Spain pioneered package holidays for sun-starved Scots.  However, as low-cost and charter airlines spread their wings east, Turkey too became a firm favourite.  But which is best?  Here are a few comparisons to help make up your mind.

Barcelona vs Istanbul:  Gaudi's unfinished eight-spired fantasy of La Sagrada Familia cathedral and the shopping street of Las Ramblas are Barcelona's best-known sights.  In Istanbul at least the Ottoman builders signed off on the Blue Mosque's six minarets in the 17th century, and whilst the Grand Bazaar is a tourist honey pot, real shopping does exist across the Galatta Bridge on Istiklal Cadessi.

Bodrum vs Benidorm:  Turkey's Aegean resort of Bodrum is euphemistically described as 'lively'.  Though there are up-market hotels, the resort's bargain beach packages are its biggest draw, late-night bars and club DJ sessions catering to a young and hedonistic crowd.  Benidorm epitomises unchecked tourism development, a model for other resorts to avoid.  That said, away from the high-rise hotels there's still an 'old town' and the resort can offer value-for-money beach holidays.

Character city hotels: Turkey has plenty of reassuringly expensive hotels, most claiming some connection to Ottoman Sultans etc…  However, for first-time Istanbul visitors Kybele Hotel's townhouse Sultanahmet location, trademark multicoloured lamps and cosy armchairs can't be bettered.  In Spain parador hotels occupy former palaces and castles, and are a model for state-run success. The first, Parador de Gredos, is exceptional, located west of Madrid near Navarrendonda amongst the wild mountains and fruit-rich valleys of the Sierra de Gredos.

Flamenco vs Whirling Dervishes:  Flamenco's origins lie in Andalucian Roma musical traditions.  Today the style has spread and haughty heel-stamping señoritas dancing to flying fingered guitarists and feverishly clapping crowds are found across Spain.  Turkey's Dervishes are followers of 13th century Sufi poet Mevlana Jelaleddin Rumî.  Their mesmerising whirling, though a spectacle for onlookers, is a mechanism to effect a trance-like state of spiritual ecstasy… without falling over.

Kebabs vs Paella:  Fresh lamb döner and sis are joined in Turkey by many others, including buttery iskender kebap, skewered onion and pepper çag kebabi and antep kebabi - you definitely wont need chilli sauce with that…  In Spain ordering paella requires forethought, often 24-hours' notice.  Saffron-infused rice and fresh seafood is simmered with love and best accompanied by a glass of chilled white Rioja - the start to an evening rather than the end.

Islands:  Spain's Balearics and Canaries depend on tourism, individual resorts niches for fly and floppers, clubbers, families and reclusive villa-philes - something for everyone.  Turkey's islands are harder to define.  North Cyprus is a complicated combination of historic towns, beautiful villages, wild coastline and mass tourism blight.  Elsewhere, on the Aegean coast, sleepy islands such as Bozcaada at the mouth of the Dardanelles hark back to a pre-jet age Mediterranean.

Lira vs Euro:  Turkey's non-Euro value has been part of its recent attraction.  However, April 2014's Post Office Holiday Cost Barometer shows little difference between baskets of items purchased in the Turkish resort of Marmaris and Spain's Costa del Sol.  However, both resorts were almost half the price of Italian destinations, and beaten only by Bulgaria's Sunny Beach.

Hiking Country:  The Picos de Europa gave Europe its name and, together with the Alpujarran foothills of Andalucia's Sierra Nevada, provide breathtaking Spanish mountain walks.  Elsewhere, pilgrims have long followed the route to Santiago de Compostela in north-western Spain, and still do.  In Turkey if you're not up to Mount Ararat's 5,137m summit, and few are, the Lycian Way stretches over 500km around the Tekke Peninsula from Ölüdeniz to Antalya.  As well as striking views the route includes many ancient Lycian sites.

Hot Water:  Turkey's cascading terraces of natural thermal pools at Pamukkale have drawn bathers for centuries.  Located close by the ruins of Byzantine Hierapolis, the blue mineralised water and white calcium carbonate pools are visually stunning.  After the re-conquest of Moorish Spain the Arab hamam habit was viewed by some as unpatriotic.  However, at Alhama de Granada, near Granada, the 12th century Arab baths remain beneath a modern spa, complemented by a series of free al fresco, sulphate-rich pools.

Wine:  Spain is now the world's largest wine producer.  La Rioja and neighbouring north-eastern regions are famous for robust red wines, whilst Galicia in the north-west is renowned for crisp whites.  Turkey's Anatolian vines have been harvested by producers, Kavaklıdere and Doluca since the 1920s.  Results have been mixed.  However, recent import of foreign methods and expertise has witnessed dramatic improvements.  New boutique labels such as Gulor, from the country's north-west, now offer startlingly good bottles.

This article has been produced in association with www.talkholiday.com