ABOUT TUTKU TOURS
31 Years of Experience |
Since 1992, TUTKU’s main office is in Izmir,
ancient Smyrna, located in the heart of the
Seven Churches of the Revelation.
Tutku offers numerous tour packages,
customized itineraries for Groups and
Individuals in Turkey, Europe, and the
Eastern Mediterranean.
TUTKU will
take you to where you want to go: Israel,
Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus,
Malta, or Italy? Or perhaps you'll enjoy a
trip combining two or more of these
destinations. Tell us how many days you
would like to tour, and then we'll suggest
an itinerary and get back to you with our
best "Land & Air" (or land only) rates. If
you want to tweak the itinerary or modify it
in any way... no problem, we'll fix it.
Are you planning a meeting for your
corporation, association, local church,
ministry, or denomination? Our 30 years of
experience is geared to make your event a
success!
TUTKU’s excellent service
combined with affordable prices make it the
agency of choice for colleges, universities,
churches and seminaries. Together with your
trust, the number of our destinations is
increasing every year. We will continue to
give you fast replies, and best suggestions. |
OUR STAFF |
Levent Oral
President
Levent Oral, born and raised in Izmir, is a graduate of the St. Joseph French school and 9th September University, where he studied Business Administration. He is fluent in French and English, and holds a professional Tour Guide License since 1989. He has owned his own Travel Agency since 1992. He is an expert at designing tour itineraries for groups from different areas of interests for Europe, and Middle East. Levent is interested in Biblical Archaeology and takes part in several religious, and archaeological conferences in the US each year. He organizes conferences, archaeology seminars, low cost Familiarization Trips to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Jordan and Egypt for university professors and pastors every year. One of Levent's pet projects for several years has been creating maps which helps visitors and colleagues in the sector. Lately, he organizes Turkish-themed informational Gala Dinners in major US cities and hosts university professors and church leaders. Last additions to the ongoing projects are the Global Smyrna Meeting and the Jesus Tour and Conference in Israel. In his free time, Levent enjoys playing table tennis with his wife Natali, spending time with his children Zeynep, Kaan and Tan, and doing oil painting.
Cenk Eronat
Vice
President
Cenk
was born in Ankara. Moved to Izmir and
graduated from 9th September University,
Tourism Management Department. After much
experience working for 5-star hotels and
travel companies, in 1999 he became part of
Tutku Tours. Among many things, he is the
Vice President of Tutku Tours, a
French-English speaking tour guide and a
photographer. He creates and develops tour
programs, which include some of the most
beautiful and significant places in Turkey
as well as world famous sites. He is a
specialist in Cross-Cultural tours in
Turkey, Greece, Italy, Israel, Georgia and
Cyprus.
Cuneyt Oral
Operations
Cuneyt
was born in Izmir, Turkey. He graduated
graphic design department of the 9th
September University in Izmir.His second
experience is Information Technologies. He
worked for his own data processing and
computer service company between 1992-2014.
Cuneyt joined to Tutku Tours family in 2014.
He is working as webmaster and graphic
designer and enjoy spending time with his
family.
Sinan Efe Ozsahinler Graphic Designer
Sinan
has been working in the data processing
sector since 1999. He has been following
developing technology, and after finishing
his education, he
started to work with Tutku Tours. He studies
graphic design now, and his talents
continuously improve. He is very interested
in cinema and loves oldies music and movies very much.
Nesrin Saszade
Accounting Manager
Nesrin
is a graduate of Anadolu University,
Department of Economics in Eskisehir. She
has worked for many years in automotive
industry, then she joined the Tutku team in
August 2015. She is responsible for all
financial and accounting activities. Her
interests are photography, movies, music,
theatre, literature and walking in nature.
Macit Saszade
Tour Guide
Macit
studied English Language and did Teacher
Training in Izmir. He attended 'The London
School Of Foreign Trade' in 1989 and studied
Business Administration and Management. He
has been guiding for different interest
groups, such as Biblical sites of Anatolia,
Archeology and Art History etc. since 1989.
He speaks English and Arabic . His interests
are History, Theology, Archaeology, and Sports.
Zafer Bozoglu
Tour Guide
Zafer
was born in Ankara, but he has lived all over
Turkey because of the family business and
finally has settled in Izmir. He studied
economics in Anadolu University and has a
degree in Computer Sciences as well as in
Tourism Administration. He has received his
Professional Tour Guiding License in 2001.
Since that time, he has been leading
groups/individuals around the cultural &
biblical sites of Turkey and enjoys being a
Tour Guide immensely. In his spare time, he
travels, motorbikes, takes photos and is
interested in sea sports.
Levent Uzum
Tour Guide
Levent
has been sharing his passion for his
homeland with guests from all over the world
since 1990 as a professional licensed guide
of Ministry of Culture and Tourism of
Turkey. A holder of certificate on Seven
Churches of Revelation and bachelor degree
in Business Administration, he always
remains at disposal of guests prefering to
experience Turkish hospitality together with
3 decades of Levent’s experience in guiding
biblical and cultural tours in Turkey.
Cicek Hekimgil
Tour Guide
Çicek
Hekimgil is a graduate of Industrial
Engineering and has an MBA degree from
Bosphorus University. She has completed the
program of Ministry of Culture and Tourism
and received her license as an official tour
guide since 1984. She completed the
Archeology Course of Izmir Dokuzeylul
University after 3 years, completed
the study program of the association of
professional tour guides of Istanbul, and
received her specialization degree for İstanbul.
