SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE -- July 2005 (Latitudes and Attitudes)
My wife and I recently returned from a wonderfully interesting 18-day tour of Turkey with Bora Özkök's Cultural Folk Tours International. We traveled in a comfortable, air-conditioned bus throughout all but the very easternmost regions of Turkey. The beautiful countryside, mountains, Mediterranean seashore and the food were beyond our expectations. The city of Istanbul is a sightseer's heaven, with its location on the Bosporus, straddling the continents of Europe and Asia - and its innumerable mosques reflecting the Islamic heritage of the Ottoman Empire. But, perhaps the most noteworthy subjects for us were the archaeological sites, remnants of ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine times. They are so numerous and ubiquitous that a day didn't pass without our visiting three or four sites. It is Bora's custom to use only five-star hotels, and we found them to be nearly always up to that standard.
-Robert A. Rockstein, San Diego, CA

-- November 2004
We will certainly recommend Bora's tour to any of our friends who wish to visit Turkey. We felt the tour offered "very good value for money" (even in Canadian dollars), and we learned a great deal about the country, its history and its people. It's a wonderful, educational and cultural experience, not just a holiday, and this aspect - in our view - merits a very high recommendation.
-Anastasia Shkilnyk and Jim Kingham, CANADA

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL NEWS -- May 2004 (Letters to the Travel Editor)
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...

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.
-Fay Ward, San Antonio, TX

LETTER FROM FLORIDA CONGRESSMAN ROBERT WEXLER -- Oct 2003
This letter is long overdue. I cannot tell you how much my family enjoyed our vacation in Turkey. The services that you provided were tremendous and exceeded my expectations. Akin was a marvelous guide and we enjoyed getting to know him. Your hotel in Cappadocia was fabulous and the effort that was taken to make us feel comfortable is truly appreciated and the food was really great.

I will recommend your service highly to anyone considering visiting Turkey.

Thank you so much for your extraordinary hospitality.
-Robert Wexler, U.S.House of Representatives from Florida

WASHINGTON POST--January 1, 1995 (Letters to the Travel Editor)
Recently I returned from a tour of eastern Turkey, described by one tour company as a strenuous trip that was advisable for those travelers willing to accept discomforts. Arduous the trip may have been, but oh, the rewards! The variety of wild, unspoiled, ever-changing landscapes meant no head-nodding on the long bus rides.

Anatolia in autumn is a photographer’s delight. Though little rain falls, water is sufficient for growing vast tracts of wheat. Golden fields sprawled up and over rolling hills. Kurds stacked enormous mounds of hay on the flat roofs of their adobe-like dwellings. Corn, red peppers, chickpeas, and okra were dried in great festoons suspended from windows and doorways. Hazelnut and sunflowers by the ton dried on disused roadways.
Life in eastern Turkey has not changed appreciably in a millennium. Still people travel by scrawny horse or burro. Still they dress in colorful, traditional modes. Still women bash at clothing or rugs in fast-flowing streams. Herdsman continue to tend slow-moving flocks, and the nomads move with the seasons.

The eastern Turks, unsophisticated and hospitable, entertain strangers. Walking as our group of 19 did through a village not far from Amaysa, we were invited into a home for a glass of tea and a chat. Only our tour guide spoke Turkish. He interpreted, and all of us felt welcome.

That guide was Bora Ozkok, who is the president of Cultural Folk Tours (800-935-8875). A dynamo of a man, Bora’s signature is a plastic tube cure flute, which he plays like a modern day Pan. He is not just a flutist, but an educator. With him we visited Seljuk and Ottoman sites as well as one dating into remote antiquity: Hittite and Urartu, with a sprinkling of early Christian enclaves. We saw towering Mount Ararat, unusual rock-hewn churches, and underground cities of Cappadocia, and a section of the Silk Road traversed by Marco Polo.

Unique was Bora’s willingness to allow his tour group to leave the bus and walk for 15 minutes or so along less-traveled roads where the rock formations demanded awe and attention, and he was willing to oblige the photographers among us with frequent stops.

