Filiz and Istambul, what can be better. She’s a lovely person, and if you don’t know Turkey, she will make you fall in love with this amazing country!

I never had much interest in the country of Turkey before Filiz started to give some virtual tours of it. (And she also gives tours of other parts of the world). Last month, I stayed 10 days in Turkey on vacation, which included 4 days in Istanbul and then a road trip around western Turkey, as far east as Ankara. I am so glad that I had learned about Istanbul from a tour Filiz had given in a past of that city. I found Istanbul so intriguing! Thanks Filiz for opening the door for me to consider going there.

There is something very exciting and mysterious about shipwrecks. They can lie there on the sea bed for thousands of years before they’re discovered and explored. In some cases, the ship or just its cargo might be brought to the surface. But as Filiz revealed in her fascinating talk, discovering the existence of a wreck is only the start of the story.

Filiz talks about five different shipwrecks and it’s truly astounding to realise just how much has been learned about them. In many cases, nothing of the ship remains but parts of the cargo often survive. The cargo could be many things, including but not limited to ceramics, ingots or food, all of which are recognisable thousands of years later, but what it is particularly remarkable is how much can be learned from these items.

It’s not always easy to find out this information. It involves a lot of diving, which can be not just dangerous but fatal if the rules are not followed. But archaeologists like Filiz herself have not given up and they have learned information including who was on the ship, when the wreck happened and even where the ships have been.

Filiz has made some great choices of shipwrecks. Each one has its own distinctive story and offers different types of discoveries – though the similarities are very interesting too and much can be learned from them.

Filiz is a very warm guide and her enthusiasm for the shipwrecks is palpable. The talk is easy to follow and very exciting.

I greatly enjoyed the tour of Cappadocia- the history, geography and many personal stories of her academic research into this fascinating region. It is not always easy to manage such a wide-range of topics about a region such as this- with an unknown audience. Her knowledge is extensive and her love of teaching is obvious. I join others in hoping she gets an academic post shortly, so she can continue her research.

A must!

This tour brings together the geography, sociology and history of the place in an impressive way. With Filiz I saw and understood more in an hour than in my three previous visits entirely. Studying a map; studying the history of Christianity and Islam, are each good preparation for going there in person, but in the meantime, this presentation is more than promised.

Always worth listening to and always learning something.

Highly recommended

The tour guide is always clear and one always learns from her ❣️❣️❣️

Feliz is very personable and is a true scholar in the arts and history of Turkiye. I recommend her highly!

Had a wonderful historic tour of Istanbul which was wonderful and informative from a pleasant guide