30-day tour of Turkey with Cultural Folk Tours International

A friend and I went on a 30-day tour of Turkey in July ’03 with Cultural Folk Tours International (5631 Lincoln Ave., Ste. B, Cypress, CA 90630; phone 800/935-8875 or visit www.boraozkok.com).

The total cost, including the flight from San Antonio to Istanbul and return, was $5,720 per person plus travel insurance. We were given a $250 deduction because we paid in full in January.

The tour was led by Bora Özkök and was all we had hoped for. We chose “Bora’s Grand Tour,” which starts in Istanbul and goes along the borders of the country and inland to Ankara and Cappadocia. One of the highlights was the few days we spent in Bora’s hotel in Goreme, the Cappadocia Cave Suites, where we had a very comfortable room which was actually in the caves. This included a bath with a Jacuzzi, a separate shower and even a heated towel holder. The food was very good here and throughout the trip.

We saw where Noah is said to have grounded on Mt. Ararat and viewed the new Ataturk Dam on the Tigris River as well as many archaeological sites.

Our stay-at-home friends all advised us not to go, warning that it was a dangerous place to be. It was anything but dangerous. We were warmly welcomed everyplace we went, and nothing ever happened to cause any feeling of anxiety.

I highly recommend any of Bora’s tours. We not only saw everything that was promised but did many interesting things on the spur of the moment, such as visiting with a Kurdish farm family and being welcomed by the bride and her father on the second day of a 3-day wedding party.

Although we were to buy our own lunches, Bora treated several times and sometimes bought wine. Bottled water was provided for the entire trip.

FAY WARD
San Antonio, TX