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I was born in 1971 in a mud-brick
house that had no running water and
electricity in a village by the Toros
(Taurus) Mountains. My family has
nomadic roots, so we used to move
and enjoy the summer for a few months
in the village of Elmali every year.
If you read an article about life
in rural areas in ancient times, it
is close to what I experienced in
my childhood.
When I finished primary school at
age eleven, I passed the exams and
left home for a boarding school near
Antalya, which was located near the
ancient site of Perge. My family was
not happy with my decision, but they
had to accept it, as it gave me a
chance for a better future. It could
be at this time, that my interest
in ancient sites of Turkey was also
sparked, as I and my classmates spent
some time discovering the ruins, although
we did not know much about it at the
time.
After high school, I had to make a
decision about going to the university
and was willing to go to any university
except for in Istanbul. As fate would
have it I ended up in Istanbul Marmara
University, where I studied mathematics
and English for two years. I fell
in love with this magnificent city
but could not continue my education
there because of financial problems.
I had to change schools to be able
to get scholarship so I went to Eskisehir
to study to be a teacher of the English
language. When I graduated from Eskisehir,
I taught English for some time, but
eventually went into tourism because
I love to travel and it gave me a
better opportunity.
I moved to Izmir and got my guiding
license from the Tourism Ministry
in 1997 after successfully completing
the professional tourist guide course
there. My first job as a guide was
in Cappadocia, an interesting region
of central Anatolia. Later I formed
a partnership with American and Turkish
partners and opened a travel agency
there after exploring and walking
thorough nearly every valley, cave,
church and underground city. I also
began to guide in other regions of
Turkey. After completing my military
service in the region of Kars (northeast
Turkey) we moved the agency to Istanbul
in the year 2000. I strolled through
Istanbul street by street and also
completed my knowlege by traveling
extensively all over Turkey on research.
I have enjoyed touring many people
during my time as a professional guide
and I see each person as an individual.
I continue to look forward to meeting
those who want to learn about our
wonderful country and I hope to get
the chance to share it with you.
Kind regards,
Suleyman Tirasoglu
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