Maria Raynolds [mailto:maria_raynolds@telus.net]
Friday, October 30

Maria’s group September – October 2009

To Tugrul Sokmen

Kusadasi Tours  Turkey

In late 2008 our group of 11 friends from British Columbia, Canada, decided to take our next trip together to Turkey. Via internet I contacted the Turkish Ministry of Tourism and shortly after received several proposals for tours in Turkey.

We chose Kusadasi Tours because their representative, Tugrul Sokmen, presented us with several options and offered flexible, individually designed routes.

Over the next many months Tugrul worked out a plan for us, that allowed us to visit exactly the sites we wanted to see. We corresponded back and forth many times and Tugrul never tired to adjust our route or add good suggestions of what was feasible or desirable to see.

Our tour took us from Istanbul to Safranbolu to Ankara to Adyaman and Mount Nemruth. From there to Sanliurfa , Harran at the Syrian border where Abraham visited more than 2000 years ago, to Gaziantep, with a float on the Euphrates river. Then back to Ankara and from there to Cappadocia. Down to the Mediterranean coast to visit sites like Ephesus, Pergamon, Milet, Priene, Izmir and not to forget the beautiful site of Aphrodisias and the spa of Pamukkale with its white terraces.

Our tour was so flexible that several of us, who wanted to stay a shorter period of time, and others, who wanted to spend some rest time in between, at a villa in Kalkan, were accommodated as well.

For the whole month Tugrul was our personal guide. He greeted us in Istanbul and stayed with us throughout the tour. We had our own mini-bus and driver as well. This way we could stop and take photos or make short changes at any time.

Tugrul was a fantastic guide. He wanted to show us his country as if we were his best personal friends. He looked after us in every which way: be it to retrieve forgotten items, go to the police for a report of a stolen credit card or to fetch medications. He went out of his way to surprise us nearly every day with interesting sites or special places.

His knowledge and love for his country is extensive. He was always well prepared for the sites we visited, for the wonderful history and for the special significance of each place. Any time we had questions that were out of the ordinary ( and most of us are retired teachers) he used his computer to research the answers. He had the latest 3G technology so that we could even phone home in our little van out in nowhere.

Each time lunch-time approached he would phone ahead and a scrumptious meal was ready when we arrived.

Tugrul and Kusadasi Tours are involved in a program that encourages tourism and local employment in regions of Turkey, which are not quite as developed as the typical tourist destinations. They choose mostly small boutique hotels, run by local families and restaurants operated by families who use locally grown products and serve regional specialties.

This was absolutely wonderful:  We had fabulous small hotels where the owner would great us with a local wine, and restaurants, where the best of Turkey and many interesting regional dishes were prepared fresh for us. The food in Turkey was superb! We dined in the most exotic and interesting places: restaurants with a 360 degree view of Istanbul and the Bosperus as well as sitting in a Cave restaurant in Cappadocia, or reclining on beautiful kelims on seats which were built across a bubbling little stream while feeding the ducks, or sitting on small folding stool in Harran overlooking the desert. Breakfasts were usually buffet-style in the hotels. Because our lunches, which were included, were so plentiful we hardly spent any extra money on the evening dinner. A bowl of the filling Mercimek soup together with a pide bread was usually enough.

Each day we became expectant of what new little restaurant Tugrul would take us to sample the delicacies of Turkey.

But the highlights of our tour were the special archaeological sites Tugrul took us to; many of them were not even open to the public. We saw the ancient site of Goeblekli Tepe, carbon dated to over 12000 years ago, 6000 years older than Stonehenge and we talked to the owner of the field as well as to the archaeologists who worked there. We admired the fabulous mosaics in Sanliurfa  which are just being excavated. We wandered the fields of Karabuek where a lonely caretaker and his dog stood watch and let us have a glimpse at the freshly found bird mosaics. We took a long walk through the Ihlara valley marveling at the hidden cave houses and tiny cave churches with their colourful paintings. Tugrul took us to see a unique, original Whirling Dervish Dance near Konya. We floated the Euphrates river to a sunken city displaced by the damming of the river. We climbed into an old rock quarry. We experienced sunset and sunrise on Mount Nemruth; we were hosted in an original bee-hive home in Harran. We slept in an old restored mansion in Sanliurfa and talked to cotton pickers on the roadside.

When my husband voiced an interest in some Ebru ( marbelled art) paintings in one of the hotels Tugrul happened to know an Ebru artist in Izmir, our last stop. He made arrangement for us to visit his home and get a personal demonstration of his art. This hospitable man also happened to be the artist who did those paintings.

Tugrul constantly went far beyond his duties to make us understand and love his country and to make our visit an unforgettable experience.

