“Adventures of the traveling squirrel”

 CHAPTER 1

                Once upon a time there lived a squirrel.This squirrel liked travelling and learning a lot. Because of this, its friends called him ‘TRAVELLER SQUIRREL’.

               When Traveller Squirrel took a ride a day , he saw the commercial of Göbeklitepe Movie Theater and he was very curious about that. The squirrel learned that the students of Ankara Pursaklar Adnan Menderes İmam Hatip Secondary School were going to the cinema and started to wait in the school garden. The bus arrived and then the squirrel got on the bus, too. The Traveller Squirrel was very excited to see the movie that he wondered about.There was a team called ‘Rafadan Tayfa’ in the movie and the squirrel watched the mysterious adventures of the team  experiencing in Göbeklitepe, Şanlıurfa. He had fun with the girls at the movie theater’s park after the movie.As soon as the squirrel got back to house, it started to tell his friends about the Göbeklitepe Movie Theater. (ADNAN MENDERES İHO ZENNUBE ESEN)

 Their friends listened to the Squirrel with pleasure and they waited to listen his next travel experiences curiously. The Traveller Squirrel were passing by Patnos,district of Ağrı.He heard that  the students of Akdilek Selahattin Yıldız Secondary School were going to watch the film ‘Willy Wonka& The Chocolate Factory’ at the school because there was no movie theater in Patnos.When the Squirrel arrived at school, he came across students waiting in line in front of the door which  were hung film posters.The Traveller Squirrel met up with the students, shared their excitement and talked to them till the movie started.

 İlknur told the Traveller Squirrel ‘Welcome to our school! I’m very excited about the film. Let’s take our tickets, popcorn and got their seats..They got their seats and watched the film.Willy Wonka, the owner of the world-famous chocolate factory, put five golden tickets  into  his chocolates and sent them to the different parts of the world. He opened the door of the factory to five kids with these golden tickets and there was a great award waiting the child who could stay at the end of the journey.

Gamze told Traveller Squirrel : ‘Was it like a real cinema atmosphere even if it wasn’t the same as cinema?’

Traveller Squirrel liked the film a lot and thanked to everybody for such a warm cinema atmosphere and then he headed home. When the squirrel’s friend saw him coming, they gathered and Traveller Squirrel started to talk about the film he watched..(Akdilek Sebahattin Yıldız Ortaokulu, Kübra ERDOĞAN)

His friends listened to him excitedly. Traveller Squirrel’s best friend Cute Rabbit said:

‘I saw the advertisement of the film ‘Eltilerin Savaşı’,my friend. Have you watched it?’

He said that ‘ Don’t worry about that I’ll watch it anyway.’

One day, While the Traveller Squirrel  was sitting in the garden of Adnan Menderes İmam Hatip Secondary School, he heard that the class of 6/B were going to the film ‘Eltilerin Savaşı’and felt very excited about that.He hopped on the bus at once.The trip was so cheerful.The class of 6/B sang songs and had a lot of fun.Besides, the Traveller Squirrel sang with them.The students went to a restaurant because there was still for a long time to start for the film. The Traveller Squirrel saw that students were eating Turkish Pizza and İskender hungrily which belonging to Turkish Dishes.Also,the Traveller Squirrel liked the sharing and helping between them.

Everybody was very excited when the time of film approached. They bought popcorn and got their seats at the cinema.The film ‘ELTİLERİN SAVAŞI’ is a comedy about  sweet fights between sister-in-laws’ in Turkish culture. The class of 6/B laughed and had fun a lot  at the film.When the film was over, they all got on the school bus and went back to school. When  the Traveller Squirrel got off the school bus, he found his friends and told about the film ‘ELTİLERİN SAVAŞI’. The Cute Rabbit thanked him.(ADNAN MENDERES İHO- SELMA HARMAN)

 The Traveller Squirrel was very glad to share the film with his friends.

When The Traveller Squirrel was walking in the street, he heard that Ayla and Aylin wanted to go to the movies. The Traveller Squirrel looked at Ayla and asked which movie they were going to watch. She said that they were going to the film ‘GÖRÜMCE’and told The Traveller Squirrel  he could join them if he wanted.The film was about the funny quarrels between the daughter-in-law and sister-in-law. This comedy film entertained The Traveller Squirrel a lot. After the film ended, The Traveller Squirrel thanked to the girls and kept going to tell his friend about the film.His friends were happy to see him. After they listened a new adventure, they thanked him and went back their houses. (Badirnisa QuliyevaAzerbaycan.Bakı ş. okul 102)

The Traveller Squirrel, as the name implies, didn’t get satisfied for travelling. Travelling helped him see the world from a rich perspective. He liked travelling with his friends most. For this time he took the way to participate in Teknofest tour, held in İstanbul, with his friends studying in İstanbul Silivri 80. Yıl Secondary School.

