I had been to the beautiful city of Istanbul before. So I was looking forward to spending 24 hours in the Turkish capital Ankara to meet some of the country’s up and coming entrepreneurs. The people were great. The city reminded of Albany, New York. Sadly, that's not a good thing. Ankara is a typical capital full of traffic and anonymous government buildings.

After a four-hour flight from London, and a two-hour layover in Istanbul, we then endured a long taxi journey from the Ankara airport to a "conference-type" hotel which meant it was in the middle of nowhere. The hotel staff, however, was great and told us upon arriving that we had been upgraded to suites.

The week only got better from there. We soon flew back to Istanbul.

I learned on my last trip that every interview in Turkey starts with the host offering you tea and a long chat. You have to build that into every shoot. It's not hard to do that when you are shown so much hospitality. My producer, cameraman and I just sat in the office of one of Turkey's rising business stars. You don't want to start setting up the lights and tripod until the ritual is complete. I also think you learn a lot more this way and can spend less time and tape when you have a good idea where your subject stands.

The other reality in Turkey is that the boss is the boss, and there are many people standing around ready to help when you are with him. These people are usually men wearing suits and ties (just like all the taxi drivers.) The only problem is, they are too eager to help. At each location we went during the week, someone was trying to carry the camera or pick up the tripod. It annoyed my cameraman and they kept getting in the shots. They are expected to shadow the boss wherever he goes. That's a problem when you are trying to film him walking with me or on his own.

We were in Turkey to see what the business community can do to convince Europe that this Muslim nation should join the EU. The clear message from everyone is that business is already closely tied to Europe and the politicians will follow. There is so much confidence here that the EU will one day practically beg Turkey to join.

Much of that confidence was shared with us over drinks and dinner at Istanbul's flashy Ulus 29 restaurant. Yes, more food, more good company and more evidence that Turkey is very Western. We talked football, tourism, Italian food. But religion is barely talked about, despite there being mosque nearly on every corner.

One morning we were told to meet one of Turkey’s richest men at a breakfast spot. We arrived, 45 minutes before he did, to find ourselves in the finest restaurant I have ever seen. It was along the banks of the Bosporus and it became clear after a while that the company must have booked the entire place. There were no other patrons. The CEO arrived, complete with security and plenty of people to carry the tripod, and we spent the time eating wonderful eggs, drinking good coffee and talking Turkey.

Then, we were whisked off in his secure VW van to the headquarters. I could not help noticing that wherever we went, people stood when he walked by. In many way Turkey is pushing to be part of Europe, but there are customs that most of Europe has moved beyond.

Turks also like to present gifts to their guests. I can't think of another country where I was given gifts (Turkish Delight of course) after each interview.

I often say you can't have a bad meal in Turkey. You also can’t find rude people. May all of Europe learn from the people who want to be tied closer to Europe but not lose their important links to the East.

Click here to see my report

-- From Jim Boulden, CNN International Producer/Correspondent

Well, it was a first for me. Over the years I've interviewed countless newsmakers and celebrities. One of the great things about my job is that I get to meet some very high profile personalities. A few weeks ago it was Oscar winner Helen Mirren. And last week Peter Hain, the UK's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Until today though I’d never been called upon to interview a dog, albeit a very special one.

Araki Fabulous Willy is a six-year-old Tibetan Terrier who beat 25,000 other canines to win the prestigious "Best in Show" award at the 116th annual Crufts show.

The British are potty when it comes to dogs. Nearly 150,000 of them made their way to the huge National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham for the four-day event and millions more watched the dog world's answer to the Oscars on TV.

But I have to admit that I don’t really share the passion ... at least not for show dogs. There's something about all those odd looking breeds, fluffed and manicured, flouncing around the arena with their handlers that makes me uncomfortable. Give me a real dog any day –- one that will chase sticks, play rough and tumble with the kids and isn't afraid to get wet.

Willy is a top dog. A pampered pooch who has made a career out of posing for an adoring public. He's not then the sort of dog I'd warm to. Or so I thought.

It's always refreshing to find that someone in the public eye is actually quite "normal" and down to earth. I'd presumed that "Willy," as he’s known to his friends, would be the stereotypical demanding starlet. But he's really just a regular guy.

Okay, so he didn't say very much during our live tv "chat" ... he left all the talking to his co-owner Neil Smith. But I could tell from his relaxed demeanor that he's not had his head turned by fame, is happy to go with the flow and just isn't the sort to throw a celebrity tantrum. A bit like George Clooney, really.

Okay, so he left whisps of blonde hair all over the studio which stuck to my suit (how do I explain that to Mrs F?), but I liked him. And so did everyone else in the London newsroom. I can't remember a human guest ever having so many people wanting to "shake paws." I won't, however, be attempting to acquire my own Tibetan Terrier anytime soon. The two hours daily grooming required to keep that wonderful coat in good shape would drive me mad.

Click here to watch the full interview

-- From Adrian Finighan, CNN International Anchor

Weddings are always emotional. Even more so, if you are attending a Druze wedding in the Golan Heights. The bride, the parents, and all their guests seemed to alternate between bouts of singing and dancing one moment, then crying and shouting the next.

The Druze are an ancient religious community spread out across Lebanon, Syria and Israel. In the case of the Druze of the Golan, the community is separated along the lines of the 1967 war - between Syria and Israeli-occupied territory. On this occasion, Arwad, an Israeli-Druze bride was leaving her family to marry a Syrian-Druze. But because both countries are still technically in a state of war, Arwad will never be able to return home unless Syria and Israel sign a peace agreement.

The wedding takes place on the UN demilitarized zone between Syrian and Israeli forces. It's a bureaucratic nightmare to set up. Wedding permits from both Syria and Israel are needed. Then all the guests and family attending the ceremony need to be cleared for security. The whole process from start to finish takes more than a year. A very long engagement.

But a wedding like this is much more than the union of a husband and wife. It's also an opportunity for Druze to try and reunite with their families across the border - if only for a moment.

When it was time for Arwad to leave, the emotions were too much. Her family swarmed around her, hugging her and giving their last goodbyes. And the media only made things worse, pressing in to record the moment on camera, scribbling in notebooks. Photographers clambered on top of each other to get the crucial shot of the bride walking into the demilitarized zone. Israeli border police shouted at us to calm down, pulling down more than one cameraman who had managed to scale the fence.

Reporters were only allowed to go as far as the border gate while the wedding took place several hundred meters in at the midpoint of the buffer zone. Through the barbed wire, you could see the bride and groom finally together. All around them, people were laughing and hugging, some were crying. These are the lucky ones, guests who were cleared to attend, temporarily reunited with family that live in Syria.

But there were many more who were left behind. At the border fence they jumped up and down, waving to the relatives they could see but not hear or touch. Some called excitedly on their mobile phones. Others broke down in tears begging the Israeli border forces to let them through to see their family. Weddings like this happen only a few times a year. A handful managed to convince the Israeli authorities to let them through for just 5 minutes. Each time someone got through, they would run like mad into the arms of their families.

The whole ceremony lasts for just one hour. The toughest part comes at the end when UN and Red Cross officials step in to separate the families again. Only the bride is allowed to cross into Syria. And once she goes, she can't come back.

I'm not the kind of person who cries at weddings. But I did at this one.

Click here to watch my report

-- From Atika Shubert, CNN International Correspondent