Arjopotu the Explorer

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Next day, the explorer decided to visit Wrocław. Łucja recommended this place to him and said that It is quite a colorful and vibrant city. This time he took a bus to get there because it’s 230 km from Cracow. -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Hello, I’m Arthur and I will be your guide here”

After dinner the teenagers took Arjopotu to the Sevan Monastery. They went up the stairs to the hill. -" The view of the lake is breathtaking"- Arjopotu exclaimed. "Let's take some photos! Then they walked in the yard, entered the churches, picked some flowers and returned back.&nbsp; The children took a bus to Dilijan, a recreation resort in Tavush province. &nbsp;-"Let's enter the tunnel. We will see the forested mountains and rolled roads which lead to the city"-Elen suggested

The traveller and his Armenian friends could watch the fields full of flowers, the hills covered with green grass from the window of the bus. The friends reached the rocky mountains then the hill where a beautiful view opened in front of them.&nbsp; “The monument is really beautiful. Let’s climb up the narrow stairs of the main church" The kids followed him though they were afraid of doing it before.&nbsp;

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3rd day of our trip to Turkey Ceydanur and Irmak took Arjopotu to Muğla, Fethiye.&nbsp; “You can see all the blue shades of the Dead Sea which has the most beautiful beach in the world” - Ceydanur and Irmak said. Arjopotu felt surprised seeing a calm lake with a clear beauty.

-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“And if you don’t like watersports, you can still enjoy the area. With a lovely beach and many bathing areas, it is perfect for those long summer swims. The beach in Chałupy in nice and clean, making it safe for families with children. It is also not overly crowded, which is almost always a plus!” – she added Arjopotu took a lot of photos, tried fish at the local restaurant in Chałupy. Together with Natalia they walked along the beach, laughed and joked. It was a beautiful sunny summer day.

“Amazing” - exclaimed Arjopotu “I want to learn more” “The cistern is 140 m long, and 70 m wide, and covers a rectangular area as a giant structure. Accessible with 52-step staircase, the Cistern shelters 336 columns, each of which is 9 m high” - Nahir added "The cistern and its columns, the ancient structures and sculptors were made of various kinds of marbles. Covering 9,800 sqm area in total, the cistern has an estimated water storage capacity of 100,000 tons" “Thank you for this interesting history lesson” - said Arjopotu

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on the last day Arjopotu asked his friends for suggestions what country to visit next, one of the students pointed out that Turkey is a common place to visit in our region.&nbsp; Arjopotu was very pleased with his four companions on his trip and he was very thankful to them. Before saying goodbye he booked a trip to Turkey to Istanbul .

Arjopotu's last stop in Turkey was mysterious and majestic Mount Nemrut&nbsp; There, tour guide - Gamze told about the story of Nemrut Mountain;&nbsp; “Nemrut Mountain is located in Kahta district of Adıyaman province, with its fascinating sculptures with their inscriptions” - Gamze said “Mount Nemrut stores the most magnificent hospitals belonging to the Hellenistic Period in Anatolia. According to the inscriptions Antiochus is memorial cemetary made of crushed stones” - Gamze explained.

The road leading to Amberd is one of the most beautiful one in Aragatsotn province. There were fields on both sides of the road full of flowers. The kids had a rest in the field, had lunch and continued their way to the fortress which was hidden in the mountains &nbsp;-”At last, here we are. How beautiful it is!!!!” - Arjopotu cried happily They went down the narrow road, passed the&nbsp;huge stairs and when they stood before the gate. Hripsime said: -”I feel like I am a queen entering a palace....”&nbsp; - “ The fortress has three levels, they were all destroyed

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The next place in Warsaw they visited was Łazienki Królewskie. Arjopotu liked it very much.&nbsp; -„We are in Łazienki Królewskie which is a palace and garden complex in Warsaw founded in the 18th century by the king Stanisław August Poniatowski. The Palace on the Water and the statue of Fryderyk Chopin – these are the attractions that have become symbols of the city. This place is very popular in the summer, when piano concerts are organized at the monument of Fryderyk Chopin.” -”I love it!”

Next day they took him to Göbeklitepe, where the first traces of humanity were found.&nbsp; Arjopotu met his friends Ayşenur and Elif in Urfa in the city. “Tell me about this place” - asked Arjopotu “Göbeklitepe is the oldest known cult building community in the world, which is on the Unesco World Heritage list. There you can find obelisks and stones” Ayşenur and Elif explained “Who was able to keep these giant stones standing?” - Arjopotu asked with curiousity

Next day they went to the Dead Sea which is the lowest Point on earth , they floated on the surface of its water and they were surprised that they can't drown in the water. They asked Odai to explain.  "You can't drown because of the high percentage of salt in the sea - no fish live in it&nbsp;and that is why it’s called it the dead sea" - he replied.

