Cultural Heritage: Istanbul

Name: Cultural Heritage: Istanbul
Price: 400 EUR

Why this is Erasmus+ eligible

Structured, multi-day programme (5 days) with a pre-defined schedule and learning outcomes — not a passive lecture format.

Built around interaction: participants engage directly with the trainer and with peers from other countries throughout the course.

Transnational by design — open to participants travelling from outside the host country, a core requirement of Erasmus+ mobility funding.

Aligned with the Erasmus+ horizontal priority: Common Values, Civic Engagement & Cultural Heritage.

This mobility supports the Erasmus+ Key Action 1 School Education objective of "promoting knowledge about shared European heritage and diversity", and the horizontal priority on participation in democratic life, common values and civic engagement, which highlights participants' understanding of "European social, cultural and historical heritage". Through structured sessions and guided visits to Istanbul's Byzantine and Ottoman heritage — including Hagia Sophia, Chora Church, Topkapı Palace and the Grand Bazaar — participants gain first-hand material to bring intercultural dialogue and Europe's layered cultural identity into their own classroom.

Source: Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2026, Key Action 1 — School Education Mobility.

Overview

This course helps teachers build a deep appreciation of Europe’s shared cultural heritage — and turn that into practical teaching strategies for their own classroom, using digital tools and interactive learning.

In Istanbul, participants explore real historical sites — from the breathtaking architecture of Hagia Sophia to the vibrant Grand Bazaar — experiencing first-hand the history, art and architecture they’ll bring back to their students.

Istanbul is not a single-era city: nearly two thousand years of Byzantine, Ottoman and contemporary history are layered across it, each era anchored in its own district rather than one walkable core. Across the five days, participants move from a general framework on European cultural heritage and identity (Day 1) into three field days across Istanbul’s own layered districts (Days 2–4) — the Byzantine and Ottoman imperial core around Sultanahmet, the modern waterfront at Karaköy and Galata, and the historic residential fabric of Fener and Balat — then spend Day 5 turning what they’ve seen into a digital, classroom-ready resource. The course is built for teachers of any subject — history, art, citizenship, languages — who want a concrete European example to bring into cross-curricular teaching, rather than an abstract discussion of “heritage” in general.

Methodology

Byzantine to Contemporary, Across Three Districts

Days 2–4 trace Istanbul's heritage across three separate parts of the city, each a short transfer apart rather than one continuous walking route — Day 2 stays within the Byzantine and Ottoman imperial core around Sultanahmet and Gülhane (Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace, the Grand Bazaar and the Istanbul Archaeology Museums), Day 3 moves to the modern waterfront at Karaköy and Galata, including Istanbul Modern, and Day 4 moves again to Fener and Balat, a historic multi-ethnic neighbourhood anchored by the Chora Church — so participants can teach continuity and change, not a single frozen period.

Fieldwork as Structured Observation, Not Passive Sightseeing

across the three field days, participants follow a simple, consistent observation approach — photographing, noting and briefly comparing how each site's original function, worship, administration or trade, has persisted or changed — building a personal record they can adapt for fieldwork with their own students later.

Digital Tools Workshop, Built From What You've Seen

a hands-on session where participants turn photos and notes from Days 2–4 into a real digital output — a short digital storytelling piece, a simple interactive quiz, or a mini virtual exhibit — using straightforward tools they can realistically use with their own students.

Heritage in Context, Not Just in the Past

sessions connect what participants experience — from Hagia Sophia's active conservation work to Fener and Balat's civil wooden architecture — with the responsibility of preserving multi-layered heritage, including everyday neighbourhood fabric and not only landmark monuments, for future generations. Sustainability becomes something participants can observe and reflect on — not simply a concept explained in theory.

What you'll take home

Explain how Istanbul's Byzantine, Ottoman and contemporary heritage — from imperial monuments to everyday neighbourhood architecture — reflects Europe's complex and interconnected cultural history.

Integrate cultural heritage topics into lesson plans, using digital tools and interactive resources built from a real multi-era case study.

Design classroom activities that build students' intercultural awareness and appreciation for cities and heritage shaped by more than one civilisation.

Connect teaching to the EU's cultural-heritage priorities using a concrete European example rather than an abstract one.

Reflect on how the Istanbul experience can build students' intercultural awareness and active citizenship, and plan how to transfer it into their own school context.

