Home | Tours | Turkey: Erdogan & The Anatolian Tigers

Turkey: Erdogan & The Anatolian Tigers

Backed by steady economic growth and religious conviction, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is changing the face of his country. Political analysts Ekrem Güzeldere and Piotr Zalewski examine what this means for the region.

Dates: Autumn 2012

Cost: £2,500.00

Please contact us for further details

Changing Turkey - A slideshow by: Lynsey Addario

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It was a very well organised, dense, high-level study trip. The level of the people we met, including senior politicians, was impressive.

Francisco Herranz

Foreign Editor of El Mundo on a recent study tour organised by Political Tours

Experts

Ekrem Eddy Güzeldere

Ekrem Eddy Güzeldere works as a political analyst for the European Stability Initiative, a think tank that studies political and social change in Turkey and its relations with the EU. He is based in ESI’s...

Read More

Piotr Zalewski

Piotr Zalewski is the Turkey correspondent for Polityka, Poland’s bestselling news magazine, and an editor at European Stability Initiative, a think tank that studies Turkish EU relations. He is also...

Read More

Tour

Turkey is on the rise. Led by a conservative and avowedly religious leader, it is emerging as a significant power in the Mediterranean basin. But many, both in and outside Turkey, are unclear about its course.

Led by political analysts, Piotr Zalewski and Ekrem Güzeldere, the visit is one in a series of ground breaking study-tours launched by Political Tours this year.

The tour covers both Istanbul and Ankara as well as Gaziantep, town on the border with Syria. It explores recent events with academics, journalists, politicians, activists and ordinary people. The briefings and discussion will be interspersed with tours of key institutions, as well as historic sites, not to mention excellent food in some of Turkey’s best inns and restaurants.

This tour will number between 8 and 18 persons. If we do not meet the minimum number we may cancel the tour and will give you a full refund.

Tour Itinerary

Day 1 Saturday 12 November Arrival

Welcome dinner on the Bosporus with introduction of the tour itinerary.

Day 2 Sunday 13 November An Introduction to Turkish Politics

Breakfast – Introductory briefing by a leading political analyst at Khiva Han, Galata Tower Square. This is designed to give an introduction to Istanbul, a city of enormous cultural and religious influences.

A guided walk through Galata, visits to an Italian church, Sephardic Synagogue, Genoese administrative buildings, Jewish museum, old workplaces and fish market.

Light Lunch at Restaurant near fish market.

Optional guided walk through Istanbul. Our guide will provide an overview of Ottoman History with a tour that covers the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, the Grand Bazaar, ending at the spice market and Yeni (New) Mosque.

(Some guests may want to do this at their own pace or may be familiar with them already).

Dinner in Cihangir: An introduction to Turkish politics today. Guest speakers: Turkey analysts Joost Lagendijk, a former MEP, now at Sabanci University and Cengiz Aktar, a professor at Bahcesehir University. They will introduce the key themes of a changing Turkey: the rise of AKP, Turkey as an emerging power, Anatolian Tigers and Turkey-EU relations in 2011.

Day 3 Monday 14 November

Changing Turkey: a economic power, urban redevelopment, a growing income gap,

Breakfast in Beyoglu with an introduction to the Tarlabasi district: urban projects, gentrification, the powerful construction industry. Guided walk through Tarlabasi with Constanze Leitsch, a migration expert. This will also include visits to small artisanal businesses.

Lunch at Imroz in Nevizade

Meeting with Syrian activists based inTurkey: the Turkish model and its impact on the evolution of political Islam in theMiddle East.

Ferry to Uskudar, and visit to a Hamam!

Dinner in Ciya: A sample of the range of foods available acrossTurkey: Food and identity politics in Turkey.

Day 4 Tuesday 15th November

Suits and Uniforms: Secularism, religion, and the conflict between the army and government

“The Deep State, or who’s afraid of the AKP?” We visit Taraf, a local newspaper that has exposed a series of military conspiracies against the government known collectively as the Ergenekon scandal.

