Travel in Ottoman

You probably didn't know Turkey's real name, you might have been confused about which city is the capital, and you may have thought tulips came from the Netherlands. It turns out, you were quite possibly wrong.

The sun-drenched sepia photograph shows a dapper European, handkerchief in pocket, cigarette in hand, sitting among a row of men dressed in bisht and keffiyeh. The moment was captured during Jacques Cartier's first visit to the Persian Gulf in 1911, on his way back to London from Delhi—part of a sales trip encouraged by his father, Alfred, then the head of Cartier. The decline of the Ottoman Empire and the 1905 Persian Constitutional Revolution had flooded Europe's artistic centers with new influences, forging an aesthetic then known as “the Muslim arts.” Eager to learn more, Jacques spent four months traveling throughout Asia and the Middle East, rifling through bazaars and emporiums and mixing with high society.

With its huge size and centuries of history, it would be impossible to see all of Istanbul in one trip – or perhaps even in one lifetime.

Cappadocia’s rugged moonscape valleys are one of Türkiye’s most iconic vistas and it’s thanks in no small part to the hundreds of multi-coloured balloons, which fill the region’s skies every year. Each July, the town of Ürgüp hosts the iconic Balloon Festival, which sees the air teaming with more than 150 balloons from all over the world.

With spring fast approaching, De L’Europe Amsterdam, the storied grande dame of the Dutch capital’s hotel scene, is inviting guests to revel in the considerable splendor of Holland’s centuries-old heritage as a flower powerhouse.

Istanbul is a city of dizzying personality changes, from the village-like neighborhoods of antique shops and carpet boutiques to the majestic, glittering mosques dominating the skyline.

Families stroll and savor gelato cones as bike couriers whiz by. Pensioners relax on benches near manicured flower beds while earbud-wearing hipsters walk dogs and children chase pigeons by a fountain laden with bronze fish. The scene in Victory Square in Timisoara, Romania, is quintessentially European — modern meets Old World.

In a mere half-decade, Istanbul, where the whispers of Byzantine antiquity meld with the rhythm of a bustling metropolis, has unfurled architectural marvels that continue to captivate and astonish. This metamorphosis greets visitors upon arrival: The colossal Istanbul Airport, unveiled in 2018, presents columns that echo Ottoman splendor, juxtaposed against modern art installations like the evocative Wish Tree and the kinetic Istanbul in Motion mural. Remarkably, this nexus ushers in over 90 million travelers annually, eclipsing even the iconic Hagia Sophia's draw.

“No dining car,” says Vasil, vaping through a cloud that smells of strawberries. A paralegal from Plovdiv, he’s been eavesdropping on my chat with the barman at One More Bar, in Sofia, about the sleeper service to Istanbul, the last leg of a journey that had begun several days earlier at London’s St Pancras station. My shoulders drop: the dining car is the beating heart of a night train. It’s where strangers become friends, food tells a story and the air is thick with soupy aromas and laughter. 

Albania’s capital used to regularly top lists for Europe's worst city. Decades of Stalinist rule left Tirana grey and grim, lacking in both infrastructure and services. Today Tirana is – while still often chaotic – a very pleasant little city, and the cultural, entertainment and political centre of Albania. Here's our pick of the best things to do in Tirana, Albania.

From Europe to Asia and back, Greg Dickinson finds a full 24 hours worth of things to do in Istanbul .

Beyond vague recollections of its Communist past, few travellers know much about Albania. Its rippling mountains and pristine beaches, lands littered with historical Roman ruins and pretty Ottoman towns remain largely undiscovered. Probably because of its undiscovered nature, Albania is also one of the most budget-friendly European destinations. Here's our pick of the best things to do in Albania.

For Kerem Özcan, a data scientist based in Amsterdam, winters in his home country of Turkey would not have been the same without salep, a hot drink made of crushed orchid roots, milk, and sugar. On ski trips to the mountains of Uludağ, “we’d always end the cold and tiring day with a salep,” he says. Özcan, who left Turkey in 2013, is one of the many Turkish people living abroad who thirsts for salep. “I tried to quench it with eggnog a couple times, but it didn’t cut it for me,” he says.