Hagia Sophia's layered history
Why this is the first thing I do every time I land in Turkey.
Read MoreCappadocia balloon flights at dawn
A closer look at one of Turkey's most rewarding experiences.
Read MoreDerinkuyu underground city
Where to go next once you have seen the headline sights of Turkey.
Read MoreTurkey sits literally across two continents, and that geography has shaped everything about it: Istanbul alone was capital to the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires in succession, and its skyline still carries all three. I've watched the call to prayer echo across the Bosphorus at sunset from a ferry deck, minarets and container ships sharing the same strait. Inland, Cappadocia's landscape looks almost invented, volcanic rock eroded into cones that early Christians hollowed into churches and entire underground cities to escape persecution. The Turkish table runs on meze, grilled meats, and tea served constantly in small tulip-shaped glasses, poured by hosts who consider an empty glass a personal failing. It's a country of enormous historical density, and even a short visit tends to leave with more questions about empire and faith than it arrived with.
Chapter One
Istanbul's layered skyline
The Hagia Sophia has been a Byzantine cathedral, an Ottoman mosque, a secular museum, and, as of 2020, a mosque again, and each phase left physical traces still visible inside: Christian mosaics of Mary and Christ near Islamic calligraphic roundels the size of cartwheels, coexisting under the same dome for nearly 1,500 years. I crossed the Golden Horn on foot via the Galata Bridge, fishermen lined shoulder to shoulder along the rail, then climbed into the Grand Bazaar's 4,000 shops, a covered market operating since the 1450s that still functions as a genuine commercial hub rather than a preserved relic, complete with actual haggling and actual jewelers who've worked the same stall for decades.
“Istanbul has changed hands, faiths, and names, and somehow kept getting more itself each time.”
Chapter Two
Cappadocia from below and above
Cappadocia's soft volcanic rock, called tuff, erodes into the fairy chimney formations that make the region instantly recognizable, but the more startling discovery is underneath: cities like Derinkuyu, carved to a depth of roughly 60 meters, once sheltered thousands of people along with their livestock during periods of persecution and invasion, complete with ventilation shafts still functional today. Above ground, I rose before dawn to watch hundreds of hot air balloons lift off simultaneously over the valley, catching the first light on rock formations that look sculpted rather than eroded. Cave hotels throughout the region convert former dwellings into rooms carved directly into the rock, keeping interiors naturally cool in summer the same way they always did.
The Short List
Do not miss in Turkey
At a glance
Turkey in numbers
- Capital
- Ankara
- Language
- Turkish
- Currency
- Turkish lira (TRY)
- Best time
- April to May, or September to October
Did you know
Istanbul is the only major city in the world situated on two continents, split by the Bosphorus strait between Europe and Asia.