He saw a gorgeous event when he arrived the organization area. They watched lots of activities there such as plane shows and robot competitions. He was so excited by technological developments. He coldn’t wait to tell his experiences to his family. (Nijer Yonca Albayrak 80. Yıl Cumhuriyet Secondary School)

The students who wanted to meet the Traveller Squirrel invited him to Tekirdağ for their school’s cinema day. The Traveller Squirrel grasped the idea and accepted it. He wondered this city. Because he didn’t go there before. As there was no movie theatre in the city, there used to be a special movie   every Friday. This week’s movie was ‘Alaaddin’. Everyone gathered in the conference hall at the school. Students told the Traveller Squirrel that the movie was adapted from the fairytale ‘Alaaddin’s Magic Lamp’ and that it was a story of a young man who got through some struggles and experienced adventures by using this lamp while reaching the girl he loved. Scrubbing the lamp changed his life, Alaaddin different life had a crazy and shapeshifter gin now. The Traveller Squirrel and the students had so much fun while watching that fantastic and adventurous movie. They realized that how everyone has different dream world and having a dream world embellishes the life. The Traveller Squirrel said goodbye and made his way to another adventure. (M.Eda YILDIRAN- Atatürk Ortaokulu)

The Traveller Squirrel  decided to go to the İstanbul for his new adventure when he passing Tekirdağ. He decided to go to the ‘PARASITE’, which won the Oscar recently. ‘PARASITE’ became the first Korean film to win the Palme d’or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and also was nominated in six branches in Oscar.Moreover, it has influenced the world by Becoming first Korean film winning the Oscar. Our squirrel was impressed by that he want to the cinema at once. When he got the ticket, he met the students and teacher of Mimar Sinan Secondary School this time. They bought the tickets and got in the movie. The movie was so excited that nobody can keep eyes off it. It became more exciting because nobody could guess the end of the film. ‘Parasite’, the film of Bong Joon-Ho, South Korean director and screenwriter, tells the story of a poor family living in a small, dark semi- basement and a wealthy family living in magnificent house in Seoul. The Traveller Squirrel said that he was happy to come across with the students when making comments during the break.The students were also happy to make an adventurous friend.What is the next stop of The Traveller Squirrel?We’ll see. (Fatma Kaplan-Mimarsinan A.İ.H.L)

In fact, Will he realize that he is fascinated by the films when he says ’ I’m experiencing a different adventure, going on from one adventure to another? Will he able to see himself as a special squirrel watching inner empty sides of the tree and thinking that each bark is a seat at the cinema?
Knock! Knock!
Who is that?
Who is that? Mom, you’re waiting with the ladle just like that.You’re standing with hitting the kitchen table. You thought the sound you make is the door knock.You say Who’s that! told the girls to their mom.
The squirrel stumbled and found herself turning to mother of the house with a ladle in her hand… Girls’ vocational school students are her naughty daughters gazing at her!The school building is a big mansion and Zennube is the lady of the house. Mr. Abdullah is a gardener, Ms. Nijer is the piano teacher of the children. Ms. Merve, Yasemin and Selma are sister-in laws.
Waa! Waa!
The squirrel found a baby in her lap suddenly. She made an eye contact with her little cute baby. She woke up when she was saying ‘my lovely baby’.She understood that all happening, sister-in-laws in mansion, milkman and gardener Mr. Abdullah, the kids crying out for the food, the kid in her lap was a dream. (Abdullah Kazancı – BAKL Bursa Anadolu Kız Lisesi)

 The Traveller Squirrel was ready to go to the cinema. The squirrel went to the ‘Köstebekgiller- Perili Orman’ today. Pelin is a cute girl in the film.She is curious about learning a lot. She always reads the books about animals’ mysterious lives and learns information on the net. Köstebekgiller is a cute family, consisting of Granpa Mole, Father Mole, Mother Mole, Boyo, Süslü and Bebi. Caner and Pelin always protects them.I think The Traveller Squirrel shouldn’t tell all the film, everybody should go to the cinema. Because travelling makes us feel great. (Khanim Gasimova, Azerbaijan,Baku,220 school-lyseum)