Lunch: Briefing on the Ergenekon scandal – and recent military resignations – with Gareth Jenkins, an expert on Ergenekon and civil-military relations

Islamic fashion – a visit with Nigar Goksel, a women’s rights expert, to Tekbir, a fashion house that caters to a conservative Muslim clientele

Dinner conversation: “Democracy and Islam inTurkey” – A discussion with Mustafa Akyol and Sahin Alpay.

Day 5 Wednesday 16^th November Ankara

To Ankara by fast train

Visit to parliament with an MP from the ruling AKP.

Guided visit of Anitkabir, Ataturk’s Mausoleum, with Tanil Bora, an expert on Turkish nationalism.

“Human rights in Turkey” – Dinner with Kerem Altiparmak, from the human rights centre of Ankara University and Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a lawyer and founder of the Human Rights Agenda Association.

Day 6 Thursday 17^th November

Minorities and European Integration. Morning Visit to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.

“The Alevi inTurkey” – discussion with Ali Balkiz, president of the Alevi Federation. (The Alevi are the biggest non-Sunni minority in Turkey).

Lunch meeting with EU diplomats on political affairs, minority rights and secularism.

Discussion with Kurdish politicians and activists on Turkey’s Kurdish problem: is there an end to the fighting in sight?

Turkish League football match: the meaning of loyalty and the role of sport in politics.

Day 7 Friday 18^th November Gaziantep.

Flight to Gaziantep. (Clients need to book this an advance of the trip. This is not included in the price. We will however help co-ordinate flight bookings for the group.)

Once known for little more than being the center of pistachio and hazelnut cultivation in Turkey, Gaziantep has become one of the country’s key industrial and commercial centres, home to a number of cement, textile, leather, metal and machinery factories. Thanks at least in part to a boom is cross-border trade with Syria – spurred by the abolition of visa requirements for Syrians – unemployment is dropping, foreign investment is booming, and transport links are expanding. Over half of Gaziantep’s exports now go to the Middle East; only a quarter toEurope. And now the city has been significantly affected by the unrest in Syria. What will Turkeys’ role be here?

(It is worth reading the following New York Times story on Gaziantep).

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/world/middleeast/25turkey.html

Cement nation: visit to a local cement factory. (Turkey is now the top exporter of cement in Europe and the fourth largest in the world.) We visit a mosque for Friday prayers with some of the factory staff.

Dinner conversation: Turkey’s economic miracle; the Middle East’s rising Middle Kingdom; an introduction to Gaziantep.

Day 8 Saturday 19^th November Gaziantep

Sightseeing in Gaziantep: bazaar, fortress

Lunch meeting with local researchers: The region’s economy; Turkey’s new open-door policy with neighbors; Islamic Calvinists and Turkey as a trading state; the impact of the unrest in Syria on Gaziantep’s economy.

Farewell dinner with local officials and businessmen at Imam Cagdas : learning the art of baklava. Pastry-making Turkish style!

Day 9 Sunday 20^th November

Departure to Istanbul. Flights back home.

If you would like to book a tour please fill in the booking form, which can be obtained by clicking the Book Tour button. Or call us on 0843 289 2349 to find out more.

Essential information

How to make your booking.

You can make a booking by contacting Political Tours directly by phone on 0834 289 2349 or by filling the booking form on the Book Tour button.

To reserve a place on a tour please complete the booking form and send it to Political Tours Ltd together with your non-refundable deposit of 15% of the total holiday cost or £250 per person (whichever is the greater) made payable to Political Tours Limited.

If you are booking less than 8 weeks prior to departure the full cost of the tour is payable.

If you would like to contact Political Tours’ Director, Nicholas Wood, he can be reached by email at nicholaswood@politicatours.com or by mobile phone on +44 7855 266 151.

What is included in the tour.

The price includes accommodation in 4-5 star hotels in Istanbul and Ankara as well as all meals during the visit. All the accommodation includes private bathrooms.

