Treasures of Travel in Turkey

After taking the 22-day “Eastern Turkey and the Black Sea” tour from Treasures of Travel (Edmonds, WA; 800/572-0526), we’re convinced that the region has it all: dramatic scenery, antiquities, archaeological sites dating back to perhaps 9,000 BC reflecting the various empires that once ruled in the area and, today, a fascinating variety of ethnic cultures.

Our tour, May 5-26, 2010, cost $3,600 per person, including one internal flight. We chose this tour after receiving a number of responses to our query in ITN’s “Person to Person” section.

Umit Dogan, our tour leader and the owner of Treasures of Travel, has been guiding small-group tours to eastern Turkey for many years, and his experience shows. He was knowledgeable, pleasant and always willing to do whatever it took to enhance each traveler’s experience.

We enjoyed the well-paced travel, delicious food (often in small local cafés) and hotels that always were well located (sometimes superbly located, as was the Mola Hotel in Sinop, overlooking the Black Sea harbor, and the Sultanahmet Palace Hotel in Istanbul, located in the Old City between the Bosphorus and the Blue Mosque.

We found the Turkish people very friendly and welcoming, plus we saw very few Western tourists until we returned to Istanbul.

JEANNE OLSON
Kalispell, MT