About Us

We are a duo of independent tour guides in Istanbul.

We are both born-and-raised locals of this city, both have interesting life stories and years of guiding experience. We worked together as a team at a company before deciding to go on our own journey. Until now we have guided tens of thousands of people from around the world and gained tremendous knowledge and experience about our home town and the world.

Emre’s family came to Istanbul almost a century ago, after a big earthquake forced his great grandparents to relocate from their hometown. He has always been passionate about two things from a young age: music and languages. His passion determined his destiny.

Emre had the chance to study abroad from a young age and excelled at speaking English, to a degree that, by the time he reached college age, he decided it was time for him to take up a new challenge, the hardest language of all: Mandarin Chinese.

Studying Mandarin in college completely changed his life. He went to China for a year to improve his language skills, ended up joining a band and even releasing an album and appearing on TV. It was an immensely exciting and unforgettable experience, but he couldn’t risk his future for unpredictable fun, so he came back to Istanbul and finished his studies.

After working as an interpreter for Chinese business people for a several years, he decided to change sectors and got into tourism to guide Chinese tourists. After finishing his master’s degree in tourism, he got his license and started working as a professional tour guide.

Then, of course, covid happened, and Emre switched to guiding groups in English, which was yet another turning point in his life.

Guiding in English opened new doors to Emre as he has met people from all around the world, learned a lot more about the sector, and met his business partner, Hakan. Emre and Hakan have been organizing tours together since 2023.

Born and raised in urban Istanbul, Hakan’s family migrated from a smaller city in the Black Sea region of Turkey one generation ago, and he still has active roots in their hometown. He spent his childhood working in his father’s bakery, kneading dough and learning about running a small family business from a young age.

Hakan didn’t study tourism at first. His first college degree was in journalism. But unlike his partner, he had the privilege of studying in the oldest and biggest university in Turkey, the only historical school that is located in the Old City: Istanbul University.

Studying in the heart of what used to be “Constantinople” changed his perspective of Istanbul forever. He fell in love with the historical Old City, and wanted to get closer to it, learn more about it, and explain it to others. After graduation, he worked as a journalist at first, but decided that his real passion lied in tourism.

While studying his second university to become a tour guide, he got a job in the Old City as a carpet salesman, and entered the tourism sector. By the time he got his license in tourism, he already knew the Old City like the back of his hand.

In 2021, Hakan met Emre in the same company, and after a few years of working together, they decided to combine their strengths and organize tours together. They’ve been offering tours in Istanbul since 2023.