turkey inherited a disparate group of cultures and began a process of rapid modernisation under its founder, ataturk. i'm travelling the country to understand how all of these diverse cultures were brought together. from the burial grounds of the god kings of ancient anatolia. to the turquoise coast, where queen cleopatra is claimed to have once bathed. to an original ottoman coffee house in gaziantep. and the hotel frequented by the founder of the republic here in istanbul. welcome to turkey. now, this has to be the best possible way to arrive in istanbul — down the mighty bosphorus. it's this body of water that separates the city, but also separates continents. and look at that, that silhouette with the domes, the minaretsjust popping up above the horizon. that is dolmabahce palace. that's where the founder of the republic, mustafa kemal ataturk, set about the business of transforming turkey. and from the past to the present, this is taksim district, the heart of modern istanbul. getting an ice cream in turkey seems like a bit of an extreme sport. i mean, it's very... it's for you. she laughs one vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, pistachio. tram bell dings these european—style heritage trams have their roots back in 1871, when they were horse—powered and later became electric. i love a tram. that's notjust because i'm from melbourne. something quite nice about the pace of it and, also, going right through the middle of the city. everyone�*s scarpering out of the way. it's a really nice way to see a new place. thank you. you're welcome. next stop for me, the pera palace hotel, where ataturk often stayed before he took up official residence at the dolmabahce palace. good morning. morning. welcome. my guide, sebnem altin, is going to show me around the hotel. and here is the room, 101, where ataturk used to say. i mean, the man himself. this room became a museum at the 100th anniversary of ataturk's birthday. they bought things that belonged to him from auction, such as his coffee cups, some of his pictures, as you can see here. and he was known to be a very chic man. he cared a lot about what he wears. so here... sharp dresser. oh, he was sharp dresser. mustafa kemal ataturk is the founder of republic of turkey and he is the man who gave independence to turkish people. he managed to not only defeat the occupying powers, but also, the occupying greek forces. and he is still the hero of people who value democracy, independence, science, secularism. ataturk can be considered a controversialfigure by some people. yes. tell me a bit about that complex legacy. when he abolished the caliphate, for some people, this was him going towards a path that wasn't as religious. and we had the exchange of populations between greece and turkey. what does the 100th anniversary mean to you? he said, one day, my body will be just earth, but this republic of yours will continue forever. and that makes me so happy. and now i'm off to shop in an incredible venue that was around a long, long time before ataturk. this is the grand bazaar, the mother of all shopping malls. it dates back to the 15th century. and there's a really good reason why it was built here in istanbul, because this was the centre of the ottoman empire. so you had spices and almost everything else from over three continents coming right here. she laughs i mean, these guys, in some cases, have been here for years and years and they've really got the gift of the gab. they know how to get you through their door. this might be a bit difficult to pack in my bag. ship horn blares galata bridge has long been viewed as the link between the old city of istanbul and its modern districts. it's a glorious, sunny day, so it's not surprising to find people on the bridge fishing. and local fisherman mehmet is going to show me how it's done. all right. shall we? so, now we go again. i hold, hold here. oh, no drops. ah, there we go. yes. whoa! oh, we've got something! we've got something! go, mehmet. yes! we've done well. they both laugh oh, no. come back, come back. istanbul is a city that really wears its influences on its sleeve. you see this amazing diversity. you've got the ottoman mosques, you've got the modern buildings. all of this comes together to really tell the story of the city. although istanbul is a big tourist destination, most people head to turkey for a week or two of sun, sea and sand, so i'm off tojoin them. hello from alanya, on turkey's turquoise coast. and what better place to start than with this? tourism in turkey has boomed in recent years, turning it into one of the top—ten most visited countries in the world. oh, i love a cable car. this region is home to some of the most beautiful coastline, where you can swim and sunbathe from spring all the way to mid—october. this is cleopatra beach, named after the legendary egyptian queen. and legend has it that she herself used to bathe in these waters. so, who am i to argue? a cave is a kind of unusual place to be meeting a doctor. but i promise, there's a reason. hello. i'm christa. it's nice to meet you. thank you so much. this is the damlatas cave. tourism here steadily grew, as people came to hear about the alleged healing powers of the damlatas cave. and dr mehmet cam has agreed to show me around. look at this. and so humid, immediately. only 95. 