FEST Travel, an organization which has been putting together daily cultural strolls in İstanbul for interested Turkish residents of İstanbul for almost 20 years, has now decided to make these tours available to foreign “culture vultures” residing in İstanbul.

 

Out of its 90 itineraries, FEST Travel has chosen the most popular four walking tours to market to foreigners.

 

FEST Travel’s strolls feature distinguished experts of history, art and architecture, art historians, city planners and journalists. The strolls, which are completed in about six hours’ time, have been taken by thousands of Turks in İstanbul over the past 50 years.

 

“Strolling Through İstanbul” tours, adopting the term coined by the co-authors of the book of the same name, John Freely and Hillary Summer-Boyd, both teachers and friends of FEST Travel director Faruk Pekin, aim to uncover every corner of ancient and modern İstanbul, a unique city standing on two continents -- in terms of architecture, history and art.

 

With these unique tours, participants have the chance to see mosques, churches, monasteries, synagogues, sacred springs, tombs, palaces, city walls, old houses and narrow ancient streets, as well as find out what happened at these locations in the past. There’s a story in every corner of this city.

 

The four tours and dates being arranged for foreigners are as follows:

 

Jan. 13, 2008 : GOLDEN HORN (full-day)

 

Feb. 10, 2008 : ARCHITECTURAL WONDERS OF MİMAR SİNAN -- I (full day)

 

March 9, 2008: GALATA (full-day walking tour)

 

April 20, 2008: PERA (full-day walking tour)

 

 

 

* For reservations, please contact: Mrs. Dilek Başaran at 212-216-1036 or send an e-mail to [email protected]