and this location has made it an ideal place for defense and observation throughout history.

Aielli is known for the presence of a medieval tower inside which there is an important astronomical observatory. It dates back to the 1300s. The tower is called “Torre dele Stelle” which means “The Tower of the Stars” and located in an ideal position for an astronomical observatory. It also houses the sky museum and the scientific library with more than 500 scientific volumes. It has a planetarium capable of projecting 3,000 stars. Its strategic position made it possible to see the other towers defending the Fucino and ensured rapid communication in the event of an alarm.

                                                Observatory Tower (Torre Dele Stelle)

Aielli is also like an open-air museum. It has several masterpieces (murals) of modern art on the buildings of the old village which have been created by several international artists. So, the city seems to have focused heavily on street art. From the entrance of the village to the end it is possible to search the town like having involved in an orienteering sport game, just look at the map and find another masterpiece while fully enjoying the roads,houses and the unique view of the village. All these paintings have different meanings and symbols in itself. 

In virtue of one of this masterpieces one can see this village as a kind of literary destination. It seems a place where someone can read a whole novel on a wall, Fontamara. It was written by the Italian writer Ignazio Silone. He tells about the life of  poor villagers living especially in the south of Italy. Andrea Parente completed this work, Fontamara writings on the wall, in 2018 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the death of writer Silone. It is one of the most impressive work on the walls of this village.Another example of these murals is Gemini. It is a work by Giovanni Anastasia made in 2019. It is the symbol of duality.  After the earthquake of 1915 Aielli was divided. So the upside down figure at the top on the wall represents the ancient Aielli while the male figure represents the new Aielli Station. Illuminary Palace is the another impressive wall painting. Okuda San Miguel completed this masterpiece. The themes of this work focus on complexity, existence, infinity,the universe, the conflicts of modern life and capitalism that unquestionably reduces our freedom. Le Bis,it was completed in 2019 with the collaboration between Valeria Lozzi and Enonvela. The three women symbolises the energy exchange with the universe and generation of light and life. Another example is called Cosmic Tree.This was completed by Alberto Cicerone and is a symbol of the intersection of the 3 cosmic regions; heaven,earth and the underworld.

                  
                                                                           GEMINI

 

Programme of Small-scale partnerships in school education of the Erasmus+ Project

From Intangible Expression to Digital Cultural Heritage

European number: 2021-Round 2-KA210-SCH-0A1738D9

 

THE ISLAND OF PROCİDA

    On the 25th of October, 2022, early in the morning our interesting cultural trip from Paglieta to Naples began. When we arrived in Naples we were astonished by the magnificent volcano Vesuvius. The participants from the three countries Italy, Bulgaria and Turkey took the ferry to the Procida island.

Procida Island - the smallest island in the Bay of Naples, which this year is the capital of culture of Italy. We sail for 40 minutes in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Behind the shining waves in the distance you can see the islands of Capri, Issia, Nisida.

The island is only 4 square kilometers, and its population is only 11,000 people. Procida's heart is shaped like a lemon.

The first lesson we learned is that Procida has its own traffic rules. We raced taxis through the narrow one-way streets to get a feel for the atmosphere.

 

The highest point here is the old town, Terra Murata, with its ramparts. In ancient times, the city was used as a place to trade wheat and wine. In 1563, on the top of this territory, a magnificent palace was built, which was later used as a prison until 1988.

We saw the Avalos Palace, which until recently was turned into a prison for Italian mobsters. Cultural events will be held there to enrich people.

There are about 5 functioning churches.

Port "Koricheli" - a legend about it and the fishermen. There is a fisherman in every house here and every house is painted a different color. So when fishermen look at the shore, they can point to where their home is.

Procida's main port, Marina Grande, is a colorful cluster of pastel-colored houses that seem to be piled on top of each other on the coastal slope.

Just a 15 minute walk from Procida's main street separates us from Marina Coricella, the oldest fishing village on the island that has been here for centuries. In it we enjoyed the slow life that one can only find in the countryside and on the small islands.

Close to the port, just a few steps away, is the main square of Procida. From there we headed to the old town, the higher we climbed, the more beautiful the view of the port, which was created in the 17th century.