95% humidity. yes, humidity. oh, my goodness. yeah, you can feel it. it's like walking into a bath. 22 degrees. all the year, the same humidity and same temperature. what is it about the atmosphere that helps these patients? is this treatment considered quite radical? i think it's right for people to be sceptical about alternative therapies, that makes sense. it was quite compelling to hear the stories of the people down there, and i must say, i do feel quite refreshed. eight hours east of alanya, is the ninth biggest city in turkey, famous for its copper work and culinary prowess. welcome to gaziantep, known as antep to the locals. this city in south central turkey is off the well—worn turkey tourist trail. but at first impressions, really shouldn't be. in the middle ages, this city was an important stronghold, and it changed hands between a variety of different dynasties, before eventually being absorbed into the ottoman empire in the early—16th century. gaziantep was 23 miles from the epicentre of the horrendous earthquake that devastated parts of turkey and nearby syria in february, and it was affected. and you can see here this watchtower that was built during the roman era has partially collapsed and it's already under restoration. luckily, though, this place survived. it's one of the oldest known ottoman coffeehouses, dating back to 1635, unbelievably. and i'm told these days, it's the place to come and soak up some local atmosphere and try some of the best coffee in town. the owner, mehmet, is going to show me how they prepare their prized coffees. merhaba. she laughs the coffee is first boiled in a turkish coffee pot called a cezve. ah, 0k. and then, it gets a little hat. oh, thank you. that's amazing. that's perfect. shall i have a little...? i'll have a little taste. i think i should. oh, that is delicious. oh, the master. perfect. thank you very much. so what makes this coffee different? 0h, 0k. so this is, this is kind of the ottoman blend. there's a real complexity to the flavour. this is delicious. it's said coffee arrived in turkey from yemen, with travelling merchants, back in the 16th century. due to its stimulating effect, it was forbidden in 1511 by conservative imams, but the ban was lifted 13 years later. now, i also really wanted to try a pistachio coffee. oh, this is my favourite. oh—oh—oh! that is delicious. there is a more famous use of pistachios in turkey aside from the pistachio coffee. and that is, of course, the traditional sweet and sticky dessert — baklava. but it's gaziantep that's become known for its pistachio baklava, the most famous baklava in turkey. so i'm on my way to a pistachio farm because, guess what? it's harvesting season. she laughs so, hang on, these are pistachios? these ones here? pistachios are supposed to be green. shall we? down the hatch. oh, it's very subtle, isn't it? tractor engine rumbles distant chatting and laughter the exact origin of baklava is disputed. shared international histories are reflected in its recipes, with each providing a local flair to an ancient dessert. but it was the baklava from gaziantep that was given protected status in 2014 by the european commission. this is quite a reward for all my hard work. all of this baklava contains pistachios and looks so delicious. oh, my goodness. look at this. it's gooey. 0h! 0h... mm. oh, it's so good. she giggles i was only going to have one, or maybe two, but i'm not going to stop. the pistachios are falling out of this one. i'm in heaven, absolutely... this could be the best day of my life. i came to turkey knowing i loved istanbul, but gaziantep has unexpectedly completely stolen my heart. i mean, it's known for pistachios, coffee and baklava. what's not to love? if you want my travel tip, come here in august, september, when the pistachios are at their freshest and tastiest. i'm on my way to mount nemrut, one of the highest peaks in the eastern side of the taurus mountains. and tomorrow morning, i'm going to strap on my hiking boots and trek up to the summit to discover a different side of turkish history, far more ancient than the ottoman empire. she whispers: morning. it's 3:36 am, and it feels like it. the footing isn't difficult because we've got this beautiful, modern, paved path. but it follows the ceremonial route used by people climbing this mountain back to the first century bc under the stars. i'm meant to be meeting my guide up here. hello, christa. how are you? i'm very well. is this the summit up here? are we nearly there? yes, we are almost there. amazing. let's go. dr emine yesim bedlek has been guiding tourists around turkey's archaeological sites for years. and she's the perfect person to show me around this mountain. who are these guys? these are actual gods. and also, a goddess, symbolising the kingdom and the fertility of the kingdom. and also, king antiochus i. ok. i need to ask you more about him. yes. i want to know, though, where are their heads? their heads are down because of the natural disasters. so no—one came and... no—one. ok. well, that's good! so tell me about mount nemrut. what do i need to know? two archaeologists arrive here, karl sester and otto puchstein in 1881. and when they first arrived here, they were shocked because they were expecting to see assyrian monuments. and then they realised that actually, there is something very different and actually, greek and persian cultures are uniting in mount nemrut. wow! so creating something unique? yeah, something unique. this religious sanctuary shows the greek gods zeus and apollo and hercules the hero with greek faces, but persian clothing and hairstyling. alongside these composite deities is antiochus i, the king of the commagene empire. it's a small empire. it survived for 234 years on the western part of the euphrates river. during his reign, the kingdom was very, very rich, so he was the most powerful. they have the golden age. king antiochus i wanted to show his richness and his power. so he's like a godlike figure. so this whole thing is really a statement of power? yeah, a statement of power. he wanted to be unforgettable, you know? ah—ha. yes. well, i mean, we're not forgetting him today. yes. and luckily, his head survived as well. why did they need to merge greek and persian cultures? king antiochus, his mother was a greek and his father was a persian. 