Our tour with Reyan was excellent. She provided the historical and political context for both sites as well as the Hippodrome. She was very knowledgeable and delivered the information in a confident and genuine friendly manner. She came prepared with maps, and images. She was very receptive to our questions and we throughly enjoyed our conversation over the three hours.

We were not expecting to be taken into a shop in the first 10 minutes and feel pressured to buy spices while our guide talked on the phone. We then found it hard to get our guides attention to ask a question about produce because she was on the phone. Not what we expected from a Context tour. We did not enjoy walking through rows of cheap copy fashion shops and would have much preferred to have started at the Grand Bazaar as described in the promotional material. By the time we got to the Grand Bazaar we were tired and two hours into the tour and had to ask if we could stop for a drink. Our guide had stopped and bought herself a bottle of water but not asked if we wanted one. Nur told us some of the history along the way which was interesting but we had expected more depth and a more carefully curated tour of the Grand Bazaar. Our guide was very pleasant but I would not recommend the tour.

The tour was great and we discovered some hidden gems. I particularly enjoyed the Turkish cheese and appreciated the thoughtful gesture of the chicken breast pudding with the candle for my dad’s birthday as we crossed the Bosphorus. I also very much appreciated all the local restaurant recommendations via WhatsApp.