Turkey

I travelled Turkey as a couple: two weeks from Cappadocia to the Turkish Riviera, then Istanbul.

What struck me was an almost systematic hospitality: a çay offered with your coffee without asking, hosts who won’t let you take out your wallet. English, on the other hand, is less widely spoken than you might think.

As for food: Turkish coffee and çay, the tea served at any hour, testi kebab, cooked in a sealed clay pot that’s broken open at the table, gözleme, savoury pancakes with spinach and cheese, and baklava. Meat dominates the menus: not always easy when you travel with a vegetarian.

The landscapes change completely. In Cappadocia, fairy chimneys with hundreds of hot-air balloons floating over them at dawn. On the Mediterranean coast, coves, canyons and caves. In Istanbul, between Europe and Asia, the mosques, the bazaars and the Bosphorus.

But the country also has its far more commercial corners: touts on some Istanbul streets, packed beach resorts, canyons turned into theme parks. A country that’s well worth the trip, as long as you know where to look for the magic.

Here you’ll find the travel journal of this trip, then my guides to Turkey as they’re published.