Around the southwestern part of Procida is the harbor "Marina di Chaiolello", which is shaped like a crescent. This part of the island used to be a volcanic area, which today has been transformed into a place with many bars, shops and restaurants. The port is surrounded by the hilly territory of the satellite island of Vivara, which is connected to Procida by a bridge.

We had lunch at a restaurant on Procida Island, where we ate authentic dishes based on home recipes.

 

THE ERASMUS+ PROJECT

“FROM INTANGIBLE EXPRESSION TO DIGITAL CULTURAL HERITAGE”

Italy-Bulgaria-Turkey

THE CAVES OF STIFFE

            On 27th of October we had a cultural trip to The Caves of Stiffe in Stiffe in Italy as one of the activities of our project and we had lots of information about this cave. Here is the explanations of what we saw and were told about this wonderful heritage.

Caves are large, natural holes beneath the surface of the earth. They are found in areas with a lot of limestone. Rainwater dissolves out limestone and this gradually creates the caves in the depth. The Caves of Stiffe is a spectacular example of these limestone caves where the river Rio Gamberale forms the limestone and reemerges above the ground. A Resurgence Cave; a river comes back to light after a long underground journey.

The Caves of Stiffe is located in the province of L’Aquile in the region of Abruzzo in Italy. It takes its name from the village Stiffe. It has a total length of 2,3 km but the entire area hasn’t been explored yet. Only a very small part of it is open to the public since 1991. In this open area there have been 5 sections. These are;

1-The Hall of Silence

2-The Hall of Waterfall

3-The Hall of Concretions

4-The Black Lake

5-The Last Waterfall

The Hall of Silence is named as Silence because in this section the river dries up for a part of the year and eliminates the rouring sound in the other parts of the cave.The Hall of the Waterfall is a 30 metres high area and it has a 20 metres pounding waterfall. This part of the cave is quiet in summer but impressive in winter when the river floods.The Hall of the Concretions is full of stalactites and stalagmites in the most unique shapes. These shapes are formed from the dripping water and carved out pools, canyons and waterfalls.Tha Black Lake name is given to this fourth part because of its black water and in this section there have been again many interesting formations of stalactites and stalagmites which get joined together in shapes.In tha last part, Last Waterfall, there become a 25 metres long waterfall and its power is so huge that one can not hear another possibly.

 

 

Programme of Small-scale partnerships in school education of the Erasmus+ Project

From Intangible Expression to Digital Cultural Heritage

European number: 2021-Round 2-KA210-SCH-0A1738D9

CULTURAL HERITAGE DAY

 

On the 26th of October, 2022, the "CELEBRATION OF EUROPEAN CULTURAL HERITAGE DAY" took place at I.C. B. Croce ‘School in Paglieta- Torino di Sangro in Italy with the participants from the three countries preparing their stands with tangible and intangible products from Italy, Bulgaria and Turkey.

The event addresses both tangible and intangible aspects of heritage and aims to specifically highlight and promote the continuity of traditions and skills, historic places and buildings and how they can be used and preserved.

On the cultural heritage day, the stands displayed: photos of archaeological sites and museum exhibits, historical buildings, folk songs, dances and musical instruments, folk costumes, customs, traditional foods, interesting games etc.

This is how common European values were reflected, we learned about the rich culture of other countries. Students were given the opportunity to think about and share the cultural heritage they consider important and to interpret it through visual arts.

Let us remember that each of us, both alone and with others, has the right to enjoy our cultural heritage. At the same time, we must respect each other's cultural heritage and treat each other with respect.

The participants from BG showed the need to revive and popularize traditional songs and folk songs, Bulgarian traditions and customs.

With the Italian participants, we traveled back in time and transported ourselves from today's city to the past cultural and social milieu of Italy.

We got acquainted with the work of the local master craftsmen.

Culinary events are another type of activity that the participants from Turkey introduced us to. We learned about traditional Turkish toys, games and stories, passed down in childhood from generation to generation - from grandparents to parents and then to their children.

