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The modern Republic of Turkey is one of the world’s great paradoxes: it is neither Europe, Asia, nor the Middle East, but rather an awe-inspiring amalgam of the three. The empires that carved Asia Minor between them over the past 10,000 years—from the Hittites to the Assyrians, Romans, Byzantines, and Ottomans—each left their distinctive mark, layering history upon history: Urartrian fortresses tower over Armenian churches converted into Selçuk mosques. Though resolutely secular by government decree, every facet of Turkish life is graced by the religious traditions of a 99% Muslim population. The terrain ranges from the ribboned, white sand beaches of the Aegean Coast resort towns, across the great Anatolian plains to the harsh, forbidding peaks of Mt. Ararat in the East. Millionaire playboys pull up to the exclusive clubs of Istanbul in private yachts, while shepherds and farmers scratch out an often desperate living in the boiling lands of the southeast. Millions of tourists every year cram the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, the glittering western coasts, and the ever-popular moonscapes of Cappadocia, while the rest of Anatolia remains a purist backpacker’s paradise: pristine alpine meadows, cliffside monasteries, medieval churches, tiny fishing villages, and countless cups of çay offered by people who take pride in their tradition of hospitality.