“I’m amazed” - exclaimed Arjopotu. “The mountains are fantastic, shining under the sun, the yard, people and other churches seem so small from this point…”- the explorer continued “Now We are going to show you Areni cave, an Early Bronze Age ritual site and settlement, located in Areni village. The place is very mystical. Do you know that in the cave a 5500 year old leather shoe and 6100 year-old winery were found recently” - Elen explained Tired but impressed the children continued their way to Ararat. Hripsime, Lilit and Nora met them on the road and took them to Vanashen, where they stayed that night.

Arjopotu arrived at the airport of Zvartnots where Alik met him and suggested going to the capital city of Armenia-Yerevan. -”Sure, I would like to see it. I read a lot about Armenia and would like to have a tour". -”All right, we’ll start with Yerevan and then will travel to the North of the country” -”Great! Will we go to Lake Sevan?” -”Certainly” - Armenian guide replied. -"I think it will be fine to go there tomorrow"

The teenagers left the temple and rushed to find the village road taking to the gorge. On the way they were in front of cliff walls carved out by the Goght River. Ann said: -"We call them "Symphony of Stones” and it is one of the popular tourist attractions in Armenia” - Ann said

“This required superhuman strength and great skill. these motifs, T-shaped columns look like human sculptures” - Elif added &nbsp;“We are going to show you Şanlıurfa Museum and some sculptures and stones exhibited there. They are really impressive” - Turkish teenagers said

Łucja and Arjopotu left the airport and went to the Old Town in Warsaw - the capital of Poland. When they arrived the boy said:&nbsp; -”Wow, it’s so beautiful here. Can you tell me something about this place?” -”Ok. The Old Town is mainly the Castle Square with the Royal Castle and the Barbican . Also old beautiful tenement houses – mostly from the XV-XIX centuries, which after the Second World War were reconstructed. “

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Arjopotu was really excited about visiting Poland. He read that Poland is located in central Europe and is bordered by the Baltic Sea, Germany to the west, Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, and Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania to the east.&nbsp; At the airport he was greeted by Łucja, who wanted to show the boy around Warsaw and Krakow.&nbsp; -”Hi, I’m Łucja and I’m gonna show you our most popular cities in Poland” -”Oh, hi. I can not wait to see Poland.”

After that they moved to the Westerplatte's peninsula where the Second World War started. There were bunkers, monuments and a lot of green spaces. -&nbsp;“ In the middle of the spacious green area, you can see the Monument of the Coast Defenders which was built to commemorate the victims of the war. It’s also a good spot to look over the island and Gdansk in the background” – Natalia said

They took a bus and went to the city centre. The boys walked around the Republic square and Arjopotu admired the buildings made of pink tuff. They entered the beautiful building behind the fountains where the History Museum and National Gallery were located. The boy got acquainted with the culture of Armenia starting from prehistoric times.&nbsp; Then they visited&nbsp;the picture gallery where they saw famous pictures of Armenian painters.

“Do you know that water here can cure diseases?” - added Asude “We are going to show you a cave next to the Travertines” - Turkish teenagers said Arjopot wanted to visit this cave, but the tour guide said it was not possible.&nbsp; “Why can’t we enter the cave?” “Because there are toxic gases that spread inside the cave.&nbsp; After visiting travertines, he returned to the hotel and fell asleep and had a dream of the city he was going to see tomorrow.

“It’s one of the magnificent ancient buildings of Istanbul which is located in the southwest of Hagia Sofia. Constructed for Justinianus I, the Byzantium Emperor, this big underground water reservoir is called as “Yerebatan Cistern” because of the underground marble columns. Because there used to be a basilica in the place of the cistern, it is also called Basilica Cistern” - Nahir explained

“…. New adventures are coming soon”, he thought and fell asleep on the plane.

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Arjopotu the Explorer

Arjopotu is an imaginary character. The name of Arjopoto came from first 2 letters of our&nbsp;countries: Armenia, Jordan, Poland and Turkey.  Frist Arjopoto will visit Jordan then Turkey then Arminia and finally Poland. Students will imagine and write that story .. for example ; Jordanian Students will write the beginning of the story and then Turkish students will continue and then Armenian and his final stop will be in Poland.

