Organizers

Dave is a physicist and former owner of Map World. He has organized six expeditions to see total solar eclipses in Oregon (1979), Baja California (1991), the Caribbean (1998), Central Turkey (1999), Australia (2002) and the Turkish coast (2006). His approach is to make sure that there is lots to see and do. There is always a possibility that the weather won't cooperate, and the trip must be able to stand on its own even without an eclipse. The eclipse is always the bonus feature. So far, he is 6 for 6, having chosen locations with a clear view of totality each time. He has found that sharing a totality event with others is one of the most powerful emotions of life.

Meltem has been a Turkish Professional National Licensed Guide for 17 years. She guided this trip and our spectacular trip through Turkey in 1999. Her command of history and ability to make it fascinating are two of her many attributes. She has a soft-spoken approach to her trips, but kept us in line when necessary!

Meltem studied English in England and also speaks German. In addition to her interests in archeology, history, mountain biking, trekking, swimming, scuba diving, motorcycles, literature, photography, music, cinema and tango, she keeps abreast of scientific developments.

She is also an advanced classical guitar player and has been a National folk dancer for more than 10 years.

Stuart has been addicted to eclipse-chasing since seeing his first one back in 1991, with Dave in Mexico. This eclipse in Turkey was his eighth expedition, and he has so far notched up nearly 20 minutes in the Moon's shadow (but somehow that never seems to be enough). In his career as a professional astronomer, Stuart has worked at observatories all around the world, and is now a staff astronomer at the Anglo-Australian Observatory in Sydney, which operates Australia's largest optical/infrared telescope. See Stuart's Eclipse Page.