FOR FANS OF HISTORY AND CULTURE

Visitors flock to Italy for the Colosseum and Pompeii, and to Greece to the Parthenon and the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi. Rather fewer people know that the land that is now Turkey was once settled by both the Greeks and Romans, and that both civilisations left behind a staggering number of atmospherically situated and marvellously preserved ancient sites.

Troy, Ephesus and Pergamon are among the most famous, but there are myriad more, including Unescolisted Aphrodisias and HierapolisPamukkale. Victorian-era Britons were in the know – if you visit the British Museum, you can see the beautiful works of art brought back from Xanthos, in Lycia, by archaeologist-explorer Charles Fellows. Turkey is home to an array of remains from a huge range of time periods, spanning from the 12,000-year-old Gobekli Tepe in the south-east of the country, to the Byzantine churches and Ottoman Turkish mosques of continentspanning Istanbul. At the heart of this modern city is a historic Unesco-listed core, containing buildings such as the Hagia Sophia (Church of the Holy Wisdom) and the famed Blue Mosque.

If it’s all about the history for you, Cox & Kings (03330 601813; coxandkings.co.uk) offers an eight-day Spotlight on Aegean Turkey tour that costs from £1,295 per person, including flights. Archaeological highlights include Ephesus, Aphrodisias and Hierapolis-Pamukkale as well as winetasting sessions and a Turkish bath experience. Stay in one spot for the duration of this centre-based tour at a boutique hotel in the lovely, Ottomanera village of Sirince.

If you would like to explore for longer, Exodus (020 3811 5440; exodus.co.uk) has a Highlights of Turkey adventure that includes some of country’s finest spots – Troy, Ephesus, Hierapolis-Pamukkale and Xanthos, as well as Cappadocia and Istanbul. The 15-day tour costs from £1,399 per person, excluding flights.