Gallipoli Peninsula

The site of many a ferocious battle, it is surely the WWI melee of Atatürk’s troops and the Allies that stands out. Today the Gallipoli battlefields are peaceful places covered in scrubby brush, pine forests and farmers’ fields, but this strategic peninsula has always held the key to Istanbul.

Gallipoli is a fairly large area to tour, especially without your own transport (it’s over 35 km (22mi) from the northernmost battlefield to the southern tip of the peninsula). The two best bases for a visit are Çanakkale on the eastern shore, and Eceabat on the western, both are covered by tours.

Harran

Harran, in Kurdish southeastern Anatolia, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited spots on earth. The hills around the town are surrounded by crumbling walls and topped with ruined buildings. It all looks so ancient that it’s not hard to believe Abraham was one of Harran’s early inhabitants.

Some residents still live in beehive-shaped mud houses and get by on a mix of farming, smuggling and the sniff of wealth as water starts to filter through from the vast Southeast Anatolia Dam. There’s a fortress on the eastern side of the town, and some good mosaics in the 8th century Ulu Cami.

Troy

Compared to Ephesus, Troy is quite dull. Some say that it loses something without Brad Pitt running around, others see this as an improvement on the representation. Either way Troy is no stunner - the drawcard is its sheer history. Excavations have revealed nine ancient cities on the site, with Troy VI or VII believed to be the setting for The Iliad.

When amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated Troy in 1871, the pants of classical studies boffins around the world became decidedly damp. Up to this time, Homer’s Iliad was assumed to be based on legend, but post-digs, Troy became the Homeric city of Ilium, site of an epic battle between the Achaeans (Greeks) and the Trojans in the 13th century BC. Excavations by Schliemann and others have revealed nine ancient cities, one on top of another, dating back to 3000 BC. Troy VI (1800-1275 BC) is the city of Priam and the one that engaged in the Trojan War.

For afficionados this is all amazing, but unless you’ve read The Iliad, or have a keen appreciation of archaeology, you may find little of interest in Troy. Apart from a hokey replica of the Trojan horse, there’s little to catch the amateur eye. That said, this is the site of one of the world’s grandest tales, so soaking up the atmosphere should be just about enough.

Ankara

Turkey’s capital is a sprawling urban mass in the midst of the Central Anatolian steppe. It’s very different from the Ottoman town of Angora which preceded it on this site, a quiet place known for its fluffy jumpers of knitted goat fleece. Several significant attractions make it worth a short visit

Most visitors head straight for Hisar, the Byzantine citadel atop the hill east of the old city, and the nearby Museum of Anatolian Civilsations. Just south is Atatürk’s mausoleum, a monumental building, spare but beautiful, that echoes the architecture of several great Anatolian empires.

Antalya

Antalya is the chief city on Turkey’s central Mediterranean coast. As well as several km of pebble beaches and a historic Roman-Ottoman core, Antalya is a good base from which to explore the quieter beach towns and more spectacular ancient cities of the region.

Side, 75km (47mi) east of Antalya, is the increasingly popular beach town once chosen by Mark Antony and Cleopatra for a romantic tryst. Alanya, 115km (71mi) east of Antalya, is another sea-sun-n-sand joint with a mini-Miami feel. Patara is a party town a few hundred km south-west of Antalya.