She guides private groups and individuals
across all of Turkey. Besides sharing her
knowledge on archeology and history, she
also likes to make sure our guests
experience the
local touch for our traditions, taste the
world famous Turkish cuisine, and see the local way of living in
different parts of our country. Her
interests are traveling and discovering
different cultures, archeology, oil painting,
photography, Latin Dances, and cooking.
|
Erin Dailey
Director of Operations for Ephesus Meeting
Erin
Dailey, originally born in Edmonton,
later moved to San Diego and now lives in
Turkey. She studied International Marketing
at university, and after many years of work
experience, she now works with North American
group leaders preparing biblical tour
itineraries in Turkey and the Eastern
Mediterranean. Erin is the director of the
Ephesus Meeting, which is organized by Tutku
Tours, each year in late May. She is also a
mother to Ela, Kaya and Sean. She enjoys
traveling, horseback riding, hiking,
and cooking. Her travel experiences,
attention to details, and the fact that she
is a Canadian and American citizen living in
Turkey, makes her a unique jewel in the
travel business.
Natali Oral
Operations

NATALI ORAL was born in Donetsk, Ukraine.
She studied Tourism at the Donetsk
University. Then, she moved to Turkey and
married to Levent Oral in 2007. Natali
joined Tutku team in 2008. They have a son
by the name of Tan Utku Oral. Natali helps
the operation department. Natali enjoys
cooking, swimming, and travelling. She is
very interested in promoting Tutku travel
programs to the US and Russian churches.
Sema Ankarali
Operations
Sema
is a graduate in Tourism-Hotel
Administration. She began her tourism
career by working in hotels for 11 years. She has been working for travel agencies for
5 years as a tour operator. Sema joined
Tutku team's operations department in 2009.
She enjoys outdoor sports, football, history
and literature.
Damla Oral
Operations
Damla
Oral was born in Izmir. She graduated
from the Izmir Turkish College and then from
9th September University. She joined Tutku
Tours operations team in October 2010 and
has learned a great deal about the tourism sector.
She enjoys watching movies, listening
different kinds of music, swimming and
sports.
Dr.
Meg Ramey
Director of Education Abroad
Meg
Ramey, a South Carolina native, holds a
B.A. in Spanish from Furman University, a
M.Div. from Baylor University, and a Ph.D.
in New Testament from the University of St.
Andrews. In her previous role as Associate
Professor of Biblical Studies at Messiah
College, she took over 100 students on
cross-cultural programs spanning 4
continents and 18 different countries,
including Turkey where she first partnered
with Tutku. Now as Director of Education
Abroad, she enjoys working with other
professors
and international education
professionals in
the development
of courses for their universities. In her
free time, she teaches at churches on topics
ranging from "The Seven Churches of
Revelation" (all based in Turkey) to "Jesus
in Fiction and Film" and edits the "Bible in
Fiction" project for Oxford Biblical
Studies Online. Some of her hobbies
include creating glass mosaics, writing
fiction, playing board games, and hiking
long-distance, preferably in Spain,
Scotland, or Turkey, which are her 3
favorite countries and all ones in which
Tutku now operates!
Zeynep Oral Operations
Zeynep Oral was born in Izmir, Turkey. After finishing Işıkkent High School (a CIS accrediated), she was accepted to Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Milan, Italy where she studied Business Administration and Economics where had her major degree in Management. She is fluent in English and speaks Italian, Spanish and French. She has lived in Milan, Italy for five years. Meanwhile, she spent her summer breaks as a marketing trainee at international companies. Zeynep Oral has joined Tutku Tours team in 2020. She loves travelling and learning about other cultures. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor sports, swimming and cooking.
Meltem Ciftci
Tour Guide
Meltem
studied both Environmental Engineering and
Professional Tour Guiding at Izmir at the
College. She has served as a guide for many
groups from many countries around the world, but
especially from North America since 1989. She
has led tours for many different interest groups, such as
Archeology, Art History, Bird Watching and
Biblical Sites of Anatolia, etc. Her
interests are photography, archeology,
movies, music and literature.
Ozcan Kacar
Tour Guide
Ozcan
was born
in Aydin, Turkey but
currently resides in Izmir. He has been guiding since 1997
and speaks Turkish, English, and some Polish.
His undergraduate degree is in English Literature from Selcuk University.
His hobbies include hiking and traveling.
Nazim Uzun
Tour Guide
Nazim
has
a Dept of Tourism degree (University of
Ankara at 2000) and is a professionally
qualified licensed Turkish tour guide.
He is personable, flexible, has a good sense
of humor, and always stays abreast of
the current affairs. He takes pride in
offering a sensitive and professional
service at all times.
Tulu Gokkadar
Tour Guide
Tulû Gökkadar holds a B.A. in history from Boğaziçi University, and an M.A. in archaeology from Kocaeli University. She is currently studying for a Ph.D. in archaeology at Muğla University. She served as an adjunct teacher at Kocaeli University, Kartepe School of Tourism between 2001-2014. Gökkadar lectured on the historical geography of Turkey, and taught tour planning, tour management and tourist guiding. She acquired the State License for Professional Tourist Guiding from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey in 1989. As a professional tour guide, she specializes in Biblical Tours all through Anatolia, which is known as “The Land of Sunrise”. Gökkadar has a passion for teaching, traveling and archaeology. She loves guiding as much as swimming, scuba diving, marine life, photography, bicycling and nature walking.
Cuneyt Ates
 |
Yalkin
Uca
 |
They've been
working at Tutku Tours for years as
drivers. We entrust our guests to them with
confidence. |