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ABOUT TUTKU TOURS
32 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.


Ferza Ergun
Accounting

Ferza Ergün was born in Karabük. She graduated from Anadolu University in Eskişehir with a degree in Business Administration. She began her professional journey in 2007 as an executive assistant in the legal sector, where she improved her organizational and administrative skills over 14 years. In 2023, she moved to İzmir and joined Tutku Tours as a member of the accounting team. Ferza enjoys cooking, reading books, and listening to music in her free time.


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.


Berkant Gurgur
Tour Guide


Berkant was born in İzmir. Post graduation from the Saint Joseph French high school he continued his education at 9th September University gaining a degree in business administration .In 1993 he was certified as an official english speaking tour guide by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism . In the past 3 decades he has led numerous groups and individuals interested in art,religion and culture from across the world, predominantly from North America, with the aim of creating fun and informative tours to enhance his guests' visiting experience. His interests are art,history,gastronomy, traveling and photography.


Ecem Altınkılıç
Tour Guide


Ecem is a graduate of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in the Art History department. Then, she received her master's degree in the same department at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. During her master's degree, she has been an exchange student at Accademia di Belle Arti in Ravenna for a year. In addition to being a licensed tour guide, she is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Istanbul University Art History Department. She speaks English and Italian, she is learning Greek. Her interests are swimming, gastronomy and Mediterranean culture.

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.


Demir Turkay
Operations/Tour Guide

In the world of Demir, he embarked on a journey driven by a passion for diverse cultures, culinary delights, and hospitality. His education began at Saint Joseph, a French high school, immersing him in the language and traditions of France. Seeking to refine his culinary skills, he attended the renowned Paul Bocuse Culinary & Management School in Lyon. He later pursued Tourism Management and Guide studies at Yaşar University. From a young age, worked and managed an Italian restaurant for eight years. This experience honed his culinary expertise and business acumen, while also fueling his fascination with the synergy of food, ambiance, service and hospitality.With a heart devoted to hospitality, continues to embrace new horizons, enriching the lives of others through the joy of food and culture. Hoping to connect his 2 worlds; Culinary & Tourism with Gastro Tourism. His interests are Mythology,history,gastronomy, and any team sports.


Nüket Çandır
Operations

Nüket Çandır is a graduate of American Collegiate Institute in Izmir and holds a degree in English Language and Literature from Aegean University. She began her career as an Operations Officer in a travel agency, where she led group tours to various Far East destinations, sharing insights into cultural and historical sites and ensuring smooth operations focused on client satisfaction.
Nüket worked as Manager and Operations Supervisor for 18 years, overseeing all aspects of tour organization and daily operations. She worked closely with clients, developing strategies to enhance service quality and customer experience.
She also lived in Moscow for 3 years, gaining valuable international experience and deepening her cultural knowledge.
Nüket’s hobbies include traveling, discovering new places, history, hand crafts, art and music, reflecting her love for creativity, exploration, and cultural discovery.


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.
 


Pınar Kızıl
Tour Guide

Pınar (KIZIL) was born into an airforce pilot family and moved many times all around Turkey due to family business. Studied English (and American) Language and Literature in the Faculty of Letters at Ankara University. Pınar became a guide in the first year of the university in 1990 and has been enjoying introducing her country and culture ever since. Some time on the way, she experienced being an aircrew and also giving conferences on behalf of Turkey in the tourism fairs of Dubai for 2 years.
She loves communicating with people of different cultures and highly interested in sports, esoterism, theology and different healing procedures. 


Sonat Fisek
Tour Guide


Sonat Fisek, as a highly skilled, experienced and professional tour guide since 1989, she has had the chance to work with a diverse range of Turkish, American, British tour operators and lead cultural tour groups throughout Turkey. After 10 years of directing corporate events, brand launches and dealer meetings as a production manager, at 2013 she has restarted as a freelance Professional tour guide, leading various cultural, archeological and/or religious groups all over in Turkey, Latin America, Middle East.
She is a graduate of American College of Institude in Izmir and Business Administration/ Dokuz Eylul University, and still active student of History, also a holder holder of certificate on biblical guiding. She is a founding member of Culture and Faith Tourism Association and a member of Professional Tour Guides Association.
She loves to travel, skiing, sailing and reading about history, archaeology, mythology.


Fercan Rubin Öniz
Tour Guide


Fercan was born in Freiburg, Germany, to a German mother and a Turkish father. Her family moved to Turkey when she was five years old. She graduated from the American Collegiate Institute in Izmir and studied business administration at Dokuz Eylül University in Izmir. In 1989, she received her professional Tour Guiding Licence and has been leading cultural, biblical, and archaeological tours in Turkey and Europe ever since. Fercan has a passion for traveling, discovering new places, and reading about history, archaeology, and theology. She also has interest in art and gastronomy. 


Cuneyt Ates

Yalkin Uca

They've been working at Tutku Tours for years as drivers. We entrust our guests to them with confidence.

 

 

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Phone: +90 (232) 441 86 76 /77 /35   Fax: +90 (232) 441 86 36  
info@tutkutours.com

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