Please be aware that Political Tours is a land only tour operator. Our clients travel from many countries and the costs of flights to and from the destination are not included in the price.

How to reach the destination.

There are regular daily flights between the two airports in Istanbul, Atatürk and Sabiha Gökcen, to most British airports, including London (Heathrow, Gatwick Stansted and Luton) Birmingham, Manchester as well several major international airports including Paris, Berlin, Rome (Fiumicino), Brussels, Warsaw. New York, Geneva, Barcelona and Stockholm.

A taxi from Atatürk Airport to the hotel costs 40 TL (20 Euros); a taxi from Sabiha Gökcen Airport should cost circa 80 TL (40 Euros). There are also shuttle busses (Havas) to Taksim square (near the hotel) from both airports for 10 or 14 TL (5 or 7 Euros).

Climate + Clothing suggestions

In May temperatures in Istanbul and Ankara are relatively mild, reaching 20-25 degrees Celsius during the day. However, there is occasional rainfall.

Passports, Visa and Health

All clients are personally responsible for ensuring that they have a valid passport, relevant visa/s and conform to the health regulations required by the country/s that will be visited during the tour.

Citizens of the European Economic Area, the United States and Canada are not required to obtain visas in their home country in order to travel to Turkey. However, some nationals are required to purchase a tourist visa on arrival at the airport. The cost of the tourist visa varies from 15-30 USD, although Canadian citizens must pay 60 USD. For more information, see http://www.mfa.gov.tr/visa-information-for-foreigners.en.mfa

Advice on health requirements may be obtained from your GP, or alternatively from the Department of Health leaflet Advice on Health for Travelers, which may be obtained from us, or the Department of Health in the UK.

Personal Safety

Compared to most major cities in Europe and the USA, Istanbul and Ankara are relatively safe, even at night. It is advisable to dress appropriately in conservative neighborhoods.

We also advise all of our clients to check Foreign Office’s Travel Advice site for Turkey before departure.

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/europe/turkey

Insurance

Appropriate and adequate travel insurance is essential and is a condition of travelling with us. Your policy must include comprehensive medical cover including the cost of evacuation and repatriation from the remote destinations included in your tour in the event of illness or accident in addition to other medical requirements.

Please provide us with confirmation of the name of your insurance company, the policy number and the insurers’ emergency contact telephone number for use in a medical emergency no later than 8 weeks prior to the tour departure. If you fail to do so, we are entitled to cancel your booking and apply the cancellation charges shown below.

You must also ensure that the policy will protect you in the event that you travel to an area against the advice of the Foreign Office.

Hazards Inherent in Our Tours

It is in the nature of the itineraries we offer that the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office may have issued advice against all travel or all but essential travel in relation to the country or parts of the country we are intending to visit prior to confirmation of your booking. Where the FCO issues such advice, we may as a result cancel your tour or make changes so as to avoid the area concerned (see clauses 10 and 12 of our Terms and Booking Conditions). Alternatively, we may ask you to sign a form confirming you wish to proceed with the tour notwithstanding the FCO advice.

Our Cancellation Charges

If you feel you need to cancel a tour before departure we reserve the right to make the following charges.

Period before departure within which written notification of cancellation is received by us.	Cancellation charge per person cancelling.
Up to 56 days 55 to 28 days 27 to 15 days14 days or less	The Deposit 50% 75%100%

On receipt of your booking form and deposit we will confirm your booking in writing, then approximately 8 weeks before departure we shall send you further information relevant to your tour together with a final invoice.

Please pay the invoice within 10 days of the invoice date otherwise we reserve the right to treat the booking as cancelled and apply the cancellation conditions as set out below. Your travel documents are dispatched about 7/10 days before the tour departs.

Booking Terms and Conditions

Full details of our terms and conditions can be viewed by clicking this link.

UK: 0843 289 2349 | Int: +44 843 289 2349