Turkey with TEO
Eight female friends and I took a private, nine-day tour of western Turkey, Nov. 2-10, 2010. The itinerary, organized by TEO World Culture Tours (New York, NY; 888/444-1110) and conducted by Tamer Teoman, was thrilling.
Culture
Costa, ‘designed to meet… interests of many cultures’
On Oct. 18, 2010, four of us left the US for an 11-day Mediterranean cruise on the Costa Cruises liner Costa Mediterranea, sailing from Savona/Genoa, Italy, to Rome and on to ports in Egypt, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey before returning to Savona on Oct. 31. My longtime girlfriend and I had a suite for $8,400.
At the beginning of the cruise, the butler who was assigned to our suite was supposed to help us get our luggage unpacked. He wasn’t there.
Sámi culture + nature
In Inari, Finland, the Siida museum combines exhibits on the history and culture of the indigenous Sámi people with Finland’s northernmost nature center. The center offers maps and info on hiking trails, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and more.
There is a permanent display of photos and artifacts, including findings from the Stone Age and Early Metal Age. In summer, visitors can walk through an open-air museum displaying buildings moved from the community of Tirro that exemplify Sámi life in the 1880s.
An aspiring insider’s tour of Japan
Yvonne Michie Horn, Contributing Editor
Like it or not, as a traveler I’m an outsider. Unfamiliar traditions, off-kilter frames of reference, the constraint of feeling the need to pack in as much as possible in a given length of time — no matter how I long to be an insider, an outsider I’m destined to be.
A quest for learning – embracing the culture and language of Italy
by Carolyn Koestenblatt, Ft. Meyers, FL
When I retired a decade ago, I made a “to do” list for the rest of my life. Near the top was the phrase “learn a foreign language fluently.”
Taking up the tacks
Upon returning from a trip to Morocco in April ’07, we were going through Customs in New York with a large Berber rug that we had purchased in Fez.
Endangered Hadzabe
I enjoyed William Reed’s story on his trip to Tanzania (Sept.’08, pg. 24), especially about his contact with the Hadzabe (Hadza) people. He described their hunting and cooking birds as “the single most significant thing we saw on the entire trip.”
29-day “Bora’s Grand Tour of Turkey”
We really enjoyed the 29-day “Bora’s Grand Tour of Turkey” from Cultural Folk Tours International (5631 Lincoln Ave., Ste. B, Cypress, CA 90630; 800/935-8875, www.boraozkok.com).
Insights from a cultural immersion program in Venezuela
by Jim Hendrickson, Lynden, WA
“Bora’s Eastern and Unknown Turkey” with Cultural Folk Tours
Bora Özkök, the owner of Cultural Folk Tours (5631 Lincoln Ave., Ste. B, Cypress, CA 90630-3156; 800/935-8875, www.boraozkok.com), was the leader on our 20-day “Bora’s Eastern and Unknown Turkey,” July 15-Aug. 3, 2007.
Eastern Turkey, which we found safe and friendly, is unspoiled in its natural beauty and ancient sites. Bora’s knowledge and presentation of this fascinating area of Turkey made the ancient sites come alive. Every day was an adventure, and the 17 members of our group were the only tourists at each site.