Guide in Turkey

[Shirleya53]

We returned last week from an Eastern Mediterranean cruise that started in Istanbul. The best guide to get is Levent http://www.leventsolmaz.com/ or at primy@tnn.net.
He picked us up at the ship for a full days tour. Two days later, he picked us up in Kusadasi (Ephesus) for a full days tour. He knew just the right way to schedule things. Excellent knowledge of the ancient ruins and good English.

[Old Vic]

Another suberb guide is Kagan Kosagan (www.privatetoursinturkey.com)! Before picking up the Oceana Nautica last month in Istanbul we were lucky enough to have Kagan escort us for a week. Our itinerary included Istanbul, Troy, Ephesus, Sirince, Pumakale and Bodrum. Kagan was able to tailor the trip to our interests and give us recommendations for hotels that suited us best. He knows a great deal about archeology and was able to take us "behind the scenes" in several places, which I particularly appreciated. Really can't say enough about him! (And I understand that his wife Lale -- who we met briefly -- is also a terrific guide.)

Victoria

[stingraynz]

Thanks for the great post. We have Kagan booked for four days in Istanbul prior to our cruise and Levent is taking us in Ephesus.

I am really getting excited now. I'll have a full report on my return.

[cruisin'cats]

We just came back from the same cruise as Shirley (hello gal!) on the Nautica May 17 sailing. Our guide was great and we highly recommend him. His name is Nejat (**********@yahoo.com) and he's been mentioned with great recommendations all through the website. Not only did we tour with him through Istanbul, he also arranged a dinner for us while in port at the Orient House (combined folkloric dancing, music, and foods plus good times for participating with the show group--I won the belly dancing contest and have the medal to prove it!!!). He has wonderfully comfortable vans and assistants and knows everybody! He took us to delicious restaurants for lunches and knows where the best locum is to be had. He was also our tour guide in Kusadasi/Ephesus, having flown back from Istanbul to meet us there. (He lives in nearby Izmir and knows that area very well too.)

My only advice is to contact him ASAP as his schedule fills up quickly. I only lucked into his tours because LIAT (Hi Phil! Hi Edith!) had gotten on his schedule early and was looking for others to go along on the tours.

For those of you going to Istanbul--I am soooo jealous! I want to go back! I loved it.

Helene

[mike35]

We just came back from the same cruise as Shirley (hello gal!) on the Nautica May 17 sailing. Our guide was great and we highly recommend him. His name is Nejat (**********@yahoo.com) and he's been mentioned with great recommendations all through the website. Not only did we tour with him through Istanbul, he also arranged a dinner for us while in port at the Orient House (combined folkloric dancing, music, and foods plus good times for participating with the show group--I won the belly dancing contest and have the medal to prove it!!!). He has wonderfully comfortable vans and assistants and knows everybody! He took us to delicious restaurants for lunches and knows where the best locum is to be had. He was also our tour guide in Kusadasi/Ephesus, having flown back from Istanbul to meet us there. (He lives in nearby Izmir and knows that area very well too.)

My only advice is to contact him ASAP as his schedule fills up quickly. I only lucked into his tours because LIAT (Hi Phil! Hi Edith!) had gotten on his schedule early and was looking for others to go along on the tours.


Helene

I just couldn't agree more re Nejat Incegodan. He was also our guide last year in both Istanbul and Kusadasi (Ephesus), and not only was he an incredible guide, but he has become a lifelong friend.

Mike

[whyme]

Helen can you drop me an e mail .I may still be in your spam mail ?? David whyme71842@aol.com

[cruisin'cats]

sorry dave, it's been hectic here. that last major rain storm after we got home did some damage to my lower level so I've been on and off line but not spending a lot of time doing any big time communications. I'm home now and will get back to you soon. How soon til you leave?
helene

[LindaB1]

I agree Negat is great. If he is already booked, you can ask him to recommend other guides. We used Negat's referrals, and they were also excellent.

[SeaCCruiser]

I agree with Shirley, Levent was excellent, and I feel very fortunate to have had him as a guide. (He was also recommended by Jan.)
In Ephesus, he had a book he had complied of artist renderings of the various structures, which gave us a clear idea of how things looked so long ago, and other people touring the sites were craning their necks to also view it.
His English was perfect, his driver was very accommodating, and in his plush van, he even provided interesting guidebooks/photographs.
It was my second visit to Ephesus, yet Levent made it an exceptional excursion. I don't think you can go wrong with either Levent, or Nejat.

[RTLS]

Hi Everyone,

We will be taking the Regatta April 29th 2007 and am thinking that we will contact Levant for our Ephesus stop. i know that the siggestion is to cantact him very early but is this too early? How far ahead did you book?

Also could you let me know how much he charges, I didn't see any prices on his website.

We have friends who took the Oceania tour for Ephesus and thought it great.
Do you have any thoughts on that tour versus a private tour.

Thanks

[cruisin'cats]

Val, Levent sounds like a good guide too. I like that idea with the artist's renderings and guidebooks in the van. Nejat's van's were both comfortable and condusive for discussions during the rides as well as on site.

Whyme was concerned about Nejat being handicapped and I have decided to address this issue openly as I'm sure others might have heard about him and worried about his ability to keep up or lead tours.

First off, let me preface by saying that I'd had a bad car accident in January that caused me to have some pretty painful back pain (4 blown disks) and I'd been advised to actually cancel my cruise due to this injury. I'm a stubborn woman (as my lawyer, my husband and my doctor can attest!) and I decided that a 50th birthday trip comes once in a lifetime and I was going to go--even if I just sat in the van and let others walk and see the sights for me.

Secondly, I had no idea of Nejat's need for walking sticks so I was a bit surprised when I met him and wondered if he was going to be sitting in the van with me while others went on the tours. In the end I was wrong on both assumptions and it was all thanks to Nejat.

Nejat's injuries, I was told, happened when he was a young man and he has had many years of experience living with his handicap and being successful as a tour guide--and if you've read the posts on all the Turkey threads, you know that the man is extremely well regarded by our fellow cruise critic posters. He not only lead us and guided us well, he inspired me to walk more than I'd anticipated that I would, to see more than I dreamed I might, and to enjoy his country's history and culture better than I would have had I taken the vacation the way I'd thought I'd have to. Here was this man using walking sticks, older than me by several years, out in front showing us the way, or sitting down amongst the ruins to teach us about the marvelous history of his homeland like Soccrates with his students, making sure we could grasp the importance of the places he was taking us to see. I kept looking at him and saying to myself, "If Nejat can do this, so can I!" and pushing myself just one step more each time I put my foot down so that I could spend that time with this amazing man. If this sounds a bit like hero worship on my part, well, it is--I would never have fallen in love with Turkey like I did, had I not been inspired to do more and make one more effort to match his.

I think, based on my experiences with Nejat, that the only person handicapped by Nejat's walking sticks will be the person who decides not to hire him because of them.

I don't think I can write a higher recommendation for him than this.