What will pop out in your head when someone shouted Italy? Mine will be Colosseum, of course. I know this historical landmark maybe since I was a child, from interactive children encyclopedia my parents gave me. But turns out, Italy is so much more than the world’s famous amphitheater. Here I gave you some reasons why I (and you should) fall in love with Rome.
Paris, finally. They said it’s a city of love, a city of light, a city of fashion, and a city of dream. Its famous Eiffel Tower has been the wallpaper of my desktop and phone during my adolescence time. Quote said a bad day in Paris is better than anywhere else. Audrey Hepburn also once said, “Paris is always a good idea.” But is it tho?
I came to Paris with millions of excitement. I have these high expectations of Paris. I picture Paris just like in the Midnight in Paris movie. But people say, set your expectations low.
Europe has always been a dream destination for me and my family. This year, we decided to buy our ticket to Europe and make our dream come true! But before the dream vacation, we have to prepare for many things. Of course as an Indonesian, first thing first, Schengen visa.
I remember bluntly the first time I watched the World Cup. It was 2002 when the biggest football competition held in Korea & Japan. I was a 9 years old girl who threw her bag after school to turn on the tv and watch the cup. My eyes were stuck on this one man, Miroslav Klose. Later because of him, I support Germany. Also, I fall in love with football.
That 9 years old kid always have the dream to watch the World Cup live in the host country, live in its magnificent stadium. But it always happens to be so far away from Indonesia, like in another part of the world. Still, it is true that they said to never give up on your dream. This year, I made it to the World Cup. I WATCH FIFA WORLD CUP 2018 IN RUSSIA LIVE IN THE STADIUM!
Before I went to Turkey, I’ve heard that football league in Turkey is as good as in Europe. The quality of the football club is great with top-notch players, maybe you know Robin van Persie that played for Fenerbahce, Sneijder and Podolski for Galatasaray, or Pepe who played for Besiktas. Apparently, the famous football club in Turkey are Besiktas, Galatasaray, and Fenerbahce. By famous I mean, world famous. It’s like the big 3 that always compete to get the first rank in the table.
Okay, I am not that familiar with Turkey’s Football League or as they called it Süper Lig. When everyone here knows that I like football, they started to ask which is my favorite football team in Turkey. So I started to learn about the football situation here, starting from knowing their stadium. Because a stadium tells a thousand history, right?
All my life I believe that tulip came from The Netherlands, but that was all wrong. Tulips were imported in the 16th century from the Ottoman Empire aka Turkey into the Netherland. Turkey and tulips were like something that can’t be separated. Under the reign of Sultan Ahmed III, Turkey was known on its Tulip Era. That time, tulip was very popular, it also became a symbol of power and wealth, portraying the Ottoman Sultans.
The name tulip came from Persian word ‘Tulipan’ that means turban. It was because in those time, the sultans wore tulip on their turban, also tulip shapes quite similar with turban. Until now, tulip or known as lale in Türkçe plays an important rule to Turkish art and culture. Tulip is also the national flower of Turkey.
Been living in Istanbul for 6 months, I often mistaken the city of Edirne to Edirnekapı, a district in Istanbul. Apparently Edirne lies 224km away from Istanbul and has so many histories. It all started on 125 CE when a Roman emperor, Hadrian built the city and named it Hadrianopolis after his name. But Edirne is known as the capital city of Ottomans Empire for 90 years, before Sultan Mehmed II moved the capital to Constantinople (now Istanbul).
Since I live in Turkey, traveling to Edirne was never crossed my mind, until my friend asked me to join a one day trip managed by Masyarakat Indonesia Istanbul (Indonesian Society in Istanbul). Because of the affordable cost, I immediately said yes. We rent a private bus and the 3 hours trip wasn’t boring, because we had fun singing and get to know each other.
I notice that most people have two favorite football team that they support. The first one is the team that they support undoubtedly, watch the match every weekend, and go crazy about it. The second one is the team that they support because of certain players or just because supporting only one team is not enough. For me, the first is Arsenal and the second is FC Bayern München.
To be honest, I forgot when is exactly my support for FC Bayern grew. But I know clearly why I love this team. Because I like Germany National Football Team and most of the FC Bayern players are also play for Germany NT, so yes that was one of the reason. The other reason is because Miroslav Klose and Philipp Lahm, I love to see them played with FC Bayern. But with or without them, it is always a pleasure to watch FC Bayern plays.
Kak kok bisa kuliah di Turki? Kak kenapa pilih kuliah di Turki? Kak bagaimana caranya biar bisa dapat beasiswa? Kak tips dan triknya dong kak? Begitulah kira-kira beberapa jenis pertanyaan yang saya terima semenjak saya mendapatkan beasiswa Turkiye Burslari alias YTB. Pertanyaan-pertanyaan itu sebisa mungkin saya jawab. Tapi sekarang saya memutuskan untuk menulis pengalaman saya mengenai beasiswa YTB ini di blog, biar lebih lengkap dan lebih banyak orang yang baca. Selain itu biar traffic blog ini agak naik dikit lah 😛
Centuries ago when the Ottoman Turks successfully conquest Constantinople, Eyup was their first Turkish settlement. Located just outside the city walls and near the Golden Horn, Eyup has a perfect location, then and now. The name Eyup itself comes from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, a friend of Prophet Muhammad SAW.
Fast forward to 21st centuries, I happened to lived in the Constantinople, which have changed the name to Istanbul. On the sunny day of my winter break, I went there and explore the area as I reminisced the history.
