Gazette ETÜ Presents a Picture of The Youth Camps For You

As a student, I love to travel, which contrasts pretty ironically against my greatest lack, which is funds. In this piece, I want to talk about the camps I filed an application with upon a recommendation by my elder brother. The Youth Camps organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports are divided into two groups in terms of age: Sea Camps for 12-15 years old, and Nature Camps for 16-22 years old. You don’t need to pay a dime for these camps, and also free buses take you from Youth Centers to these camps. To boot, even the pocket money you may need during the travel is provided by the ministry. You can take part in the camps by filing an application within the announced time frames. Of course you should take into account that you may not have the chance to join, given the large number of applications. I was selected for the camps in my second year. As I was on the back-up list, I was informed about the opening up of a spot only 2 days before the camp’s opening. Even though I hesitated a bit as it was a sudden decision, my elder brother insisted that I attend the camp; so I packed my bag. The camp I would attend was Kırşehir Kaman Ahi Evran Nature Camp. I would never dream of having such fun in the camp I agreed to go only because I had nothing else to do.

On the first day of the camp, we were assigned to bungalows. There we made friends from all around Turkey, and even the world. For instance, one of my roommates is from Mersin, while the others were Adıyaman, and Germany. Yes, she was there just for that camp. The camp was attended by more than 200 guests. In order to facilitate the activities at the camp, we were divided into groups of 20, each of which were assigned a leader who previously received leadership trainings. In our group of 20, we had friends from all around Turkey, from east to west, north to south. Even though we had questions in our minds early on, about the compatibility of such distinct cultures, honestly speaking, on the second day we were as close as really old friends. The second day of the camp saw the activities truly take off. We engaged in a number of activities including canoe-riding, paintball, archery, matrak, mangala, bicycling, climbing, and felt-making. We got to experience –in an accelerated but fulfilling form– such activities which would be extremely costly and difficult to organize on our own. In addition we got introduced to matrak, a military sports invented by the Ottomans, and mangala, a Turkish strategy game.

The camp put special emphasis on sports as well. You can choose a football, basketball, volleyball, or table tennis, and take part in the tournament. Trust me, I would never dream of such a thing, but I actually won a medal in the football tournament.

In addition to all these activities, each day two groups of campers would prepare the evening event. We were able to continue having fun despite all the exhausting activities of the day. In the night, poetry and chorus songs, songs in sign language, theaters, folklore and fun games would entertain the camp folk in line with the theme of the day.

In addition to the activities at the camping grounds, we had tours of Kırşehir and Nevşehir. To be honest, before the camp, me and my friends were thinking “are there any places worthy to visit in Kırşehir?” Once I saw the Cacabey Mosque, I felt shame for that thought. Having originally built as an astronomy medressa, the architecture of the mosque dazzled us all. Having been built in 1272, the exterior columns of the mosque look like rockets aiming for the space. Furthermore, the entrance to the mosque is adorned with reliefs depicting the tilt in the earth’s axis and the shape of the earth. The visit to this mosque, which exhibits numerous details regarding astronomy was a true eye-opener for me.

On the last day of the camp, you realize and get surprised by the quick flow of the time. It would not be an exaggeration to say that my week-old friends felt actually like decades old ones. Of course, no camp would be complete without a camp fire. On the last night, we said farewell to the camp with a good bye waltz around the camp fire. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and my dear camp friends, with whom we were planning a reunion even before we were separated. To get detailed information about the camps and other projects of the Ministry, you can visit the website of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

 Prepared by: Şule Demir - Gazete ETÜ