Our Story

The FEST vision all started out with Strolling Through İstanbul® / Istanbul Step By Step® tours where we aimed İstanbulites to discover their own city. With this perspective FEST Travel started operating inbound tours to all corners of Turkey.

We pioneered most of the cultural routes and brought Travellers for the first time to most of the unique culturally rich locations.

With the awareness of social responsibility in 1996 FEST Travel started “History, Archaeology and Art Seminars”. This was later on consecrated to our sister organisation Cultural Awareness Foundation in 2003.

With Cultural Awareness Foundation FEST Travel organised responsible tours for primary school students that was roofed under the project called “Cultural Ants”. This project was rewarded by Europa Nostra. The next joint Project was to erect the columns of Perge. The most striking outcome of the project was seen at the end of 2007. Between 1946 and 2004, the State was able to erect 76 columns in total. With the involvement of CAF in this project, 79 columns were raised in 3 years.

Our project will continue as long as the Perge antique city excavations will continue and new columns will be unearthed. Research also continues on how to expand this project to excavations of other antique cities in Turkey.

As for as outbound Turkey FEST Travel operated the first ever cultural group tours for maximum 25 pax to:

Uzbekistan, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Machu Picchu, Peru, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cuba, Yucatan, All The Museums of Paris, Poland, Berlin, Potsdam, Weimar, Dresden, Erfurt, Ireland, Scotland, Trans-Siberia, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Khajuraho, Cesky Krumlov, Pecs, Zigetvar, Briksdal Glacier, The monument of Che in Santa Clara, South India, Ladakh, Daramsala, Botswana, Darjeeling, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Libya, Ubari Sand Sea, North Korea, Rajasthan, Kashmir, Karnataka, Nagaland, Sumatra, Java, Patagonia, Iran,  Yemen, Sudan, Mongolia, Alaska, Borneo, Easter Island, Antarctica, Armenia, Rwanda, Uganda etc.