Share This
What You’ll Love About Your Week in Turkey
There’s so much to love about Turkey, so much that we keep returning with Chef Ana Sortun of Oleana and Sofra in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Traveling with Chef Ana is a wonderful gift, and being in Turkey with her is even better.
We can’t come to Turkey without spending time in magnificent and fascinating Istanbul. You’ll have the opportunity to tour and learn about history and culture with Oguz Goncu, our longtime tourguide, as well as explore Turkish cuisine and ingredients with our great friend and food guide, Banu Ozden. You’ll tour markets and street food, along with seeing the major historic-cultural sites – Topkapi, the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.
Ana has long been fascinated by the Black Sea region, and now you’ll have the chance to explore parts of the Black Sea region that most American tourists don’t visit. Banu has found the iconic dishes, ingredients and restaurants; Oguz will take us to historic sites; and Chef Ana will be doing a cooking demonstration in the countryside outside of Kastamanou.
When we return to Istanbul, we’ll spend time on the Bosporus (ferry and private boat trip), and will spend part of the day on the Asia side of Istanbul touring food markets and having lunch at CIYA, one of Ana Sortun’s favorite restaurants anywhere. CIYA’s chef is Musa Dağdeviren, featured in Season 5 of Netflix’ The Chefs Table.
If you wish to stay on in Istanbul after the Culinaria, we have a one-day bonus program with either. Banu or Oguz, so you can explore places you missed.
Of course we’ll have wonderful meals throughout the week, and we’ve found that your fellow travelers become another highlight of traveling with Oldways.
Registered Dietitians may be eligible to earn continuing education credits pending review and approval from CDR.
Questions? Please read our Travel FAQ here, call us at (617) 896-4875, or email us at Travel@OldwaysPT.org
Day-by-Day
Wednesday, May 14, 2025Check into the Bank Hotel, our Istanbul hotel, unpack, and relax before we meet in the early evening for a Welcome Session, Wine Tasting & Dinner 
|
|
Thursday, May 15, 2025In the morning, you have a choice of a cultural tour or a food tour. Join our Turkish cultural guide, Oguz, for a tour of Topkapi, or take a morning food walking tour of the Egyptian (Spice) Bazaar and the Eminönü neighborhood with our food expert Banu. We’ll leave for the Istanbul Airport and our 5:00 pm Turkish Air flight to Sinop, a city known as a hidden gem on the southern shore of the Black Sea. After arriving in Sinop, we’ll check in at our hotel into the Sinop Antik Hotel and meet for a group dinner.  |
|
Friday, May 16, 2025After breakfast, we will view Sinop from the sea via a short boat tour around Sinop Bay. This will give us a feel for the city, while Oğuz gives us the city’s history. After returning from the sea, we’ll visit Sinop Castle to dive into the city’s Roman and Seldjuk past. Lunch will be in a casual eatery, Mantıcı Melahat’in Mutfağı, for a local taste of mantı. After lunch, we will visit the Sinop Archeological Museum. Then, you will be on your own to explore the city and shop at your leisure. Be sure to visit Gazi Street, a.k.a. Sinop Lover’s Street, in the city’s center. It is one of the most popular sightseeing areas of the city, offering a beautiful sunset view, a pleasant evening walk, flower gardens, palm trees, various cafes, and restaurants. You are free for dinner to enjoy one of Sinop’s local restaurants. We will include Banu’s restaurant suggestions in the program book.  |
|
Saturday, May 17, 2025After breakfast, we will spend the day exploring some of Sinop’s specialty food shops. We will meet an artisanal candy maker, witness the making of “mantı” and “erişte,” and learn about the “lakerda” (salt-cured bonito fish) culture that Sinop has become famous for over the last few years. You will be on your own to have lunch and explore the city until we meet again for dinner. We will meet at the hotel lobby, and together, we will head to Saray Restaurant by the sea for our dinner.  |
|
Sunday, May 18, 2025In the morning, we’ll check out of our hotel in Sinop and will drive inland about 2 ½ hours to Kastamonu, a city with rich culinary traditions. We’ll go to the city center for lunch at the local eatery Münire Sultan Sofrası to taste Kastamonu’s local dishes. After lunch, we’ll explore the city’s cultural sights, such as the Kastamonu Clock Tower and Kastamonu City Museum, then head to İksir Resort Hotel, our hotel outside the city for Ana’s cooking demonstration, followed by a relaxing and traditional dinner.  |
|
Monday, May 19, 2024We’ll leave our hotel in the morning and spend the day in the city of Kastamonu, focusing on food demonstrations and visiting a wooden utensil shop that Kastamonu is well known for. We’ll end the day with an early dinner and an evening flight from Kastamonu to Istanbul. We’ll check in at the Bank Hotel again in the late evening. 
|
|
Tuesday, May 20, 2025Ana will start our morning with a spice presentation. Afterward, we’ll take the ferry to Kadikoy, on the Asian side of Istanbul. We’ll enjoy a spice and food tour with Ana and Banu in the Kadikoy Market area and then have lunch at CIYA, the famous Anatolian regional fare restaurant. After lunch, we’ll get on our private ferry and cruise along the Bosphorus before returning to our hotel. You will be free to experience the Istanbul restaurant scene in your evening. Once again, you will have Banu’s restaurant suggestions in the program book. 
|
|
Wednesday, May 21, 2025Departures or for those of you want to stay another day in Istanbul, you can take one of the tours you missed at the beginning of the trip. Take a cultural tour with Turkish cultural guide Oguz to Topkapi or a food walking tour of the Egyptian (Spice) Bazaar and the Eminönü neighborhood with our food expert Banu. For this bonus day, there is an additional charge (to extend your hotel reservation and for the tour).  |
|
See Your Beautiful Accommodations
In order to exeprience the Black Sea region and Istanbul, we will be in 3 hotels during our week together. We’ll make the transfers easy for you each time!
