From Our Travelers


Date :	Jan. 14, 2008

*To Frommer’ s Turkey - Turkey Message Board*

We organized a custom tour to Turkey this past October/November of about 17 days duration, with the help of Sirma of Credo Tours. Sirma's fine tour management made this one of the best international trips that I've ever taken, and this was the first time that we'd been to Turkey. We visited Istanbul for about 6 days, Epheses and its area ruins, Antalya, Konya, Cappadocia and back to Istanbul for just the last day. What an amazing country, what highly beautiful textiles (suzanis, salt bags, donkey bags, lace and carpets), what gracious people, and what amazing history to absorb at every step. We saw the basic tourist destinations which are all worth every moment, like Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque, the Cistern, several other mosques, the Topkapi Palace, the Spice Market, Arasta Bazaar (the best!), the Grand Bazaar, the Jewish quarter, and outside of Istanbul--Ephesus marble streets, Konya's Mevlava (Rumi's) museum and Cappadocia's Dark Church and other cave-based churches. We also met artists, an emerging women's ceramics cooperative in Konya, had presentations by textile dealers, and experienced some of the best food we've had. All of this was possible due to the sensitive, insightful and well-connected tour guidance of Sirma from Credo Tours, the good-humored and detail-oriented generosity of our tour guide Yavuz (via Credo Tours) and the deft driving of our driver Seyit (also via Credo Tours). You can contact Sirma at sirma@credotours.com, and give her our best (Jill and Susan from Santa Fe). We hope that everyone's trip to Turkey is as brilliant as was our's, and if you are doing customized individual planning for such a trip, hiring Credo will guarantee a memorably excellent experience. As for hotels, we stayed at Hotel Nomade, in Istanbul, which was well-located and perfectly fine, but small, but next time, we'll probably opt to spend a little more to stay at a somewhat higher quality hotel.

Warm regards, Jill Heppenheimer, Santa Fe


Date :	January 6, 2008

*Dear Sirma,*

Many thanks to Credo Tours for making my first trip to Turkey a memorable one. Clearly you worked very hard to insure that the group I traveled with experienced as much of Turkish life, culture, history, cuisine, and landscape as was possible within our 2-week holiday. Sayet’s quiet, polite manner, unflappable nature and excellent driving abilities set my mind at ease from the beginning. No matter what the traffic situation or whether he was familiar with a town we visited, he managed with humor and aplomb to get us to our destination on time and in the comfort of our very clean van. His generous spirit was much appreciated by all. Although I am someone who has an insatiable curiosity, I was left in awe of Yavuz. The breadth and depth of his knowledge of multiple subjects, his constant observation to insure everyone was safe, enjoying themselves and not missing anything that should be seen, and his kindnesses went far beyond any expectation. He set the bar very high for any other tour guide to ever measure up. Your attention to every detail was evident from the very first step I took exiting the Istanbul Airport; and it continued until we all departed. I was aware that you checked daily on our progress, and was so glad you joined us a number of times, as well. The people you arranged for us to meet where welcoming and knowledgeable and sites selected amazing. Special thanks to you, as well, for arranging the multi-day tour of the Istanbul Biennial with Fulya. What a pleasure to spend several days with her while she introduced me to the contemporary artists, gallerists, and art works! We clicked from the first and found that we had so much in common to discuss. I would recommend her without hesitation if you have others asking for entrée to the contemporary art world there. As someone who spends many hours organizing events and exhibitions, I know the amount of invisible work involved to make a project look effortless and be as close to perfect as one can get. Credo Tours and all those who represented it succeeded to make the trip seamless. You are fortunate to have such lovely people working with you. I have already recommended Credo Tours to several colleagues and friends who now are enthused to visit your wonderful country. Do know that I expect to return at some point and look forward to working with you to arrange my next Turkish visit. (By the way, I have been enjoying daily cups of Turkish tea and coffee and am already fairly accomplished at making many dishes from my newly acquired Turkish cookbooks.)

Cordially, Ferris Olin NJ, USA


Date :	December 02, 2007

*Dear Sila,*

Shirley and I are back home - with lots of memories and lots of photos. Our cruise was wonderful. We had many different guides but I have to say that Abdullah stands out. Not only for his communication skills but we also appreciated his willingness to share details of secular Islam, his unwavering respect for each one of us as individuals and the protectiveness we all felt when we were with him. We loved our time in Istanbul. I am attaching a photo to add to your files, and I have a couple more that I'll send separately so you won't forget your California clients and friends.

Sincerely, Carter Mosher California, USA

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