Excess Baggage - 06/02/2010

Peter Curran meets trekking-guide writer Kate Clow, who has trail-blazed a number of long-distance walks in rural Turkey. She connected a series of paths to make Turkey's first long-distance walking route, the Lycian Way, and has since forged the St Paul Trail in the region walked by the saint, the Turkish Lake District. It reveals a side of Turkey usually unseen by the travellers to Istanbul or the coastal resorts. In addition art historian Francis Russell tells Peter about exploring the huge range of fascinating - often unexcavated - ruins from the Hittites to the Ottomans, that are a testament to Turkey's historical heritage. Peter also meets Peter Allison, a former safari guide, and asks him where the magic lies in watching African animals in the bush and if the growing tourist trade has benefitted the clients, the local people or the wildlife.