&nbsp;In the morning his friends Gamze and Asude took him to the Pamukkale travertines which is a historical and tourist attraction in the Büyük Menderes River Basin in Turkey's Aegean region. It dates back to the Early Ages and its name was Hierapolis at that time.&nbsp;

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after resting for one night his friends took him to Petra. Petra is a historical and archaeological city in southern Jordan. it was built by the Napatiens 2000 years ago and Arjopotu was astonished by the beauty of this iconic city . "Petra was the Capital city of Nabanines Kingdom", said Ahmad. They walked around the city which was huge and full of monuments

-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Ostrow Tumski is called the Pearl of Wroclaw – the oldest, historic part of Wrocław, especially the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and the church of St. Cross” – the polish boy said Strolling around Ostrow Tumski, they also visited the famous Tumski Bridge, called „bridge of lovers” – full of padlocks.

“I heard that in Ararat there are amazing tourist attractions: Azat Reservoir, Khosrov Forest Reserve, Khor Virap complex, the beautiful forests of Dilijan, the dark waters of Lake Sevan” - Arjopotu said “Yes, true. Would you like to visit Lake Sevan?”&nbsp;- Hripsime suggested “I’d love to” - replied Arjoporu They started their trip in the early morning because the place is one of the hottest areas in Armenia.

on the last day Arjopotu decided to visit his Friends in Armenia Arjopotu was very pleased with his Turkish companions for his trip and he was very thankful to them. Before saying goodbye he booked a trip to Armenia .

-&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Hello, I’m Natalia, I live here and I will show you around. Here’s is a souvenir for you &nbsp; - a lighthouse keychain” -&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Thank you Natalia, I can’t wait to see Polish sea” Natalia led Arjopotu to Ustka - one of the towns on the Baltic shore. She said that It lies in the middle of the region and is a very popular tourist destination because It has some of the most gorgeous beaches, allowing for hours or even days of relaxation.

The children went to Haghartsin Monastery, a 13th century complex, which consists of 5 churches. There they met a priest who told them interesting facts about the history of Armenia. It was getting dark when the teenagers returned but stopped in the city centre to have a walk there. -"Can we visit Vayots Dzor province - I want to&nbsp;see the rocks, mountains and the church of Noravank" - Arjopotu asked -" Sure! We will have a trip to Vayots Dzor tomorrow" - answered Araqs

-” I read about this architectural masterpiece made by nature”,-said Arjopotu.&nbsp; Then they continued their way to Garni Valley. They tasted the popular trout fish in the nearest restaurant, Arjopotu bought some souvenirs from the local shop and they went back to Yerevan, to see their guest off.

“Is it true that two former capitals of Armenia -&nbsp;Artashat and Dvinwere are located in Ararat? - asked Arjopotu. “I’d love to see them” “Sure but now let’s visit Khor Virap - a significant place where the first Armenian Catholic Gregory was imprisoned because he adopted&nbsp;Christianity? - Nora said &nbsp;The children had a nice tour in Khor Virap, climbed the hill, admired the view of fields, Mount Ararat, the surroundings and went to the ruins of Artashat. They had a picnic on the bank of the river Araqs and continued their way to Dvin.&nbsp;

and they all together watched a traditional music band on the stage of the theater playing Folk music. They visited an art gallery on their way back. Inside the gallery Arjopotu was interested in 2 paintings, one of them was Narrative Exhibition for Hilda Hiary, and the other one was a painting for Rafeeq Allaham that was drawn using Arabic calligraphy.

after their trip to the Dead Sea Arjopoto and his friends went back to Amman. They visited the Roman amphitheater and Amman Citadel and on their way they saw the Ragadan Flagpoll, which is the biggest falgpoll in Jordan. Ahmad was explaining Arjopotu the historical importance of these 2 sites and that these 2 places were established by Roman Empire. Arjopoto knew that the history of Jordan was part of various Empires then Abd Alrohman said that this place was occupied by Greece, Byzantine, Roman and Umayyad Empire.

Early in the morning the children took a bus to the Gegharkunik province to spend their day on the banks of&nbsp;Lake Sevan. Elen, Ann, Araqs and&nbsp;Hike&nbsp;joined them on the road talking and laughing.&nbsp;&nbsp; They stood at the bank of the lake, watching the waves and feeling the breeze on their faces. They had lunch on the sand and as it was very hot they decided to swim and take a sunbathe.

