Turkey is more than just a scorching summer holiday along the stunning Aegean or Lycian coast. It has fantastical topographies in Cappadocia, forgotten cities in Ankara and more domes and minarets than you can count in Istanbul. Yet despite the country’s long, epic and varied history – which every faction has joined in on at some time or other over the country’s 4,000 years – it has still managed to forge its own distinctly unique identity. Whether it be the once closeted quarters of Ottoman sultans in Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace, the ancient spa city of Hierapolis or feasts of charred Aegean vegetables, falafel and spicy kebaps on sun-drenched Mediterranean terraces, Turkey has no qualms about being as generous with its culture as it is with its mouthwatering meze platters.
And if you’re craving a lungful of fresh air, head to its alpine pastures, glinting lakes, cartoon-like rock formations and enticing vistas