The traveller squirrel woke up early and had a big breakfast. He would go to the cinema with his friends that day. They met up at the statue and walked to the ‘Kent’ square. When they arrived at the shopping mall, the students decided to watch ‘Kral Şakir Korsan Diyarı’. The traveller squirrel and his friends bought the tickets for the film ‘Eltilerin Savaşı.’ It’s about sweet quarels between two daughter-in-laws,called Sultan and Gizem.Two sister-in-laws, seeing each other as a rival, found themselves in a funny arguments. Selim and Fatih, two brothers, were affected by them and everything became out of control. They all had a great day. On their way back home, they walked by talking about the film and what were going to watch next time. (Yasemin Çoban- Bursa Anadolu Kız Lisesi)

The traveller squirrel set out  to Black Sea. He was hosted in spring  by his little friends from Çavuşlu Secondary School,which is surrounded by greenery giving peace to humans and living things. When they chat , the squirrel described the places he visited and the films he watched to his friends.Thus, they felt enthusiastic and set the projection to watch the animation ‘Kung Fu Panda’.While they were laughing, The traveller squirrel said that ‘let’s take a fifteen minutes break, there can’t be a film without popcorn.’ He took a pack from his luggage and cooked popcorn for his friends. After that, they kept on watching the film. The Squirrel fell asleep with pleasure of friendship, travelling, new experiences and learning while he was dreaming of all his travels, the films he watched with his friends. When he woke up , he was ready for the new adventures.(Çağlar AKSOY – Çavuşlu Ortaokulu)

Squirrel heard that there is a school cinema so it went to see it. There were many kids from History group there and they went to see animation pictures about Greek mythology. They saw many mythological stories and liked it a lot. Squirrel sat and learnt about Trojan war, Jason and Argonauts , Odyssey, Hercules, Theseus and Minotaur and many others and found out a lot about human nature and heroes from the past.Students made many drawings about ancient heroes and squirrel enjoyed  watching their works. But it went on in new adventures!

Danijela Kužet, Elementary School”Mića Stojković”

On her trip, the squirrel decided to invite the students of the 5 grade th elementary school “Pavao Belas” to travel to the cinema with her. She suggested they watch a movie about a Dr. Dolittle who is a big animal lover. The squirrel had fun with the students, cheerfully commenting on the film.

Dr. Dolittle and his animal friends go on a dangerous journey to find a cure that will save the Queen of England. The squirrel was a little sad that she wasn’t with Dr. Dolittle on the adventure either.

“Our adventure is better,” Martha told her.

The students wrote a story in which a squirrel travels with animal friends, and she was happy and promised to travel with them next month as well.

Ana Pelivanović, OŠ “Pavao Belas”, Croatia  (Ivanka Tomić)

Squirrel woke up earlier that morning. He was preparing to travel to Cluj, in Romania. He had always loved Transylvania! That part of Romania has a lot of amazing forests and a lot of his fellow squirrels were living there, so he had to prepare a lot of nuts and souvenirs for them.

 Also, he was very excited because he was going to visit his children friends in class 5B at “Ion Creanga” School.  They were a lovely bunch of children, friendly, clever, funny …and they had invited him to go to the cinema. Well, it was not going to be TIFF, the famous film festival, but still …a day at the multiplex cinema at the VIVO mall is always fun!! Popcorn and sweets, cool chairs, cool glasses…cool place!

Suddenly, a buzz on his phone ! A message from Cristiana & Ema, from Cluj: “Dear Squirrel, Unfortunately we need to postpone our Mall adventure. Because of the Coronavirus epidemic, group visits in crowded places have been cancelled. Would you like to join us for a movie day at school? We promise you will like it, too.” Squirrel made up his mind in an instance: “Of course! Count me in! What are friends for?”

Around noon, Squirrel was in Cluj. It was still cold. It was February…but he just loved the city!

His friends were waiting for him in the class. It was all hugs, and laughter and jumping around with joy!!Soon, the movie started- it was a surprise for everyone. The teacher had prepared an older film, “Summer Hill “ , a film for smart kids- she said!!Hmmm! No special effects? – No cool actors?? A film about a school???? Really!!!  

It took them five minutes to realise the teacher was right! They loved the film! Summer Hill was a very special school. It had a huge garden, a field and a forest. Children could refuse to go to classes! But, surprisingly, they did not. They could choose what they wanted to study! You could study any language, Astrology, Riding bikes, Building boats…incredible subjects! You could play all day in the forest, build tree houses. But, more importantly, children were responsible for making decisions. And what decisions they made! They even won in a court trial against the Ministry of Education!  It was the most democratic school, and its students became doctors, and engineers, and scientists…

Squirrel and the children were fascinated! …and look, unbelievable: there was a note that the school actually existed, that the film was inspired by real events! Wow! Now, that was something! They all decided to go home and read more….

