Turkey is Asia’s foothold in Europe, a melting pot of cultures and a bridge between continents. lt is modernizing rapidly-sometimes so fast you’d swear you can actually see it happening in front of your eyes. lt’s secular and Western-oriented and boasts a vigorous free-enterprise economy. The cuisine is to die for, the coastline a dream, and many Turkish cities are with spectacular old mosques and castles. To top it off, Turkey remains the Mediterranean coast’s bargain-basement travel destination.

Spring (late April to May) and autumn (late September to October)

Haggling your way to a bargain in the Grand Bazaar in lstanbul Floating over the spectacular landscape of Cappadocia in a hot-air balloon Taking in the history of the peaceful Gallopoli Peninsula Exploring Ephesus, the best-preserved ancient city in the eastern Mediterranean Letting yourself be scrubbed clean and invigoratingly massaged in a hamam (steam bath) Wandering the cobbled lanes of the beautifully preserved Ottoman city of Safranbolu Sailing the bluewaters of Turkey’s southwest coast in a traditional gulet (wooden yacht)

Read lrfan Orga’s Portrait of a Turkish Family, which tells of a family struggling to survive the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of the Turkish Republic

Listen to Tarkan, the undoubted king of Turkish pop for much of the 1990s and early 2000s

Watch Peter Weir’s Gallipoli-an Australian’s account of the Anzac experience during the Gallipoli campaign of WWl

Eat Turkish bread-no Turkish meal would be complete without it. Pide or flat bread is the most famous variety

Drink raki-a clear, strong spirit made of grapes infused with aniseed

Merhaba! (hello)

Turkish delight; the place where East meets and commercialism meets tradition; kebabs in dozen different varieties; whirling dervishes; delicious Turkish bread; raki; carpet sellers; tea offered in a shop immediately prior to a sales pitch

Turkey has its very own pop industry and it’s hugely successful; it gets so cold in some parts of the country that you can ski in winter

Turks are passionate about food-they love songs to yoghurt, ballads about fish sandwiches and poems that imagine battles between pastry pilav. Turks have fun with food too. Their ice-cream is so supple it can be used as a skipping rope, a to-die-for eggplant dish is called ‘the priest fainted’ and plump meatballs are dubbed ‘woman’s thighs.’