My very first visit to Şelale park

Good day, everyone!

I would like to share one magnificent park with you which we visited a few days ago. Telling the truth, I have not visited Şelale park during my previous Erasmus study semester here, in Eskisehir. Last semester I was too busy studying for the lessons and meeting new people. I do not regret it, and I have very much time to visit all the places, almost six months.

To begin, during my internship I have met few foreign friends. I knew one girl from last semester, but I did not have the conversation. There is also one guy from my country, who is doing an internship in the same city. Another guy is from the United States of America and is also doing an internship, but he is here for a shorter time than we are. One day we all met and decided to have a walk in Şelale park. Moreover, we wanted to go in the evening because afternoon it is too hot to stay outside for a longer time.

How to reach Şelale park?

• The easiest way to get to it is to take a tramway from University Street which is going the direction of SSK-Otogar. For students with "Eskart", the ticket costs just 1. 25 Turkish Lira. When you get into the tramway, you must pass "Belediye" tram stop and step out in "Ataturk Lisesi" tramway stop. When you get off from the tram, on the left side there is a bus stop. You should go there and find number one bus. When you enter there, if you are a non-Turkish speaker, tell that you need to go to the Şelale park. Bus drivers are always helpful; they will tell you when you need to get out. Later, when you got out off the bus, on the left side, you will see a very high hill and the entrance. Just go through the gates and you are in Şelale park.
• Next way to get there, you should also take the tram and get off in the "Ataturk Lisesi" tram stop. Later, after you pass the bus stop, you should keep going the street and turn right when you see the beginning of Odunpazari coloured houses. You need to go straight and keep left direction; you will find it easy to go because there are signs for the direction of Şelale park. Going uphill can be difficult if you feel tired. If it is a hot day and you do not feel you want to walk so much, it is better to take a bus and save your energy.

Our visit to Şelale park

Our group took the second option of getting to Şelale park. The guy from the United States of America did not see the Odunpazari coloured houses, so we wanted to pass it through. When you are going on foot and reach the streets that are going uphill, be careful. Why? Because the streets are narrow and pedestrian side is not so wide also. The cars are always going there and quite fast. The altitude between the beginning of Odunpazari and Şelale park can be around 100 metres.

Walking around Şelale park

This park is not very big in space, but it is enjoyable. When you go through the entrance, there are stairs and a pathway which lead to the top of Şelale park. At the beginning of Şelale park till the uphill, there are flower gardens, benches, trees and bushes. When you rise to the top, you can see the other view of Şelale park. There are plastic and colourful slides, a playground so children can spend a splendid time there. During our visit, there were some groups of people having a picnic in the park. However, it is not allowed to have picnics in the park. Many people are throwing litter so they want to prevent it.

Generosity of people

We were just walking around the park, taking photos and especially selfies. Later a family who was having a picnic noticed that we are foreigners, and they shared sweets with us. We got some pieces of roll cake and buns. We thanked them so much, and they were very kind. We took a seat, and we were talking while enjoying our food. The sun was going down already, so we decided to walk faster because we wanted to see the park while it is still bright outside.

Şelale Park's restaurant and the pool

Later we were going and passing through the Şelale Park restaurant. It has an open area, and while sitting there, you can enjoy the view from the top of the hill. We just passed through there, and I can not tell something about the restaurant. Next time when I will be here, I will give my review about it. Also, the restaurant has very nice view from the other side. There is the pool which is for the decoration, some rocks with the lightning. During the evening they turn on the waterfall, and you can enjoy the view so much. The pool looked fascinating, and we took the opportunity to take photos.

Further in the park, there is a small field for football, probably for the children. When we were going through there to the site, from which you can see all city of Eskisehir, we accidentally met one young boy who was speaking in English. We were shocked because so few Turkish children can talk in the English language. But later we found out that he may be from the United States of America or another country which has the English as a native language. From the site, you can take superb photos with the city lights when it is dark already.

Other things to see in Şelale park

I forgot to tell one thing; there is also a windmill in the Şelale park. It is not that big, but the wings are rotating. Moreover, it is not possible to enter the mill. Probably they are keeping it just as the decoration. It would be very interesting to see the windmill from the inside. The park could attract more people, couldn't it? Near the windmill, you can find metal sculptures with a man riding a horse and pointing to the mill, and other one was sitting on a donkey and following the man riding a horse.

The city of Eskisehir during the night time

The main reason why I came here is to visit, but another one, not less important, was to take good pictures of Eskisehir when it is full of city lights! Taking pictures was enjoyable because you can see everything from the top of the hill. While taking photos, we were trying to guess where are our flats. We also discovered the main shopping mall Espark, Anadolu University campuses and other places.

To summarise, if you are staying in Eskisehir, you should see one of the main parks in the city - Şelale park!

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