A United Eco Journey Through Europe to the Future – Eco Flash’s Diary

Report on the first Comenius meeting in Dasaki Achnas,
Cyprus 6th – 10th of November, 2013

            The first study visit under the Comenius Lifelong Learning Programme “A UNITED ECO JOURNEY THROUGH EUROPE TO THE FUTURE” took place in the village of Dasaki Achnas.

            On the sixth of November at 2:55 a.m. we landed at the main airport in Larnaca, Cyprus. Then we continue our journey by bus which carried us to the hotel “Achilleos” in Larnaca.

            On Wednesday morning we went for a walk through Larnaca. The city is situated on the south-eastern coast of Cyprus. It is the third largest city in Cyprus after the capital Nicosia and Limassol. It has the population of about 46 700 people. In ancient times it was called Kition (in Latin: Citium). One of the most famous Greek philosophers, the founder of stoicism – Zeno of Citium came from it.

The weather was beautiful. It was about 30 degrees, so we could bathe in the sea, that of course we did.

On the same day, together with the Turkish team we met the head teacher of the school in Dasaki Achnas Georgius Konstantinou and a teacher of the local school Cristie, who took us on a short trip. We had the opportunity to visit the mosque of Hala Sultan Tekle, the most important Islamic temple in Cyprus. According to legend, Hala Sultan or Umm Haram (in Arabic) was an aunt of the Prophet Muhammad. The contemporary mosque along with the adjoining monastery and rooms for pilgrims was built in 1816. They are surrounded by a big green garden. There for the first time we had the chance to admire fig trees and orange trees. For the followers of Islam that mosque is the third most important place of pilgrimage after Mecca and Medina.

            In the direct neighborhood of the mosque there is Salt Lake, which in winter is filled with cold water and is visited by the flocks of flamingoes. Because of the lack of rain in summer it dries up. On its surface the salt crystals gather, which we had the opportunity to hold in our hands.

In the evening we went to a welcome dinner at a nearby restaurant, where the head teacher of the Cypriot school introduced us to the teachers. Most of them are women. Dinner was held in a very nice atmosphere. There was a lot of local food on the tables and we tasted each. The most delicious dishes were “moussaka” – a Greek casserole of minced meat, aubergine and tomato sauce, and fried celery leaves – similar to crisps. After dinner we returned to the hotel.

Thursday was a workday, at 8:20 a.m. all the project participants (from England, Portugal, Italy, Turkey and Poland) went from the hotel to school in Dasaki Achnas by bus. At school the official welcome of partners took place. At the entrance to the school the guests were awaited by the students. Some students wearing Greek costumes welcomed us with traditional drinks and music. In the huge hall of the school there were some interesting exhibitions, thematically related to the project. For us, a nice touch was a display at the entrance on which it was “Dzień dobry” (Good morning) written in Polish.

At the beginning, the Cypriot educational system was presented. It was followed by a discussion and comparison with the systems of education in partner countries. Afterwards, the school and local authorities welcomed the participants of the project officially. Soon after that, Sara Jayne Parton who is the main coordinator of the project gave her speech. Then, the teams from different countries listened to the national anthem of Cyprus. The partners exchanged gifts, and then we could watch a dance performance “An Eco journey”. It showed a story about how the world was created and how human began to destroy it. The play made ​​a huge impression on us. It was very impressive. We also saw the traditional Cypriot dances, performed by the students of course.

After the official part, we had the opportunity to taste traditional Cypriot snacks and delights prepared mostly by the teachers of the school. Then all the partners went outside, where the Comenius trees were planted. At about 12:00 we started visiting the school in two groups. The school is attended by 170 students. We saw large classrooms and we observed the work of students during different activities, in some of them we even took part ourselves. In the classrooms children received prepared gifts (bracelets, key rings, pendants) and candies from us.

After lunch we started working on the project. At the very beginning we have received thecertificates from the hands of the head teacher of the school Georgius Konstantinou. At the meeting the dates for subsequent visits to Portugal and England were set. We also determined the form and the contribution of each partner country for the project products, among other things a calendar, a dictionary, eco farms, a vitamin rainbow. The ideas for the first brochure on recycling were also discussed. We managed to choose our common logo of the project –the work from Cyprus received majority of votes. According to Eco hero competition, the most interesting turned out to be the work from Portugal. We returned to Larnaca at about 17:00 p.m.

           Friday was the day when the whole Comenius team gathered at school again. During the meeting, Georgius Konstantinou presented the blog of the project and explained how it can be used. Then we were shown a presentation about eTwinning, which task is to assist the implementation of school and European projects.

