Şerif Yenen

Şerif Yenen is a cultural storyteller, professional guide, and author who, with nearly forty years of field experience, transforms Anatolia’s cultural heritage, Istanbul’s multilayered history, and the region’s rich human mosaic into narratives that inspire contemporary audiences. His core expertise lies in exploring the cultural continuity from the Neolithic era to modern-day Türkiye through the lenses of history, storytelling, and human experience. Yenen is the author of the comprehensive works Turkish Odyssey and Anadolu Destanı (Anatolian Epic). Turkish Odysseyis widely regarded as one of the first English-language guidebooks about Türkiye written by a Turkish author and has long been considered a seminal reference in cultural storytelling about the country. Şerif Yenen is a regularly invited speaker at the Smithsonian Institution, where he is requested to deliver one or two presentations each year. Throughout his professional career, he has served as a guide to high-profile figures such as Pope Benedict XVI, Oprah Winfrey, and Princess Michael of Kent—experiences that have given him a refined perspective on high-level guest experience and cultural representation. At the same time, Yenen is a cultural narrator who draws inspiration for organizations from Anatolia’s 10,000-year cultural memory, translating this deep historical reservoir into meaningful and thought-provoking stories. In his corporate talks, Şerif Yenen approaches themes such as leadership, organizational culture, multigenerational work, storytelling, and experience design not through didactic frameworks, but through insights drawn from thousands of years of Anatolian heritage. From the silent stones of Göbekli Tepe to the hidden layers of Istanbul; from a simple tea offering in the Grand Bazaar to the rock formations of Cappadocia, his narratives reveal why experiences that engage history, culture, and the senses create deeper, more lasting impact. Rather than teaching, Yenen aims to offer participants new perspectives through stories distilled from Anatolia’s millennia-old legacy—inviting them to see leadership, culture, and human connection through a richer and more meaningful lens.