Ümit Işın: Archaeologist-Guide Bringing Anatolia’s Ruins to Life
Meet Ümit Işın, the scholar-guide from Anadolu Arkeolojisi. Discover how his elite research-driven tours bring Turkey’s ruins to life.
Ömer Çelik is a professional tour guide and art history student from Sivas, Turkey. He holds a degree in Tourist Guidance from Erzincan University and is currently studying Art History at Sivas Cumhuriyet University. With over six years of experience in the tourism industry, including guiding in Istanbul, Ömer brings a deep passion for cultural exploration and storytelling to his work. His academic background and personal experiences enrich his insights into Turkey's rich heritage, with a particular focus on the history of Sivas and the legacy of the Seljuk Empire. Through his blog posts for The Other Tour, Ömer shares his extensive knowledge and enthusiasm, offering readers a unique perspective on Turkey's historical and cultural treasures.
Meet Ümit Işın, the scholar-guide from Anadolu Arkeolojisi. Discover how his elite research-driven tours bring Turkey’s ruins to life.
A 5,000-year Anatolian mound revealed through ongoing excavation and a long-term Japanese–Turkish archaeological partnership.
Discover the history and architecture of the Ahrida Synagogue in Istanbul. Plan your visit to Balat's oldest Jewish site.
Experience Sivas where history is carved in stone through Seljuk art and the revolutionary roots of modern Turkey in Anatolia.
Explore Istanbul’s history on a 3-day private tour through Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman landmarks and streets.
The only Byzantine church in the city that has functioned continuously as an Orthodox Christian church without being converted into...
Discover Istanbul’s walls on a full-day tour linking Hippodrome, sea walls, aqueducts, Galata and Kadıköy across Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman...
Explore the St. Stephen Bulgarian Church in Istanbul: its origins, the Exarchate movement, the iron church and its restoration.
Explore Istanbul’s Golden Horn, Kadıköy and Cihangir in a soulful, cross-continental day blending history, culture, and bohemian rhythm.
Explore the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople—its origins, Byzantine legacy, Ottoman era, and global role today in Fener, Istanbul.
We offer a unique, immersive travel experience across Turkey — not just Istanbul's lesser-known corners, but also the valleys of Cappadocia, the ruins of Ephesus, and the coastlines of Antalya and Bodrum, engaging guests in cultural activities like local home visits, market explorations, and Bosphorus cruises.
What we specialize in, above all, is matching each client with the right professional guide for wherever they're headed in Turkey — though if we're being honest, our roster is still concentrated mostly in Istanbul. As of August 2026, that roster stands at 54 professional tour guides, each one personally vetted rather than pulled from a directory. Most of what we arrange are daily and multi-day private tours, guided primarily in English, with guides available in other languages on request.
We also provide a full range of wheelchair-assisted guided tours, custom itineraries, and specialized tours covering historical, cultural, and niche interests like Jewish heritage, vegan spots, and bird-watching — now paired with a guide roster that reaches Ankara, the Black Sea, and the wider Mediterranean region. We also offer transportation services with professional guides for a more personalized and flexible experience.
The Other Tour is an immersive way to experience Istanbul and the rest of Turkey, led by licensed local guides who take you beyond the tourist spots into the lived culture and quiet corners of Cappadocia, Antalya, Ephesus, Bodrum, and the Mediterranean. We also build personalized travel planning, private tours, and custom itineraries — crafted around what you’re actually curious about, in any region of the country.