Salihli (Turkey) Geopark Kula – 2nd Intermediate meeting
In the period from August 1 to 3, 2022, the mobility of members of the VR@Geoparks project was held in Turkey to the city of Salihli. This mobility is the centerpiece of the two-year project. Team members who stayed in the Kula-Salihli Geopark as part of the mobility stayed in western Turkey in the municipality of Manisa.
The mobility started with welcoming all partners, presenting the program and exchanging experiences and ideas related to the project. Then followed a visit to the Geopark, where the partners had the opportunity to see the remains of volcanic rocks, as well as the volcanic eruption itself, that is, rock formations created by the flow of lava through the landscape. After visiting the terrain for several hours with expert guidance, the partners received a lot of information about the origin and importance of such localities. In addition to the mentioned formations, they visited several geolocations, for example the geolocation of basalt rocks (basalt is a rock of volcanic origin), as well as the famous “fairy chimneys”, which represent an important tourist attraction of this Turkish region, and for geographers and geologists a unique example of sedimentary rocks.
Cappadocia in Turkey, along with Bryce Canyon in Utah, are the world’s most famous examples of these incredible forms. Among other natural formations, the partners had the opportunity to enjoy the Adala canyon through which the Gediz river flows, which is also believed to be of volcanic origin, the Sužtu waterfall, then they visited the Sandal dome, which represents an excellent example of the former form of the volcano.
In addition to natural formations, the partners enjoyed a variety of cultural and historical objects and customs. They visited the city of Sardis, which was the capital of the former kingdom of Lydia, where the temple of Artemis is located. Then they attended hand-made carpets, visited ethnic farms and enjoyed the combination of ancient and modern Turkey. Namely, the visit to Ephesus was special, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Asia because of its exceptional example of a Roman city with a sea canal and a port.
The partners also visited the small village of Širindže, which is a wonderful example of the rural life and customs of this part of Turkey. Namely, this village used to be Greek, but in the past the Greeks from the village were taken to Greece, and the Turks from Greece settled this village. The highlight was a visit to Izmir or Smyrna, located on the coast of the Aegean Sea, which is the third most populous Turkish city, after Istanbul and Ankara, with 3.5 million inhabitants.
This mobility is one of the so-called “Project mobilities”, which unlike LTTA mobilities, last three days and the number of participants is smaller (1 to 2 per partner). In addition to representatives of Croatian school, representatives of Poland, Italy, Portugal and Hungary also took part in the mobility. The main goal of the project is to create an application for an interactive virtual walk through geoparks, which will bring the idea of geoparks closer to everyone, as well as their importance.
A large part of the work has been done so far, the virtual walk through the Croatian Papuk is completely finished, and the Italian “Madonie Park” is nearing completion. The partners still have a considerable amount of tasks left, in order to bring the project to an end by March 2023. The project is financed by the EU through the Erasmus+ program, and the next mobility is planned for Hungary in Bakony-Balaton Geopark in October of this year.