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From Wendy McCain, New York

“New Faces, who you suggested, put together a fantastic three weeks for us in Turkey. The whole thing was seamless from start to finish, including one week on a small gulet. I wholeheartedly recommend them for anyone interested in Turkish travel.

We were two couples traveling. We gave, Mrs. Dicle Gundem at New Faces, a broad idea of what we wanted to do and she put together five very detailed illustrated itineraries. We then mixed and matched and ultimately came up with the final version.

07 MAY – 10 MAY 2007 : ISTANBUL: Four Seasons Hotel : 3 nights

10 MAY – 12 MAY 2007: KUSADASI: Korumar Hotel (www.korumar.com.tr): 2 nights

12 MAY – 19 MAY 2007: BODRUM – FETHIYE : Gulet (www.gulet.net/engl/boats/Trandila.php): 7 nights

19 MAY – 20 MAY 2007: ANTALYA: Sheraton Voyager (www.sheraton.com/voyager): 1 night

20 MAY – 21 MAY 2007: KONYA: Rixos Konya Hotel (www.rixos.com/konya/genel.php): 1 night

21 MAY – 23 MAY 2007 : CAPPADOCIA : Yunak Evleri Cave Hotel (www.yunak.com): 2 nights

23 MAY – 26 MAY 2007 : ISTANBUL : Ciragan Palace Kempinksi: 3 nights

Return to USA

We had the same guide from the time we arrived at the Istanbul airport until we passed through security on our way home, and a car and driver for all the land portions of the trip. The guide was not only extremely knowledgeable on all aspects of Turkish history and archeology, but also able to deal with the unexpected (need for gout medication, cash in a remote area, etc.) very capably. This was for us very important as unlike in most parts of Europe, the language was a definite problem. Our gulet, the Trandila, was eminently satisfactory and can be viewed at the website above. The one caveat would be that there should only be half the number of passengers that it is advertised to accommodate (4 vs 8). There are 4 staterooms, but the seating and dining areas, which were very comfortable for the 4 of us, would have been very cramped with more (and we found this ratio to hold true for other gulets that we saw).

We particularly enjoyed the Kempinski in Istanbul and the Yunak Evleri in Cappadocia. The Four Seasons where we stayed when we first arrived in Istanbul is a wonderful location; we could walk to many of the places we wanted to visit, but the Kempinski was really special. I would avoid the Kuramar in Kusdasi; the room was adequate and had a lovely view, but there was a smell of sewage in the outdoor areas, including the restaurant, that was very unfortunate. There is another luxury hotel (whose name escapes me), which was Mrs. Gundem’s first choice, but it was unfortunately fully booked for the days we were there.

This is probably more information than you want or need, but hopefully parts may be helpful.”