Exploring Turkey with a true expert on the country
Trip Leader Serif Yenen is an expert on Turkey: He’s the author of several travel guides about his homeland.
No matter where you travel with OAT, you can rest assured that you’ll be accompanied by one of our expert, resident Trip Leaders. Since they live in the regions you’ll explore with them, they’ll provide you with firsthand knowledge that will help your journeys come alive. And with such a strong pride in their home countries—like Serif Yenen, one of our Trip Leaders on OAT’s Turkey’s Magical Hideaways adventure—you can be sure that you’ll get up close and personal with the heart of the destination you’re traveling.
Serif, who has been leading OAT and Grand Circle trips in Turkey since 1994, truly is an expert on his homeland. Along with writing a weekly column for a Turkish newspaper, he is also the author of Turkish Odyssey (A Cultural Guide to Turkey)—the first published guidebook about Turkey ever written by a Turk. Since its publication in 1997, he has written two more books: Quick Guide Istanbul and Quick Guide Topkapi Palace, informative publications offering in-depth information and pictures about Istanbul and the Topkapi Palace Museum.
Serif brings his knowledge and strong passion for his country along with him on his tours. “Turkey has so much to offer,” he says, “I’ve been working for about 21 years as a tour guide (more than 15 of them with Grand Circle and OAT), and have never met an American traveler who wasn’t satisfied with their visit to Turkey. In addition to showing Turkey’s archeological sights and museums, I love introducing the genuine Turkish people to our travelers—but I try to do it spontaneously. I’ll stop the bus and have a chat with people working in a cotton field, or visit a wedding ceremony held in a village center. Our travelers love these kinds of authentic encounters.”
As a Trip Leader, Serif believes that “off-the-beaten-path” moments like these are the best way for his travelers to truly experience Turkey—and he tries to make each of these memories different for each of his groups: From visiting a local home and meeting with the imam of a village mosque, to going to a music performance and exploring an outdoor food market, each moment provides a unique encounter to explore a country up close.
“I try to get our travelers to mingle with local people,” he says. “I’ll teach them a few Turkish words and encourage them to practice their new language skills with residents of the villages we are visiting. When foreign guests are trying to use the native language, it inevitably creates very warm feelings and begins unbelievable dialogues between different cultures.”
Serif also tries to incorporate some of the more controversial topics in Turkey into as many of his tours as he’s able. Serif says, “We have lots of controversial topics in Turkey and I have enough time to talk about almost all of them on most of my tours. I discuss the differences between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, the importance of female virginity, and the political and historical issues surrounding Turkey’s relationship with Armenians and Kurds. I believe it’s important to show the beauty—and the controversy—to truly understand a country as complex as Turkey.”
Our Trip Leaders—like Serif—help to create the life-changing adventures OAT travelers may experience during their trips. If it’s not their knowledge of history, culture, and nature, it’s their sense of caring, good humor, and incredible zest for their homelands—which inevitably enhances a visitor’s appreciation for it.
Serif’s enthusiasm for his country is evident on every tour he leads—and he wants nothing more than to share this passion with his travelers. “I’m so proud of growing up in Turkey, a country of great civilizations and crossroads of cultures. I encourage all travelers to come and discover Turkey and our Turkish people.”
Discover the friendliness of local people in Turkey on our Turkey’s Magical Hideaways adventure.