Let's get one tiny detail out of the way first: BYZANTIUM CONSTANTINOPLE ISTANBUL IS THE GREATEST CITY ON EARTH. Okay, moving on. But seriously, has there been a city more consequential through human history? ChatGPT said Rome, which is the sort of technically-correct answer we will ignore. Istanbul is where Turkey's tagline makes sense. Europe and Asia don't merely meet here; they overlap. Mosques loom over nightlife, Ottoman palaces sit a tram ride from hipster cafés, and an Armenian restaurant can quietly exist in a neighbourhood shaped by a much messier history. Then there is Cappadocia, which feels like Turkey briefly handed the landscape department over to Dr. Seuss. The hot-air balloon ride alone warrants the detour.