Arriving into Istanbul by air simply takes your breath away. Passing the Bulgarian border into the far western landscape of Turkey, you soon find yourself skirting the northern coast of the Sea of Marmara heading towards Istanbul.

As the plane banks left and thunders north towards the main international airport, in the direction of the Black Sea, you cannot be anything but amazed.

Huge. That is the only way of describing the city of Istanbul and its environs. Seemingly endless. That would be another alternative in describing this vast slice of human habitation.

Eventually escaping the airport and driving back towards Sultanahmet, as you approach the Ataturk Bridge, you are once again overwhelmed by the sheer scale of Turkey’s ‘second city,’ (Ankara is actually the capital).

In this deeply Islamic country, there would seem to be a mosque atop every hill, and whatever your religious or spiritual predilections maybe, architecturally and historically, they are a magnetically fascinating and engaging sight.