We had a wonderful time at les arts turcs, we took part in the traditional Turkish printing... read more
We had a wonderful time at les arts turcs, we took part in the traditional Turkish printing... read more
I have wanted to try paper marbling for a long time, and tonight we got to at Les Arts Turcs! We... read more
On my list of my bucket list trip to Istanbul, was to see whirling dervishes. So I booked eagerly with the company my hotel recommended. And I went, and I was sad because it was a theater production akin to medieval times dinners in the US.
In contrast, THIS- this ceremony was the real thing. First of all, the people at Les Arts Turcs are brilliant, and they gave an interesting and informative talk and q&a time before we left for the monastery. They then drove us out to the monastery and we had seats around the room for the services. And it was a very real service. Kind of like if your place of worship had an area on the sides for people to sit and observe... so there's the community, and they have their prayers and what I believe was likely a sermon and singing, and one young man whirled in plain clothes. And then they broke for light refreshments and chatting with each other. And then the second half of the services was the whirling dervishes in the amazing outfits and a full band playing in the balcony.
I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to have observed their service. The imam seems like a nice person too- he's very smiley and his congregation seem to adore him. The whole thing was fantastic.
Since a child I have been fascinated by this exotic and mysterious thing! Last night, I was one of a few people to sit in awe of this spiritual and moving ritual. Thanks to Les Arts for organizing this intimate tour, focusing n the culture of Istanbul rather than mass market tours. This was, for a photographer, a dream come true.
Thanks a lot :) Hope to see you again in istanbul
I did the Turkish tile painting class through this company on May 9, 2017. Sema and Alp were great at providing instruction and demonstration. I selected a traditional Izknik design (they had many to choose from), charcoal smudged the design onto the tile from the stencil, outlined the design, and painted it. I now have a wonderful souvenir from my trip!
I utilized the services of this firm to obtain Ottoman miniatures
with a medical/physician theme. They followed through efficiently and with great attention to my request. The entire
transaction was conducted by e-mail. I am very impressed
by the courtesy and attention to detail that was shown. This
must be reflective of how they would handle other components
dealing with a visit to this marvelous country.
Thank you very much
John Jaeger
We contacted Bazaar Turkey tours for the Islamic Tour initially however after speaking to one of the organisers, Alp, who was absolutely amazing from start to finish, convinced me to book another service from them, airport transfers, which again was professional and prompt. The whole set up from start to finish was nothing but spectacular and will definitely be recommending them to all family and friends and will also be using again when traveling back to Turkey!
We wanted to try Ebru Painting and signed up with Alp for a session. Our group consisted of three ladies. We had tons of fun. I had not laughed so hard in a long time. Ebru painting was a different experience for each one of us based on our personalities, strengths and weaknesses. We had great experience!