Turkey is an amazing country where for the last 10 000 + years conquerors and civilizations have swept over this country from as far as the Mongol steppes in Asia, the Persian lands in the south, the Syrian kingdoms in the west and the Roman and Greek empires in the north. 2000 years ago there were cities like Ephesus and Aphrodisias, which had underground canalization and water aqueducts for running water, public toilets, libraries, magnificent amphitheatres and colonnaded public markets with marble -paved streets. Each century, each civilization has left its imprint. Turkey is one open-air archaeological site. So much to see and explore and so much yet to be found.

Yet at the same time Turkey is very modern with a well- kept extensive road network, the latest technology, excellent environmental advancements like solar panels on nearly every house or apartment, sensor lights in many facilities to save on energy and a very welcoming, friendly people.

Whether you climb a mountain, relax at the glorious Mediterranean, browse the beautiful arts and crafts and bazaars, visits the many sites and museums or delight in the oven fresh baked breads, the fresh salads, grilled  shishkebabs or mouthwatering sweets you can be assured to have a wonderful time in Turkey if you risk going beyond the typical tourist resorts.

It gave us great pleasure to support local people and have our tourist dollars go directly to the Turkish people rather than an international conglomerate.

If you are looking for a personalized, well-organized, individual, friendly tour to experience the real Turkey we can highly recommend Kusadasi Tours and especially our wonderful guide and friend Tugrul Sokmen.

Tracy and Maria Raynolds

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Dear Tugrul

Thank you for a beautiful trip !

You showed us your beautiful country like a good friend would.

It was beyond our expectations!

You did a fantastic job

We appreciate all the special things you did for us!

All our best to you and we hope to welcome you in Canada some day.

Maria

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Dear Tugrul

Thank you for a wonderful tour of this beautiful land of turkey. We appreciate all the special hotels and delicious lunches you arranged for us. Also the information, you gave us about the places we wanted, and the ancient cities.

We shall remember  finally,you Tugrul,and your country and its people

Volker and Mo

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To Kyas,

Thank you for driving us safely around Turkey. You are a very good driver.

Brian & Joan

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Tugrul,

Thank you so much for the wonderful tour through your scenic country that is “steeped” in history. We learned so much.

From Brian & Joan

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November 12, 2009 4:58 AM

Hello Tugrul,

    It has been good to receive your e-mails and to know that you are well. I hope the travel business is good for you.  Our family  of 3 really enjoyed our customized tour of Turkey. It was fabulous!  We have shared it with all our family, friends and Susan at Roblins Travel agency .

We were really impressed with the way you customized a tour for us and the excellent service to make it work out so smoothly. The variety of experiences was overwhelming. ! Who could have thought that Turkey offered so much for the tourist.? Your  professionalism, patience,  and courtesy,  made you and your company outstanding . You, Ali, and Tan, and the drivers made it possible for us to  relax and have  the ultimate, carefree, vacation in Turkey.

    We highly recommend you to anyone who wants to  tour  Turkey, but we especially appreciated the fact that you would , from all of your various tours take elements and customize a tour of those places  that we were particularly interested in, just for us.!

    God  bless you all,

    Bill  ( William )

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Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Tugrul:  Now that we have returned from our trip I wanted to say Thanks for arranging our tour which was just super.  Our guide, Oscar, could not have been better.  He made the tour very special for us and we want especially commend him for his courtesy, knowledge and overall help with the tour.  He went at our pace and was always very considerate of my wife who has a bad back.

Thanks again and I will see the posting is made on cruise critic and trip advisor to recommend your company for future tourists.

Thanks again, Jim

Hi! I hope you are well.   I would like to say that your tour was the Highlight of my trip. From beginning to end it was one of the best tours I have ever been on.  Your knowledge  and the way in which you share it were great.  I just recommended you to a patient.  I will send the pictures I took of you shortly.  Oh and by the way I bought a Turkish silk on silk rug that day.  I send you a picture!!!!  I am still shocked that I paid $ 4,000. for such a small rug.  But I really wanted to take a little of Turkey with me and leave a little of myself there.  My cousin and I are thinking of going in the Spring 2010... I will keep in touch and maybe I can do Istanbul with your guidance and knowledge.   Warmly, Jennifer

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Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 8:37 PM

i just wanted to tell you know how much my husband daughter and i enjoyed our trip.It was perfect, you did an excellent job with our travel arrangements and i just wanted to let you  know that  it was realley appriciated. You seemed to be able to develop an exceptional deal for this travel package. Everything went extremely smooth,accomodations were picturesque,beautiful.clean and wonderful,connections were excellent,attractions were fun and informative and the way you planned it was perfact, nether too hectic nor too slow. Thank God for the internet revolution that has made it possible   for us to work with reliable organizations like yours.we will recommending you to all our friends and colleagues who travel your way. once again THANK YOU SO MUCH

Urmila Patel

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Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009

Yesterday we arrived home from a wonderful trip to Italy, Greece, Turkey and the Ukraine.  It was a memorable trip in many ways, but the best parts were the two days that we toured with our guide Tugrul!  He met us promptly at the ship and began an informative and exciting tour of the Ephesus area giving us the history then bringing us up to date.  His English was excellent, his energy level very high.  It was wonderful how he sorted through the layers of history to help us understand the complexity of that wonderful part of the world. 

