FAQ

We are near a cute little village called Şirince, on the West coast of Turkey. Şirince is tied to the town of Selçuk, which is in turn part of the İzmir province. Our Village is less than 1 kilometre from Şirince, on the side of a mountain called, Kayser Mountain. Our land measures 37,500 square meters and is surrounded by nature. See here for directions.

Just like the subjects, our villages are not completely separate, they have merged into one big Village. Some lecture rooms and areas belong to one Village only (such as the art workshop), others are used in common, according to need. See the gallery for more information.

Not at all! The oldest one was built in 2007 when the Village was founded. They look old because they were built from stone using traditional building methods, in a way suited to the architectural style of the area.

Everything began when Ali Nesin decided that his undergraduate mathematics students needed extra support for their studies and started to look for a fixed but remote place to hold summer study camps. In time, the Maths Village (as it was known then) began offering camps for high-school students as well as these university-level camps.
Later, the Art and Philosophy Villages joined the Maths Village and the three together became the Nesin Villages (aka to residents as simply “The Village”).
The purpose of the Village is to provide a place where people can freely enjoy learning, thinking and creating. At the same time, the Village aims to be a scientific and artistic centre, hosting conferences, workshops and seminars organised by various groups, apart from organising our own events and serving as an academic and artistic retreat.

The Village has two types of events: those organised by us, and those organised by outside groups, which we host.
The most important type of event in the first category are our summer and winter maths camps. We organise camps for high school students and for university students of all levels. The high school camps offer classes in Turkish only, but many university-level classes are offered in English. See this page for more information about these university maths camps.
On the the other hand, anyone can apply to hold an event at the Village: see here for more information.

The Nesin Villages are not for profit – everything we make goes back into our events and the maintenance of the Village. Any excess is used to waive fees for anyone who needs it.

The Village land and buildings are owned by the Nesin Foundation. Metaphorically, it belongs to all its residents, permanent or temporary!

From our main page, choose the area you are interested in. On each of the pages you will see a list of events. When you click on the even title, you will be taken to the event page, where you can find the application information.

Of course! As long as it isn’t a very noisy event, like a wedding, we’d love to host your event. Please pick the most fitting option from this page to obtain more information. If there is any information that you haven’t been able to fınd, please contact Aslı Can Korkmaz from our Contact page.

Applications are automatically passed on. You should receive a message confirming the receipt of your application after a couple of days. If you haven’t received such a confirmation within 3 days, please write to us. You should then receive an answer to your application within 2 weeks. Again, if you don’t then please contact us directly.

The summer camp dates are announced in early February, and they open to applications at the same time. The winter camps are announced and open to applications in September.

Prices change not only according to room type but also according to event type and according to the Turkish economy, so unfortunately our prices need to be updated constantly. Please see the relevant event page or contact us if you are looking to stay outside of any event.

If it is an event we are organising, we can occasionally waive your fees partially or completely. Please specify in your application what your need is and we will do our best to help. Waivers are not based on merit but on need.

No, we do not look for grades when you apply. We just ask that you be motivated and that you work hard to learn.

Of course! Please write to us to discuss availability and price.

We don’t organise any activities that may be noisy and disturb those who are studying, especially when the Village is quite full. Once in a while, there bay be a film showing or a piano concert or some similar activity. If you are visiting at a time where the Village is not very full, please discuss wıth us if you want to organise an activity. We can also arrange or help you arrange sightseeing trips for your event.

Absolutely! We’d love to have you, and there are many areas where we can use some help. Please write to Barbara Bakırcıoğlu and let us know what your skills and knowledge consist of, we will surely find an adequate area.

Sure! We have rooms for families. Please write to us to discuss availability.