Every now and then, Istanbul gives you a guide who makes the city feel clearer, warmer, and far more personal — that guide is Tolga Bensan.
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Introduction to Tolga Bensan
Every now and then, someone joins our team and immediately feels like they have always belonged here.
For us, Tolga Bensan is one of those people.
Tolga is a 28-year-old English-speaking professional tour guide with a country-wide guiding license in Türkiye, which means he is officially qualified to guide throughout the entire country. He is part of a new generation of Turkish guides: curious, educated, globally minded, and deeply comfortable moving between Istanbul’s ancient layers and its modern rhythms.
But titles and licenses only tell one part of the story.
Tolga is, above all, a gentleman.
There is simply no way anyone could dislike him.
A Kadıköy-Born Istanbulite
Tolga was born in Kadıköy in 1998 and has lived in Istanbul his whole life. That already gives him something valuable as a guide: a native sense of the city.
He knows Istanbul not only as a historical destination, but as a living organism — its ferries, neighborhoods, habits, moods, people, and contradictions.
He has also traveled widely across Türkiye, which gives him a broader national perspective. This matters because Istanbul is never just Istanbul. It is connected to Anatolia, the Balkans, the Black Sea, the Aegean, the Mediterranean, and the long historical movement of people, ideas, empires, and cultures through this land.
Tolga understands that.
A Little Fancy, Very Polite
Tolga lives in Etiler, one of Istanbul’s more polished and upscale neighborhoods, and yes — we can say it with affection — he is a bit of a fancy pants.
But in the best possible way.
He carries himself well. He speaks gently. He is polite, thoughtful, and naturally respectful. There is nothing arrogant about him. He simply has that clean, well-raised, gentlemanly quality that makes people feel comfortable around him.
His background reflects this too. Tolga Bensan is the grandson of a Turkish Consul General in the United States, and that diplomatic family atmosphere seems to have left a mark on him. He has a natural sense of manners, communication, and social grace.
In guiding, this is not a small thing.
Because a private tour is not only about knowledge. It is also about atmosphere. Guests spend hours with their guide. They share meals, conversations, ferries, walks, questions, silences, and sometimes personal stories. A guide must know how to be present without overwhelming people.
Tolga has that quality.
The Other Tour Training: In the Field, Not in Theory
Tolga has already done more than 15 tours with The Other Tour, and in a short time, he has become an integral part of our Istanbul team.
Along with traditional historic tours of various areas like the old town Sultanahmet, Tolga already guided some of our niche itineraries like an evening chess tour on the Asian side or rooftop cocktail tour in Beyoglu.
He has guided alongside some of our trusted guides, including Ömer Çelik, Burak Plakay, and Ece Duluk. He also introduced us to Defne Erdoğan, who recently joined our team as well — another sign that good people tend to bring good people with them.
Trained by the Best
At The Other Tour, we do not believe guiding can be reduced to memorizing facts or following a fixed route. Our philosophy is learned on the streets: while walking through neighborhoods, crossing the Bosphorus, reading the mood of a family, adapting to the pace of guests, and understanding when to speak and when to let Istanbul do the talking.
Tolga has spent a great deal of time in the field with our team of tour guides and travel agents. This is where the real training happens. The Other Tour’s training is simple but demanding: give your all to the tour and to the happiness of the clients.
Or, as we sometimes joke within the team, give your all — like Mariah Carey.
Tolga embraced this quickly. And he was made for this kind of passion. We don’t just show you around and disappear – quite the contrary – we love to connect with our clients and interact on a human level with no ulterior motive or hidden truths.
Parts of Istanbul Tolga Likes
We have already conducted many tours in Istanbul as of May 2026 in which Tolga was our guide. He has helped with many different types of tours in various parts of the city and he was excellent in each and every time.
Old Town, Byzantion, and the Hippodrome
Tolga has already guided our guests through the historic heart of Istanbul.
In the Old Town Sultanahmet, he has introduced visitors to the ancient layers of the city, including the Hippodrome, where he has spoken about the Greek foundational myth of Byzantion — the legendary origin story of the city before it became Constantinople and later Istanbul.
