Where do I even begin? I was traveling to Türkiye to fulfill my late father’s wishes of returning his remains back to his hometown. I decided somewhat last minute that I wanted to spend time alone afterwards traveling the country to reflect and see as much as I possibly could without having to put much thought or effort into it. By sheer luck I found Ertunga because the person I had originally intended to hire fell through – and what a gift that turned out to be. Ertunga was extremely patient, helpful and tailored the trip to to suit my wants and desires. 
I spent 13 days traveling through Türkiye starting in Cappadocia and ending in Istanbul and it was wonderful. Turkish hospitality is a given – however, what I experienced from my four guides Serkan, Bedrettin, Özgür and Osman far surpassed anything I could have imagined. Not only were they incredibly knowledgeable, their main concern was that I was always comfortable and happy. I’m especially grateful for the four days spent with Özgür. His attention to archaeological, historical and deeply humanizing detail coupled with his gift of storytelling brought each location we visited to life. Walking through these ruins became an almost surreal and at times, emotional experience of walking in ancient Lycian, Byzantine, Roman and Ottoman footsteps. (The boat trip in Kekova to visit the sunken city was one of my favorite moments – it really has to be seen to be believed so make sure that’s on your itinerary). To give you an idea of the level of care and consideration I was shown, upon learning I was a vegetarian, Özgür went out of his way to find restaurants that served an ample amount vegetarian dishes – and without my asking, took it upon himself to refrain from eating meat in front of me (as did our wonderful driver Vecdi). When I say they looked after me as if I were family, I’m not remotely exaggerating. They took care of everything from start to finish and made this one of the most memorable trips of my life. I plan on returning on a regular basis and seeing every inch of Türkiye. I can’t imagine doing it without Ertunga and his team.

Taketrips