Ben Claasz Coockson

hike organizer and guide

Born in the Netherlands, 1956

 

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Ben Claasz Coockson is retired after working in the Dutch Army and doing contract Archaeology with his own firm.

He lives since 1990 in Turkey where he became in 2011 a Turkish citizen.

He has a long hiking history; some of these hikes are well known; the ‘West Highland Way’155 km in Scotland (1984), the ‘Pennine Way’ 429 km in England and Scotland (1985), the Cleveland Way 177 km in North England (1988). Between 1985 and 1990 he organizes ‘Soft Survival Weekends’ to the Belgium Ardens; a three day hiking experience of about 40 km with very limited comfort.

Between 1990-1995 he worked at the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

From 1997-2010 he worked at Bilkent University, Department of Archaeology (Ankara).  Here students got hiking experience during the Archaeological Surveying course (HART 310) A long, often freezing,  weekend in spring brought them on the slopes of Işıkdağ a 2000 meter high mountain about 100 km north-west of Ankara. In 2004 a group of students joined the walk from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean coast; The ‘Coast to Coast Walk’ 547 km. In 2005 a two week hike in Cappadocia, in 2006 a two week hike in ‘Phrygia’, in 2007 The Kerkenes-Hattusa hike, a two day walk of about 75 km and the ‘Bergama-Assos Hike’, in 2008 part of the ‘Lycia Way’ (Fethiye-Kaş), ) in 2009 ‘The Three Kings Hike’ (a two day winter camping experience). In July 2013 the first four days hike for the Midas Han took place; 93 km.