the afghan government has called for a humanitarian ceasefire with the taliban, as the first—ever peace talks between the two sides take place in qatar. so far, the taliban have resisted a truce. the us has urged both sides to reach an agreement, telling them: "the entire world wants you to succeed." police on the greek island of lesbos have fired tear gas during a protest by migrants, whose camp burned down on wednesday. efforts to build alternative accommodation for thousands of residents of the moria camp have been delayed by objections from local authorities. officials in the us state of oregon say more than half a million people have now been ordered to evacuate because of wildfires. thousands of square kilometres of land have been burned in the past week. at least three people have died and hundreds of homes have been destroyed.

it's just over a week since schools in england reopened for the new term, and there've already been a number of instances where pupils have been sent home to prevent possible covid infection. our education correspondent elaine dunkley has been to a school in darlington, which had to send home a teacher and 20 pupils as a precaution. who has got a new skill from being in lockdown? it's distance learning for primary school children. today, mrs craggill is teaching year three by video link. she's currently self—isolating, but lessons continue at heathfield primary school. well, obviously, it wasn't the way i wanted to start the year with the children. i wanted to be in school, but circumstances happened. so it's been really beneficial for myself and the children to be able to have some connection each day, and just to connect with maths and english. and to see their faces, really, and for them to see me. children here are having recovery classes and lessons in mindfulness. helping them to adjust after missing months

of schooling is vital. so, i liked being back at school to be with my friends and have education. like, really good education. like, face—to—face. i like being back at school, because i can see my friends and because if i am struggling, the teacher can help me, because i couldn't do that at home. the risks to children are low, but there are concerns about the virus spreading. social distancing and hygiene is now an important part of the school day, but it puts pressure on budgets and time. obviously, paying out for more cleaning materials, but also there's some staffing costs as well. and on a personal level, health and safety has just taken over my life as a head teacher at the moment, which is nobody‘s fault, that's the way, the situation that we are in. but it's frustrating because we want to be getting on with our usual dayjob of making sure that we do teaching and learning really well.

if there is a suspected or confirmed case of coronavirus, schools have to get in touch with their local public health teams. claire has two children at the school. her son is still attending, but her daughter's class has been sent home to self—isolate. she is asymptomatic, which is great. you know, i am very happy about that. but should she get symptoms, my concern is that because my older son is still in school, obviously, if my daughter gets symptoms and does get covid, then my son will get it and he will have moved it to year six. can you write it for me there, siobhan? the vast majority of children across the uk are now back in lessons, but learning to deal with disruption is the reality of being back at school in these times. elaine dunkley, bbc news, in darlington. now on bbc news. this week the travel show looks back at some of their adventures in turkey. from the barbershops and bazaars of istanbul, to exploring a dive site with a difference. coming up on this week's travel show:

a short, sharp shock. oh, cold water! painting the town to help change lives. whoa, high—five! yeah, yeah! the underground city that lay hidden for centuries. wow, look at that! and perhaps one of the strangest dive sites in the world. it's a wonderland down there! theme music hello, and welcome to the travel show, with me, christa larwood. now, we're heading tentatively back out there on our travels, but we're taking baby steps. so, this week we'll be taking a look back at some

of our favourite stories from the past, and hopefully inspiring some of your travel for the future. and this week we're focusing on turkey, a country which over a0 million people headed to last year. well, back in 2017 we sent henry golding on his first ever visit there, and he kicked off his trip by heading to one of the most iconic and historic cities the world. here's how he got on. istanbul really is a city like no other. built on the banks of the mighty bosphorus strait, it was founded by the greeks, who named it byzantium. later, the romans made it the capital of their eastern empire, changing its name to constantinople in honour of the emperor constantine. and for over 500 years, it was the seat of power for the sultans who ruled the ottoman empire. built at the crossroads of europe and asia, it's turkey's largest and best—known city. so i've got in on the red—eye flight, which is about 11 hours from singapore, but i've had a bit of a rest and now i'm

ready to explore the city. so i'm going to meet up with a man called serdar, who promises to take me around. hello, how are you? you must be serdar. yes. good to meet you finally. thank you very much. so what have you got planned for me? well, i will help you in exploring the city, i will take you to some of the major sites, try some different foods, turkish foods. and also a hamam, which is a turkish bath, but i don't know if you would like to start out with freshening up? i think that might be good, i've got a little bristle coming, five o'clock shadow. tucked down many side streets here in istanbul you'll find plenty of old—school barbers like this one, where you can get a haircut or a traditional shave with a cut—throat razor and hot towels, all at a knockdown price. dating back to the days when many homes in istanbul had no running water, they're still popular with the locals, who come here to meet, socialise and freshen up. this is the bit i get a little bit worried about. the neck.

