My family of four embarked on a private tour of Turkey, from 9 to 19 June. We very much wanted to find out as much as we could about the history and culture of the area prior to the establishment of modern Turkey. Anatolia is pretty much the cradle of human civilization so it is a “must visit” place for anybody interested in human history. Overall, the tour was very well organized and very smooth. Initial contact and planning was with Ertunga. During our tour itself, Maria did the day-to- day organization and tracking of the tour. She was excellent. We toured Istanbul for 2 days with Uğur as our guide, and then flew to Anatolia to tour for the remainder of the time with Özgür as our guide, and Vecdi as our driver. Our Istanbul segment was very interesting. We were, however, quite jet- lagged so that first day was harder than we thought. The Bosphorus tour by boat turned out to be much more interesting and relaxing than we expected. Recommended. Our Istanbul segment was a little mosque-heavy, but this was our fault since we didn’t think through our itinerary in the planning stage. Anatolia was… exhausting. It is a very big place with so much history. I think our itinerary was a bit ambitious. I would avoid Pamukkale since the waters have stopped flowing, and everything is dried out and going brown from the dust. A pity. Our van was always clean, both inside and out. More importantly, Vecdi proved to be an excellent, obliging, and careful driver. There was moment that we felt unsafe. Özgür was just both the absolute best guide, and host for us. With a degree and a personal interest in mythology, human history, and archaeology, he was able to answer and explain everything that we asked and saw. His interest and feeling for the material was immediately obvious; he didn’t just recite facts and dates, but interpreted them in the context of the time. Özgür constantly able to teach us more and give subtle insights into the events of so long ago, such as the tragedies that befell the Lycians. Despite feeling unwell on the last two days (from a cold we passed on to him), Özgür soldiered on with good humor. He always took care to ensure that our needs were met, and that we were comfortable. Thank you to Ertunga, Maria, Uğur, Özgür, and Vecdi. You have a wonderful country, a rich culture, and much history. We will certainly return to see other parts of Anatolia!

Taketrips