I worked at two construction sites:
The first one was in the city center of Ankara, the second one was in Balikesir, close to Izmir.

Ankara is large but quiet city with many offices and governmental bulidings.
In summer there is also large students community around universities.

Balikesir is the capital city of its province. Although it is smaller city there are many students in summer coming to take part in summer courses at the university.

There were many possible trips around Balikesir - Aegean sea and national park in Akcay, Ayvalik, Gönen with thermal baths, Bandirma or Izmir.
In Ankara there are many museums and historical places to visit (Mausoleum of Atatürk, Ankara Castle, M. Koc Muzesi, Temple of Augustos, museum of modern arts Cermodern, first Turkish parliament, Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Kocatepe mosque, street markets in Ulus, shopping quarter Kizilay) or parks (Genclik Parki, ODTÜ Ormani, Güvenpark).
Not far away from Ankara are interesting cities and villages to visit like Eskisehir or Beypazari.
For a weekend trip it is worth to visit Kapadokya or Istanbul.

AYKOM İnşaat Ltd. is company dealing with slope and excavation stabilisation (ground nails, injections and shotcrete). Currently, the company is working on 2 main projects: Highway Izmir - Istanbul and Ankara Merkez Residence.

I was working as assistant of construction site engineer in Ankara and Balikesir. The main activity was to create daily reports on proceeding of work and consumption of material and control of the project according to current project documentation. Sometimes I work alone or with the site engineer at the construction site, sometimes I spent time in office where I prepared daily reports.
One of the most valuable experiences was getting to know many different methods of excavation and slope stabilization according to local geological characteristics – piles, ground nails, injections and shotcrete

900 TL for six weeks was sufficient for local conditions

English was required but it is worth to know some basic Turkish words and phrases to make the communication with colleagues easier.

I was staying at a dormitory of Middle East Technical University (METU) for the first 4 weeks of my internship. The accommodation was more than satisfactory, area of METU is very well equipped (internet connection, common kitchens, laundry rooms, libraries, supermarkets, restaurants, swimming pool, fitness center, open air stadium…). Price 300 TL/month.
For the last two weeks I was staying in fully equipped flat in the center of city of Balikesir with two engineers where I had everything I needed. The flat was provided for free.

IAESTE Turkey organized many trips and events for local group of interns – trips to Kapadokya, Fethiye or Canakkale. Trips were well organized and also cheap for interns. Mostly, also bus, accommodation or breakfast and dinner were included in the price of the trip. Sometimes IAESTE members organized for us a small cultural event (watching musical performance, graduation ceremony at the university, kebap dinner…).
I was given very detailed description how to come from the airport in Ankara to the city centre where I met IAESTE members.

In Ankara all interns stayed at the dorm of Technical University. Also some IAESTE members were staying there so it was no problem to meet in the evening or to plan trips together for the weekends.

METU has large offer of sport activities for its students - there is swimming pool, fitness center and open air stadium.
In the city center there are many pubs with daily live music performances and museums to visit.

Simit or pogaca with tea for breakfast is a must in Turkey.
For a lunch always a soup and yogurt salad is eaten. As a main dish you can have meat balls with many kinds of vegetable salads.
Basically, every Turkish city has its food specialities.

Internet - Skype, Whatsapp or Facebook.
IAESTE members arranged Turkish SIM-cards for all international interns so that we could call and communicate on Whatsapp with each other.

At the beginning of your internship it is good to ask IAESTE members about the public transport to your work or to the city center. The public transport in Ankara works very well, it is just harder to find the right bus or minibus and to plan the travel time.

You can buy everything what you can only need in Turkey so there should not be any problem if you forget to take anything with you.

One of the most valuable experiences was getting to know many different methods of excavation and slope stabilization according to local geological characteristics – piles, ground nails, injections and shotcrete.
Another benefit is that I learned new culture and tried to live and work in very different society for a while.

I highly appreciate all nice help of all IAESTE membersin Ankara and Istanbul. From the first day until the last one all people were very helpful and always available for case of any problems.