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A vibrant, colorful circus tent glistened under the Mediterranean sun—its rainbow colors rising over a green play area by a wide beach, with the shimmering blue and turquoise Mediterranean Sea as a backdrop. The tent, erected by the children themselves, was soon filled with joyful laughter. The group consisted of sixteen children from Germany and thirty-eight from Turkey, led by experienced circus pedagogue Thomas Jansen. He was joined by a colleague and four founding members of the association Schwesterherzen – Krefeld hilft e.V., who traveled with the children from Krefeld. The Turkish participants came from four local schools. Together, they trained for a circus performance to be presented to a large audience—prepared in just three days.
Although the German and Turkish children had never met before, they quickly formed strong bonds. After only a short time training, they were expertly tossing juggling balls to one another, spinning plates on flexible sticks, balancing acrobatically on rolling barrels, or forming three-level human pyramids.
The stage for this circus was Samandağ, a town in the Hatay region, located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. Hatay is one of the world’s richest cultural and historical regions, filled with archaeological remnants from Hellenistic, Roman, Arab, and Ottoman eras. Its capital, Antakya, is the ancient city of Antioch, founded in 307 BCE. Today, Hatay remains deeply affected by the devastating earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey on February 6, 2023. At least 60,000 people lost their lives, and many more were seriously injured. Like many other cities, the historic center of Antakya has been largely destroyed. People are still suffering from severe trauma. Many lost their homes or apartments and now live in crowded container settlements, surrounded by ruins and construction zones. Some of the Turkish children involved in the project are still living in these container villages, uncertain when they will be able to return to permanent housing.
Our mobile circus play project was a joint initiative of Rotary, Schwesterherzen, and the “Mobifant” mobile play unit from Krefeld. It was carried out from April 12–17 during the Easter holidays in Germany. The children not only learned circus skills but also experienced the joy of playing together as a group, crossing both language and cultural boundaries. Through this beautiful project, lasting friendships and deep connections were formed.
The central goal is to establish a sustainable partnership in the Hatay region through this initiative, titled “Circus Without Borders.” To support this, the circus tent and play equipment brought from Krefeld will remain in Hatay under the supervision of the Rotary Club of Hatay-Defne. They will be available to the city of Samandağ and any local schools or institutions that wish to use them. Additionally, educational games developed by Prof. Dr. Hasan Coşkun, a bilingual pedagogue from Ankara, will remain in local secondary schools. Teachers have received training to conduct future circus projects and to pass their knowledge on to others.
Sustainability will also be supported by inviting Turkish children to Krefeld next year and arranging a second visit to Samandağ by the “Seifenblase e.V.” circus school from Oldenburg.
Schwesterherzen and the Mobifant project in Krefeld funded the purchase of the circus tent and equipment and covered the airfare for the children’s group. Rotary supported the project by covering accommodation, meals, and transportation costs. As members of ICC Germany–Turkey, we contributed in different ways: our Chair Thomas König (Hameln), Treasurer Rüdiger (Westerstede), and the author of this report (Berlin) supported local logistics and child supervision.
But none of this would have gone as smoothly without the tremendous contributions of Berfin from the Rotary Club of Istanbul–Şişli, who worked tirelessly from early morning until late at night. Special thanks are also due to Ilkay from the Rotary Club of Defne, Yasin from a Rotary Club in Istanbul, and Hilal Öztürk from ICC, who played a key role in bringing the project to Rotary. Essential to the project’s success was the excellent local network built by our Chair Thomas during his many visits to the region.
Returning to our circus week—after three intense days of training, the big show day arrived. Hundreds of visitors—parents, friends, teachers, and even the mayor of Samandağ—gathered to enjoy the children’s heartfelt and spirited performance. The wonderful circus festival concluded with Turkish–German dances and a collective polonaise, leaving a lasting impression on all of us—especially the adults.
