Sat 4 Feb 2012 
Ever-new theme hotels in Las Vegas lead you to believe that you no longer need to embark on a long-haul flight to explore the Occident and Orient. It can all be found within a square mile on the strip of Las Vegas, room service and gambling included. But America’s theme hotels are but a poor copy of the real cultural, historical and architectural monuments which need half a lifetime to explore and the other half to comprehend. And
What else can I say but that I have fallen in love with this city and its people? Istanbul is so many things in one: a meeting place of cultures eastern and western, a historic battleground of Greek, Roman, Persian, Byzantine and Turkish empires, and a thriving metropolis with modern lifestyle and chaotic traffic.
Istanbul is the unofficial capital of Turkey, and the only city that can claim to be part of two continents, Europe and Asia. At already over 15
MSNBC Correspondent Nicole Pope claims that “too few people are aware of Turkey’s South East, a region that offers both historical sites and landscapes of spectacular beauty”. This is the land of the ancient Mesopotamia, the world’s first real civilisation (that is if you don’t believe in Atlantis), founded some twelve thousand years ago. Embedded between mountain ranges and the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, this region has been the source of legends for generations. Enjoy the mystery.
South East Anatolia is
Here are my top choices for hotels and restaurants in Istanbul. Unlike the usually rather cheap accommodation and dining options in Istanbul, these choices are all at the upper end of the price scale and thus to be recommended to business travellers with a considerable budget allowance, or to holiday makers who seek something very special and are prepared to pay for it.
I have been lucky to work for a company which provided for very decent dinners and hotels, yet
News from the front
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