Turkey with Cultural Folk Tours

Our 18-day tour of western Turkey with Cultural Folk Tours International (5631 Lincoln Ave., Ste. B, Cypress, CA 90630; 800/935-8875 or www. boraozkok.com) was all I had hoped for. We found the Turkish people friendly and helpful and we felt safe and comfortable at all times. This includes times when my husband and I left the group and explored areas of Istanbul on our own.

Our trip, April 13-May 1, ’05, was led by Akin Aykurt (akinaykurt@hotmail.com), who is an archaeologist as well as a tour guide. Akin made this trip one of the best that I’ve ever taken. Besides being always available for any problems, he was a fountain of knowledge on history, culture and archaeology. He was “unstumpable”!

There were many tourists in Turkey from Europe and Japan but, regrettably, few from the United States. Cultural Folk Tours’ owner, Bora Özkök, went ahead and ran our tour although there were only six people in our group for the first week, and two more joined us for the last 10 days.

The tour pace was leisurely, allowing for stops for photo opportunities, snacks and interesting walks. We traveled in a comfortable van and enjoyed flexibility not available on larger tours. A spur-of-the-moment stop involved a festival on Children’s Day, April 23. We watched some dances and, after asking permission, took pictures of the beautiful children in their holiday costumes.

Most of our hotels were rated five stars. We stayed in Ankara, Cappadocia, Mersin, Antalya, Pamukkale, Kusadasi and Çanakkale and ended in Istanbul. The land-only cost of this trip was $1,990.

— HELENE TERRIS, Sherman Oaks, CA