Dear Emre,

Thank you for all your kind help. Hope to see you in America.

Anne Murphy & Alice Cotter
Washington D.C / USA

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- November 25, 1999

Dear Petek,

Thank you for all the assistance that you offered during my recent trip to Turkey. You helped to make it a most wonderful stay in Istanbul. I hope that on my next trip you and Credo will be involved.

Spidert Kedelsky
Seattle / USA

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------October 15, 1999
Dear Sirma,

Thanks so much for helping to make our trip to Turkey one of the most delightful experiences we have ever had. Both the cruise and the land travel could not have been better. Charlene and I have sailed in many parts of the world but this cruise aboard the Piccolo from Fethiye to Bodrum was the best. The boat, the crew, the food, the waters, the antiquities visited lead us to urge our friends to contact you as soon as possible for a similar experience. We look forward to being in touch with you again and hope that our good reports will help a bit to increase the number of visitors to your hospitable land.

Ed. & Charlene Gleazer
New York / USA

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------October 11, 1999

To the Editor (Frommer’s Guide Books),

You've printed many letters and articles about the splendors of Turkey, but there hasn't been much advice on planning an independent trip. We recommend using Credo Tours in Istanbul, an excellent local travel agency that specializes in working with independent travellers. In the past we haven't tried to use the expertise of local agents when planning our trips because we couldn't wait until we got in-country to make arrangements. But now there is a strong presence of foreign agents on the web willing and able to help one plan a vacation through e-mail.

We chose Credo Tours after e-mailing several Turkish travel agencies we found on the web. Through them we arranged a 4 week trip that included smaller hotels with local charm, 3 internal flights, a short escorted trip to see the eclipse, a week on a gulet, and private guides and drivers at many locations.

We decided to work with Credo Tours rather than other agencies (or on our own) for many reasons:

* They responded to our e-mail, usually within 24 hours.

* They answered all our (many) questions and really listened to our preferences and concerns.

* They gave us information on hotels that only local agents would have.

* They were able to get hotel prices that were better than advertised internet prices.

* They got us better deals on internal flights than we could have gotten from a US agent.

Cathy Ching & Mike Freedman / USA

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------October 06, 1999

Hello Sirma!

Hoping that this email finds you happy and in good spirits. I just wanted to send you a "special" thank you for organizing the Turkey portion of our vacation. It was the best trip I have ever had. I love Turkey, the people and the food. Spending a week on the Piccolo gulet was the most incredible experience! I especially enjoyed swimming in the Mediterranean Sea every day.

Wishing you the best,
Allie La Centra
St. Helena, California / USA

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------October 04,1999

Dear Sirma,

Marsha and I got back to San Francisco on Saturday night.

I just wanted to tell you how much all of us enjoyed our vacation in Turkey. Everything went perfectly, and much of this was due to your meticulous arrangements and great efforts to insure that everything would go well.

Everything about the week on the Piccolo was terrific. The food was good, crew was excellent. The accomodations were just fine for everyone.

PLEASE tell Nicki and the crew how much we enjoyed our week on the boat, and extend our best wishes.

As I've already mentioned when I saw you at the Yesil Ev, the overland portion of our trip also went well. My parents, Marsha and I had a very good time and enjoyed the chance to see Ephesus and Assos---not to mention being able to meet Mustafa.

Finally, our last few days in Istanbul were very good also. We all liked the Yesil Ev, and would stay there on our next visit for sure. We did go to the Princes' Islands (the big one) on Friday, and found it very interesting. We also enjoyed the ferry trip because it gave us a chance to come back into the harbor towards evening, and it was very picturesque.

My mother's 80th birthday was on Saturday, and we went out Friday night to celebrate. We decided to go to the Susam Restaurant, which was fabulous. I am sure you've been there, but the view, the food, music, service and everything was just great.

All of us on this trip will certainly recommend Turkey as a great place to visit, and you as a great facilitator for a really good vacation. I hope some of our friends will be doing business with you in the future. In the meantime, if there is anything we can do to help promote your business and tourism in Turkey, please let me know. We would be glad to act as references for any of your potential clients or help in any other way.

Thanks again Sirma -- We appreciate all your hard work.

Best regards,
Allen and Marsha Gleazer
San Francisco / USA