A tour of the highlights of Turkey

Fresh from the Bosphorous to your mouth. Photo © John SannaeeJohn Sannaee reports on a whirlwind exploration of a country that straddles two continents but is an utterly unique and enchanting entity in its own right.

Even under an ominously low ceiling of grey cotton-candy clouds, Istanbul’s setting is spectacular.

This ancient metropolis spreads its sprawling, multicoloured tentacles ever further over a landscape of rolling hills and along the shores of bodies of water whose names evoke a thousand ideas and images – the Bosphorous, the Sea of Marmara, the Golden Horn.

After travelling past fish markets where 6-foot shark hang from hooks opposite the gleaming terraces of waterfront bars and clubs, the unforgettable skyline of Sultanahmet comes into view: the low, ash blue domes and needle-sharp marble minarets of the city’s great mosques towering over a sea of tiled rooves.

This is a place like no other, with a history like no other: one of the world’s great cities since Roman times, it was Byzantium and Constantinople before its current incarnation, and still bears the traces of its long, rich past as the crossroads between Europe and Asia. The steep, narrow streets of Sultanahmet, Istanbul’s historic heart, are crammed to bursting point with a myriad different shops selling everything from coffee to electronic goods, traditional clothing to semi-automatic weapons. The peculiarly fresh aroma of Turkish coffee mingles with the salt air of the sea, and the traffic fumes that you would expect from a city of seventeen million are surprisingly absent.

Crowning this chaos are Istanbul’s twin treasures: the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque – filled with tourists, but still undeniably beautiful, particularly when illuminated at night. Of course, you cannot see everything Istanbul has to offer in a few days, but you can get a taste of this unique city in the seemingly endless Grand Bazaar and Spice Market, in the teahouses where locals still gather to play backgammon and smoke Nargile (sheesha), along the broad shopping streets of 19^th century Beyoglu, and in the waterfront cafés selling freshly caught and fried fish for next to nothing.

Up close and personal with the Library at Ephesus. Photo © John Sannaee

But there is far more to Turkey than its most celebrated city, or the resorts that line Turkey’s lengthy coastline, and which most Western tourists make a bee-line for. A quick hop from Istanbul on the modern and sleek ferry to Yavola and then a short air-conditioned bus journey south is the city of Bursa, famous in Turkey for its butter-soaked Iskender kebabs and verdant mountainside location. It is also home to a bustling bazaar that feels more authentic than Istanbul’s, thanks to being far off the beaten tourist track.

Further south still is one of Turkey’s most celebrated attractions, the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus, still only twenty percent excavated. With hordes of day-trippers crowding in by late morning and the sun blazing down at well over thirty degrees celsius, it sounds like a nightmare, but take the services of one of the site’s guides and you’ll be thoroughly entertained and learn a lot. What’s more, the Library of Ephesus may well be Turkey’s most photographed building, but nothing can prepare you not only for the scale of what is preserved but for its intricate beauty: the craftwork of the ancient masters has here truly stood the test of time.

Sunrise over the sandstone from a Hot Air Balloon, Cappadocia. Photo © John Sannaee

Hundreds of miles inland to the east lies what is perhaps Turkey’s most beguiling region: the surreal, lunar landscapes of Cappadocia. The monotonous, arid plains of Anatolia suddenly give way to dramatic pink sandstone plateaux that seem more at home in Arizona or New Mexico than central Turkey. As you wind between them, the legacy of years of erosion and volcanic activity manifests itself in the area’s celebrated ‘fairy chimneys,’ weird, mushroom shaped pillars of rock that cover the landscape. Looking closer, you see windows and doors hewn into the sandstone and realise that many of these strange formations are people’s homes, churches, and an increasing number of hotels. Somewhere between Dalí and the Flintstones, it is a truly unique spectacle to behold, and retains every bit of its magic despite encroaching tourism in popular centres such as Goremë.

The undoubted highlight of my Turkish adventure was something probably only possible because of the region’s tourist development: a dawn hot air balloon ride that takes you through the valleys and past the rock-villages and ultimately over the high plateaux, offering panorama after panorama that can’t fail to take your breath away. That experience was representative of my whole trip to Turkey: a string of enticing glimpses of the majesty of this unique, diverse and beautiful country.

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Getting there: See greentraveller's Journey Planner for: How to travel by train from London to Turkey.

John Sannaee travelled to Turkey with Intrepid Travel who organise several trips to the country, including:

A 1-week loop around Turkey from Istanbul: Travel from lively Istanbul and the sobering Gallipoli Peninsula, south to the Aegean coast and then on to the ancient site of Ephesus and the therapeutic waters of Pamukkale.

A 2-week loop around Turkey from Istanbul: Embark on a journey around the gems of Turkey starting from the magical Istanbul. From the laneways of ancient Ephesus to the bizarre landscapes of Cappadocia

A hiking, cycling and kayaking tour of Turkey: Flex those muscles by cycling through lush landscape, hike forgotten trails and kayak over sunken Lycian and Byzantine relics.

An overland epic adventure from Istanbul to Cairo: Experience the bustling bazaars in Istanbul, see the rock-cut facades of Petra, climb Mt Sinai for an arresting panorama and relax at a Red Sea beach camp.