After the break, we said goodbye to the students and set off on a trip. First, we saw the “Green Line “, the actual dividing line of the Cyprus. In 1974 the war broke out, which divided Cyprus into the Greek and Turkish parts and crossing the line became impossible. The line currently has the form of the demilitarized zone. The Zone remains under UN administration and it is guarded by soldiers. Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, is the last divided capital in the world. Similarly, the historic part of Famagusta is in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and its tourist district Varosha is in the exclusion zone. Varossha was abandoned by the inhabitants in a few hours and in the houses without windows there are still plates on the tables, the books are on the shelves, there are cars in the garages, in luxury stores there are luxury goods. We were shocked by the view of a barbed wire, behind which the panorama of empty skyscrapers of Famagusta extends.

Next places to visit were Konnos Bay and Cape Greco, where we admired the magnificent views of the sea and we took the most beautiful pictures.            After that, we visited the charming medieval monastery of Agia Napa, dedicated to “The Lady of forests “. It is situated in the middle of the village of Agia Napa and it is surrounded by a high wall. The monastery was built partially underground and carved in the rock. Opposite the south gate the ancient sycamore grows and it is believed that it is over 600 years. In 1978, the monastery became an Ecumenical Conference Centre serving churches in Cyprus and in the Middle East. In 1994, in the south-west of the monastery a new church dedicated to the Virgin Mary was built.             At about 2 p.m. we went for lunch at “Fish Tavern”. During the meal we could admire a spectacular view of the harbor. We had the opportunity to taste a lot of seafood – squids, shrimps, fish and oysters.             After lunch we started visiting “The Talassa Museum” where the collections on the Cyprus sea life were gathered.

            The last point of our trip was the famous Nissi Beach which stretches for 500 meters and the water is so pure that it has been awarded a blue flag. All participants of the Comenius meeting took commemorative photos there.

On Saturday morning we went by bus on a guided tourto traditional Cypriot villages. It was offered complimentary from Larnaca Municipality. Before we left town, we had visited the Church of St. Lazarus in Larnaca. It is a temple built in the ninth century and renovated in the seventeenth century. According to the tradition of the Cyprus Orthodox Church, the building is situated on the Lazarus (a man resurrected by Christ) tomb.

The temple is very beautiful. Inside the church there is carved in wood iconostasis from baroque. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the church there could have been a monastery. The first village which we visited was Lefkara. It is a picturesque, famous for beautiful handmade lace settlement. A characteristic view of this place is women who sit in the narrow streets of the village and work on fine embroidery. The village is also famous for skilled silversmiths who produce fine filigree works. There is also a folklore museum, where you can see what life in Cyprus looked like a hundred years ago. According to legends, in 1481 the village was visited by Leonardo da Vinci, who bought lace there and placed it on the main altar of the cathedral in Milan. In the center of Lefkara there is the Church of the Holy Cross. Its origins are dated back to the fourteenth century. In the church you can see a carved shrine, where a large silver cross with a piece of the Holy Tree is placed.

The next point of Saturday schedule was visiting the village Skarinou. First, we participated in cooking workshops and we were learning how to make traditional dishes of the island. We had a taste of warm olive cake too. Then we visited the museum where you could see old everyday items and buy souvenirs. We spent the coffee break in the orchard of oranges, mandarins and lemons. We also had the opportunity to have a photo with a real donkey. At about 5 p.m. we returned to Larnaca.

            Before 8 p.m. all project partners went to a ceremonial farewell dinner prepared by parents and Dasaki Achnas authorities. The evening was graced by traditional Cypriot dances performed by a folk band. We also had the opportunity to see some amazing tricks which were breathtaking. We were listening to Cypriot music and we were eating delicious local dishes. Then we joined in common dances. We returned to the hotel after midnight. On Sunday, we began preparations to return to Poland. About 3:35 a.m. we left Larnaca.

A report on a study visit to Portugal

31.01 – 06.02.2014

The second study visitwithin the framework of the COMENIUS Multilateral Schools Partnership LLP‘A United Eco Journey Through Europe to the Future’ was held in Lisbon.

Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal. It is situated in the western part of the country on the Atlantic Ocean at the Tagus Estuary. It has the population of approximately 600 thousand. It is the political centre of Portugal as it houses the government and the head of the country.

We landed at the airport in Lisbon at 18.15 where the teachers from the partner schools were awaiting us. From the airport we went to the Hotel Roma. Later that day there was a welcome dinner held in the restaurant ‘Brasiliana’ where we could enjoy traditional Portuguese dishes and listen to the local music.

The first two days we were visiting interesting places in Lisbon and its neighborhood.On Saturday we went to the Monastery of the Hieronymites in Belem which was built as a token of thanksgiving for a successful journey of Vasco da Gama. It is considered to be the pearl of the Manueline style which is a combination of Gothic and Renaissance. There are tombs of kings and their wives, the tombs of Vasco da Gama and a writer Luis de Camoes. This building is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2007 in the area of monastery the European Union Reform Treaty (The Treaty of Lisbon) was signed.

The next place we could see was the Belem Tower. It is a military building at the Tagus estuary to the ocean. It was built during the era of great geographical discoveries. It was a symbol of a maritime power of Portugal. At a later time, it served as a prison. In 1833 General Joseph Bem was imprisoned there.