Burak Sansal
BiographyProfessional National Tour Guide since 1990, working with Turkey's most prestigious travel agencies. Traveling extensively worldwide, I have a personal knowledge of touring and travel facilities in the following countries (in alphabetical order): Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Caribbean, China, Denmark, England (UK), France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea (South), Lebanon, Luxemburg, Macedonia, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United States of America (USA), Vatican.
I have worked (or currently working) with various travel agents: Viking (Istanbul), Dekon MICE (Istanbul), Medkom (Istanbul), Forte (Istanbul), Intra Tourism (Istanbul, Antalya and Kusadasi), Euro Marmara (Istanbul), Setur (Istanbul headquarters), Alta Tours (Istanbul), Sunny Travel (Izmir head office), Aldo Tours (Istanbul), Baron's Travel Agency (Istanbul headquarter), ATC tourism (Marmaris), Manager Tours (Istanbul), LevanteMar Tourism (Izmir), Minerva Tourism (Izmir), Pacha Tours (Istanbul headquarters), Kizilca Tours (Marmaris), Pera Tourism (Istanbul), Bravo Tours (Izmir), Ekin Tourism (Antalya), 2000 Tours (Izmir and Marmaris branches), Za-Na Tourism (Izmir). During my tenure in these companies, I was responsible for leading various groups, providing information about archaeological sites and Turkish culture. The itineraries were mostly different from each group, but generally concerned visiting a range of sites throughout the country; from East to West and from North to South. These tours were generally limited from 2 to 21 days. I also take daily sightseeing tours and work as interpreter for businessman during their conventions. Some of the tours were on private driver/guide basis.
Besides guiding foreign clients of inbound travel agents in Turkey listed above and Turkish groups abroad for outbound tour operators such as ETS (Istanbul headquarters), I also work/worked with international pharmaceutical companies as a tour guide for their foreign corporate visitors to Turkey or as an interpreter and tour escort for their medical doctors and staff attending international conventions abroad. Some of these companies are/were Pfizer, Actavis, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, IE Ulagay - Menarini, Novartis - Sandoz, Nutricia - Bebelac, Nestle Health.
| Understanding | Speaking | Writing | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Languages | Listening | Reading | Spoken interaction | Spoken production | |
| Turkish | Mother tongue | ||||
| English | C2 | C2 | C2 | C2 | C2 |
| Italian | C2 | C2 | C2 | C2 | C2 |
| German | B1 | B1 | A2 | A2 | A1 |
| French | A2 | A2 | A1 | A1 | A1 |
| Spanish | A2 | A2 | A1 | A1 | A1 |
| Levels A1/A2: Basic user - B1/B2: Independent user - C1/C2: Proficient user | |||||
Dokuz Eylul University English Education (Izmir - Turkey), unattended due to military service
Dokuz Eylul University Tourism and Hotel Management (Izmir - Turkey), AA degree
Italian High School (Istanbul - Turkey)
Leonardo da Vinci High School (Lugano - Switzerland)
Halil Vedat Firatli Primary School (Istanbul - Turkey)
Professional Tour Guide; I escort groups and private individuals in English, Italian, and Turkish languages all around Turkey, as well as abroad.
Iber Art Hotel (Kemer/Beldibi, Antalya); Five-stars hotel belonging to the Spanish Iber group. As part of my compulsory job training in order to finish my study at the University, I started as a reception clerk trainee and promoted to shift leader working in every department of the Front Office; cashier, reservationist and receptionist dealing with IBM AS/400-36 computers.
Sunny Travel (Izmir); A-Class Travel Agency working mostly with Dutch and British tour operators. As part of my compulsory job training during fourth semester of the University, I worked in this agency being responsible of coming reservations and proceeding operations.
Omega Tours (Izmir); A-Class Travel Agency working mostly with French tour operators. As a compulsory third semester job training I was employed as a reservation and office clerk.
Club Salima (Kemer/Beldibi, Antalya); First Class holiday village. During the second part of my first year job training I worked there as a receptionist at the Front Desk helping also to the other departments like Accounting and Guest Relations.
May Hotel (Didim/Akbuk, Aydin); Five-stars Deluxe hotel. During the first part of my compulsory job training, I was assigned to the Front Office as a receptionist working with NCR UNIX computers.
