and the western isles. here scotland and the western isles. here we had continuous rains, a conveyor belt of moisture coming off the north atlantic. we have skipped up nearly 100 millimetres of rain in parts of the western isles. gale force winds in some places, so it's a very different picture here compared to the rest of the country, where we have had plenty of sunshine and temperatures around the low to mid 20s in the south—east and east anglia. this evening, it's pretty quiet on the weatherfront across most of england and wales, northern ireland too. the last of the heavy rain should clear to the north, away from the western isles of scotland, and then we are left with a quiet end to the night and they start to monday. quite a mild morning, and here is the weather map for monday. high pressure across central europe. we are in between, and we have this current of warm air coming out of

spain and france, so that warm air will be spreading into mostly england. but we will see temperatures rising also across wales, northern ireland and scotland. the temperatures in the north will be around 20 degrees, or 15 in stornoway. but yorkshire is around the mid 20s, 30 degrees in london and it looks as though tuesday will be every bit as hot across the extreme south—east, co mforta bly across the extreme south—east, comfortably into the mid 20s across other parts of england and wales, evenin other parts of england and wales, even in the lowlands and belfast. so thatis even in the lowlands and belfast. so that is tuesday. different story by wednesday. high pressure is centred between scotland and iceland, sending a current of cool air from the north. so that will affect the north sea coasts during wednesday bust—up and those temperatures are expected to drop and you can see a big drop between tuesday and wednesday, and then back to normal by the end of the week.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... former british prime ministers tony blair and sirjohn major call borisjohnson‘s brexit plans shameful as the government continues to defend plans to override parts of the withdrawal agreement. more than 30 people have died as wildfires burn in california, oregon and washington and there are further health concerns for the people living there as the smoke is causing widespread pollution. there's fresh concern in the uk over the growing spread of coronavirus after more than 3,000 cases were recorded on consecutive days. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the british—iranian woman jailed for spying in iran, has not been taken to court to face new charges as she'd been expecting today. the uk govenrment says it welcomed the deferral of what it calls

a groundless court hearing. now on bbc news, it's time for the travel show. coming up on this week's travel show: a short, sharp shock. 0h, cold water! painting the town to help change lives. whoa, high—five! hi—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!

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. 0w! he's burning the hair in the ears. i can smell! yes. how do i look? much better? brand—new man? tram bell rings. 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 years. 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, isn't it? 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. 0h, 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 1,500 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 1,000 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 5,000 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. i 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. butjust this year, there have been a succession of similar ideas. 0ff 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 cannot just 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. 0oh! 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.

we have got some sunshine on the way over the next couple of days, fine weather out there today, but monday and tuesday will turn even warmer, hot impact across the south—east of the country and temperatures could hit 30 celsius. how unusual is that the september? fairly unusual. last time we had 30 or more was four yea rs time we had 30 or more was four years ago. in western scotland, a different story this afternoon. the last 2a hours cloud, rain and wind on top of that, very unpleasant, wind gusts 40—50 mph and windy across northern parts of england, a com plete across northern parts of england, a complete contrast in the south of the country, central and southern areas where we have the sunshine and temperatures still in the low mid 20s. that is today, how about this

evening and overnight? the rain should ease from the western isles, the winds will die down a bit, and we are left with a fairly quiet into the night with clear spells in the south and temperatures down to ten in the lowlands but mild in belfast and glasgow and also the western isles, temperatures posting on monday a0 degrees. the weather map on monday. high pressure across central europe, where the plants out in the atlantic, we are in between on the cusp of that high pressure meaning there is a current of warm aircoming out of meaning there is a current of warm air coming out of spain and france and it will engulf most of england and it will engulf most of england and wales so that is where the warm weather will be. in the north—west of the country, we are closer to those weather fronts in the atlantic so those weather fronts in the atlantic so less warm here but still 20 where as in the south—east 30. for most of us, the mid or high 20s, and tuesday will be every bit as warm across the extreme south—east but for many of us extreme south—east but for many of usa extreme south—east but for many of us a sunny extreme south—east but for many of us a sunny and pleasantly warm day

with temperatures typically in the low to mid 20s so we really have a very nice couple of days perhaps for some of us a little too warm. and that will come to an end because on wednesday we see a current of much fresher air coming out of the norwegian sea, riding around that high pressure, so temperatures will plummet across many areas of the uk. look at that, from 30 down to 19th by the time we get to thursday, 20 down to around 1a or lower in edinburgh towards the end of the week, but for the next couple of days we have a little bit of summer warmth here, hopefully not the last time we will have decent warm weather, we still have the rest of september and even 0ctober can be pretty decent.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines. former british prime ministers tony blair and sirjohn major call borisjohnson's brexit plans "shameful," as the government continues to defend plans to override parts of the withdrawal agreement. this is a collective will on the pa rt this is a collective will on the part of the government notjust to prepare for the worst but also to protect the internal workings of our united kingdom, that is responsible government. there's fresh concern in the uk over the growing spread of coronavirus after more than 3,000 cases were recorded on consecutive days. more than 30 people have died as wildfires burn in california, oregon, and washington, and there are further health concerns for the people living there as the smoke is causing widespread pollution. a new trail of nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, a new trial of nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe,

the british—iranian woman jailed forspying in iran,