Lithuanian in Turkey: Is Turkey the best choice in my life?

Hello everyone. My name is Dominykas, I'm from Lithuania and today I will tell you a little bit about my month in Turkey. February was a very different month in my life. I made one of the toughest decisions of my life. My dream was to see the world, but the question was where to start. I got the chance to be volunteer and go to Turkey. So, this is my first month in Turkey. So when I heard that I would go to Turkey, in the beginning, I was thinking, why Turkey, why not France or Italy? But I'm very happy that I went to Turkey; I can say that it was my best choice so far.

Ankara is a city where people drink tea from morning until morning. This was my home for the month. In my eyes, Ankara was a party zone, with hundreds of restaurants, shops, and cafes. But in this blog, I will speak more about a city I  wanted to visit so much. I think in this world we have only two types of people: those who have been to Istanbul and those who have never been there. Istanbul is a very historical city. My hotel was in the old town, so around me were the most popular sites like Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, and much more. My journey started from the Galata Tower. It's one of the oldest towers in the world. From the Galata Tower, you can see how magical Istanbul is; you can see that each part of the city is different. Of course, it was cold, but the view was amazing. After the Galata Tower, I went to Hagia Sophia, one of the most gorgeous mosques in Turkey. The first floor is only for locals who go to pray, and the second floor is for tourists. Hagia Sophia was initially a church during the Roman Empire, but later it became a mosque.

The architecture was amazing. After that, I went to what I really wanted to visit: the Blue Mosque. I even spent the whole day there. I met some volunteers, and I asked them many questions. In the evening, the imam saw that I had spent the whole day there. Even i got a Koran and more books about religion. He came to me and asked if I wanted to go with him to the balcony at prayer time. He said if I wanted, I could pray with them or just stand and watch. So I chose to become a Muslim for about 10 minutes. At first, it was strange, but after a few minutes, I felt freedom. After praying, the imam looked at me and smiled. When I asked the volunteers why the Imam smiled at me, they said it was because he thought I might become a Muslim, and then I started to laugh. I can say that Turkish people are so kind and good. I can't say how many times I got free tea, coffee, or even sahlep, which became my favorite drink. About dessert, I will keep quiet; I can't even choose which is my favorite: baklava, kunefe, or burek. The next day, I visited the Basilica Cistern, a magical place. Of course, I visited the Grand Bazaar; in that place, I spent too much money. In the evening, I went to Çamlıca Camii Mosque; the view was gorgeous. Here is a photo

In the end, I took a Bosphorus Strait tour. At night, you can see Istanbul differently. So that's my story from Istanbul. Now let's go back to Ankara.Ankara is the capital of Turkey. In Ankara, I visited Ankara Castle, Anıtkabir, and many parks.

I feel that people in Ankara are different. I found so many friends. I think for me the most beautiful thing in Turkey is the Adhan, when the imam calls people to pray. But what I will miss the most are my friends and other volunteers, with whem I spent so much time. Together we had so much fun, making videos, playing with local childrens.

So this month was for me about growth and connection. New country and new things. I can only promise myself to go forward and listen to my heart. So I'm excited about what will be next.