What makes your home country special for you?

Bridge - History - Hospitality

The unique geographical location of Turkey forms a bridge between Europe and Asia. This bridge is not only geographical but also cultural for both, Oriental and European elements. Turkey extends this bridge even to NATO, becoming the first and the largest Muslim populated country in the alliance.

Although many people know Turkey for its beautiful beaches, its history actually is more interesting. Anatolia has been home for many civilizations and exhibits many historical heritages such as ancient cities, grand mosques, underground cities, cave churches etc. Did you know that Turkey has two of the seven ancient World Wonders and Santa Claus’ house is not in North Pole?

Hospitality is a cornerstone character trait in Turkey. If you knock the door of a stranger’s house by mistake, you cannot leave without drinking tea or Turkish coffee at least. Even on national level, Turkey has proved this right by hosting the highest number of refugees (3.6 million), according to UNHCR

What makes JSEC special to you?

Challenge - Location - Innovation

This is first my time working at an operational level joint NATO HQ which is young and has a unique mission. Thus, I see my deployment at JSEC as a new challenge and am very much looking forward to it. I believe the knowledge and experience I will receive here will be unique and beneficial. JSEC’s location in Ulm/Germany makes my life easier due to family relations. Schools for children are convenient; Ulm offers many opportunities. The deployment offers a great chance to improve my German as a third language. Lastly, working in Plans/Policy and shaping the conceptual framework of JSEC is very interesting. There is a lot of room for innovation, creativity and therefore personal development. As an army engineer officer, 

I am glad to be one of the pioneers of JSEC.