| Date | Content |
|---|---|
| December 2023 | Seminar on Christian Churces converted to Mosques of Istanbul by Dr. Hayri Fehmi Yilmaz |
| February 2021 | Online seminar on Yedikule Dungeons of Istanbul by Dr. Hayri Fehmi Yilmaz |
| January 2021 | Online seminar on Istanbul Synagogues by Dr. Inci Turkoglu |
| December 2020 | Online program (20 courses) on Safeguarding Archaeological Assets of Turkey (SARAT) in association with ICOM England and Koc University |
| November 2020 | Online seminar on Hattusas site by archaeologist in charge Prof. Dr. Andreas Schachner |
| November 2020 | Online seminar on Earthquake Readiness by AKUT Search & Rescue organization |
| November 2020 | Online & Onsite seminars on Zerzevan Castle site by archaeologist in charge Dr. Aytac Coskun |
| October 2020 | Online seminar on Covid-19 Pandemic in Tourism by TUREB, Association of Turkish Tour Guides |
| December 2019 | Seminar on History of Chora Church (Kariye) and Restorations by Dr. Olcay Aydemir |
| November 2018 | Seminar on General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) |
| December 2016 | Seminar on Istanbul during Prehistoric Period by Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ozdogan |
| December 2016 | Seminar on Christian Churches Iconography in Anatolia and Istanbul by Dr. Arzu Toraman |
| December 2016 | Seminar on Culinary Tourism and History of Gastronomy by Mr. Vedat Basaran |
| November 2016 | Seminar on Cultural Tourism by Mr. Faruk Pekin |
| March 2016 | Seminar on Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and its History |
| February 2016 | Seminar on Wine and Olive Oil in the Roman Empire by Sommelier Mr. Murat Yanki |
| December 2015 | Seminar on Gobeklitepe by Dr. Sema Gokcan |
| March 2015 | Seminar on Hagia Sophia by Prof. Dr. Robert Nelson from Yale University |
| November 2012 | Professional seminars on Edirne Selimiye Mosque, Cappadocia rock churches frescoes, New Tour Guide's Law |
| November 2011 | Professional seminars on Gallipoli National Park, Roman period Architecture, Future of Turkish Tourism and Tour Guides |
| February 2011 | Professional seminar on VIP and State Protocol guiding |
| November 2010 | Professional seminars on Ottoman Medresses, Neolithic findings at Gobeklitepe, Turkish baths |
| November 2009 | Professional seminars on Cultural Richness, Istanbul 2010 Cultural Capitol, New Historic Findings at Marmaray |
| March 2009 | Seminar on Carbon Dating and Related Techniques |
| January 2009 | Professional seminar on Nature and Alternative Tourism |
| November 2008 | Professional seminars on Monuments of the War of Liberation, Housing and Settlements in Anatolia, Technics of Tourism Advertisement |
| November 2007 | Professional seminars on Mevlana, Gallipoli, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar |
| November 2006 | Professional seminars on Armenian Dispute, Suleyman the Magnificent, Ethics of Guiding |
| 2005 | Professional seminars on Silk Road, Ottoman Cuisine, EU Tourism Politics |
| 2004 | Professional seminars on Mythology, Calligraphy, Folklore |
| 2004 | Outgoing Tour Guide seminar to Italy |
| 2003 | Professional seminars |
| 2002 | Professional seminars on Armenian Dispute, Interior Disorder, Terrorism |
| January 2002 | Advanced Emergency Intervention & First Aid course |
| 2001 | Professional seminars on Silk Road, Flora & Fauna, Armenian Dispute, Crusaders |
| November 1990 - March 1991 | Ministry of Tourism Professional Tourist Guide course, 18th period (Izmir), Italian and English |
| 1989 | Ministry of Tourism (Ankara) Travel Agencies Information Clerk, Italian, average of 98/100 |
| 1989 | Dokuz Eylul University (Izmir) Computer, average of 96/100 |
| 1988 | Dokuz Eylul University (Izmir) Accounting, average of 90/100 |
- Driving License, B & A2 classes, 1986 (Switzerland), with national (Turkey) & international (Germany) professional courses on motor biking in 2003-2004
- Yacht Captain License (ADB), 1990 (Izmir - Turkey), with national (Turkey) and international (cross Atlantic ARC 1998) race experience between 1990-2015
- International Yacht Training (IYT) Bareboat Skipper License, 2021 (Istanbul - Turkey)
- Scuba Diving License, CMAS 1 star, 1999 (Fethiye - Turkey)
- VHF Marine Radio / Short Range Radio License (KMT), 1994 (Izmir - Turkey)
- Olive Oil tasting master certificate, 2021 (Akhisar - Turkey)
- Hunting License (1989) and Trap Shooting License (1990)
- Parachuting, C class, 1991 (Izmir - Turkey)
- Several international shooting awards, 1993 (Belgium, Germany, Denmark)
- Several 10 km Running awards, between 1984-1986 & 2021-2022 (Istanbul - Turkey)
- 4 km Swimming award, 1987 (Lugano- Switzerland)
- Tennis award, doubles, 1988 (Istanbul - Turkey)
- Best Travel Website award, 2008 (Istanbul - Turkey)
- 25th year of Tour Guiding honor shield, 2016 (Istanbul - Turkey)
- November 1992 - March 1993: Turkish Navy, completed basic training in Iskenderun - Turkey, assigned to Headquarters in Ankara and after passing some exams chosen for NATO headquarters in Belgium.
- March 1993 - February 1994: Posted in the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (S.H.A.P.E.) in Mons - Belgium as Military Police.
- February 1994 - June 1994: Extension of four more months in the Service, re-assigned to Navy Headquarters in Ankara and then posted in Mersin - Turkey.
- Total of 19 months compulsory military service completed in June 1994.
About Me
I am a licensed professional tour guide in English and Italian languages, introducing travelers of many nationalities to Turkey and its wonders since 1990.
IMPORTANT NOTE
According to the Law on privacy which entitled "Protection of people and other subjects regarding the processing of personal data" (generally known as "Privacy Law"), and other legislative decrees and regulations accompanying this Law, my personal data on this specific page of Curriculum Vitae (Resume) CANNOT be used by third parties.