“İzmirli”

A native of Izmir, Yiğit was born and raised in this five thousand-year-old city, known as Symrna in antiquity. Receiving all of his formal education in Izmir, he majored in Turkish language and literature at the Aegean University (Ege Üniversitesi). He pursued graduate work in “Old and Middle Turkish” along with the history of Turkey, from the central steppes of Asia to the Carpatian Mountains in the Balkans.

Yiğit worked as a photo-journalist at major Turkish newspapers, Hürriyet and later Yeni Asır. He also produced and hosted radio programs for local stations, Genç Radio and Kanal 1 before dedicating himself to becoming a full-time tourism professional. He successfully completed the Ministry of Tourism and Culture training program in 1994 and was certified as a Professional Tour Guide.

Since 1995, Yiğit worked with numerous tour companies, cruises and tour operators along with individual travelers. He is highly experienced in planning and organizing archaeological, biblical and cultural heritage tours. He also arranged and led many private tours, especially working with travelers from cruise ships.

Besides working as a tour guide, Yiğit has traveled abroad lecturing on Turkey and its history both in Europe and numerous states in the U.S.

Yiğit is a faithful denizen of Istanbul. His deep love and passion for this city is essential to his guiding. He enjoys taking his guests not only to historic sites and museums, but also to local jazz clubs, taverns and markets for a complete city experience. He is also one of the founders of Poetic İstanbul.

Another passion, his love of flight, inspired Yiğit to travel to historic sites of aviation, from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and from the Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space Museum to the Kennedy Space Center. Yiğit enjoys collecting books, materials and memorabilia on the history on general aviation. He earned his private pilot's license in Florida.