Turkey

Istanbul straddles two continents and thousands of years of history. The skyline of minarets and domes, the chaos of the Grand Bazaar, the Bosphorus ferries at sunset — it's a city that overwhelms in the best way. Incredible food, affordable prices, and a depth of culture that rivals anywhere on earth.

Cappadocia is an otherworldly landscape of fairy chimneys, cave churches, and underground cities carved into volcanic rock. The sunrise hot air balloon flights over the valleys are bucket-list worthy, the cave hotels are unique, and the hiking through Rose Valley and Love Valley is spectacular. One of Turkey's most unforgettable destinations.

Turkey's Mediterranean capital of 1.7 million sprawls along a 30-km stretch of cliffs and coves backed by the snow-capped Beydağları range — Hadrian's Gate framing the entrance to Kaleiçi (the walled Roman-Ottoman old town), the Yivli Minaret silhouetted against the Gulf of Antalya, the Düden Falls cascading directly into the Mediterranean, and the Antalya Archaeological Museum's Pamphylian sculpture hall. The launchpad for the Lycian and Pamphylian ruins of Aspendos, Perge, Side, and Termessos, with year-round mild winters and summer beaches stretching to Olympos.

A surreal cascade of blinding-white travertine terraces — calcium carbonate platforms shaped over 14,000 years by hot mineral springs flowing down a 200m cliff in southwestern Turkey. Above the terraces sits Hierapolis, the Greco-Roman spa city Marcus Antonius gifted to Cleopatra, with a 12,000-seat theatre, the largest necropolis in Anatolia, and the still-bathable Cleopatra's Pool studded with toppled marble columns. UNESCO-listed since 1988; visited by 2.5 million per year, but most arrive on day buses from Antalya, Kuşadası, or Marmaris and clear out by 17:00.

A Lycian harbour town of 170,000 wrapped around a sheltered bay, with the famous Blue Lagoon at Ölüdeniz 14 km south — the photo of paragliders launching off Mount Babadağ (1,969 m) toward the turquoise lagoon is one of Turkey's most-shared images. Fethiye itself anchors the western Lycian Way trail, the 12-island gulet cruise route, and access to Saklıkent Gorge, the rock-cut Tomb of Amyntas, and the abandoned Greek ghost village of Kayaköy. The eastern Mediterranean's most accomplished sailing base, with Göcek Bay's six 5-star marinas just 25 km west.