Knocking at Europe’s door yet on the threshold of Asia, Turkey is truly a land of contrasts. Here you can scale the icy heights of remote Mount Ararat in search of Noah’s Ark, cross the historic Euphrates and Tigris rivers, follow in the footsteps of St Paul or simply relax on the golden Mediterranean sands of Patara beach. Vibrant Istanbul, straddling the blue waters of the Bosphorus separating Europe from Asia, beckons with its skyline pierced by countless minarets, chaotic bazaars and a history redolent with harem intrigue and despotic Sultans.

In Turkey, you can also cruise along more than 1000km (620 miles) of Mediterranean coastline, past secluded coves, rocky headlands and pretty fishing villages, or explore a hinterland rich in the wonderfully preserved remains of Graeco-Roman cities such as Ephesus. For the adventurous, the austere beauty of the Anatolian plateau, the surreal rock-chimney landscape of Cappadocia and the atmospheric ruins of the enigmatic Hittites await discovery. Here, too, is the unique experience of watching the dervishes whirl in pious Konya.

With a code of hospitality nurtured by their Islamic beliefs yet with a remarkable tolerance of other customs, the Turks offer a warm welcome wherever you travel – be it sipping sweet black tea or thick coffee with friendly villagers or sharing a bottle of raki over mezes (hors d’oeuvres) with cosmopolitan Istanbul ‘city slickers’.

Kate Clow

Southeastern Europe/Asia Minor.

GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

779,452 sq km (300,948 sq miles).

73.3 million (UN estimate 2005).

94.04 per sq km.

Ankara. Population: 3.5 million (2005 estimate).

Turkey borders the Black Sea and Georgia and Armenia to the northeast, Iran to the east, Iraq to the southeast, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Mediterranean to the south, the Aegean Sea to the west and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Asia Minor (or Anatolia) accounts for 97 per cent of the country and forms a long, wide peninsula 1650km (1025 miles) from east to west and 650km (400 miles) from north to south. Two east-west mountain ranges, the Black Sea Mountains in the north and the Taurus in the south, enclose the central Anatolian plateau, but converge in a vast mountainous region in the far east of the country. It is here that the ancient Tigris and Euphrates rivers rise.

Republic since 1923. Head of State: President Ahmet Necdet Sezer since 2000. Head of Government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan since 2002. Recent history: After a period of economic crisis in 2001 nearly brought Turkey’s economy to collapse, the country agreed a recovery programme with the IMF in 2002 and has since made good progress, with impressive economic growth and decreased inflation. The conservative and Islamist-based Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the General Elections in 2002 and had its domestic position consolidated when it won 42 per cent of the vote in local elections in 2004. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been Prime Minister since 2002, and although his party has Islamist roots, Mr Erdogan insists that it is committed to secularism. He sees EU entry as a top priority and introduced reforms which paved the way for the opening of membership talks in October 2005. Accession negotiations are expected to take about 10 years. In November 2003, Turkey suffered four major terrorist attacks which targeted two synagogues, the British Consulate-General and the HSBC bank, all in Istanbul. In summer 2004, Kurdish secessionists called off a five-year ceasefire following what they called annihilation operations against their fighters by the Turkish authorities. There have since been clashes between Kurdish fighters and Turkish forces in the south-east.

Turkish. Kurdish is also spoken by a minority in the southeast. French, German and English are widely spoken in cities and tourist areas.

Muslim with a small Christian minority. Turkey is a secular state which guarantees complete freedom of worship to non-Muslims.

220 volts AC, 50Hz.

Shaking hands is the normal form of greeting. Hospitality is very important and visitors should respect Islamic customs. Informal wear is acceptable, but beachwear should be confined to the beach or poolside. Smoking is widely acceptable but prohibited in cinemas, theatres, city buses and dolmuses (collective taxis).