Established by Her Yerde Sanat Derneği (Art Anywhere Association), the Mesopotamia Social Circus School offers art lessons and various courses to refugee children who came to Turkey mainly from Syria. Children receive various art lessons, including music and painting, along with Turkish and English lessons. Among several classes that the school provides for children, acrobatics lessons attract the most interest. The children are taught how to juggle, walk on a tightrope, balance objects on their noses, hula-hoop, walking on stilts, build human pyramids and do somersault.Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Pınar Demiral, a board member of Art Anywhere Association and the person in charge of the school, said circus arts are important for people to see what they can achieve by using their mind and body. She said it contributes to the social, personal and cultural development of children and young people as well. Describing the school's student profile, Demiral said it provides education to 100 children including 70 Syrian migrants five days a week. "The circus arts are a successful pedagogic method to work with disadvantaged and refugee children. We believed that Mardin needed this kind of school as there are many Syrian and Afghan refugee kids in the area; it is a tool. Thanks to our school, children socialize and learn new things, which help them gain self-confidence," Demiral said, adding they want to increase the number of their students in the future.Although the school's new academic year kicked off only three weeks ago, Demiral said they have begun to observe positive changes in the students. "When they first came here, some of them did not speak and sat by the wall all day," Demiral said. "These children lived through traumatic experiences. They have just fled from war and they are trying to find their place in a new country. Now, they are talking laughing and playing with their friends."Along with Turkish instructors, the Mesopotamia Social Circus School employs volunteer teachers hailing from the U.S., Poland and Syria.American circus artist Katy Liarans, one of the instructors at the school, said she has been an acrobat for four years and has been teaching acrobatics to other people for the last two years. She said she loves Mardin and what Art Anywhere Association has accomplished with refugee children via the Mesopotamia Social Circus School.Ahmed İbn Muhammed, one of the Syrian students at the school, said: "We are learning entertaining things including how to walk on stilts, painting and music."Maria Karttaş, who came from Syria to Turkey 10 months ago, said Turkish people are helping them to adjust their new lives. "I have a good time at the school. I learn painting, music and circus arts. I am practicing to be a juggler. I am happy in Turkey," she said.