Alice Roberts starts her Ottoman adventure in Adana. She visits a historic mosque and learns about the origins of Turkish delight. She then takes a train across the Taurus Mountains to Konya.

Alice Roberts goes to Ankara to visit the grave of Atatürk, who witnessed the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Then she goes to Bursa, where the tomb of Osman, the founder of the state, is located.

Alice Roberts arrives in Istanbul and delves into the ingenious strategies employed by the Ottomans to capture the city from Roman control.

Entering the Balkans by sleeper train, Alice Roberts visits Bulgaria's capital Sofia. She learns how Istanbul controls the empire and how the landscape is almost entirely Soviet.

In her final train journey, Alice Roberts travels to Budapest to explore the Ottoman Empire's western front and understand its eventual collapse.