TURKEY

With one foot in Europe and one foot in Asia, Turkey has helped to shape the world on either side of the Bosphorus Strait for millennia. There are traces of this long and winding history scattered across the country, not least the classical sites of Troy, Aphrodisias and Ephesus, as well as landmarks exemplifying the golden age of the Ottoman Empire.

While Ankara is the Turkish capital, the largest city is Istanbul – formerly Byzantium, then Constantinople – and it promises a superlative introduction. The city’s historic areas form a UNESCO World Heritage Site and contain the Hippodrome of Constantinople, the sixth-century Hagia Sophia, the 16th-century Süleymaniye Mosque and Topkapi Palace – once the residence of Ottoman sultans.

Turkey offers an abundance of natural beauty, too, including the ancient hot springs of Pamukkale, the gilded beaches dotting the Aegean, the Black Sea coast with its dense forests and deep gorges, and the “fairy chimneys” of Cappadocia – best admired from on high in a hot-air balloon.