Squirrel played “reporter”: “ So, Şerban, please tell me what you liked the most.” Şerban already knew the answer :“I liked how the school won in the trial that OFSTED had organized for them. I’m happy they got the right to welcome more students and teach them what is best for them!”

“What a great film!” said Squirrel! Thank you, class 5B! I have to go now but I’ll be back soon!”

“Looking forward to that, Squirrel!!”, said the children, all together.

(Şerban P., Alexandra M.,  Dana M., “Ion Creangă” School, Cluj, Romania)

 2.CHAPTER

 February finished and the weather was getting warmer day by day. The traveller squirrel was waiting for visiting Museum of Anatolian Civilizations after weather was getting warmer. He planned his trip and made all preparations but something that nobody could think about  happened unexpectedly . The coronavirus ,which is widespread all over the World ,was seen in Turkey.All travels were postponed. The distance education was applied even in all the schools.It was  hard situation for traveller squirrel.He can’t live without learning and travelling.He visited Zeybep from Adnan Menderes School. He got excited when he saw that she visited online Museum of Anatolian Civilizations and he started to learn how to watch.He watched admiringly works of art, including the excavations from the era of 11.000 years ago to today,was displayed. When he came home,he started to tell his friends and his friends daydreamed,as well. (ADNAN MENDERES İHO ZENNUBE ESEN)

The traveller squirrel liked the online visiting so much. But he started to think where the biggest museum is.As soon as he woke up, he came to Mehmet Emin and they investigated and learned that the biggest museum is Louvre Museum.It was so big that it would take 73 day if you looked at all works of art.When they learned that Mona Lisa painting was displayed ,they became excited. They started to visit the museum impatiently.They visited to many places excitedly.They inspected the works of art admiringly and they are so big that it got dark without finishing everywhere and they were sleepy. They said goodbye each other and hoped to see themselves again. The traveller squirrel told everything to his friends when he came home, and he daydreamed while thinking works of art. (Akdilek Sebahattin Yıldız Ortaokulu, Kübra ERDOĞAN)

The traveller squirrel woke up excitedly in the morning because they would visit online of Agia Sophia  Museum with Nur Bezar from Adnan Menderes School.First they gathered information about it.They learned that it was a church that was built in İstanbul in the years between 532-537.The meaning of Agia Sophia came from sacred erudition.When it was built,it  was biggest building except from Egptian Pyramids in the World and it kept as high dome.After Fatih Sultan Mehmet conquered İstanbul, he turned it into mosque. It was used as museum in Turkey Republic Government in 1935.When the traveller sqiurrel learn them,he started to wander the museum. He especially admired the dome  and magnitude of Agia Sophia and mosaic of Jesus and the Virgin.The thing that the keeping alive of these mosaics in Ottoman Empire also affected the the squirrel.He liked the most the plaque written in God and Mohammed. The traveller squirrel said goodbye to Beyza and went to Meryem. Meryem was planning to Metropolitian Museum when he came.Meryem liked most the painting of Starred Night. They gathered information about the table and learned that it was made with art of post-impressionism.Meryem said good bye to him by telling that she couldnt forget that day.The traveller squirrel thought that it was interesting experience.(ADNAN MENDERES İHO- SELMA HARMAN)

The traveller squirrel couldn’t stop himself from travelling.He couldn’t know to be tired.After leaving from Meryem,he came to Peri.He saw her and her friends in the online visiting.That was Oceanography Volcano Museum.He inspected sea animals and look them carefully.He watched their actions in the water.He became content with it and leave from them. (Badirnisa Quliyeva Azerbaycan.Bakı ş.102№lı okul)

The traveller squirrel was playing best toys with his brothers. They were having good time. He came back of his memory  the idea of online museum.He told his brother that we would go to somewhere in which there are better toys now. They wandered to İstanbul Toy Museum and other toy museums one by one.When they learned that  the most favorite toys were displayed in İstanbul Toy museums from the year of 1700 to today,they were amazed.Also İstanbul (Europe) Toy Museum and Child Museum Consensus Meeting firstly was carried out in Turkey in November of  2012 by İstanbul Toy Museum.( Nijer Yonca ALBAYRAK 80. YIL CUMHURİYET ORTAOKULU)

