Istanbul & Calabria

Mert Karakuzu

Founder & CEO of Estetica Istanbul. Building the bridge between Turkey and Europe through premium medical tourism.

A decade between two worlds

Born in 1990 in Malatya, Turkey. Educated at Kuleli Military High School and Ankara University's Faculty of Political Science (Mekteb-i Mülkiye), where I studied International Relations. I moved to Italy through the Erasmus programme in 2012, and earned a scholarship-funded MBA from the Università della Calabria in 2013.

Since 2015 I have been building commercial and cultural bridges between Turkey and Europe — starting with international sales, marketing, and trade consulting for Italian and Turkish firms across construction, machinery, automotive, and textiles. In 2017 I founded my own consultancy, italyadaticaret.com, before pivoting to medical tourism and launching Estetica Istanbul.

Today, Estetica Istanbul is one of Istanbul's leading medical tourism agencies with over 15,000 aesthetic procedures organized. We do not compete on price — we compete on excellence, pairing world-class surgeons with a luxury patient experience for guests from across Europe and beyond. I speak Turkish, Italian, and English fluently, and I am actively studying Latin, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

15,000+
Aesthetic procedures organized
10+
Years in the aesthetic industry
6+
International markets served
7
Languages spoken or studied

How I got here

1990
Born in Malatya, Turkey
Grew up in eastern Turkey with a curiosity for languages, history, and the wider world.
2004
Kuleli Military High School, Istanbul
Enrolled at one of Turkey's most prestigious military high schools on the Bosphorus — an early grounding in discipline, leadership, and strategic thinking.
2008
Ankara University — Mekteb-i Mülkiye
Studied International Relations at the Faculty of Political Science (Mülkiye), Turkey's oldest and most storied school of statecraft and diplomacy.
2012
Erasmus Exchange — Italy
Moved to Italy through the Erasmus programme. Fell in love with the language, the culture, and the Mediterranean way of life — and never fully left.
2013
MBA, Università della Calabria
Earned a scholarship-funded MBA in Calabria. Deep immersion in Italian business culture, Mediterranean economics, and the metallist theory of money.
2015
International Sales & Trade Consulting
Began consulting for Italian and Turkish firms across construction, machinery, automotive, and textiles — building commercial bridges between Turkey and Europe.
2017
Founded italyadaticaret.com
Launched my own Italy–Turkey trade consultancy, offering market entry strategy, B2B matchmaking, trade fair guidance, and commercial intelligence for both markets.
2020
Medical Tourism Pivot — Estetica Istanbul
Identified aesthetic tourism as the strongest bridge between Turkish medical capability and European demand. Founded Estetica Istanbul with a premium, patient-first philosophy.
2021
First Surgeon Tour in Italy
Brought Dr. Akın on a physical tour through Italy — Istanbul to Milan, then Milan–Naples–Catania — establishing direct relationships with Italian patients.
2024
Featured in Vice
Interviewed by Vice on Turkey's rise as a global aesthetic surgery destination, speaking about quality, regulation, and the importance of putting patients first.
2026
Luxury Repositioning & European Expansion
Full luxury pivot — zero discounts, premium positioning, AI-powered operations. Expanding to Poland, UK, USA, Australia, Ireland. Launching hair transplant operations in Calabria.

In the media

Vice · August 2024
How Turkey Became a Go-To Plastic Surgery Destination
"When you are dealing with so many patients, you don't focus on individual patients, you focus on the big number." — Mert Karakuzu on the importance of quality over volume in medical tourism.
Trustpilot
Estetica Istanbul — Verified Patient Reviews
Read authentic reviews from patients who have experienced Estetica Istanbul's premium cosmetic surgery services in Turkey.

What drives me

📚
Classical Philosophy
Deep reader of the Stoics, the Roman historians, and the Western philosophical canon. A private library of 170+ books spanning Epictetus to Borges.
🌍
Languages
Fluent in Turkish, Italian, and English. Actively studying Latin, French, Portuguese, and Spanish — building toward full Romance language fluency.
🏙️
Motorcycles & Travel
Adventure riding enthusiast. From the streets of Istanbul to the mountains of Calabria — exploring the Mediterranean by two wheels.

Let's connect

Whether you're interested in working together, have a business inquiry, or just want to say hello.