now, this is something i haven't experienced. nostril haircut. so this is the way to take the little hair, that you probably even can't see. ow! he's burning the hair in the ears. i can smell! yes. how do i look? much better? brand—new man? as the centre of the ottoman empire for around 500 years, istanbul's wealth and influence grew and each new ruler or sultan was keen to leave his mark on the city. serdar has offered to show me perhaps one of the most impressive. this is the mosque of suleiman. suleiman was the ottoman

emperor that ruled for 47 yea rs. this is the biggest imperial mosque in istanbul. these mosques were financed by the sultan at the time. they are all built in seven years. this stands on the slopes of the hill, so from most parts of the city you can see this mosque. napoleon once said that if all the world were one country, then this city would be its capital. and running through the heart of istanbul is the mighty bosphorus. on one side sits europe — on the other, asia. and for thousands of years, it's carried cargo and passengers between the two and also served as a gateway between the black sea and the mediterranean — making this one of the most important stretches of water in the world. and a nice view, as well. yes! this is the spice market,

built in the 16th century, for the trading of spices. i can smell all of that spice in the air. it's making me a bit hungry, actually. well, ishould introduce you maybe to my friend here, my long—time friend, tuba. hello! hi, welcome. hi, tuba. she's a food writer and she's going to introduce you to traditional turkish cheeses. perfect, i have the best company! let's get going. i'll see you soon. this place is packed! it's amazing, yeah. it's always packed like this. wow, look at that choice. and all of this is from turkey? these are all from turkey, different regions, different cities, and they all have different textures, different tastes. so, this is from canakkale. this is called beyaz peynir, it's like our main staple for breakfast. so this is our most favourite cheese. right. so breakfast cheese, i would imagine it being a little bit kind of lighter on the flavour, a little bit easier? no, we are never light on flavour with cheese, no. totally wrong! and this next cheese actually reminds me of a parmesan

or something like that. this one is made injuly when we have the south—west winds. so it's like the last milk that they produce. i know. just little details, theyjust change the profiles. yeah, and this one is usually made around springtime. so they're made exactly the same but they have different texture, different taste. i think this is probably one of my favourites, actually. i mean, you should eat this with some crunchy bread. yeah, bit of olive oil. a little bit. ican imagine. some olives, perhaps? perhaps, why not, tomatoes even. when in rome! yeah, when in rome. this is delicious. when in istanbul. when in istanbul, exactly. as my day comes to an end here in istanbul, serdar tells me that he's got one last treat in store for me. we're off to one of the oldest turkish baths or hamams in the city. this is rather grand. first opened in the 16th century, it's built on a site that dates back to roman times.

it's beautiful, but actually, the first thing you really notice is that thickness in the air. it's so humid in here. oh, cold water! i've got what looks to be a pillow sack that's just filled with air and soapy water, and once you squeeze it out, these suds come out. i have enjoyed my day here in istanbul. its history, food and culture are remarkable. but for me, it's perhaps its location which makes it special. henry golding freshening up there in istanbul back in 2017. well, more recently, last year,

mike corey headed south of the city to visit some of the coastal communities that have over the last 30 years become big tourist resorts. but they still have one or two surprises up their sleeve. turkey's aegean coast. it's where you'll find some of history's big hitters — ancient and evocative ruined settlements like pergamon and troy, and also here, the greek city of ephesus, which has been beautifully restored. here it is. the library of celsus. it was the third—largest in the ancient world and the reading room had over 15,000 documents in it. it might look beautiful now, but until the 1970s it was just a pile of rubble. looking pretty good, right? we're hardly off the beaten track here. you may well recognise the names of some of the local towns.

bodrum and marmaris are now as well—known for their holiday resorts as they are for their classical heritage. this is kusadasi, a little further up the coast, a package destination popular with northern europeans. walking around in kusadasi you can't help but notice that one of the hilltops is covering a rainbow. these are the rainbow houses, and we thought we'd take a look. more than 400 of the homes here in tepe neighbourhood were colourised last year as part of a project run by a paint company. it looks great from a distance, but it's also lots of fun close—up. whoa, high—five, high—five! yeah, yeah! the aim was that it would make tepe a much more liveable environment. these homes had been earmarked for demolition.

well, we'll be back with mike later in the programme when he heads to a dive site with a difference. i haven't seen anything like that before. that was beautiful! plus, henry travels to central anatolia to explore a hidden underground city that lay undiscovered for centuries until construction workers stumbled on it purely by accident. wow! now, partly because of its location, turkey has a fascinating history stretching back thousands of years.