The traveller squirrel and his friends wants to go to National Gallery of Art in London so much. As they couldn’t go out due to the coronavirus, he called his friend and offered them to go to National Gallery of Art in London . Everybody accepted that and they started to online visiting. They learn that this museum was built in 1824 and it has a collection consisting of more than 2300 parts. The museum has got many painting betweeon 13 th and 20th century.The entrance is free. Taking photo isn’t forbidden but you can’t take photo except  for some parts.There are important paintings of artists like Salvator Mundi, Leonardo da Vinci, Diego Velazquez, Sandro Botticelli, Jan Van Eyk, Hans Holbein,Van Gogh.The traveller squirrel and his friends learned new artists and they had a chance to take a look.The traveller squirrel like most the painting of Sunflower.. (M.Eda Yıldıran-Atatürk Ortaokulu)

The traveller squirrel and his friends are getting bored at home so they wanted to go to online museum.They knew that they couldn’t go to Italy which was the most affected from the coronavirus. They learned that Pinacoteca di Brera Museum is the biggest museum in Italy and they had a chance to visit there as online.They learned that the Pinacoteca di Brera (“Brera Art Gallery”) is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings and it has a lot of ancient and modern Italian works of arts of Italian artists .They like most Crucifixion by Bramantino and  Lamentation of Christ by Andrea Mantegna. They inspected them admiringly and they are happy in the end of the day.Let’s see; where will the traveller squirrel go to next station? (Fatma Kaplan-Mimar Sinan A.İ.H.L.)

The squirrel said to his grandmother that he had already visited museums Fatma Kaplan told.He came home and told himself why dont I visited museums in Konya. Opened his computer and looked at Mevlana Museum from the website of http://www.3dmekanlar.com. He had a chance of watching it with 3d eye-glasses. Even though he looked everywhere at home, he couldn’t find his glasses that he bought  together with elder sisters : Ceydanur ,Ceylin and Ayşenur even if he looked for the rightest part of wardrobe in tree hole.But it doesnt matter for him, he could watch by squinting and he could grasp and he could feel like wandering around there. Actually Abdullah teacher taught him that. The squirrel thought of Abdullah teacher who tell the  story of chained-candlabre, comprised of marble stone, and Nisan Bowl. They couldn’t see with him because of the precaution of Covid-19. He realized that the squirrel missed him. He opened the window of the tree hole and take fresh breathe. He blessed the God for giving a friend like him. (Abdullah Kazancı – BAKL Bursa Anadolu Kız Lisesi)

The squirrel wanted to go to museum. How could he be laid-back? We visited International Art Museum in Azerbeijan.It is the biggest museum of Azerbeijan. It hosts more than 17.000 exhibitions.It was built in 1936 and it’s name coming from Rustam Mustafayev who is creator of realistic theatre and decoration. There are Azerbeijan artists of paintings in 18th, 19th and 20th century and from different terms of Middle Ages, especially rare Azerbeijan types of carpets and works of art from folk art and also unique works of art gained from archeological excavations, medieval clothes and housewares.The squirrel loved them too much and got important information. Travelling is good.(Khanim Gasimova,Azerbaijan,Baku,220 school-lyceum)

The squirrel though what he would do that day.While surfing net, he read an article about the museums that he could visit in Bursa. There are so many museums to visit ,actually. Panaroma 1326, Bursa Archelogical Museum, Kılıçkalkan Museum, Bursa Life Culture Museum, Muradiye Quran and Maniscipt Museum etc.He decided to choose one.But he learned that the biggest maniscript(Hilye-i Şerif)  is in Muradiye Quran and Maniscript Museum.Hilye-i Şerif is a speacial description of prophet.So he visited there and he felt like he was in different place. He saw the biggest work of Mahmut Şahin, who is one of the important Turkish calligraphists, in the entrance at first.He prepared this for the openning of this museum. He couldn’t know how many people meet or witness to this feeling. Especially ancient maniscript,Quran and ancient covers which are peculiar to kaaba ,different calligraphies affected the sqirrel most.When he wandered around there, he admired this art that is reshaped with human beliefs and he admired the aesthetic of this art.When he looked at the watch, he couldn’t believe the time.He stayed long time in museum but he didn’t want to leave from here.He thought that he could go there again in next time. He said  good bye all things in the museum with divine love. (Yasemin Çoban- Bursa Anadolu Kız Lisesi)

The traveller squirrel visited so many online museums in these hard days which are called as’ There is life at home’ that he already satisfied himself not only with information and with his trips. He also wondered if his friends also would travel or not and texted them message, and added the link of Çamlıdere Toy Museum in the end. His friends also answered in 10 minutes and expressed how much they admired and how much they take pleasure in this trip to their helpful, participative, and precious friend,the traveller squirrel.(Çağlar AKSOY – Çavuşlu Ortaokulu)

A boy from Serbia, Mladen took squirrel  to a virtual visit of Serbian archeological museum. They went to Viminacium, ancient Roman archeological site in Serbia where Roman castrum  was situated in the past. There were many objects they saw in the museum- lamps, vessels and jewelry. they could also see how Viminacium  looked like in the past. They also went to see Mamut park because there were also found remainings of these animals. It was very interesting and amusing.