0k. and also, this kingdom was a small kingdom in—between two great powers — persia in the east and roman empire, actually, in the west. that's why they try to, you know, have a balance in political affairs. isn't that fascinating? because, of course, we're coming up to the 100th anniversary of the turkish republic, where ataturk famously brought people together and forged this sense of turkish identity. it seems like this has been a pattern going back an awfully long way. yes. actually, he unified this multi—ethnic country because it was a microcosm of ottoman empire. and he said that whoever feels turk, you know, and will be a turk, you know. i've been travelling around this country trying to understand the significance of this 100th anniversary of the turkish republic. but what i've come to see is that while it's an important milestone, this past century is just a blink of an eye in the long and incredibly rich history of this land. hello. the week ahead will mainly bring us the mild side of spring weather, as i'll show you over the next three and a half minutes. but in the short term this weekend, we are seeing something a bit colder at first. a frosty start to the weekend, but much milder by the end. and along the way, we'll see some rain. yes, but also some spells of sunshine. but saturday morning, a chilly start, particularly across the northern half of the uk. temperatures below freezing. with some sunshine, though, under this little ridge of high pressure. however, frontal systems already approaching from the west will bring more cloud, will bring some outbreaks of rain, a strengthening wind and the return of some milder conditions. in fact, we'll see ever milder weather pumping its way northwards and eastwards as we head through saturday, into saturday night and on into sunday. so, saturday develops like this, with cloud and splashes of rain pushing in from the west. further north and east, you are holding onto some spells of hazy sunshine. turning quite windy across western parts, or at least, quite breezy. these are the temperatures we're expecting for the middle part of the afternoon. 13 degrees there, towards the south—east of england. but further north, things will actually turn even milder than that through saturday night. that feed of mild air continuing to work its way across the uk. this weather front bringing a band of actually quite heavy rain at times. but by sunday morning, look at how we start the day. a far cry from saturday's frosts. some places will start the day in double digits. a band of rain to clear away from eastern parts, then the cloud will break up. we'll see some spells of sunshine. there will be some scattered showers as well, particularly out towards the west. but sunday's temperatures will easily up to 15, 16 degrees, maybe hitting 17 degrees in places. so a mild feel, even warm, if you get yourself into any sunshine. now, as we start the new working week, various frontal systems lining up and heading in our direction. the first few, really just bands of showers, so we will see some showers pushing from the west towards the east. some sunny spells in—between, could often be quite a lot of cloud. then behind me, you can see our next more active frontal system just starting to approach. but again, monday, a mild day. 13 degrees for aberdeen, 16 degrees for london. now, through monday night and into tuesday, it looks like we'll see an area of low pressure pushing to the north—west of the uk. showers or longer spells of rain with that, a better chance of staying dry — or, at least, drier — down towards the south. still mild, it is likely, though, that on the back edge of that weather system,, we will start to pull down something a little bit cooler temporarily. you can see this area of low pressure pushing eastwards as we get into wednesday, something a little bit colder on its back edge, turning quite windy in the north for a time. but a ridge of high pressure set to build back in, so there could be some mist and fog patches on wednesday morning, some spells of sunshine, just one or two showers, and perhaps a slightly cooler feel for some of us. but temperatures still well up into double figures. now, as we look further ahead, it looks like we'll see areas of low pressure mainly passing to the north—west of the uk. so that's where we'll see the wettest of the weather. further south, this area of high pressure, the azores high, trying to build its way in. and i think that will have at least some influence on the weather, especially across southern parts. so actually, a lot of dry weather the further south you are, whereas further north, we will see some outbreaks of rain. but broadly speaking, it is set to stay mild as we head through into next weekend. that's all from me. bye— bye. live from london, this is bbc news. the snp humza yousaf is about to speak at a party event to discuss the upcoming election. vaughan gething is elected as welsh labour leader and first minister of wales — making him the first black leader of any european country. this is the first page in a history that we write together. india will vote in national elections from 19th april in the world's biggest democratic exercise. a major it glitch at a main supermarket chain leaves the majority of online shoppers without the grocery deliveries. hello. the snp leader is due to speak at a party event where members are to discuss policy and the upcoming election. he is expected to claim that the most scottish seats in the next general election are a straight fight between the snp and the tories. it comes as a recent poll suggests the snp and labour are level with voters. we will bring you that event with the snp as soon as it starts. in wales, where vaughan gething will become europe's first black leader, after winning the welsh labour leadership election.