at the crossroads of europe and asia, it's seen a long list of competing civilisations and empires pass through, and all have left their mark in one way or another. back in 2017, we sent henry to nevsehir in central anatolia, to go behind the scenes at excavations on a huge underground city that was stumbled on by a group of local construction workers purely by chance. and what has been uncovered is truly remarkable. in the heart of the town, among the modern houses and office buildings, workers made a startling find as they cleared a hillside for redevelopment — the largest underground city of its kind. experts estimate the caves could extend over 450,000 square metres. wow! look at all of this! ifind it quite hard to believe that there were people living

on top of here and all of this was actually hidden, and so they had no idea that this was here? no. that is insane! what is all of this? this is a monastery. and according to the scientists, the monastery dates back to the sixth century ad. you can definitely see that outline, that cross there. this region was very important for the early christians because turkey is a single country on earth which has got the function of a bridge which is connecting two continents together — asia to europe, europe to asia. nearly totally different civilisations that pass through this country. those are the civilisations which leave some remains. it is thought christian settlers used these caves 1500 years ago. the winding tunnels and hidden

openings offered protection from attacking armies. starting with the early christian period, the enemies was roman empire. after six, seven century, the enemies was arab, persians and while they were attacking often, and how they could fight against professional soldiers. now, tell me, i have noticed a couple of these around the caves themselves. what exactly is it? this is a stone door. this must weigh at least — how much do you think? around 1000 pounds, 500 kilograms. so it actually moves still? yes, look. wow! that is — it's a little precarious!

it's a little bit steep, isn't it? yes. there are so many little holes you could actually just put your foot in and fall through. but what is this area? what is it used for? i mean, this section has been used as a burial places, tombs or family burial chambers. the caves were not simply used for hiding. as well as burials, archaeologists believe the network was used to store produce and transport goods. now, these particular tunnels are a bit of a tight squeeze — that is because they were a part of the underground water system. now, they think that it stretches for about 1200 kilometres but at the moment, they have only uncovered about 500 metres of it. and it is definitely not recommended if you are a little bit claustrophobic. luckily, i'm not!

no—one is certain how long ago the first tunnels were built — it might be as much as 5000 years old, long before the christians settled here. only a small portion of the network has been excavated so far and experts hope there are plenty more discoveries waiting to be unearthed. oh, wow! look at that! i have actually heard of this spot because all the archaeologists are very excited about this, aren't they? this is a church. an underground cave church. the frescoes are dating back to the 12th century. it kind of actually notice that these ones are pretty well—kept, but a lot of them have kind of disintegrated away, some have fallen away from the actual ceiling. probably when we get to the other section of the church, over there, the paintings will be much

better preserved, or which are under the soil will be much better preserved than those ones. so this is going to take quite a long while because you need the specialists who will take care in removing the dirt and hopefully finding some more frescoes. henry uncovering turkey's long—hidden past back in 2017. to end the show this week, we are heading back to the aegean coast which has long been considered a holiday spot for sun and sea. but beneath the waves is something that you may not expect that's providing a welcome home for local marine life, as mike found out when he went there last year. in 2016, authorities sunk a giant airbus jetjust out here in the bay. they said it would attract divers and crucially,

act as an artificial reef to house the wondrous marine life that lives here in the water. we're here three years to see if it actually worked. the project here was the first time a plane that big had been sunk for tourism purposes. but just this year, there have been a succession of similar ideas. off turkey's north—west coast, an even bigger airbus was lowered to a depth of 30 metres injune. bahrain submerged a boeing 7117 as part of wider plans to create an enormous underwater theme park. and injordan in the red sea near aqaba, they've installed a military museum, comprising tanks, troop carriers and a helicopter, all in battle formation. oh, yes please! ice cream! baris was one of the mastermind behind the plans here in kusadasi. how are you? you want to eat? i'd love one. what flavours? it was a complicated undertaking, which began

when the plane was split into five parts and driven here from istanbul. why did you choose this specific spot in this giant coastline? you probably cannotjust sink an air plane without preparing it first, right?