Mladen Mijailović, Elementary School”Mića Stojković”

Squirrel suggested students go to the theater to see the play “If You Say You’re Done.” She watched the play about peer violence carefully. She was sad because violence happens at school. The play is about four students – victims of bullying, and everything is set within the framework of a shifted reality. The characters can be our friends from school. After the show, the students cried, and the squirrel comforted them, so she invited them all for cakes in the famous pastry shop. The squirrel ordered the biggest hazelnut cake and enjoyed it. At school, the squirrel students showed that they are real friends and that there is no violence in their class.

Emma Jurić, OŠ “Pavao Belas”, Croatia – Ivanka Tomić

Ines invited the squirrel on a trip to Brazil. She explained to her that Brazil is not just football, but that she will virtually walk the squirrel with MASP, the museum of art in Sao Paulo. Squirrel and Ines admired the first modern museum in Brazil because the works of art are exhibited in plexiglass and give the impression of floating in the air.

Ines Mihalinec, “Pavao Belas” Elementary School, Croatia – Ivanka Tomić

It was the middle of March, spring had come to Cluj but schools had to close down because of the awful world epidemic….Among other regrets…the class field trips had to be cancelled.

Larisa and Serban were hoping to visit the Natural History Museum In Cluj…Cristiana and some other would have liked to visit the Art Museum. They were all a bit disappointed. They called their friend, the Traveller Squirrel, hoping to hear some stories from him, who travelled so much.

“I know you’re disappointed”, Squirrel said. “All the children I know in Turkey, Croatia, Serbia, Poland…everywhere…they are the same. But you know what? You can visit a lot of museums from home! The Internet can take you to any museum in the world…..virtually. It’s even better! So, how about the Smithsonian…in Washington DC? or the Louvre, in Paris….or the Vatican museums? The British Museum in London? Deutsche Museum in Munich? You name it and I can take you there!”

In a second, Squirrel emailed the children in class 5B a list of his favourite museums around the world! What a treat!!Then they went visiting together…on Zoom!

Larisa and Serban chose the Smithsonian, In Washington DC, the USA- the Natural History section. It was even better than the museum in Cluj! They loved the T-Rex skeleton and the very interesting facts about the dinosaurs’ extinction, all the life-size animals, the very interesting facts about every living thing. Not to mention the collection of gems and minerals- fascinating! It was like 100 Biology lessons in an hour. Cristiana chose the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. She discovered new paintings of her favourite painter. And the museum itself was very beautiful!

“What a great experience, Squirrel. Thank you!”

“My pleasure! I’ll be back for more tomorrow! Museums are great places. You can learn so much…and enjoy yourself.”

…and Squirrel did come back, day after day, with more virtual museum visits, making his friends really happy.

 (Larisa M., Şerban P., Dana M., “Ion Creanga ” School, Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

CHAPTER 3

The Traveling  Squirrel hoped that the Travel  restrictions would be lifted in April, but it was not what he wanted. He went to Sudenaz’s home. He saw Sudenaz preparing a slogan for the contest and read, “ Postpone  your travels for your health ” He took a look at the slogans in the contest and saw Zeyneb’s slogan “I stay at home, I am patient, I know these days will pass”. He also saw Nisagül’s slogan “Stay home for your health and your future”  and returned home.The slogan of Hatice was entangled in her language. “Don’t go on a travel don’t get the  virus,” he repeated.   Adnan Menderes İHO ZENNUBE ESEN.

The next day, she went to the house of Sahara, and she was preparing a slogan. . He was happy with his family, he was not afraid of the virus because he took the precautions. so he was not afraid so immediately said, “” Stay at Home Cheerfully; “ Stay at Home Stay at Peace ” wrote the slogan and colored. From there, Gezgin Squirrel went to Töre’s house .He also said on paper, “There is Risk Outside, There is Life at Home.” saw what he wrote and hung together on the window glass. (Akdilek Sebahattin Yıldız Ortaokulu, Kübra ERDOĞAN)

