Hi from Rick: Announcing Our New Village Turkey Tour
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| From wine-makers to olive-pressers to truffle-hunters, our village tours in Italy, France — and now Turkey — connect you with people who keep traditions alive for real (not just for tourists). |
Dear Traveler,
A couple of weeks ago, I was honored to accept the Citizen Diplomat Award from a huge gathering of the National Council for International Visitors (NCIV) in Washington, DC.
The award has been given six times. Senator William Fulbright received the first in 1987 for his work in establishing the Fulbright scholarship program, which pursues the same vision as the NCIV: connecting foreign visitors with locals "to shape foreign relations one handshake at a time."
In working on my Travel as a Political Act book, I've been thinking about how the value of people-to-people diplomacy has always been part of our work here at Europe Through the Back Door. Traveling as a "temporary local" forces you to interact (not just transact) with people who make up the culture you've traveled so far to experience. And it's fun and rewarding for both sides.
This month's Tour News focuses on the most "people-to-people" part of our tour program. Our "village tours" connect you with farmers, artisans, and others who take pride in their traditional ways of doing things — and you get to know them. I took my family on our Village Italy tour a few years ago and we still haven't stopped talking about the experiences we had, the things we learned, the food we discovered and the people we met.
Today, we've launched an all-new itinerary with the same approach: Village Turkey in 10 Days. While this tour certainly includes some beautiful scenery as it meanders along the mountains and harbors of the Aegean coast, it's your daily encounters with Turkish people that will make it unforgettable.
If a steady diet of economic gloom makes you yearn for a rewarding chance to experience travel at its mind-broadening best — and plenty of warm, welcoming handshakes — we've got just the ticket.
I hope you can join us — and your future friends in Europe — in 2009.
Happy travels,
Rick Steves