What Did They Say?

Kazim,  Just wanted to tell you what a great time we had! The arrangements were fantastic, the guides were superb, and the trip was absolutely amazing. I will certainly recommend you to our friends if they plan to travel to Turkey. Thanks again for all of your help. Regards,

Dear Kazim, Your name popped up on my address list and gave me the opportunity to thank you and Shenol for the wonderful experience of Istanbul that you, two provided for our RoadScholar group in May. The materials, lectures, tours and accommodations and meals were all that one could desire. For me it was a long sought dream come true. I guess I have inspired my Granddaughter who is a history major in college, now taking a course in Islamic studies. She and her husband are eager to visit Istanbul and are excited by what I have told them about my experience. It may be a while before they can realize their dream since they have two young girls to raise first. The memory of my tour will remain with always. Thank you both for your thoughtfulness, kindness and professionalism.

I wanted to write to you to let you know that you made our trip to Turkey fabulous! You are so knowledgeable and so passionate about all the sites. It really was a treat to have you as our guide. Everything was perfectly planned! My father and I really wanted to thank you for all that you did to make the trip a huge success.  I’ve already convinced my friends to visit Turkey this coming October and I will give them your contact information. They would want their own trip as they don’t like to be in groups.  Please keep in touch. And again, thank you for making our time in Turkey AMAZING!

Kazim:  We are home from our wonderful trip.  I just wanted to follow-up with you by telling you how great your company was to work with and how terrific all of your guides and services were.  Everything worked like clockwork and your tour guides are exceptional.  Please let all three know how much we liked their tours and enjoyed them as well.  I am happy to be a reference anytime and will certainly refer you to anyone I know traveling to your lovely part of the world. Thank you again.

Hi Kazim – First of all, thank you so much for stepping in last Wednesday morning in Istanbul to present the excellent, stimulating and informative lecture about the urban development of that city.  The scheduled professor could not have been better.   You know better than anyone that no matter how carefully planned and organized any tour is, its ultimate success depends significantly on the leadership qualities of the guide, and in this respect the participants in the recent Road Scholar program in Turkey were exceptionally fortunate in having Yesim Çözeli as our leader.   In her evaluation I commented on her extensive knowledge of the history and culture of Turkey and her ability to communicate this information, but equally impressive was her knowledge of the crowd situations at each site and her ability to amend the schedule of visits to various locations to ensure that the Road Scholar group was at each one at the most optimal time.    She was always available to answer questions or offer suggestions to each of the group members and was unfailingly warm, courteous and kind–one of the finest guides I have had the pleasure of meeting over the years.  Many thanks to Yesim, you and Baltac Tours or a memorable stay in Turkey.  Best regards.

Dear Kazim,  Neal and I returned to Phoenix last Sunday evening filled with magnificent memories of our eight days in Turkey.  Thank you for facilitating our trip and for attending to every possible detail.  You selected knowledgeable and personable guides (Sami was particularly outstanding); you enabled us to experience the vast wonders of your country; you anticipated our special interests, including visits to Jewish sights; and you timed our flights perfectly (we connected to our flight home quite comfortably. Neal joins me in sending our very warm and sincere thanks.

Hi Kazim, We have now left Istanbul after ten wonderful days in your fascinating country.  Thank you so much for your assistance in organizing our tours out of Istanbul.  All three were excellent – very well organized and everything went very smoothly for us.   The drivers and guides were excellent.  Many thanks again – if I know anyone coming to Turkey I will definitely put them in touch with you.  Best regards,

Hi Kazim, I just wanted to let you know that we have had a wonderful time in Turkey. Everything was perfectly organized and scheduled. Thank you for your help to the successful trip we have made.  All the best,

Dear Kazim,

This is too long in coming; we apologize.  We wanted you to know how wonderful our first experience of Turkey was, from beginning to end, all 1,400 miles of it.  We really related to something you said the last evening.  You mentioned that seeing that much of Turkey meant long bus rides, but that it was a wonderful way to see much of the country.  This is exactly what Mike and I so appreciated: being able to sit and look out of large, clean, bus windows, not having to bother about driving (and feeling exceptionally safe with Sherif at the wheel), and absorb every detail of the country we possibly could.

The part of the Anatolian plateau that we saw we found beautiful, with ripening green wheat, long-range views, and carefully tended fields.  Seeing people working and herding livestock and going about their business, watching the dogs watch the livestock, seeing how carefully people tended their land or the land they were working, and noting different methods of farming were of great interest to us.