When the traveler Squirrel went to Hatice Nermin’s house, he met with the slogan “Stay at Home, Protect Your Family, Protect Yourself” at the outside door. Thinking that Hatice was worried about Nermin’s family, she did not go in and returned through the door. When he set out to go home, he saw the slogan “Stay at Home, Stay Safe” on the balcony of Gizem’s house. Derya wrote in the “Stay At Home, Stay Safe” window. When he saw the banner of “There is Health at Home” on the wall of Sümeyye, he quickly returned to his home, thinking that he should not stay on the street.(ADNAN MENDERES İHO- SELMA HARMAN)

The Traveling Squirrel came home and thought about what to do. He thought by looking through the window that health was paramount. From the opposite apartment, He saw ‘’Postpone your trip, don’t postpone your life’’ Ali hanging his sloqan. At that moment he said out loud: “My health is everything, I postpone my travel”.(Badirnisa Quliyeva Azerbaycan.Bakı ş. 102№lı okul)

Traveling Squirrel thought he couldn’t travel by traveling for a long time. He read the Emir’s slogan, “ Travel to new adventures ”, which he texted on the computer.. He also decided that everything was health.. And he decided it was important to stay home for a while ( Nijer Yonca ALBAYRAK 80. YIL CUMHURİYET ORTAOKULU)

The traveler Squirrel called his friends Elifnaz and Evrim and asked them what they were doing. Because they know they can’t go out  they wrote slogans and they said they hung slogans home. They wrote their slogans and hung , Elifnaz  “Don’t worry about your travels, postpone!”and Evrim ‘Stay home to be happy’. Traveling Squirrel liked these a lot and and himself started to write. (Merve Eda YILDIRAN- ATATÜRK ORTAOKULU)

Alikerem and Yahya come to mind when the traveler Squirrel thinks to write a slogan. He asks them what he is doing. AliKerem tells them the slogan he wrote: ‘Everything is health’ Yahya’s slogan is: ‘Stay home, stay happy’. The traveler Squirrel would like to thank his friends for giving ideas, and he also produces a new slogan. (Fatma Kaplan-Mimarsinan A.İ.H.L)

While watching the Ramadan Program, Traveling Squirrel noticed a documentary introducing Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, the third holy city of Islam, and he liked it very much. He met with Kübra and decided to visit Mesc-i Aksa with a virtual tour. They learned that Masjid al-Aqsa is a sacred area for Jews and Muslims. Traveller Squirrel was amazed when he saw the Dome of the Sahara. They liked the gold-colored dome, blue tiles and architectural design. They immediately researched the internet about it. They learned that this place of worship was built during the Umayyad period. Then, they toured the mosque known as Masjid al-Aqsa right next to it. They were surprized when they learned that there were historical ruins under the mosque. They liked the garden as well as the mosques. Seeing traces from all civilizations made the Traveller Squirrel very emotional. The grave of the Prophet Solomon in the garden of the mosque, the Jewish Wall of the Jews at the bottom, and the ruins left by different civilizations had an insatiable moment for Kübra and the Traveller Squirrel. Traveller Squirrel turned back to Kübra and said, “I think after finishing our virtual tour, we should do a very long research on Masjid al-Aqsa on the internet.”  (ADNAN MENDERES İHO- SELMA HARMAN)

After researching the Masjid al-Aqsa, Traveller Squirrel’s curiosity to holy places increased. He wanted to continue the virtual tour of the holy places and came to see his friend, Duygu. With this intention, they visited Masjid-i Nebevi, one of the buildings sent to Madinah and built by the Prophet himself. While visiting the masjid, he saw that it was made simple, and he knew that he was the second of the three most blessed masjids. The green dome visible from the outside of the masjid attracted his attention. It was the place where the Prophet’s grave was hold, that is the Razvai Mutahhara. Hz. Prophet said whoever visits my grave will receive rewards as if he had visited me while I was alive. Traveling Squirrel was very happy to visit here and decided to share what he saw with his friends.      (Badirnisa Quliyeva Azerbaijan. Baki. 102)

When he came home, he told his friends about Masjid Nebi. None of them had seen Masjid Nebi, but they were as much as they had seen with the words of Gezgin Sincap. Traveling Squirrel got used to virtual trips. He started to like to reach places he wondered, immediately. He decided to tell the Sivas Divrigi Ulu Mosque, one of the mosques he had visited before. Divrigi Ulu Mosque and Hospital is a historical mosque and hospital in Divrigi district of Sivas. The mosque was built by Mengücekli Bey Ahmed Şah between 1228 and 29; Dârüşşifa was built on the same date by an architect named Hürrem Şah, son of Ahlatlı Muğis, by Turan Melek, the wife of Ahmed Şah’s husband and daughter of Fahreddin Behramşah. It is based on the south wall of the Darüşşifa Mosque. Its central part is covered with a skylight dome, it consists of four iwans with the entrance. There is a mausoleum in the northeastern corner of Darüşşifa. Then he gave the addresses of this mosque to his friends to visit virtually.     (Niger Yonca ALBAYRAK 80th YEAR REPUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL)

