Who am I?

I am a Turkish volunteer at the SFERA Macedonia organization, under a short-term European Voluntary Service project, and I had the opportunity to organize a Turkish Day.

Before the Turkish Day

When I started to think about Turkish Day, I was so excited because it was a very proud situation for me. First of all, I came up with the concept that included Turkish drinks, delights, fortune cookies, a game (tavla), and songs. I wanted to make fortune cookies (with a message inside), but I had never made these. I was so excited because it would be my first time. I looked up recipes for fortune cookies on the internet, and I selected one of the recipes I found. After shopping for the ingredients for the cookies and sherbet, I started preparing for the Turkish holiday. In addition to these, I made small Turkish flags as a memory of Turkish Day. Also, I made a playlist consisting of Turkish songs.

During the Turkish Day

When the Turkish day arrived, we went to Bar Carsija early to prepare everything. We decorated everywhere with Turkish flags. We offered sherbet (made from water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and ginger), Turkish tea (served in special Turkish tea glasses), and Turkish coffee (served with Turkish delight/lokum) as Turkish drinks; lokum and halva as Turkish delights; and fortune cookies. Also, we offered visitors the chance to play tavla, one of the oldest traditional Turkish board games. I set up boards and pieces of tavla before the people came.

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More people than I expected showed up on Turkish Day. The visitors not only had the privilege to taste Turkish drinks and delights but also to play tavla and listen to Turkish songs. They also tasted fortune cookies and read their messages. I was so surprised when I saw that many people were interested in tavla, and I taught them how to play; I had a great time while teaching. I think that we had so much fun together.