hey, guys! which one of you is tagmac? here is tagmac. yeah? how are you? good. we've got a dive to do, yeah? yes. here we go, then! the wreck is really close to the bay — the journeyjust takes a few minutes. tagmac here, who's my guide, does it regularly. in fact, he was also involved in getting it out to its final resting place. and over those years, have you seen the plane change? in four years, marine life is — it get very rich here. we have many sea bream, sea bass around the plane. and there is a turtle sometimes we see around the plane. and so in this big, vast ocean, why would fish come to live at the plane? because it is protection for them, like a house, and there is no dangerous things for their living there, because it is clean — all clean. one, two, and three! it's 18 metres down from the surface and immediately,

i can see some of the changes i came here looking for. little sponges and coral are appearing on the side and schools of fish glide gently past. the sea currents have wrenched one of the wings free from the plane, providing more tempting nooks in which sea creatures can hide. but its former life has not been totally obliterated — there is just enough left to let you live out a few of your childhood dreams. ooh! chuckles. it is a wonderland down there! yes, very good! there was quite a lot of fish! yes! there is many fishes. especially inside and underneath the wing. yes! and what do you think the future is? the future will be very nice because it is already four years past and many fishes start to live into the air plane.

under the wing, there are many marine life. inside of the cabin, there are many marine life, sea bass, sea bream. it was beautiful, the way that the light came in the windows. how there was fish, but there was also — woo hoo! — corals and clams and a lot of animals growing on the hull of the ship itself. yes. i have not seen anything like that before. that was beautiful. thank you. awesome dive. good diving. yeah. well, that's all we've got time for on this week's show. i do hope you've enjoyed this look back at some of our past adventures and fingers crossed, we'll all be out there travelling again sometime soon. in the meantime, catch up with us next week, when: mike is in brazil two years after a catastrophic fire destroyed thousands of precious exhibits at one of the country's most famous museums. walking around, you just feel hollow, like the remains of the museum. i'll give a whistle and that's

the signal to the penguins that they can come in. and lucy heads to london zoo to meet the volunteers who have given their time to help care for the animals during the corona crisis. can't cannot say i have ever massaged a goat before but i think it is equally relaxing for them and for me! yes. sojoin us then if you can. but for now from me christa larwood and the rest of the travel show team, it's goodbye. hello there. on saturday, we finish the day with some pretty big weather contrasts. now, across england and wales, we have a sunny day, and it was a fine end to the day as well.

this was one of our weather watcher pictures sent in from the surrey area. thanks to debbie w for that. further north, in scotland's stirling, it was a soggy saturday, certainly through the afternoon. thanks to graham for sending us that picture of the rain coming down in stirling. and the rain was all courtesy of this weather front, this area of cloud that stretches thousands of miles out into the atlantic. this is rain—bearing cloud, and it's going nowhere very far, very fast. so, at the moment, it's pouring down in scotland. around western scotland, the rain continues. notice over the next few hours, there is a tendency for the heaviest of the rain to start to nudge away from northern ireland. still an odd patch for north—west england and perhaps the western side of wales as well, but a mild start to the day for sure. now through sunday, we're going to continue to see the rain pouring down across those western mountains in scotland. now, by the end of the weekend, we could see over 100 mm of rain,

so there is a risk of seeing some localised flooding in western scotland. the rain clears away in northern ireland. should brighten up here with some sunny spells, and probably some sunny spells to end the day for southern and maybe central scotland. england and wales, that's where the best of the sunshine will be, with ea rly—morning cloud melting away, certainly through the afternoon, and temperatures up to 26 across parts of eastern england. that warming trend continues into the first part of the new week as well, briefly turning hotter as this area of higher pressure in the continent, just drifts a little bit further eastwards to allow our winds to start to flow in from the south. and that'll be dragging in that hotter air from france. so, for monday, a lot of dry weather to come, and for most of us, yes, it is going to be a warm day in the sunshine. notice across the north west, there is a little bit more in the way of cloud here, perhaps threatening a little in the way of light rain late in the afternoon. but it's across eastern england that we'll see the day's highest departures —

up to 30 degrees in the london area. so, a brief hot spell of weather here. now, we will stay pretty hot across parts of eastern england as we go on through tuesday. again, afairamount of sunshine for most of us. temperatures again pretty widely into the low 20s, with those highest temperatures again for east anglia and south—east england. but from there, really, as we go on deeper into the week ahead, temperatures will tend to get close to normal, as easterly winds start to blow in across the uk and we start to see cloudier skies.

welcome to bbc news, i'm maryam moshiri. our top stories: history in the making in doha, as the afghan government and the taliban sit down for peace talks. police on the greek island of lesbos fire tear gas during a protest by migrants who've been homeless since their camp burned down on wednesday. "on the edge of losing control" of coronavirus. a warning from a leading british scientist as 3500 uk cases are recorded for a second day. sir terence conran, the designer who revolutionised home design in britain, has died at the age of 88.