"I strongly recommend [them]." --JJ
"I second JJ's recommendation; some of my friends ahve gone on Ali and Cookie's tours and have come back delighted. What's more, at one point Ali was trying to put together a tour *for academics*...tours that accomodate an academic schedule are just about non-existent. Most go at times other than summer break..." --Shakira
"I highly recomend Turquoise International Tours. Ali Hamidzadeh has a tour that leaves March 25 to Turkey and Egypt. How I wish I could go! I toured with him 3 yrs. ago. Everything was wonderful; the flight, the hotels, the cruise on the Nile, guided tours of the antiquities, Cairo night club shows with Dina, Lucy, Mona Siad, & Fifi Abdu, shopping in the suks, a fitting with Madam Abla for my own egyptian costume, and a class with Ragia! Ali runs tours several times a year. He will even put together a tour for your group. This is what he did for us. We had 18 dancers who were students of Cassandra's from several different states. It was such a nice group size, and we all knew each other, too! A couple of us came with our husbands- they enjoyed it too." --Zulaika
"I agree with Pat that the tour was excellent. Ali really knows how to use the limited time you have there to pack the most in! For example, we got fitted for our costumes (those who wanted to order one from Mme Abla) the day after we arrived. That way, most were ready for us to take back by the end of the trip. ALi and his tour guides also very smoothly take care of events that could get rather touchy -- eg. getting through customs etc. on the way into Egypt. He was cordial and available to help at all times.
"One thing to be prepare for is if you want to take lots of dance classes -- say privates or semiprivates (more than one or two large group classes that Ali does arrange), make sure that you make the time to do so. Our 2 weeks were so jammed with nightclub soirees (the show STARTS at midnight)and tours during the day that time slips away fast. And of course you want to do everything! So, try to get prospective instructor's phone numbers ahead of time while in the U.S. and then call them about classes/fees when you get there and figure out how to fit in a few hours here and there.
"Seriously, I had to rack my brains to think about something that was MISSING from Ali's tour and the only thing I came up with was -- there wasn't enough time. There probably never is." --Helwa