Name: Dursun Baska

Position: Operations Officer, Kuşadası Branch Office

Where are you from? I was born in Samsun which is a city in the Black Sea Region.  I grew up there, but I moved to Kuşadası for university and have stayed here since then.

How long have you worked for Fez? I have been working with Fez since 2013 although I had a small break at the end of last year while I went and did my compulsory military service.  I have also worked in operations roles with other companies and also in hotels before I switched to travel agency work, and so I have been working in tourism for more than 10 years.

What did you study at university? I studied in the Travel Agency and Tour Guiding Departments at Adnan Menderes University here in Kuşadası. I studied subjects such as archaeology, mythology and history.  Now, I am busy brushing up on my English in my free time because soon I will sit an English exam as part of the process to become a registered tour guide.  Here in Turkey there are a lot of steps to become a tour guide – after university we have to pass the English exam and then do a 6 week tour all over Turkey with really senior tour guides.  After the tour we have to do an exam which tests us on our history and archaeology knowledge. So, I still have a little way to go before I become a guide, but for now I love what I do.

What does your job involve? I am the operations officer for our Kuşadası branch office.  Our office does day tours of Ephesus, Pamukkale and Bergama as well as providing shore excursions (private day tours) for visitors arriving by cruise ship. This means that every day I work to organise tour guides and tour buses for all of our tours and also for our airport transfers.  Some days it can be tricky because we can have more than 10 tours and multiple airport transfers all day long.  It is a juggling act to make sure everyone – (tour guides, drivers and guests), knows where they have to be and at what time.

What’s the best thing about your job? I get to meet people from all over the world, and I have great work colleagues – we are a small office, and so we are like a family.

What is your favorite place in Turkey? Marmaris is my favourite place in Turkey. It is down on the Coast. I have to travel there sometimes for my job, and I love it because of the combination of the sea and the greenery of the mountains in the background.

Tell us about the small photo here? This photo was taken in the office with our office cat.  It is actually a street cat, but it behaves as if it is the office manager, and always makes itself at home in the office. The cat went through a stage of always coming and sitting on my lap or even on my shoulders which made it really difficult to work sometimes. It doesn’t do that so much since I came back from military service, and so it’s a lot easier to work these days!  

What do you like to do in your free time?  On my days off I like to chill out and watch tv, and whenever possible, go for a swim in the sea.  I also love going to the cinema, and I particularly like to watch fantasy and science fiction movies such as Lord of the Rings and Avengers. I also love to have a glass of tea or a beer by the seaside of an evening.

If you are interested in doing a day tour or shore excursion in the Kusadasi area, have a look at our Day Tours page.