Along the popular Mediterranean coasts, subject not only to devastating earthquakes but to brutal development, visitors will be lucky to find much in the way of the period-piece hotels standard in many Provencal or Italian towns, or on some Greek islands; they are more numerous along the Aegean, in Cappadocia and elsewhere inland.

Turkey’s accommodation hand is particularly strong in the village pansiyon; this institution, originally developed to serve the domestic market, has taken to overseas visitors with gusto and tends to be very much less fusty than the French pension or the Italian pensione. The best pansiyon is a comfortable and convivial, family-run establishment offering substantial evening meals, often on a competitive half-board basis; it’s the kind of place where hospitable locals pull off the difficult trick of blurring the usual distinctions between hosts and their paying guests while maintaining exceptional service standards. The accommodation, however the establishment chooses to call itself, is as often in cabins or annexes scattered across tended gardens as it is in one main building.

Not that all towns have stand-out stays in either the hotel or pansiyon category. It can pay to consider self-catering options, especially in places like Dalyan where to-hand restaurants and cafes mean that guests can go easy on the self-catering, or where the ready availability of excellent produce may encourage them to venture into the kitchen.