Turkey
My trip through Turkey began in Istanbul and over the course of a fortnight I travelled four thousand kilometres overland from the coast of the Aegean to the mountains of Eastern Anatolia.
Troy and the AchileonThe excavations of the site of Troy lived up to all expectations, especially as I had time to explore the Achileon (Achilles Tomb) and the 'Greek camp' on the coast. A highlight of Western Anatolia was the Sehitgazi Valley, a beautiful and remote area with many rock cut tombs - notably the monumental tomb from the 5th or 6th century BC of King Midas located at Midassehir. 
Midas Tomb Gordian Another King Midas - this time the legendry King whose touch turned everything to gold - has a tomb at Gordion, the capital of ancient Phrygia. My travels that day ended with an afternoon to view the stunning reliefs and sculptures in The Museum of Anatolian Civilisations in Ankara. Arriving in Central Anatolia my first stop was Bogazkale and the Hattusas National Park, the great Hittite capital built around 1600 BC on a site occupied since the third millennium BC by a people known as the Hatti.
Reconstructed City Wall
Lion Gate
A chance to take pictures of the citadel, walls, palaces, gates and the Hittite rock sanctuary of Yasilikiya. Kultepe, formerly known as Kanesh an ancient Assyrian trading colony dating from the second millennium BC was set in a stunning location rarely visited but extremely well preserved with plenty of evidence of a working city.
Yasilikiya and KultepeFew tourists would ever venture to this ancient city with its crumbling mud brick walls. By complete contrast the next two days would be spent in tourist land, Cappadocia. 
Pasabaglari CappadociaFrom the Greek village of Sinasos to the citadel of Urgup, the Castle of Ortahisar and the fairy chimneys of Uchisar, I felt I had explored the area in full.
It was good to get back on the road to cross the Taurus mountains and head in to Tarsus, home of St Paul. Next day another adventure beckoned, a climb up to the crusader castle of Yilankale with views across the plains in every direction surely making it an impenetrable fortress.
Yinakale Crusader Castle
Karatepe
On to Karatepe, another Hittite fortress dating from the 9th century BC, (is) built on a hill by the River Seyhan. Discovered in 1946, this site is set in a forest landscape and is famous for its ancient Phoenician and Hieroglyphic Hittite inscriptions - a vital clue in the interpretation of Luwian, another ancient Anatolian language. The lion gates and relief carvings on orthostat blocks are well preserved and are now shaded from the sun and winter rains. 
Karatepe Orthostats
Travelling in to Eastern Anatolia, my first stop was to be the Gaziantep Museum to see the stunning mosaics rescued from the Roman town of Zeugma before it was submerged by the waters of the Birecek Dam. Crossing the Euphrates my next stop was to be Sanliurfa, said to be the birthplace of the prophet Abraham.
Another Turkish Coffee and Gipsy Girl Mosaic
A highlight was the bazaar with its winding streets, coffee shops and stalls. An unexpected extra of the area was a trip out to the excavations at Gobeckli Tepe an early Neolithic site on a windswept hill that for the last fifteen years been yielding exciting new finds. So far four circular or oval structures have been revealed with some recent controversial dating putting the site at 9000 BC. 
Gobekli Tepe and Ataturk Dam
Harran, just 24 kms from the Syrian border, was in its prime a major Mesopotamian city and now seems untouched by the modern world. It is said that Adam and Eve set foot in Harran after they were expelled from the Garden of Eden. Time then to view the massive workings of the Attaturk Dam, centrepiece of the Southeast Anatolian Project. 
Harran and Nemrut DaghLater that day, another climb, this time Mount Nemrut to see the huge stone heads built by King Antiochus I Theos who ruled between 64 and 38 BC. Amazingly the site of Nemrut Dagh was not fully documented until the 1990s.
A flight from the prosperous town of Malatya, famous for its apricot market, back to Istanbul was a fitting end to the trip. A short time to take a quick look at Istanbul before the flight back to London convinced me that I have to return. The markets were colourful and bustling, the coffee shops spectacular and the people warm and friendly - I feel I made many new friends on my travels through this exciting and beautiful country. 
Market Traders
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