There were some similarities to northern New Mexico, USA, and some very interesting differences that showed a more holistic way of doing things than is often done in the USA.  Even the bus stops were enjoyable, because that was one of the ways we could interact with Turkish people.  I was so glad I had learned a little Turkish before we went on this trip, because people responded so positively to my clumsy attempts to make contact.  Some of our best interactions were with Turkish school children visiting museums and ruins.  They were thrilled to have someone to practice English with, and I was thrilled to be able to practice my Turkish!  The food was truly wonderful, and healthy, and fresh, and we found Istanbul so stimulating, charming, different, memorable.  I’ve been to seven other countries, and Mike has been to more, but we both found Turkey to be more unique than all the others, and with an exhilarating energy and day-to-day vibrancy that was a pleasant surprise to us.  So it was a terrific trip for us.  But part of the enjoyment was absolutely due to Burcu Tokgoz- both her personality and her skills as a tour guide.  We were amazed at her ability to show up every morning full of spirit and good will, and she was a wealth of knowledge, knowing so much about so many subjects.  Yes, it would have been nice to have had more free time, but all one had to do was look at the schedule and see all the places we were going to visit and all the miles we were going to travel to realize that this was going to be an event-packed trip!  Burcu was always ready to help out, always ready to fight for us as a group and individually.  She really worked to get us to the more popular spots at a time when the big populations of cruise ships weren’t converging there at the same time, and she also was always looking for special opportunities for us that were off the beaten track.  She did all this, plus helping to take care of one woman who broke a bone in her foot.  She is an absolute gem; a real ambassador for Turkey.  And again, Sherif the bus driver was a terrific driver.  It was the smoothest bus ride I’ve ever been on, and all the guys (and some of us women who like to drive) marveled at his driving skills.  He was also a very decent, responsible person, and obviously a hard worker.

So, not to bend your ear to the ground, I’ll close with saying that from now on we’ll always be tooting the horn for Turkey.  We know there are problems and challenges, as there are in any country, but we have great faith in the capacity of the Turkish people to tackle the issues of the day.  This is the first real trip we’ve been able to make since our wonderful daughter died of cancer in 2005, and we are so grateful that we were finally able to get ourselves out of the door and into a different world.  Thank you and Baltac Tours so much for helping to make this such an unforgettable experience.

Dear Kazim, Neil and I thank you for the most wonderful three weeks we could have dreamed of in Turkey.  You live in a glorious country and we saw it so enjoyably with Sami.  We hope to send you other friends and will recommend your hotel.  And we hope you will keep our address and come to see us in Washington when you travel here. Tesherkur ederim — now that I can say it, I can’t spell it.  All the best,

Dear Kazim and Irem,

I just want to take this opportunity to thank you for the wonderful tour your company provided this fall.  I enjoyed every day of it, and learned so much about Turkey and the Turkish people.   Senol was a fantastic guide, so patient, knowledgeable, and cheerful.  He also took so much extra care of me with my limited diet.  Thank you again.  My best,

Hi – We just wanted you to know what a wonderful time we are having driving thru Turkey.  We have managed to find all of the hotels without directions and without a good map.  You should be proud!  We have loved all the accommodations and it would be hard to pick a favorite.   We really enjoyed Mahir and thought he was wonderful.  You would not believe how much we saw in 2 days with him!  He was terrific!  Thank you and thank him again for us. The balloon ride with Lars was a definite highlight.  He was wonderful.  We were lucky to have him.  Thank you for everything.  We love Turkey and look forward to returning!

Hi Kazim,

We are home safe and sound and full of wonderful experiences from our travels.  Thank you for helping us figure out the Turkey leg of our adventure.  All your suggestions were great, and we enjoyed seeing a new part of your wonderful country.  It was lovely to have a little time with you in Istanbul, and it would be nice to see you in California if and when you return.  You are always welcome here, we usually have extra room, so just let us know.

I am the tour participant who had to be evacuated from Ankara because of a broken leg, and I just wanted to write and thank you for all the kind care and attention that I received from your staff. Irem and Yasemin were both wonderful. Irem especially was most solicitous and helpful. She took me to the hospital and made sure everything there was taken care of. Every time I asked her a question, her answer was “It’s already been done.”

I just wanted to let you know (and I’m sure you already do know) what wonderful people you have — both young ladies were efficient, professional, and could not have done a better job from my standpoint. They were just terrific!

Even though I had to cut my trip short, the few days I had in Ankara will remain a pleasant memory because of Irem and Yasemin.  Sincerely,

Dear Mr. Kazim,
This comes to say thank you for a wonderful trip to your country, it is truly an amazing place! Thanks for
your reassurances which helped make up my mind: travel does broaden ones outlook and dispel preconceived
ideas! We were really lucky to have had Yasemin and Ibo. For a young person, she was immensely blessed with a lot of common sense and is immensely wise: spoke only when she needed to, very concise and thoughtful, friendly
yet very professional and did everything to make it a very memorable trip. AS for Ibo, we all felt very safe
in his hands and was very impressed by his patience and skills especially whilst driving around in Istanbul!
It was good to meet you, you can be proud of and pleased with yourself and your team….I was expecting
a much older person as the director!!   Best wishes,