Turkey Honeymoon

Watching 100 hot-air balloons rise at dawn over Cappadocia's valley of fairy chimneys and rose-coloured rock formations is one of the most photographed moments in travel — and one of the few where the reality exceeds every photograph. The hour-long drift over the landscape at sunrise is unforgettable.

Hagia Sophia was the world's largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, then became the Ottoman Empire's greatest mosque, then a museum, now a mosque again — its interior, with Byzantine mosaics glowing beside Islamic calligraphy, is one of the most extraordinary spaces on earth.

The world's oldest and largest covered market — 4,000 shops across 61 streets under a domed roof that has traded since 1461. Carpets, spices, lanterns, jewellery and leather fill the labyrinth. Negotiate everything; accept every tea offered. Spend at least two hours getting deliberately lost.

White calcium terraces that look like a frozen waterfall — natural thermal pools fed by mineral-rich springs cascade down a hillside that has been a spa destination since Roman times. Walk barefoot through the warm pools and visit the ancient city of Hierapolis above them.

The best-preserved Roman city outside Italy — marble-paved streets, the Library of Celsus, a 25,000-seat amphitheatre and the Temple of Artemis (one of the Seven Wonders). Walking through it at dusk, when the crowds thin and the marble glows, is among Turkey's greatest experiences.

A boat journey between Europe and Asia — passing Ottoman palaces, Bosphorus fortresses and yali mansions along a strait that has been the hinge of civilisations for millennia. The evening sunset cruise from Eminönü, with the skyline lit gold and minarets silhouetted, is Istanbul at its most cinematic.