To our delight Tugrul met us two days later in Istanbul for a extensive tour around that fabulous city.  It is amazing the factual knowledge that he has in his head.  We appreciate his attention to details such as arranging a wonderful luncheon overlooking the city.  The view of all we had seen was terrific.   He was thorough in his attention to all things and it made our day perfect. 

I would never hesitate to recommend Tugrul or Kusadasi Tours to anyone looking for a wonderful Turkish experience.  His knowledge of Turkish history is extensive and up to date.  Best of all, he is a gentleman with a good sense of humor.   

Thank you so much and kudos to Tugrul!


Sincerely,

Karen Fleming

 

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Sent: Tuesday, May 12,2009

Dear Tugrul:

Turkey is an amazing country and we were so glad that we had the  opportunity to see all it's wonderful, historic sites. Thank you for  arranging such an all encompassing tour.  We loved all our guides,  Guzin, Koray, Yasar, and Melih were all so helpful and gave us so  much historical information.  The drivers we had were all very calm  and were excellent at managing the traffic in each of the cities we  visited.We loved Istanbul with it's busy harbor and wonderful sites. 

 

So much  history.  Highlights were the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, The  Underground Cistern, and the little Chora church with its wonderful  mosaics.  We loved the Spice Bazaar, and were overwhelmed by the size  of the Grand Bazaar.  The Topkapi Palace was also a highlight.  It was  crowded (as it probably always is) but we were able to get a quick  look at the dagger and the famous diamond.The Girimasu Hotel was great - the staff very friendly and the  breakfast and dinners were excellent.   Yasar took us to so many  interesting places (underground cities and towns in the rocks). 

 

As  you may have heard, we did buy two Turkish carpets.  One we brought  home with us and the other is being shipped.  They are lovely and they  will be a reminder of our wonderful trip to your beautiful country.

 

Ephesus is an amazing site.  We bought a guidebook so that we can  recall some of the information that Melih told us.  It was another  highlight of our trip.The Charisma Hotel was very nice.  The staff and breakfasts and dinner  buffets were excellent.  We changed our room (we needed a plug for 

Reese's electric razor) and were on the second floor with a wonderful  view of the sea. 

 

My only complaint was that the beds were very hard  and notcomfortable.  Reese manages okay, but it was too hard for me.   But we solved the problem - I got an extra duvet that I put on top of  the mattress and that gave me some additional softness so that I could  sleep.We loved Priene, Miletus, and Dydma.  Maybe because there is more of  the remains intact than other sights we visited.

 

Anyway, thank you for planning a wonderful and comprehensive tour for  us.  Everything went so well with all our meetings with your guides, 

the airplane flights, etc.We have some friends who our going on a cruise from Istanbul to Venice and I will give them your name and hopefully you will be able to help  them with tours while they are in Turkey.

 

Our very best wishes,

 

Reese and Sally Foster

 

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Sent: Monday, May 11,2009

To Whom It May Concern

My name is Mary Ann Winn and I would like to express my perception of the beautiful trip I had in Turkey.

Our guide in Istanbul was Aykut Ayik and he was very knowledgeable and also our guide in Kusadasi Tugrul Sokmen very kind and intelligent. This trip to Turkey has to be one of the highest quality trips I have made and I feel sure this was attributable to our guides Tugrul and Aykutayik. Our trip to Kusadasi will always be remember and also Istanbul.

I have made a recommendation to friends of mine who also travel and have never been to Turkey to contact Guide Turkey Explores.

Thank You Again

Mary Ann Winn

 

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Sent: Sunday, May 03, 2009
 

Dear Tugrul, Emre and Aykut-   We made all of our flights back home as scheduled. I haven't gotten my "sleep clock" readjusted - but that takes time.   I don't know how to say Thank You  any stronger.  Mary Ann and I have been around the world, which included many tour guides, but you three are the best we have ever had. We are telling everyone that this is one of the best trips we have ever taken -- mostly because of our three tour guides.   Aykut showed us the beautiful Istanbul - so knowledgeable and so good to offer his hand to get us up and down the steps and through the busy crowds.   Tugrul and Emre showed us Ephesus and Pamukkale with all the sights in between. So interesting.   I also want to compliment the three of you for speaking English so well. That has not always been the case in other countries.   Our trip to Turkey was wonderful, as Aykut said - we need to come back because there is much more to see in Turkey. Tugrul, you were so good with your answers to my many, many email inquiries. It was so kind of Emre for his "Welcome to Turkey" phone call upon our arrival in Istanbul.   Again -thank you for making our visit to Turkey so memorable. If we come back to Turkey, you three will be requested. I now feel that I have three friends in Turkey.   Lastly, Aykut, Tugrul, and Emre - stay healthy, be happy and good luck to your future.   Sincerely, Lee Cain

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