Turkey - Highlights
Istanbul is number one for history and culture, with Ottoman treasures in Topkapi Palace, Byzantine mosaics at Kariye Museum, ethereal blue tiles and stained glass at the vast Blue Mosque, and contemporary art at the Istanbul Modern.
Leave Istanbul behind for Gazientep's Yemesek Open Air Archaeology and Ethnography museums. Ankara's Museum of Anatolian Civilisation showcases Turkey's past from prehistoric to Ottoman, and Konya's Mevlana Museum shows off Whirling Dervish culture. Find the frescos at Sumela Monastery and biblical history and pilgrimage sites at Sanliurfa's tranquil Golbasi.
From Istanbul's Galata Tower and Bosphorus Bridge travel to Bursa's grand Ottoman Yesil Camii and Edirne's Selimiye Camii mosques. Wander round the Roman city of Ephesus, the site of siege at Troy and the World War I battlefields of Gallipoli. Explore UNESCO-protected Safranbolu's cobbled streets. Clamber up Nemrut Dagi for colossal statues of ancient megalomaniac royalty.
Take the kids swimming at Patara Beach or try watersports at Ulu Deniz. Scramble the walls of ruined Rumeli Hisar in Istanbul, take a boat trip down the Bosphorus and splash the waters through Saklikent Gorge. Have fun at Atlantis Waterpark in Marmaris and feed the fat fish at Sanliurfa's Golbasi pools. Look for cave-dwellers in Cappadocia and sleep in a tree-house at Olympos.
Get to Istanbul's major attractions (Topkapi Palace, Haghia Sophia) as early as possible to beat the queues. Women should cover up head and upper arms for mosque visits. Long-distance buses are fast, frequent and comfortable for intercity travel.
Weep into your raki to the old love song Istanbul Sokak; link little fingers and do the Black Sea dance to Davut Guloglu's Katula Katula; get friendly with the locals to Simarik – the ubiquitous "kiss-kiss" song – by heart-throb Tarkan.