- “So many places we visited, so different and interesting, Armenia is really a country of stones, I saw a lot of them, tuff, bazalt, marble and limestone, they are everywhere, of every colour” - Arjopotu exclaimed -"We have presents for you, they are the symbols of Armenia. Here they are"- said Hike and Elen. -” Oh, pomegranate and lavash!!! So nice! Thank you very much!!!”&nbsp;

&nbsp;Arjopotu liked the Cascade and he ran forward to climb the steps. Alik followed him and after a while they were in the highest level watching the beautiful sunset of the city. -"We’ll have a long journey tomorrow, so let's go home now and have a rest"- Alik said&nbsp; -"Ok! Sevan is waiting for us tomorrow” -&nbsp; Arjopotu cried happily. They climbed down the steps talking about the funny and strange monuments near the Cascade and the exhibitions they saw inside the complex….

Arjopotu’s final destination in Armenia was Kotayk province. First they went to the Temple of Garni, a Greco-Roman building of the first century AD. They climbed the giant stairs, entered the cellar, walked around it, counted the columns, took some photos of the ornaments and went to the nearest bathhouse to watch the frescos.&nbsp;

After spending the previous day in Wrocław, Arthur suggested his friends that today they could go to Poznań as it’s not too far away. After 2 hours of long trip they had arrived at the perfect time - it was 12 o’clock, the time when the Poznań Goats show up on the tower of Poznań City Hall.

Early in the morning Arthur took Arjopotu to the airport because the explorer wanted to see the Baltic Sea and the towns in the north of Poland. The destination was the seaside–, which is about 600 km, that’s why he decided to go by air.

&nbsp;On the 4th day Ceydanur and Irmak took Arjopotu to Trabzon. This time Ayşenur and Ceyda were his guides.&nbsp; “People stay breathless in front of&nbsp;Sumela Monastery, built on steep rocks”- said Ceydanur&nbsp; “This place amazes with the architecture of the Great Greek-Orthodox Monastery and Church complex with height of 1,150 meters. Another name is the beautiful Virgin Mary Monastery.

At the end of their trip they went to the north to Jerash City. when they arrived at the site the first thing they saw was a huge big ancient gate Arch of Hadrian with information board illustrating the whole site. They walked inside about 200 meters until they reached the Columns Street. There Arjopotu bought some memorable things and he took photos and walked around the city until they arrived at the north theater. they had a rest there and met tourists from all over the world.

&nbsp;&nbsp;After Arjopotu completed his journey to Jordan, he travelled to Turkey which is one of the countries that he always wanted to go. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The first place he visited was Denizli. His friends Gamze and Asude greeted him when he arrived in Denizli and took him to his hotel to spend the night.

Arjopotu knew a little about Cascade Stairway and wanted to go there. "It is a ten minutes walk there. We will go past the Opera House and see the monument of Alexander Tamanyan, a famous Armenian architect who formed the plan of the city of Yerevan"- Alik said Behind the monument they saw a beautiful scene - a lot of flowers, extraordinary statues and benches, where people sit and have a rest.

Arjopotu was delighted about the building.&nbsp;When, they went to the top floor of the palace, the explorer took a lot of photos of the view of Warsaw.&nbsp; &nbsp;The last place of the trip to Warsaw was The Botanical Garden. Łucja said that the Botanical Garden is one of the largest roof gardens in Europe. Three top gardens&nbsp;are connected with each other by charming bridges, footbridges and paths. Moreover, from the observation deck they could admire the beautiful panorama of Warsaw.

Arjopotu bought a postcard and a magnet from Warsaw.&nbsp; He also went with Łucja for ice cream and they talked about these beautiful Warsaw places&nbsp; -”Thank you for this day. I loved all the things in Warsaw.”&nbsp; -” I'm glad you enjoyed it!”

Note: All pictures figures in this story have taken from <a href="https://pixabay.com/">https://pixabay.com</a>

There was something interesting to see at every corner. The thing that caught Arjopotu’s attention was the fact that every few meters he kept finding little gnomes. He was told that there are 400 different of these around the city. After exploring the downtown they visited Ostrów Tumski which is the oldest part of the city to see old monuments.

“Water is so clean due to the discharge of the resources. which changes the salt. Besides the water is clean because the tides in the water” - Irmak explained Arjopotu was satisfied and he breathed in fresh air into his lungs&nbsp; “The lake is surrounded with large trees which is a great source of oxygen. Anyway, enjoy this place a bit …” - added Ceydanur

Next day Arjopotu could admire the magical city of Istanbul Basilica Cistern. There, the tour guide Nehir gave important information about the Basilica Cistern.