The Bank Hotel, Istanbul
The Bank Hotel Istanbul is located in Karakoy, one of the most prominent neighborhoods of Istanbul, known for its history. With a magnificent view of old Istanbul, the hotel is perfectly located to explore bohemian Beyoglu and historical Sultanahmet.
Sinop Antik Hotel, Sinop
This boutique hotel overlooks a sandy beach on the Black Sea in Sinop. The hotel houses an extensive collection of antique relics and a sea-view restaurant, well known for seafood dishes.
İksir Resort Town, outside of Kastamanou
İksir Resort Town is the story of the math professor Mrs İksir Sema Aydın. During her childhood and adult life, İksir Hanım lived far from her native village Daday in Kastamonu because of her father’s official duty. But she always kept her relations with the village and her relatives. She always dreamt of getting back to Daday. Later, she purchased and renovated first the old mansion, called now İksir Hanım Mansion, and built step by step İksir Resort Town facilities with the support of her 2 daughters. Her dream now is to represent Daday and Kastamonu region’s natural beauties, history, local architecture, local arts and manufactures and develop local peoples life quality and also the sustainable agriculture via İksirli Farm.
Meet the Chefs & Experts You’ll Be Traveling With
Chef Ana Sortun
Our tour is led with Chef Ana Sortun of Oleana Restaurant and Sofra Bakery & Café. Hailed as one of the country’s “most creative fusion practitioners,” Chef Ana Sortun was named the Best Chef Northeast by the James Beard Foundation in 2005 and has been lauded as “deeply inventive” by the New York Times, and “a culinary genius” by Boston Magazine and in Saveur. In 2016 and 2017 she was a James Beard semi finalist for Best Chef, general excellence.
Trained at La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine de Paris, Sortun opened Moncef Medebs Aigo Bistro in Concord, and then honed her skills at 8 Holyoke and Casablanca in Harvard Square. She opened Oleana in 2001 where her creative take on the rustic-traditional cuisines of the Middle East and her interpretation of the flavors of Turkey continue to receive rave reviews.
Ana and her business partner, Executive Pastry Chef Maura Kilpatrick, opened Sofra Bakery & Café in 2008. Then, in 2013, Ana, with chef Cassie Piuma, opened Sarma, a Turkish-style meze tavern.
Siena Farms, owned by Ana’s husband, Chris Kurth and named for their daughter, provides produce to the restaurants and underscores her commitment to fresh ingredients and healthy food. Ana is also involved with Oldways Preservation Trust which fosters good health by supporting the cultural food traditions of the Middle East and Mediterranean.
Banu Özden
Banu Özden is a graduate of Business Administration from Clark University in Worcester, MA. She started her career at Bertucci’s Brick Oven Ristorante in Boston, as the kitchen manager. She returned to Turkey and started working at Istanbul Culinary Institute as Director of Educational Programs. She continued her work at The Culinary Arts Center, where she worked on several projects promoting Turkish cuisine including a website, lectures, and culinary trips. She has participated in several symposiums in New York, Oxford, Tours, Mexico City and Dublin where she talked about different aspects of Turkish cuisine.
Currently she is an instructor at culinary arts departments of İstanbul Medipol University, teaching history of Turkish cuisine, and a student of Sustainable Tourism Management Master’s program at the prestigious Bogazici University. She is also writes her own blog called Spoon in My Pocket where she talks about food and shares recipes. She has been designing and leading walking food tours around İstanbul and in gastronomy capitals of Turkey since 2009. She is a regular columnist for a bi-monthly food magazine called Food in Life.
Oguz Goncu
Oguz has been our cultural tourguide in Turkey since 2007. We wouldn’t dream of coming to Turkey without having Oguz as our guide. Oguz has been a licensed tourguide for many years.
Flights
Fly in and out of Istanbul (IST). Turkish Airlines has daily nonstop flights from a number of US cities. Istanbul’s International airport is served by almost all carriers, but sometimes with a stop in a European city. Your registration fee includes domestic air flights within Turkey (Istanbul to Sinop and Kastamanou to Istanbul).
Pricing & Tour Registration
Please download and complete the registration form below, which includes instructions for how to submit the form and deposit to Oldways.
Price from $5,550 per person
If this trip must be cancelled due to Covid-19, refunds will be issued.
Prices are based on rates of exchange, taxes, and other costs as of the tour publication date. We reserve the right to correct errors and changes, and to increase program prices to cover increased costs, tariffs, and taxes received after prices are published and to reflect currency fluctuations.
Insurance
Medical Insurance
Oldways has procured medical and evacuation insurance for all Culinaria participants while traveling on one of our Culinarias with an Accident & Health policy from The Hartford. Additionally, Hartford partners with International Medical Group (IMG), a leading global assistance provider, to give us 24/7 access to medical and travel assistance services anywhere in the world. The policy also gives you as a Culinaria participant insurance for medical expenses, evacuation, and repatriation.
Since 1990, IMG has offered travel assistance services and a global network of medical providers to millions of people in nearly every country around the world. Working across time zones and in different languages, IMG’s commitment to “Being There” provides end-to-end coordinated care – so you can feel secure while traveling.
Please let us know if you need more information about the medical insurance.
Travel Insurance
While we cannot offer travel insurance for the cost of the trip or your air travel, here are three widely used travel insurance companies: