Culture

— by Beth Habian, Features Editor

Croatia is a wonderful destination, with six UNESCO World Heritage Sites, great food and wine and, during our June ’06 trip, perfect weather.

—by Steve Emmett, Solano Beach, CA

In the November ’05 issue of ITN (page 86), I read with great interest about a cultural-immersion program called Global Awareness Through Experience (GATE). Immediately, I requested information by contacting the GATE office (912 Market St., La Crosse, WI 54601-8800; phone 608/791-5283 or visit www.gate-travel.org).

Our 18-day tour of western Turkey with Cultural Folk Tours International (5631 Lincoln Ave., Ste. B, Cypress, CA 90630; 800/935-8875 or www. boraozkok.com) was all I had hoped for. We found the Turkish people friendly and helpful and we felt safe and comfortable at all times. This includes times when my husband and I left the group and explored areas of Istanbul on our own.

As a serious amateur photographer, I had seen many portraits of the colorful painted faces of the tribal people of Papua New Guinea. Finally, I had the opportunity to go see for myself. I joined Greg Stathakis of Trans Niugini Tours (408 East Islay St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101; 800/676-1241 or www.pngtravel.com) on a 2-week tour in July ’05. An excellent leader, Greg fell in love with PNG and has led small-group trips there for over 20 years.

by Roger Canfield, Contributing Editor

by Judith Rosen, Alexandria, VA

Having completed a tour of Romania, Judith Rosen continues her month-long trip with a visit to Bulgaria.

Moreen and I consider ourselves fortunate to have visited the Middle East often. Friends say perhaps we have tempted fate, though we disagree. We don’t speak Arabic, Turkish or other languages in this Muslim and Arab world, but we do respect carefully its many cultures. We believe personal travel articles, similar to those presented in ITN, permit readers to see behind national media reports. This preface leads us into this month’s travel for the adventuresome.