This is exactly the kind of storytelling we value.
Not just “this monument was built in this year,” but the deeper narrative: why a city was founded here, how myths shaped identity, how geography created destiny, and how Istanbul became one of the most important urban centers in world history.
Tolga is growing into that style beautifully.
Kadıköy, Ancient Chalcedon, and the Asian Side
Tolga has also done many tours in Kadıköy, the ancient Chalcedon, often with Fethi Karatas assisting him in the field.
Kadıköy is especially meaningful because Tolga was born there. It is not just a stop on a tour route for him. It is part of his own life story.
With its markets, cafés, bookstores, ferry terminals, street musicians, fishmongers, old Greek traces, republican-era apartment buildings, and modern creative culture, Kadıköy shows guests a completely different side of Istanbul.
On one of those days in Moda, we even met Ebru Gökteke, turning an ordinary neighborhood walk into one of those spontaneous local moments that The Other Tour loves.
Balat, Fener, Beyoğlu, Pera, and Karaköy
Tolga has also guided in the Golden Horn neighborhoods of Balat and Fener, areas full of Jewish, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Ottoman, and modern Istanbul stories.
He has spent time guiding in Beyoğlu, Pera, and Karaköy as well — neighborhoods that require a very different kind of interpretation.
These districts are not only historical. They are social, artistic, commercial, political, nostalgic, and constantly changing. They require a guide who can talk about embassies, churches, banks, taverns, passages, street culture, gentrification, nightlife, and everyday Istanbul without turning the tour into a lecture.
Tolga is learning how to do that with balance and grace.
The Person Behind the Guide
In a handwritten note Tolga shared with us, he described himself in a way that gave us a beautiful glimpse into his personality.
He wrote that he is intrigued by history, sports, longevity, and nature. He likes reading books and playing chess. He embraces spirituality and transcendence as part of a journey toward higher self-consciousness.
He also wrote that he wants to become the best in every field he is interested in.
That ambition is important.
But even more important was his honesty. He described himself as sometimes a slow learner — but someone who learns well.
That sentence says a lot.
It shows humility. And humility is one of the greatest qualities a guide can have.
A guide who thinks he already knows everything becomes boring very quickly. A guide who keeps learning, keeps listening, and keeps improving can become truly excellent.
Tolga is on that path.
Why Guests Feel Comfortable with Tolga
Some guides impress people. Tolga makes people feel genuinely looked after.
He gives advice to our guests as if they were close friends — honest, thoughtful, practical, and never transactional. If he recommends a shop, a restaurant, a ferry route, or a local detail, it is because he truly believes it will make their Istanbul experience better.
He also remembers the small things. If a guest mentions a special soap, olive oil, or something they were curious about one day, Tolga may quietly find it before meeting them again the next day — simply to surprise them with a thoughtful gift. That is the kind of sweetheart he is.
But his kindness comes with real intellectual depth. Tolga reads, observes, asks questions, and takes notes constantly, never wanting to forget a historical point, a guest’s interest, or a detail that could improve the next tour.
He is smart without being pushy, well-educated without being pretentious, gentle without being passive, and curious without being chaotic. That is why guests feel so comfortable with him: calm, kind, attentive, sincere, and deeply generous.
A Real Part of The Other Tour Family
The Other Tour is not trying to build the biggest guiding team in Istanbul. We are trying to build the right team.
We want guides who understand that Istanbul is not a checklist. It is a living city. We want guides who care about people, not only monuments. We want guides who can handle history, humor, logistics, human emotion, tired feet, sudden changes, ferry timings, lunch decisions, and unexpected magic.
Tolga Bensan is becoming exactly that kind of guide. He is licensed, professional, thoughtful, and well educated. He is also kind, gentle, ambitious, and deeply likable.
A bit fancy? Yes. A true gentleman? Absolutely. And we are lucky to have him with us.
Welcome to the team, Tolga Bensan. Istanbul suits you beautifully.
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