As a student at Robert College in the 60s, Faruk Pekin RC Eng 69, liked nothing better than to spend his weekends roaming the ruins of Old Istanbul with now-legendary, erudite professors like Hillary Sumner-Boyd, Godfrey Goodwin and John Freely. “That’s how my interest in architecture and art history began,” he says. “Istanbul is my first love. We spent most weekends exploring a different part of the city.”
After graduating, Pekin worked as a journalist and a labor organiser until the 1980 coup brought the country to a grinding halt. At loose ends, he decided to see whether he could turn his passion for travel into a business. In 1985, he set up Fest Tourism, originally to service incoming tourists. In 1988, the company began offering walking tours of Istanbul called “Adım Adım Istanbul” (Strolling Through Istanbul) in collaboration with the Tarih & Toplum magazine. “Nobody else was offering cultural tours,” Pekin says. “The aim wasn’t so much commercial as it was for pleasure.”
The tours, led by Pekin as well as renowned academics like Murat Belge and İlber Ortaylı, were an instant hit. In May this year, the Tourism Ministry awarded Pekin its firstever annual Activities Award for the tours, which celebrated their 20th anniversary in November. The company now offers 90 different Istanbul itineraries. In his speech, Pekin dedicated the award to Istanbul, the now-defunct Tarih ve Toplum periodical and the many lecturers and guides who have helped to introduce almost 40,000 Istanbulites to the city they live in over the years. “I’m just a mediator,” he said, with characteristic modesty.The Istanbul tours won Fest a loyal crowd of followers who eventually began asking for similar excursions abroad. In 1991, Pekin led the first group to Egypt. “It was still fairly untouristic back then,” he says, “Historically speaking it’s one of the most important places in the world.” That was followed by Prague, Budapest, Crete and India and from there, Pekin never looked back. “There were other companies offering tours abroad, but those would be mainly shopping, with a three-hour city tour thrown in,” he says. “We were the only ones who based travel around culture – the cuisine, music, architecture and traditions of a place. We created our own itineraries and built up our own clientele.”
Fest now offers 110 different tours to 80 countries. People who have been on a Fest tour joke that it’s addictive and the company has hundreds of repeat customers. Places on many of its tours, such as to India or Vietnam, are booked months in advance and there are lengthy wait lists. After hundreds of tours all over the world, Pekin never tires of his job. When the RCQ met him at his Gayrettepe office, he had just returned from Prague, a city he has visited dozens of times, which he says never fails to move him. “Prague,” he points out, “is the city Nazım [Hikmet] wrote most about”. Exclusive to the RCQ, Pekin gave us the lowdown on his current must-see destinations.
Namibia: Sadly Kenya has become overpriced and too touristic, Pekin says. Namibia offers unspoiled scenery, spectacular wildlife at game reserves and national parks and a pace of life that remains unchanged by modernization. “Hurry, in two or three years time, it could go the way of Kenya,” he says. Georgia-Armenia. Pekin made headlines last year when he became the first ever person to take a group of 34 Turkish tourists to Armenia. “Both countries are beautiful and the people are very hospitable,” he says.
India: Even though he has been to India some 45 times, Pekin says he always finds something new to see. “Every part of the country offers something else. Personally, I would recommend the North – Delhi, Varanasi, Agra, Jaipur for a first-time visitor.” Guetamala. It has manageable size and lots of color going for it, Pekin says. You can tour the country in three or four days. Antigua is one of the world’s best preserved colonial cities and an authentic trip back in time. Bhutan. “The fact that so few foreigners visit makes it very interesting,” says Pekin. The country is a Himalayan Buddhist kingdom and governed by a unique philosophy of Gross National Happiness. This has meant that the environment is carefully protected. After centuries of monarchic rule, parliamentary elections were held for the first time this year. Entry to Bhutan is strictly regulated and tourists are required to pay a stiff daily tariff of about $200. The policy makes sense, Pekin says, because it ensures conservation. Iran. Pekin urges women to ignore any discomfort they might feel about having to wear a headscarf and make the cross-border trip. “It’s not possible to fully understand Anatolian Seljuks without seeing Iran,” he says. Esfehan, Shiraz, Tebriz are not to be missed, as are Tehran’s museums, “but not the city itself,” he says, laughing.
Patagonia: Nature lovers in particular, Pekin suggests, will find remote Patagonia, on the tip of South America, well worth the long haul journey. “The ice caps are spectacular. Sea lions, seals, hundreds of kinds of birds…”
Turkey: Pekin is emphatic about the vast range of destinations on offer close to home. Currently, for example, he’s excited about a brand-new Fest tour to ancient Frygian sites west of Ankara. Mardin is always a favorite, in particular Dara. Istanbul continues to be the jewel in Fest’s crown. To date, some 40,000 Istanbulites have been on one of their city tours. Pekin proudly points out they have close to 100 different Istanbul itineraries on offer and are constantly devising new ones. Jewish Landmarks in Istanbul, Balyan Family Commissions and Literary Istanbul are just a few of this year’s additions. “The important thing for us is to be able to show the people who live here what a great city they live in,” he says. “That’s how conservation starts. Once you love the place you live in, you start to want to protect it.”
