Two days after an Istanbul book launch, and still wearing the same blue linen suit, with the wind cutting like a knife of ice in the darkness just before dawn, I discovered for myself that Nemrut Dağı is one of the wonders of the ancient world. Don’s young wife, Catherine Fairweather, had walked all the way up, which left her looking more than usually radiant. But Don and I had cheated, accepting a lift in a jeep that took us almost to the summit. We were not alone. A group of welltravelled young Brazilians who’d had the forethought to wrap themselves in striped blankets, with glasses of Buck’s Fizz at the ready for toasting the sunrise, decorated the altar platform. They told me they were reminded of the heads on Easter Island, and the solemn mystery of Mayan and Incan shrines. I agreed that it was a truly numinous place…