Guides

Alper has been leading Wildland Adventures in Turkey since 1990 and now acts as our principal field coordinator. He guides some trips, constantly travels through his homeland in search of new sites, inspecting new historic hotels, as well as meeting and training new guides. After completing an engineering degree he was among the early graduating class of Turkey's professional guide training program. This complimented his easy-going and fun-loving nature and his special sense for how to make every trip for every traveler a unique and authentic personal experience. It was Alper's idea to get special permission to enter the ruins of Arykanda after dark with wine, candles and a literary work to share with each other in the Odeon.

Deniz Kilic receives rave reviews for his charming, easygoing character combined with exceptional knowledge of history, archaeology and culture. His greatest passion is to share everyday Turkish culture by meeting local people in all walks of daily life, and by introducing our travelers to past civilizations through regional dishes represented in Turkish cuisine. Deniz loves guiding because it keeps him out of the office, traveling and meeting people. He was born in 1971 on the Aegean coast near where he now resides in Bodrum. He studied psychology at ODTU (Middle East Technical University), obtained certification as a professional guide at the Aegean University, and then pursued studies in Public Management at Anadolu University. Deniz is additionally certified as a Naturalist Guide and Gallipolli Battlefields specialist. He is an experienced motorbike, motocross, and enduro racer and occasionally leads rock climbing, trekking and bicycle trips. "When I return to Turkey Deniz is the guide I will request. He is professional, enthusiastic, and has a great personality. He arranged every day to include a variety of different and unique activities. He took me to great restaurants of many types with an amazing variety of dishes. Together, Deniz and I enjoyed and participated in the daily life of Turkey." Patsy Gleason Custom Turkey Adventure.

Meltem has been guiding throughout Turkey for over two decades. She was among the first classes of nationally licensed professional guides in her native country. Since then she has led hundreds of travelers from throughout the world traveling to all corners of her country leading history and archeology tours, biblical and other special interest tours, and well as hiking, trekking and other outdoor pursuits. Meltem combines strong communication, organizational, and leadership skills with an enthusiastic and easy-going style that makes her a favorite guide for many experienced Wildland travelers. She holds an Environmental Engineering degree and has maintained strong personal interests supported by ongoing field studies in bird watching, fauna and flora identification, and overall ecological and cultural heritage preservation in Turkey. Her interests are photography, archeology, movies, music and literature. In addition to expounding on her expansive knowledge of history and archaeology, what she most enjoys as a guide is sharing the smiling faces of her country’s people, their hospitable invitations to their houses, farms, and schools.

Ozlem Ozgoren has been a professional guide throughout Turkey since 1989 specializing in Wildland Adventures family groups, as well as leading trips to remote sites for the Smithsonian, National Geographic and lecturing for Elder Hostel, Swan Hellenic and other specialty historic institutions. Her interest in cross-cultural exchange and guiding originates from her AFS scholarship experience as a graduating senior from Boonville High School in Missouri. Ozlem and her teenage son have pursued their studies in Florida while her husband conducts medical work at the University of Miami. Ozlem holds a law degree and practiced jurisprudence for several years but shifted her career and educational pursuits. She is completing advanced Master Degree studies and archaeological field work in art history and classical archaeology, sharing this knowledge and field experience as a professional guide. "What I find so interesting are the common features of ancient 'travelers' with those in today?s world. The landscape and history of Turkey are so immense I always seek out hidden treasures of the past like a culinary detail, village artifact, or an ancient musical tone as an entree to discover our living history."

Salih is one-of-a-kind. His eyes are always on the look out for something new to discover and surprise travelers, and he enjoys going out of his way to fulfill wishes and special requests of his guests. His worldly knowledge is overwhelming, having graduated from Istanbul University in Italian Theological Literature (BA) and Social Science Institute obtaining a Masters degree in "Divine Comedy". He is currently working on a doctorate in Byzantine History. He is learning Latin and Karamanid (a forgotten language among the Christian Turks in the Medieval Ages). Salih is a scuba diver and an amateur skipper. He plays the "kaval", a typical flute for shepherds. Salih is an expert on eating, cooking and is a good bartender!

Ahmet is a leading Wildland Adventures' guide in Turkey, well loved for his deeply intellectual, dynamic and friendly personality with an infectious zest for life! He attended Military Academy specializing in electronics telecommunications and trained as a parachute jumper and free fall master. He attended law school and participated in gymnastics, tower diving, pentathlon, orienteering and parachuting teams until he was injured in a fall and changed his career to tourism seven years ago. Wildland travelers appreciate his command of Turkish and world politics, religion (particularly Islam), and his knowledge of state structure and law of the Roman Empire. Ahmet has a beautiful voice and a rich repertoire of song.

Sevim has been described by our travelers as the most honest, caring and helpful guide they have ever met. Her warm, friendly mannerisms, combined with a sense of humor and adventure, are appreciated by people of all ages. Sevim completed her education in Ankara and Cambridge and subsequently taught English in a private language school, eventually becoming the Director of Studies. In 1993 she visited Cappadocia for the first time and fell in love with its unique landscape, breathtaking views and fascinating history. She decided to become a certified professional tour guide and in 1996 moved to Urgup to devote herself to full time guiding. During the quiet winter months, she frequently participates as a translator on projects such as local guide books, informational CDs, and Turkish art books.

Ersin has extensive experience as a guide and manager in the travel business since 1984 after obtaining specialist degrees in Business Management and Classical Archaeology from Selcuk University. His academic studies included fieldwork on several archaeological excavations. Ersin imparts a wide breadth of knowledge upon Wildland Adventures travelers based on experience leading specialty group tours of students, religious groups tracing Christian or Jewish heritage in Turkey, special archaeological interest groups, and outdoor interests. He was a professional basketball and soccer player, and lived in England for 2 years. Travelers appreciate Ersin for his mild-mannered personality and capable leadership skills. He loves stimulating conversations about Turkish issues and world affairs in which everybody can join in. He also entertains with beautiful song.

Ergul grew up in France and graduated with a university degree in English Language and Literature. She speaks perfect French, German and English. She shares her artistic talents and knowledge including calligraphy, classical painting and restoration work on fine Ottoman pieces. Although she has highly detailed knowledge on antiquities throughout Turkey, her specialty is archaeology along the Lycian coast where she has assisted on numerous digs and is called upon to lead specialty groups arranged by a French professor of archaeology.