Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
For nearly a thousand years the largest cathedral in the world, later an imperial mosque and museum. Its colossal dome and shimmering mosaics make it one of the great architectural achievements of humankind.
Visit Turkey
Where East meets West, across empires and eras
Straddling two continents, Turkey is a crossroads of civilisations where Byzantine and Ottoman wonders sit alongside surreal natural landscapes and turquoise coastlines. Warm hospitality and a rich culinary tradition make it endlessly rewarding. These five destinations are the essentials.
The Blue Mosque, Istanbul
Officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, famous for the six minarets and the twenty thousand hand-painted blue ฤฐznik tiles that line its soaring interior. It faces Hagia Sophia across a lovely park.
Cappadocia
A dreamlike region of fairy chimneys, cave dwellings and rock-cut churches. At dawn, hundreds of hot-air balloons drift over the valleys in one of the worldโs most photographed travel scenes.
Pamukkale
Meaning โcotton castle,โ these dazzling white terraces of mineral-rich thermal pools cascade down a hillside. Above them lie the well-preserved ruins of the Roman spa city of Hierapolis.
Ephesus
One of the best-preserved ancient cities of the Mediterranean, where you can walk marble streets to the magnificent facade of the Library of Celsus and a vast amphitheatre that once seated 25,000.