What’s New
12.01.07
We’re now designing some Turkish and Mediterranean culinary programs to be conducted in Turkey. At this stage, we are considering week-long packages that would include accommodations; market visits; informal lectures and discussions of food and culture; meals and cooking demonstrations in homes and unusual restaurants; as well as visits to growers, producers, and vendors of traditional foods. English-speaking members of our team would be on hand to translate and facilitate this intimate cultural exchange.
A program could be designed to focus on one particular city or province or be more general, with an overview of, say, Eastern Mediterranean ingredients and dishes common to both Greece and Turkey. These programs will have limited enrollments but would need to have at least 6 participants.
We’d like your input! What features would be most important to YOU? Do you prefer hands-on preparation or simply watching practiced cooks and chefs prepare the delicious dishes you will share? Do you favor a particular time of year? Would you enjoy putting together your own small group so demonstrations and discussions could take place on one of our chartered yachts ? (They all have spacious, topside galleys), or in a potter’s studio. Please write or call us to express your interest
7.06.07
Arthur Frommer has a recent blog post (June 29, 2007) about “Pure Travel Consultants” and the services my colleagues and I provide on a fee basis vs. the commission-based compensation of most travel agents. Please see what the patriarch of good value travel says on Frommer’s Travel Blog. (you’ll need to scroll down the page until you reach June 29th). Needless to say, we are flattered to have caught Mr. Frommer’s eye!
4.18.07
Turkish Cooking with Holly Chase, 11 am – 1:30 pm at Whole Foods, Sarasota.
Holly arranges gastronomic and cultural programs in Turkey and is an avid Turkish cook. Join Holly as she talks about the diverse cuisines of Turkey and prepares Yalanci Dolma (Rice-Stuffed Grape Leaves), Fried Zucchini with Garlic & Yogurt Sauce, Muhammara (Walnut & Red Pepper Dip) and Spicy Lentil & Bulgur Croquettes. Please pre-register for this class located in the Whole Lifestyle Center. For more on Turkish food and culture, please visit Holly’s Web Site.
3.28.07
We are pleased to be the American contact for our Turkish friends and colleagues: Equinox Travel and Asia Minor Tours.
Whether our customers have wanted hot-air balloons, luxury yachts, or outback Jeep itineraries, we’ve long depended upon Equinox Travel to provide customized services for clientele traveling independently in Turkey. Applying equal expertise, Equinox have conducted both Asia Minor Tours’ packages and our own academic and special affiliation tours visiting both well-known and more remote areas of the country.
The Asia Minor Tours website offers imaginative package tours that are of excellent value.
These are guaranteed to run on the dates posted with as few as two participants. Package itineraries and add-on excursions are described in detail.
We urge you to visit both the Equinox Travel and Asia Minor Tours websites as they provide much useful trip-planning information and valuable internet links to sites concerned with Turkish travel and culture.
We are here in the US to help you do virtually anything you’d like to do in Turkey. Chose a package tour or take advantage of us to design an independent itinerary. Whether you’d like to retrace the footsteps of St. Paul, sip wine on the deck of your chartered sailboat, or study the tiles of Istanbul’s fabled Blue Mosque, we’ll make sure that the Turkish welcome mat is unfurled for you. Please do not hesitate to email or call.
Please visit our Travel Services page for more information about our consulting fees.