Winter Holiday in Istanbul

New Year in Turkey is a secular holiday, and Istanbul marks it on the water. The main format is a Bosphorus cruise with dinner: the vessel sails in the evening, passes floodlit palaces and bridges, the programme includes live music and belly dance, and midnight is met on deck. Options differ mainly in whether alcohol is covered and how substantial the table is; some sailings are sold as a party, others as dinner with a view.

In winter the city shows a second side. The Istanbul winter is damp, with rare snow, and when it does fall the old city becomes another place: domes and minarets in white, noticeably fewer visitors, shorter queues at the museums. It is the best time for anyone who wants to see Hagia Sophia and the Cistern without a crowd.

Beyond that, real snow begins. Bursa is reached on a day tour: the first Ottoman capital with its Green Mosque and silk han, and from there a cable car more than eight kilometres long climbs Uludağ — the country's main ski resort, around two and a half thousand metres. Practical notes: it is cold and windy at the top, warm clothing and shoes with grip are needed, and the cable car closes in strong wind.