The Gallipoli Peninsula dominates the Dardanelles Strait, controlling access from the Mediterranean Sea through to Istanbul and the Black Sea. During the First World War, with Turkey fighting on the side of the Central Powers, an Allied operation was launched…
Istanbul Part Two
Since I spent a week kicking around Istanbul, there’s plenty more to see and do. The Hagia Irene is actually older than its better known sister, the Hagia Sofia, but is in original condition. The Ottomans used it as an…
Istanbul, City of the World’s Desire
Istanbul, previously known as Constantinople, and before that as Byzantium, has played a key role in world politics for two millennia – as the capital of two enormous empires, the Byzantines and the Ottomans. It’s the only major city in…
Bodrum and Ephesus
Bodrum is the centre of the Turkish Riviera, it’s where the jetsetters and rich party crowd go during summer to cut loose with fun in the sun. The harbour is a forest of yacht masts, and the town is typically…
The Turquoise Coast
The Turquoise Coast stretches along the southwestern extremity of Turkey, and contains everything you’d want in a holiday-destination stretch of coastline: gorgeous beaches, clear bright blue water, ancient ruins, bustling tourist towns and sleepy forgotten villages. Just down the…
Konya to the Coast
Although the winter chills had eased as we pushed west, it was still too cold for our liking. We followed in the footsteps of rich Europeans everywhere, by heading south to the Mediterranean Sea. Along the way, we passed through…
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a region where both the landscape and the cultural history are unique; each has been shaped by the other in a symbiotic way. The region has an incredibly long history, forming the heartland of one of the earliest…
Eastern Anatolia
After an uneventful border crossing, we arrived in our 18th country, and the last one (for the moment) in Asia – Turkey. The cold weather that we suffered through in Northern Iran had followed us, but at least now the…