Kuzguncuk is one of Istanbul’s most picturesque (and underrated) quarters, known affectionately by its residents as ‘the village.’ Colorful wooden houses, adorn quiet tree-lined streets. Synagogues, mosques, Greek Orthodox, and Armenian churches sit side-by-side, some even sharing the same walls and vegetable allotments boost the community spirit. It was in this charming neighborhood that we met with renowned tour guide, Serhan Güngör, to find out about his experiences guiding in Turkey.
“Tour-guiding is a lifestyle, not a profession” his wife Fatoş (also a tour guide) confided to us later. True to this statement our interview took place as Serhan showed us around his home ground, taking in a few other sights along the way. “Kuzguncuk is a historically cosmopolitan neighborhood that was first discovered by the Istanbul intelligentsia in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Playwrights, poets, architects including Cengiz Bektaş, Güngör Dilmen, and Can Yücel all settled here, it became the Greenwich Village of Istanbul.”
Like most areas of the city, Kuzguncuk is also home to some great eating options such as Kosinitza, local favorites Metet Közde Döner, ev yemekci Asude and the historical ‘rakı balık’ fish restaurant, İsmet Baba. As we passed it to admire the panoramic view of the European side of the city, Serhan casually mentioned that was where he took Meryl Streep and her family when guiding them around the city (apparently she loved it). She’s not the only celebrity that has enlisted his services. He has guided author Dan Brown, the Rt Hon David Miliband MP, and actress Joanna Lumley among others.
Serhan has also appeared on a number of TV programs. When TV Chef Rick Stein came to Turkey as part of his Mediterranean Escapes TV series, Serhan acted as his guide and interpreter, around the south east Mediterranean. They visited Mersin, Tarsus, Gaziantep , and the Euphrates to taste a tantalizing array of Turkish food including tantuni, hummus, lahmacun, grilled grouper, kebab, meze, and baklava. Rick Stein described him as “a font of knowledge who’s also serious about food” and watching the program you see Serhan’s hand in linking the two together, proving the importance and impact of history and geography on Turkish cuisine.
We took a diversion from Kuzguncuk, so Serhan could show us the British War Memorial and the Haydarpaşa cemetery where Serhan revealed more about his personal interests. His studies focused on historical geography, specializing in military battlefields and his main interests are in archeology and military history. He has contributed to books and research projects in this field as well as leading tours to Turkey’s historic battlefields.
But when’s not taking tours around Turkey or in Europe, he shows visitors around Istanbul (often working with reputable cultural travel agency Fest Travel). We asked him what he likes to show people in the city. “Aside from the Bosphorus (I believe in geography as the true witness of history), I like to show visitors the real diversity of the city. In a day I take people from Sultanahmet to the Grand Bazaar, pass through Tahtakale to the Spice Bazaar, walk over Galata Bridge, head up to Tünel, through the crowds of Istklal Caddesi and into Nişantaşı. After that we go to Kanyon and have a meal in Konyalı. I think it’s incredible that there is a city that has both the Spice Bazaar and Kanyon and that (on a good day) you can travel between the two in just 30 minutes.”
kaynak: http://www.theguideistanbul.com/article/istanbul-through-eyes-tour-guide-serhan-g%C3%BCng%C3%B6r