Daily programme

Ice-breaking and trust-building activities for effective and positive interaction throughout the course
Introducing participants' schools and the course
The EU's role in and commitment to cultural heritage, and Europe's shared cultural diversity and identity
Analysing participants' own curriculum needs and student profiles
Digital tools workshop: interactive mapping platforms and QR-code-based instructional tools
Introducing the simple field-observation approach used across Days 2–4

Hagia Sophia: 1,500 years of Byzantine and Ottoman architecture and adaptive reuse
Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque: Ottoman religious architecture, still an active place of worship
Topkapı Palace: Ottoman administrative philosophy through courtyard design
Istanbul Archaeology Museums: museum-object pedagogy and using artefacts to build critical thinking
Grand Bazaar: the guild system, trade and the everyday survival of intangible heritage
Field reflection: connecting today's sites to classroom practice

Karaköy and the Galata Tower: 19th-century trade architecture and cosmopolitan urban life
Istanbul Modern: teaching multidisciplinary lessons through contemporary art
Field task: gathering "old and new side by side" material for a digital exhibit
Field reflection: connecting today's sites to classroom practice

Chora Church (Kariye): Late Byzantine mosaic and fresco symbolism
Fener and Balat's streets: civil wooden architecture, urban renewal and everyday neighbourhood memory
Field task: adapting today's observation approach into a simple fieldwork exercise participants can use with their own students at home
Field reflection: connecting today's sites to classroom practice

Designing a digital heritage-based classroom activity — a digital trail, quiz or mini virtual exhibit — using material gathered during the Istanbul site visits
Peer feedback and discussion
Course evaluation: discussion and reflection on acquired skills, feedback and course content
Sharing course documents and records
Awarding the Course Participation Certificate

Please note: the course fee covers all training sessions and the guided visits to heritage sites in the daily programme. Entrance tickets to museums, archaeological sites and monuments — where a site charges admission — are not included and are paid directly by each participant, based on what they choose to visit. Ask us for an estimated on-site budget when you apply.

Please note: classes run in the morning or afternoon at the trainer's discretion, and daily timings can shift depending on the trainer's plan and the group's needs. If you'd like a specific topic covered, let us know when you apply — the confirmed day-by-day schedule is sent to registered participants ahead of the course.

Certificate: we issue the Certificate of Attendance to everyone who's present for at least 80% of the course — tracked with the daily sign-in sheet (see Certificate & assessment).

Equipment: a few of our courses ask participants to bring a laptop — check the day-by-day programme above, or ask us if you're not sure.

Need a formal invoice or proforma for your school's records? Ask us — we issue official invoices with the participant's name and course details.

Materials & digital tools

Virtual-tour and interactive-map tools for exploring Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace and Istanbul's other heritage sites beyond a single visit

Digital image and archive resources for building heritage-based lesson materials

A printed and digital course pack covering Istanbul's Byzantine, Ottoman and contemporary heritage

A simple observation guide for documenting and comparing heritage sites across the three field days

A heritage-based classroom activity template, completed using material gathered during the Istanbul site visits and finalised on Day 5

Certificate & assessment

This is a Certificate of Attendance, not an exam-based qualification — recognition comes from completing the structured programme, not from passing a test. The real, lasting value is in the competencies listed above under What you'll take home.

Erasmus Mobility Academy

Certificate of Attendance

Cultural Heritage: Istanbul · 5 days · 25 hrs

+ Europass Mobility document

Type your name above — clearly marked "SAMPLE" in the PDF, not an official document.

The real certificate is signed by your trainer and EMA's authorised signatory. Your own signature isn't on this document — it's captured separately, on the Europass Mobility document.

Need to verify a real certificate? Check it online using the serial number and participant's full name, or contact us directly — [email protected], OID E10304561.

Attendance

Tracked using a sign-in sheet with one signature per participant per day (paper or digital). This record is used to issue your Certificate of Attendance and Europass Mobility document. View sign-in sheet (PDF)

Output

Every participant leaves with a completed Dissemination & School Impact Plan — a step-by-step template for applying the course back at your school (see below).

Feedback

An end-of-course evaluation form is sent to every participant after the course ends — a chance to reflect on what you've learned and how you'll apply it, and it helps us keep improving the course for future participants.

Your paperwork

Keep your travel tickets, boarding passes and (if you used green travel) any related receipts — your school or National Agency may ask for these for their own Erasmus+ reporting.

