Eyüp District

ONDER (guide) arrived in good time to meet me. I was the only one on this tour, which meant that I had a private tour. This tour was excellent, both in terms of content and because of Onder - he was highly knowledgeable, generous with his time, highly considerate, and enthusiastic in a low-key way. He showed me everything there was to see, and more, and went out of his way to make this a highly memorable experience in a variety of ways. Nothing was too much trouble for him, and it felt as though I was with a friend. I was particularly delighted about two things: (1) that we were able to enter the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, and (2) that we had an iconic dish (balik ekmek) that was on my personal wish list, but I had the pleasure of having it with Onder. Excellent tour, excellent compassionate, knowledgeable guide. Special.