For a trip where there is an opportunity to swim in the Mediterranean, to buy handmade carpets, to drink good wine and beer, to eat world-class cuisine, as well as to see thousands of years of human history, I say, “Don’t miss Turkey.”
-Carroll Lisle, Staunton, VA

WASHINGTON POST--April 7, 1991 (Letters to the Travel Editor)
Turkey is a beautiful country with a remarkable wealth of remains from many successive civilizations. The climate is pleasant, the people are friendly and helpful, and the food is delicious. We attended a wedding reception, had dinner with the governor of Tokat province, and attended a seminar on Turkish history. It was an experience I will always cherish.
- K.Duffy, Baltimore, MD

WASHINGTON POST--March 8,1992
Why Turkey, we are often asked when discussing our first trip to that country. Why indeed! Twenty civilizations have left their mark artistically, culturally, and historically on Turkey. Seeing this exotic country through the eyes of Bora Ozkok’s Cultural Folk Tours International showed us how this link between Europe and Asia has influenced the Western World much more than we realized. Traveling last October, my husband and I found the cultural focus fascinating and the cuisine delicious as we strolled through small villages off the beaten path.
- Gloria Wallace, Weems, VA

NEW YORK TIMES--July 30, 1995 (Letters on Travel)
To the Editor: After reading about Linda Wolfe’s miserable experience with her tour to Turkey, we’d like to recommend the truly wonderful tour group with whom we recently traveled. We, too, normally don’t go on tours, but Cultural Folk Tours of San Diego (800-935-8875), is a special company. Our guide was fascinating, informative and friendly, the food was delicious and the settings were quite pleasant, if not lovely. Our group was terrific and we had ample time at each site.
-Susan & Stephen Levinson, Rochester, NY

LOS ANGELES TIMES--November 26, 1995 (Readers Recommend)
Cultural Folk Tours International, 9939 Hibert St., No.207, San Diego 92131; (800)935-8875. My daughter and I visited western Turkey with Cultural Folk Tours. What an incredible experience. Every aspect of the trip was beyond our expectations.”
- Miriam Ranck, Huntington Beach, CA

LOS ANGELES TIMES--October 4, 1987 (Travel Editor Jerry Hulse’s Column)
A most extraordinary experience with a most charismatic gentleman on a folk-culture tour in Turkey. We’re going again next year.
- Joe Bailey, Escondido, CA

DETROIT FREE PRESS--October 14, 1989
Bora is a musician and folk dancer, so his flute is close at hand and the group learns some Turkish dances. Typically, Turkish food is also high on the list, but best of all, he shows you the wonderful antiquities, people, and scenery of Turkey.
- Carol Droege, Grosse Pointe, MI

SALT LAKE TRIBUNE--August 29, 1993
Turkish Delight: The Cultural Folk Tours Int’l tour I took was outstanding. Turkey is a country filled with beautiful scenery, excellent food, outstanding accommodations, and friendly people.
- Helen Patterson, Salt Lake City, UT

KERRVILLE DAILY TIMES--August 29,1993
Local Family Visits Turkey: Mr. & Mrs. Aubrey Ruth and Mr. & Mrs. Flip Phillips joined Cultural Folk Tours in Istanbul. Bora is a professional entertainer of Turkish folk music and dance. Their time on the bus was always filled with either his music or his lectures...

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE AND EXAMINER--January 9,1994(Follow the Reader)
We have been traveling all over the world for more than 30 years, and we can truly say this was one of our most memorable. We highly recommend visiting Turkey, and especially going with Bora--he is a Turkish treasure.
- Anne and Joe Abott, San Rafael, CA

DIXON NEWSPAPER--May 16, 1996(Attended international conference held by IFW & TWA Convention)
Turkey is most worthy of consideration for a very unique vacation and cultural experience. If you would like to explore individual or group travel to Turkey, I highly recommend Cultural Folk Tours International, led by Bora Ozkok.
- Rambling with Don & Dene, Article

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