Turkey

An unforgettable New Year through the wonders of Turkey, from the majesty of Istanbul to the lunar landscapes of Cappadocia, via the Roman ruins of Ephesus and the white cascades of Pamukkale.

Istanbul is the city that bridges two continents: Europe and Asia, separated by the Bosphorus glittering under the winter sky. The Sultanahmet district is the historic heart of the Ottoman and Byzantine city — here stand three of the planet's most extraordinary monuments within steps of each other. The Hagia Sophia, for a thousand years the world's largest cathedral, with its dome seemingly suspended in mid-air and golden Byzantine mosaics gleaming in the half-light. The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed), with its six minarets and twenty thousand blue Iznik tiles that give it its name. The Grand Bazaar, one of the world's largest and oldest markets — a labyrinth of over 4,000 shops beneath painted vaults, where you haggle over carpets, spices, jewellery and coloured lamps.

Topkapi Palace, residence of the Ottoman sultans for four centuries, houses priceless treasures: the Topkapi Dagger, the Spoonmaker's Diamond and the relics of the Prophet. The gardens overlook the point where the Golden Horn meets the Bosphorus — a view that alone justifies centuries of empire.

A labyrinth of narrow streets, the scent of spices and kebab, the call to prayer echoing from minarets at dawn and dusk, the Bosphorus turning pink under the light December snow. A city without equal in the world.

Göreme, in the heart of Cappadocia, is a lunar landscape of "fairy chimneys" — volcanic tuff formations eroded by wind and water over millions of years. Towers, cones and pinnacles rising from the earth like natural sculptures, with frescoed cave churches carved into the rock by early Christians. The Göreme Open-Air Museum, a UNESCO site, gathers dozens of these churches decorated with tenth- to twelfth-century frescoes.

The most anticipated spectacle: in the early morning, before dawn, hundreds of colourful hot air balloons rise above the valley — a silent kaleidoscope floating among the fairy chimneys in the golden light of the rising sun. One of the most photographed and most moving spectacles you can experience.

Pamukkale, the "cotton castle" — white travertine terraces deposited by hot thermal springs flowing from the mountainside, creating a landscape that looks like snow and ice under the Anatolian sun. At the top of the terraces, the ruins of ancient Hierapolis: a perfectly preserved 12,000-seat Roman theatre, the necropolis and Cleopatra's Pool where you swim among submerged Roman columns.

Ephesus is one of the best-preserved Roman cities in the world. The Library of Celsus, with its two-storey facade of Corinthian columns, is a masterpiece of ancient architecture. The 25,000-seat theatre, the marble-paved streets, the terraced houses with mosaics and frescoes still visible. Walking through Ephesus is like travelling two thousand years back in time.

A taste of Turkey that leaves you wanting to return — and the certainty that this country is one of the richest in the world for history, landscapes and hospitality.