The last place where Arjopotu went was Wieliczka Salt Mine which was one of the first to be included in the list of world cultural and natural heritage of UNESCO.. During the journey through the amazing mine rooms, they had the opportunity to learn about history, see amazing halls, tunnels and chambers. &nbsp;Arjopotu was realy tired because of many adventures.&nbsp; - “I will never forget these cities. Thank you for these amazing two days! “

Arjopotu learnt that Ustka also has many fantastic places to discover like the Ustka Lighthouse which is a beautiful piece of architecture, consisting of an octagonal tower and a building for the lighthouse keepers. He could observe the system of lenses through the gallery glass when walking up the tower. Another great place, typical of the towns and villages in this part of the country they visited was the seaside promenade

“The king Khosrov&nbsp;built the city and&nbsp;also founded a hunting ground which was the Khosrov Forest State Reserve then” - Alik told the teenagers The architecture of Dvin was very interesting: huge pieces of stones which were parts of temples and other buildings of the place. The children went back to Vanashen to have a rest because an amazing excursion was waiting for them the next day. Arjopotu wished to see the fortress of Amberd!!!

Next day Łucja and Arjopotu took a train to Cracow - one of the oldest and&nbsp;most beautiful cities in Poland. They were heading for the city with historical significance, unique history and the former capital of Poland.&nbsp;Arjopotu was eager to learn that the city is full of monuments and interesting nooks. 

-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“We are passing Bulwary on the Vistula River. This creature is called Wawel Dragon - every 10 minutes fire-breathing”- the girl answered Arjopotu took so many pictures of Wawel Dragon. He said it was amazing and unique. -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Cracow market is worth coming here in the summer, when the whole market is surrounded by gardens. At night I recommend going out to the city and visiting the clubs and pubs located at the market, where the atmosphere is amazing! “ – she continued

First our explorer was led to the most recognizable place in Kraków- The Wawel Royal Castle.&nbsp; -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“This is a unique place where time stops. The Wawel Hill looks beautiful regardless of the season and weather. ” – Łucja said -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“From the Wawel Hill you can admire the panorama of the Vistula river and the modern part of Krakow” – she added -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Where are we going now? What’s that river? And what creature is it?” – asked Arjopotu

There was a famous explorer named Arjopotu, he had a dream to visit all the countries in the world, in fact he visited 40 countries. but the more he visited the more he wished to travel and meet people and find out more about other cultures. So, one day he decided to visit a new country, a small country in the Middle East, called Jordan. So, he packed his bags and booked a flight to Jordan.&nbsp; His Jordanian friends Ahmad, Abdalrohman, Mohammad and Odai were waiting for him at the airport, they accompanied him to the most famous and historical places in Jordan.

- &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “The mechanical goats' bumping display has taken&nbsp; place everyday since 1551” – Arthur said -&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “What a wonderful day” – Arjopotu said “But it’s getting late and I’m tired. Let’s order food at this restaurant”

After a walk in beautiful Łazienki, the explorer really wanted to go to The Palace of Culture and Science. -"It’s The Palace of Culture and Science. It was built after the II World War as a gift from the Russian authorities. We should get the elevator to the 30th floor and admire the panorama of the city. Poles say that the Palace of Culture looks like a rocket. What do you think about it?&nbsp; -”Sounds interesting! “

when they returned they visited the king abdullah I mosque and they took a lot pictures. Then Odai suggested a visit to Martyrs' Memorial which had&nbsp;a rare collection of Jordan's military weapons, clothing and vehicles.

“Tumulus shows gratitude to the gods and ancestors. There are large sculptures, reliefs and inscriptions” - Arjopotu said “Yes, that’s correct” - replied Gamze “There is also the statue of Antiochos I. The row of statues begins with a lion and eagle statue. The lion represents power on earth, and the eagle - heavenly power. The East Terrace consists of the Gallery of Gods" “Behind the stone blocks that make up the throne of the sculptures on the East and West Terrace, there is a long cult inscription written in Greek. The inscription, which is the testament to the Antiochos I, gives information about this sanctuary&nbsp;

Next point of the trip that Natalia took Arjopotu&nbsp;was another Polish seaside resort on the Hel Peninsula called Chałupy. -&nbsp;“It was&nbsp;once a fishermen’s. Today it is a popular summer destination. It is also known for great windsurfing and kitesurfing conditions. You can practice both sports there in one of the specialized centres” Natalia said

but a narrow path will lead us to the second floor, then stairs-to the third floor.”- Hike said From the top they could see a picturesque view, Vahramashen church, the fields like a colourful carpet and two rivers. “Let’s go to the Vahramashen church. There is an inscription which says that the church was built&nbsp;in 1026” - Elen said Tired with flowers in their hands, herbs in their backpacks, they returned back to Yerevan to see the Republic square singing fountains at night. It was amazing to listen to the well-known melodies of classical music, watch the water dancing and the multicoloured&nbsp;lights inside the large pool.

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