Popular Books about Turkey, Travel, Food and Culture

Popular Books about Turkey, Travel, Food and Culture
6 August 2021

In the age of video games, smart phones, Facebook and Twitter, it is surprising that people still pick up books and read. While Turkey can be proud of its literary traditions, especially poetry, there are many books helpful to travelers or expats, written by foreigners and Turks. Here you will find some popular books about Turkey, whether it’s Turkish cooking, culture, travel or a guide to life, there are plenty of books available. Here’s a few to get started.

A Handbook for Living in Turkey- Pat Yale

This book was written in 2007 and even though some of the information has changed, this book is very useful. It unravels the mysteries of being a foreigner in a country whose language and culture can sometimes be very confusing.
It gives much information about choosing a location to live, navigating the Turkish language, addresses to useful sites and places. It’s basically a guide to every aspect of daily life in Turkey and offers practical ideas for making life easier. You can find helpful word lists and the appendices are a wealth of addresses and contact details.
The author, Pat Yale lives in Cappadocia with her many cats.

The Road to Ruins- Lycian Turkey- Tricie Emptage

If you plan to visit Fethiye and are interested in history, this book is a must. It’s an enlightening guide to the ancient ruins of Lycia. It describes the history of the ancient kingdom of Lycia and has descriptions of all the places of interest. This book is humorous and has insights into life of the Lycians in ancient and modern times.

Lonely Planet Turkey (Travel Guide) – various authors

This wonderful book contains color maps, reviews, cultural insights with highlights and itineraries. This is a comprehensive guide to Turkey and is perfect for those wishing to explore the top sights in Turkey. It’s your passport to the most relevant and up-to-date advice on what to see and where to visit. It has essential information including working hours, phone numbers, websites, trips. It contains honest reviews for all budgets and gives an array of information covering most subjects.

Eat Smart in Turkey- Joan Peterson

This is the second book written and updated by Joan Peterson and a popular with foodies. This book introduces you to Turkish cuisine, is a travel guide and a cookbook all rolled into one. It helps travelers enjoy Turkish food, gives information on culinary delights and looks at people and events that shaped one of the world’s great cuisines. It gives the reader courage to try out new foods and tells you exactly what’s on the plate and how it was prepared. A must read for lovers of food.

Turkey, what everyone needs to know- Andrew Finkel

Andrew Finkel has spent over twenty years in Turkey writing about the country for various magazines.
This book focuses on the history between the past and modern day. He sets the complications and transformations of present day Turkey against the historical background of the Ottoman Empire. He looks at the secular nationalist revolution led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and repeated political interventions by the military, which sees itself as the guardian of Ataturk’s legacy. From the Kurdish question to economic policy, from Turkey’s role in Iraq to its quest for EU membership, Finkel illuminates the past and present of this uniquely consequential country in this book.

Modern Turkey- Bill Park

This book provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary Turkey. It traces the evolution of Turkey’s domestic political and economic systems, its foreign policy from the inception of the republic to the present day. It covers the main features and prominent role of Kemalism, the position of Turkey as a bridge between East and West, the Fethullah Gulen movement, the role of the EU and the Turkish diaspora in the evolution of Turkish policies.
Situating the country as a ‘model’ for the wider Muslim world, this book is a sophisticated analysis of one of the largest and most important states in the Middle East will be an invaluable resource for those interested in Turkish politics.

Turkey the Raw Guide- Jack Scott

This is a wonderful book available on Kindle. It is about a young man and his civil partner who moved to Turkey to live the dream. This is basically a blog of the times they spent consisting of heat stroke, bugs from hell, frostbite, dirty politics and many other hilarious events. He called this book ‘Perking the Pansies’. This blog grew into the most successful blog of its kind in Turkey, attracting a loyal following, the attention of the Turkish national press and hatched an award- winning Amazon number one best- selling book. There is an uncensored Directors cut available including previously unpublished material.

Classic Turkish Cooking- Ghillie Basan

In this classic much loved work, which was shortlisted for the Glenfiddich Cookery award, Ghillie Basan presents an amazing collection of delicious traditional Turkish dishes from Anatolian dishes to the palace kitchens of the Ottoman Empire.
In this book, the writer gives observations on the roots of Turkish cuisine and plenty of delightful recipes for the reader to prepare themselves at home.

The A to Z of Turkey- Metin Heper

This book explores the history of Turkey, a fascinating country through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography and many cross- referenced dictionary entries. It covers important people in Turkey, places, and cultural aspects.

Turkey, Bright Sun, Strong Tea- Tom Brosnahan

This is Tom Brosnahan’s travel memoir and explains how he came to Turkey. It’s an entertaining story as well as an introduction to Turkey. It explains how to travel, the Turkish people and is an easy read with short chapters for those on the go. It’s humorous and very easy to read. Tom Brosnahan came to Turkey as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the 1960’s.

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