I had managed to sprain both my ankles, not easy to do I can assure you, and it requires an expertly timed trip and a twisting fall into a roadside drain. Something a stuntman would be proud of. Unfortunately, I'm no stuntman and the pain meant I could barely walk, and could only just drive. I needed to rest up. Not far away...

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In the hills outside of the Turkish city of Sanliurfa lie the recently discovered remains of an ancient temple complex. So old that it predates Stonehenge by at least 6,500 years and, based on our previous understanding of the development of human civilization, it should not really exist. ...

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I have travelled to many historic sites, but until recently I had never even heard of the colossal statues of Mount Nemrut in Southern Turkey. It was on a trip to Cappadocia that I picked up an old copy of the Lonely Planet in a cave hotel which had one of the weathered heads on its cover. Since then I have been planning to visit....

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A great new travel book published just in time for Christmas. A selection of travel stories from the more unusual parts of the globe that you can explore from the comfort of your armchair. These are places that you will never see advertised in a travel agent's window. ...

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What do you get when you mix fresh newly picked green pistachio nuts, syrup and layers and layers gossamer- thin pastry? Baklava, the wonderful sticky sweet pastry that it is almost impossible to say no to, and Gaziantep, in far southern Turkey, is the world capital of this dessert. ...

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Zeugma was one of the Roman Empire's most important and prosperous cities outside of Europe. Situated by a bridge over the River Euphrates it was a vital hub on the Silk Road linking the empire with Asia. Following an invasion and then a devastating earthquake it was abandoned and forgotten. ...

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