Our team

Soner Dursun is the founder of Turkey Your Way, and in his own words he is "a bit of everything" here. He has spent fifteen years in Turkish tourism. For ten of them he ran hotels in Istanbul as general manager: two years in Beyoğlu, five and a half in Ortaköy and a year and a half in Beşiktaş. Alongside the hotels, he has planned trips across Türkiye for fifteen years, so he knows a journey from both sides: the reception desk and the road.

He started Turkey Your Way with one aim: every guest who comes to Türkiye should find every need met, without a single problem. A trip should be shaped around the people who take it, not squeezed into a program printed months before. That is why we have no fixed departures and no group buses. Every journey begins with a conversation, and the plan follows the guest.

Soner lives in Istanbul, but his hometown is Görele, in Giresun on the Black Sea coast. His family still lives there, and when the hazelnut harvest starts in early August, guests who want to see it are welcome at their table. His favorite place in Türkiye, though, is Cappadocia. Ask him where to eat in Istanbul and he will send you across the water to Metet Közde Döner in Kuzguncuk, for charcoal-grilled döner on one of the prettiest streets of the Asian side.

Away from work, he is a football fan who follows almost every other sport too, and he swims whenever he can. He describes himself as a visionary who loves to manage and a host at heart, happiest when a guest is happy. Today he reads the requests that come in, shapes routes with the team and chooses the guides, drivers and places we work with. When something matters to a guest, it usually crosses his desk.

Rubil co-founded Turkey Your Way and leads our guiding. He has guided travelers in Italian and English since 2002 and across Anatolia since 2007, and he studied Italian Language and Literature at Ankara University.

For many guests, Rubil is the face of their trip: the person waiting at the hotel door in the morning, who reads the group, adjusts the pace and knows exactly when the day needs a coffee break. Meet Rubil as a guide.

At 23, Emre Zeybek brings a unique combination of discipline, resilience, hospitality experience and entrepreneurial ambition to Turkey Your Way.

A graduate in English Language and Literature, Emre dedicated 12 years of his life to professional boxing and mixed martial arts. Combat sports shaped his character. They gave him the discipline, determination and mental strength that still define his approach to life and business. As life brought new responsibilities and challenges, he made the difficult decision to step away from professional fighting. He then put the same dedication into a career beyond the ring.

His journey took a new direction when he met Soner Dursun, the founder of Turkey Your Way. Soner's guidance and vision opened new doors for him in hospitality. Under Soner's mentorship, Emre went on to hold Front Office Manager positions at well-known hotel groups. There he gained valuable experience in guest relations, hotel operations, team coordination and high standards of service.

Building on this experience, Emre began laying the foundations of Turkey Your Way. He turned his passion for people, cultural discovery and meaningful experiences into a shared entrepreneurial vision. As Co-Founder and Content and Field Lead, he brings the brand's vision to life on the ground. Through coordination, authentic storytelling and experiences, he lets travelers discover Turkey beyond the ordinary.

For Emre, Turkey Your Way is more than a travel company. It is the beginning of a journey built on one belief: every destination has a story worth experiencing. Every traveler also deserves to experience it in their own way.

Şakir has worked in tourism in Sultanahmet, the historic heart of Istanbul, for twenty years. He knows the old city street by street: which gate opens first, which café owner will find you a good table and how to get a group across the square.

He also lived in America for a time, so he understands what travelers from the United States expect and how they like things explained. That makes him a natural first contact for many of our guests.

At Turkey Your Way, Şakir works in the field. Once a trip is agreed, he turns the plan into a day that runs: the right driver at the right door, the guide briefed, the tickets ready and the timings checked against traffic, prayer times and opening hours. If your days in Istanbul feel effortless, Şakir has probably been busy.

Kuzey is the youngest member of our team and the son of our founder, Soner. He is ten, in fifth grade, and this year most of his lessons are in English, so he is happy to practice with you.

At home, Kuzey is our chief site tester. He clicks through every new page of this website before you see it, and he tells us, very honestly, when something is boring.

On some family tours, Kuzey comes along. Children his age often find a friend in him, and some families stay in touch long after the trip. Now and then, we even invite them home for dinner.

Kuzey loves drawing and plays the piano. Like his father, he supports Galatasaray, so if you ask him about the last match, be ready for a long answer.

Every page of this website was designed and built for us by Veri Merkezi, a software company based in Konya, with an office in Ankara. They built our custom WordPress theme, the templates for our destinations, places, tours and journeys, and the trip request form, and they keep the site fast and running.

Veri Merkezi designs, sets up and supports software for businesses: custom software such as ERP, CRM and SaaS products, and the WhatsApp Business API as a Meta Tech Provider. They have been building software for businesses for about ten years. Their own line is short: "Veri, Senin Gücün", or "Data is your power."

If your business needs a website or software like ours, you can reach them at verimerkezi.app. Read more in Veri Merkezi: The Software Team Behind Turkey Your Way.