After the Traveller Squirrel came to Edirne, he did not want to pass through Istanbul, which is the transit center of Europe and Anatolia, and visited the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, which was located next to Hagia Sophia. Sultan Ahmet Mosque; It is one of the most visited works of the historical peninsula with its story, architectural features, location and history challenge. Due to the color of the magnificent patterns adorning its interior walls, this place is also known as “Blue Mosque” among foreign tourists. The squirrel marveled at this magnificent mosque. The traveling squirrel was glad to visit one of the magnificent works and places worth seeing in Istanbul, which made a difference in Turkish Islamic architecture in the past years and still maintains this difference with its features. And looking at Istanbul again, he said “it was good to see here”. He did not forget to share his photographs with his friends.  (Fatma Kaplan-Mimar Sinan Anadolu İ.H.L)

Squirrel’s First Prayer

Squirrel’s eyes fell asleep after the last photo he shared with his friends. He pulled the blanket over. The Traveller Squirrel was now asleep… A long time has passed … He thought the winter sleep of 2020 lasted under his blanket. When he woke up, he looked at the alarm clock he had placed in the right corner of the tree bucket, pointing at four in the morning. I was born in one of the trees in the garden of Bursa Girls High School, from there I went to Istanbul, from Hagia Sophia to Paris museums, from the front of the Mystery House to Tekirdağ, from there to Teknofest, and to London to watch Van Gogh. At least 5 years of hibernation would exacerbate this fatigue, he thought. He straightened from his bed. This bed was the camping mat given by Çağlar and Abdullah teachers. It really worked. He remembered that  Fairy, who was walking around the sea museum while she was grinning her eyes, did not realize whether she was a real fairy or a girl. I am officially shocked. I wish I asked Zennube Teacher about this fairy thing, he said.

Well, what was the day? What year was it and what did this unique scent and fresh spring air mean from outside? He listened to the adhan in the makam Sabâ, which came to his ears presented a sincere voice that made me think why I couldn’t listen so beautiful so far. Where were his friends called a little smoke, a little work, car noises and city noise? He held his head out of that huge oak tree’s hollow… What is that! He glanced his eyes again. Traveling Squirrel was now seeing Sultan Yıldırım Bayezid in front of the crowd in the courtyard of the opposite mosque from the top of the tree… Here was Bursa, Ulucamii. At that moment he understood what happened. Although his home was the same, it had turned into his grandfather’s home 600 years ago. He looked at the clock again which was used by his grandfather. Yes, he did not need to look for the answer. It all started with an event that took place when he thought he was hibernating. The hidden button in the backpack given by the students of Yasemin Çoban Teacher took her on a time journey to 1399. One of the girls leaned in her ear and told her to press this rescue button when her food was over… He had pressed the button he thought was a food button for a moment when he was hungry…. Everything came from the blond-haired girl…

He immediately went down the tree in a snap. He rushed forward to catch up with Yıldırım Bayezid. He was not supposed to miss this moment. He passed the guards and came before the Sultan. He could say “My Sultan”. Yıldırım Bayezid Han said, “Let him speak,” while the soldiers were holding him. The squirrel hugged the sultan, and said “I love you so much…” The Sultan said to him: ‘I liked you too… Let’s go and take your ablution and let us perform the morning prayer together. At that time, he thought that he went to Masjid-Aksa, to the Prophet’s Ravza and most importantly, to the Kaaba. While all this was happening, he never thought that he would become a squirrel who did not miss his prayers anymore. Moreover, he was intent on fasting. God accept it Squirrel!

Squirrel in Prayer! 🙂   (Abdullah Kazancı – BAKL Bursa Anatolian High School)

Traveling to the mosque was very peaceful for us. We went to the “Təzəpir” mosque with our class. The “Təzəpir” mosque in Baku is a huge one. Here 1000 people can worship at the same time. The Traveller Squirrel also loved this place. A 900 square meter modern 250-person hall was built in the mosque. The 360 candle chandelier that illuminates the hall draws attention. The ceiling and the dome are decorated with decorative wooden details. Isn’t it beautiful?

We look forward to the day we will travel here again.                 (Khanım Gasimova ,Azerbaijan,Baku,220 school-lyseum)