 

OUR FIRST VIRTUAL MEETING

Erasmus+ Project “From Intangible Expression to Digital Cultural Heritage”

The Programme

In virtual LTTA2 activities we had online meetings for four days with the participating of the teachers and the students. On 27th of February we had our first meeting and the subject was starting to a story of Tim’s Adventures in Italy. This was the duty of the Italian team. In our visit to Italy for our first meeting we had had many adventures while doing our activities and visiting cultural sites.Tim represented our adventures’ first part. It was a very enjoyable story for all the participants on the meeting and will be continued after our next visit to Bulgaria.

              

On the second day of the meeting Turkey team had the duty of writing an article about The Caves of Stiffe. The article was read by the participants from Turkey and it was shared with the other partners. On the 5th day of our meeting in Italy we had visited this cave and from the entrance of the cave to the end it was impressive for all the particpants. 

On the third day of the meeting both Turkey and Bulgaria had the duty of writing articles about the places which had been visited during the first horizontal meeting in Italy.  First of all Bulgaria team shared their article about Celebration of European Cultural Heritage. With the help of this article we had the opportunity to remember The Celebration of European Cultural day took place in Italian school Instituto Comprensivo “B. Croce”. On this day we shared our cultural heritage and enjoyed by doing that. We displayed our stands full of the materials from each countries.We played games and watched traditional folk dances. We shared our traditional foods, costumes and other similar things. Every group presented their culture to the others. 

             Afterwards Turkey team gave some information about the village Aielli. Visiting this fascinating village was like a surprise for all of us because during our sightseeing around the village we tried to find wall paintings with a map in our hands. This made us feel playing an orienteering game. It is an interesting village full of wall paintings completed by different artists. Each painting has a symbol and meaning in itself. In this village we also visited the Astronomical Observatory tower called Torre Delle Stelle. On the last day of our meeting Bulgaria team made the presentation of their article about Procida Island. Procida is the Italian Capital of Culture 2022. To go this island we took a ferry from Naples. Using the narrow roads we climbed to the top and watches the very beautiful view of the island. The houses in this island have different colours because in the past the fishermen could find their house from its colour. When fishermen look at the shore they can point to where their home is. 

The articles can be read on our next publications of our blog page. Here are the other pictures from our meeting...

Our Erasmus Project

 Erasmus+ Project “From Intangible Expression to Digital Cultural Heritage” enables collaborations among the schools in Italy, Turkey and Bulgaria

The fist Virtual meeting was organised by the Primary School named Instituto Comprensivo “B.Croce” in Paglieta, Italy from 23rd to 29th of October 2022. It was attended by 6 students and 2 teachers from each partner schools.During these 5 days activities all the participants recognised the art of storytelling as an Italian Intangible Cultural Heritage element. We learned about the transition of the Italian Intangible cultural heritage through innovative new technologies and various learning and teaching methods. We were shown the benefits of the Europeana.eu platform as a teaching tool. The students had a very enjoyable experience with the use of digital technologies like Kahoot. Especially the students were inspired by this app and they got in very close touch with the other countries’ students. All the learning-teaching activities gave us the opportunity to practice by combining skills and knowledge. We started to share innovative teaching methods, best practices and information and this helped and will continue to help us to grow our pedagogical skills and knowledge.

What did we do while we were in Italy?

We prepared stands in the school and displayed our cultural materials. The students and the teachers had the chance to see some cultural materials belong to each country.

We had a cultural trip to Procida. It is the Italian Capital Culture. It is off the coast of Naples in southern Italy. It is a fisherman island. The houses are colourful in this island. You can see this from the pictures we have. Here are some pictures from this very beautiful island.

We celebrated the European Cultural Heritage Day. We also had some cultural trips and workshops. We visited the Caves of Stiffe. It was a very fantastic trip for us to be inside a real cave. 

We enjoyed too much while having sightseeing in Aielli. It is a comune and town in the province of L'aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It has a medieval tower, now housing a public-open astronomical observatory. Everywhere was full of with interesting paintings on the walls of some houses and we tried to find all these paintings with the help of a map. Trying to find these paintings helped us explore the town. You can see some pictures related to these paintings here.