How to prepare

A tablet or smartphone is useful for the Day 1 digital-tools workshop.

Modest dress (shoulders and knees covered, headscarf for women) is required for Hagia Sophia, the Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque and the Chora Church (Kariye) on Days 2 and 4.

Practical information

Registration & documents

Not sure how registering works or what paperwork is involved? See our full Registration & Documents guide — from applying to your Certificate of Attendance, in one place.

Invitation letter

Need a formal invitation letter for your school or embassy? Request one — we send it within 2 business days. See a sample (PDF).

Learning Agreement

Prepared by our staff and sent to you and your school once your registration form is submitted — see what it looks like. See a sample (PDF).

Billing & invoicing

We issue official invoices/proformas with the participant's name and course details — ask us. Payment is due in full by bank transfer before the course start date. See a sample (PDF).

Airport transfer

Guidance on getting from the nearest airport to the venue is included in your welcome information.

Accommodation

We can recommend partner hotels close to the venue in the host city — ask us when you apply.

For your school / proposal

School impact

After completing this Cultural Heritage course, the participating staff member can transfer outcomes directly to their school: a short briefing for colleagues sharing the key takeaways, applying relevant tools or strategies from the programme in their own role, and inclusion of the course materials in the school's professional development resources — turning one person's mobility into a wider institutional gain that supports the school's European Development Plan. Use the Dissemination & School Impact Plan below to fill in your own — it saves as you go and can generate a one-page summary for your coordinator too.

Prefer a blank, course-independent version of this template? Get it here →

After the course

Participants will receive their certificates (Certificate of Attendance + Europass).

Participants will complete a general course evaluation and event survey.

Participants will receive course materials, videos, photos, and PDF documents in both digital and print formats.

Follow-up support: an email group is created for idea exchange, self-evaluation materials are provided, and participants receive a follow-up check-in after 3 months to discuss progress on bringing Istanbul's cultural heritage into their teaching.

Use the classroom activity developed on Day 5 as the basis for a short staff-room briefing, sharing how Istanbul's layered heritage can support cross-curricular teaching in history, art and citizenship — and provide a concrete input for the school's European Development Plan.

Frequently asked

This course is an eligible training activity under Erasmus+ Key Action 1 (School Education Mobility) — the course fee, travel and subsistence fall within the eligible cost categories. Whether it is covered depends on your own project's approved grant agreement and your National Agency's rules; we provide all the invoices, attendance records and certificates your National Agency requires for reporting.

B1 or above is comfortable. Trainers speak clearly, materials are written in plain English, and mixed-nationality teams support each other.

Absolutely — group bookings of 3+ from one school receive priority placement, and we can schedule a dedicated session for groups of 12 or more.

This course runs only in İstanbul — the daily programme is built around that city's own heritage sites, so it is not offered in our other centres.

Tuition, all materials, certificates (attendance + Europass) and the guided cultural programme. Flights and accommodation are booked separately — we send a vetted hotel list.

You can move to any later session free of charge. Cancellations made 30+ days before the start date receive a full refund; a reduced refund applies closer to the date — see our full Cancellation & Refund Policy for the exact schedule.

This mobility supports the Erasmus+ Key Action 1 School Education objective of "promoting knowledge about shared European heritage and diversity", and the horizontal priority on participation in democratic life, common values and civic engagement, which highlights participants' understanding of "European social, cultural and historical heritage". Through structured sessions and guided visits to Istanbul's Byzantine and Ottoman heritage — including Hagia Sophia, Chora Church, Topkapı Palace and the Grand Bazaar — participants gain first-hand material to bring intercultural dialogue and Europe's layered cultural identity into their own classroom. Frame it in your own project's terms — your National Agency's current call will confirm exactly how it applies.

Each field day stays within its own compact district — Sultanahmet/Gülhane, Karaköy/Galata, or Fener/Balat — so walking within a single day is short, though Istanbul's cobblestones and gentle hills mean comfortable, flat-soled shoes are worth bringing. Moving between districts on different days is by a short tram or transfer, not on foot. Hagia Sophia, the Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque and the Chora Church (Kariye) are active mosques, so modest dress is required for entry — shoulders and knees covered, and a headscarf for women — and shoes are removed before entering; please dress accordingly on Days 2 and 4. The pace and stops can be adjusted to your group's needs, so please let us know in advance if any participants have mobility considerations.