Devrent Valley

Many Cappadocian valleys boast collections of strange volcanic cones, but the ones near Aktepe in northern Cappadocia, known as the Valley of the Fairy Chimneys, are the best-formed and most thickly clustered. While geologists might congregate to appreciate the effects of differential erosion, everyone else just likes their other-worldly appeal.

Most of the rosy rock cones are topped by flattish, darker stones of harder rock that sheltered the cones from the rain that eroded all the surrounding rock. This process is known to geologists as differential erosion but you can just call it kooky.

Gallipoli Peninsula

The site of many a ferocious battle, it is surely the WWI melee of Atatürk’s troops and the Allies that stands out. Today the Gallipoli battlefields are peaceful places covered in scrubby brush, pine forests and farmers’ fields, but this strategic peninsula has always held the key to Istanbul.

Gallipoli is a fairly large area to tour, especially without your own transport (it’s over 35 km (22mi) from the northernmost battlefield to the southern tip of the peninsula). The two best bases for a visit are Çanakkale on the eastern shore, and Eceabat on the western, both are covered by tours.

Harran

Harran, in Kurdish southeastern Anatolia, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited spots on earth. The hills around the town are surrounded by crumbling walls and topped with ruined buildings. It all looks so ancient that it’s not hard to believe Abraham was one of Harran’s early inhabitants.

Some residents still live in beehive-shaped mud houses and get by on a mix of farming, smuggling and the sniff of wealth as water starts to filter through from the vast Southeast Anatolia Dam. There’s a fortress on the eastern side of the town, and some good mosaics in the 8th century Ulu Cami.

Troy

Compared to Ephesus, Troy is quite dull. Some say that it loses something without Brad Pitt running around, others see this as an improvement on the representation. Either way Troy is no stunner - the drawcard is its sheer history. Excavations have revealed nine ancient cities on the site, with Troy VI or VII believed to be the setting for The Iliad.

When amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated Troy in 1871, the pants of classical studies boffins around the world became decidedly damp. Up to this time, Homer’s Iliad was assumed to be based on legend, but post-digs, Troy became the Homeric city of Ilium, site of an epic battle between the Achaeans (Greeks) and the Trojans in the 13th century BC. Excavations by Schliemann and others have revealed nine ancient cities, one on top of another, dating back to 3000 BC. Troy VI (1800-1275 BC) is the city of Priam and the one that engaged in the Trojan War.

For afficionados this is all amazing, but unless you’ve read The Iliad, or have a keen appreciation of archaeology, you may find little of interest in Troy. Apart from a hokey replica of the Trojan horse, there’s little to catch the amateur eye. That said, this is the site of one of the world’s grandest tales, so soaking up the atmosphere should be just about enough.