ABOUT TUTKU TRAVEL
31 Years of Experience
Tutku Tours' main office is in Izmir, ancient Smyrna, located in the heart of the Seven Churches of the Revelation.
Tutku offers numerous tour packages for Groups and Individuals in Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean: Israel, Jordan, Italy, Cyprus, Greece & Egypt. Its excellent service combined with affordable prices make it the agency of choice for colleges, universities, and seminaries. Tutku team is proud to give you fast replies, the best suggestions and quotations.
Tutku organizes Christian events in Turkey; Global Smyrna Meeting www.globalsmyrnameeting.com and Antioch Seminar on Paul and Peter www.paulandpeter.org
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 Turkey and the Mediterranean countries. Levent is interested in Biblical Archaeology and takes part in several religious, archaeological and art related conferences in the US each year. He organizes archaeology seminars for tour guides every January, low cost Turkey Familiarization Trips for university professors and pastors every March, and the Ephesus Meeting every May. One of Levent's pet projects for several years has been mapping the archaeological sites in Turkey 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. In his free time, Levent enjoys playing tennis with his wife Natali, spending time with his children Zeynep, Kaan and Tan, and doing oil painting.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cüneyt Ates
Driver
Yalkin Uca
Driver
