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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Get the featured set of Essential Reading, our top picks of what to read, and get free shipping on anything else you order.

Essential Reading

Item EXTKY141. Buy these 4 items as a set for $61 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Istanbul, Memories and the City

Istanbul, Memories and the City

by Orhan Pamuk

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

Nobel Prize-winner Pamuk writes with quiet grace of the city of his birth, celebrated in his many novels: a magical place of crumbling mansions and Ottoman riches, mingling Asian, Islamic, secular and European influences. (TKY99, $16.95)

Blue Guide Istanbul

Blue Guide Istanbul

by John Freely

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

Freely's erudite, indispensable guide to the monuments, art and history of Istanbul. (TKY231, $24.95)

Lonely Planet Istanbul Encounter

Lonely Planet Istanbul Encounter

by Verity Campbell

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

With a section of not-to-miss highlights, pull-out map and a calendar of annual events. (TKY151, $12.99)

Istanbul Map

Istanbul Map

by Borch Maps

  • 2011
  • MAP

Take it along! (TKY65, $8.95)

 

A Hedonist's Guide to Istanbul


by Nick Hackworth

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • FLEXI-BOUND
  • 210 PAGES

A guide to the vibrant city, with comprehensive listings of accommodations, restaurants and bars. (TKY152, $18.95)

Culture Smart! Turkey

Culture Smart! Turkey


by Charlotte McPherson

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 168 PAGES

Take along this pocket guide to local customs, etiquette and culture. (TKY127, $9.95)

Eyewitness Guide Istanbul

Eyewitness Guide Istanbul


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

This superb guide to Istanbul features color photography, dozens of excellent local maps and a district-by-district synopsis of the city's attractions. Handsome, convenient and up-to-date, this is the guide to carry. (TKY86, $25.00)

Istanbul Eats

Istanbul Eats


by Yigal Schleifer | Ansel Mullins

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 173 PAGES

With maps, photographs and a very readable full page on each spot, this handy guide includes hundreds of discoveries from Sultanahmet to Beyaglu, Galata, the Bosphorus and beyond. (TKY245, $16.95)

Lonely Planet Turkish Phrasebook

Lonely Planet Turkish Phrasebook


by Arzu Kurklu

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 259 PAGES

With essential vocabulary for the traveler. (TKY115, $8.99)

Strolling Through Istanbul, The Classic Guide to the City

Strolling Through Istanbul, The Classic Guide to the City


by Hilary Sumner-boyd | John Freely

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 494 PAGES

A new edition of Freely and Sumner-Boyd's indispensable (and hefty) guide to the history, monuments and culture of Istanbul. (TKY213, $19.00)

Turquoise, A Chef's Travels in Turkey

Turquoise, A Chef's Travels in Turkey


by Greg and Lucy Malouf

  • FOOD
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 356 PAGES

This sumptuous book combines travel, recipes and stunning color photographs of landscapes, people, food and traditions. (TKY192, $50.00)

1453, The Holy War For Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West

1453, The Holy War For Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West


by Roger Crowley

  • HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

In this well-paced history, Crowley recounts with drama the events surrounding the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks. (TKY114, $15.99)

A Traveller's History of Turkey

A Traveller's History of Turkey


by Richard Stoneman

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 247 PAGES

An accessible, well-written overview of Turkish history from the Paleolithic to the present. (TKY13, $14.95)

Crescent and Star

Crescent and Star


by Stephen Kinzer

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 265 PAGES

This insightful anecdotal report on contemporary life, culture and politics in Turkey comes from a former New York Times Istanbul bureau chief who is especially attuned to the powerful geographic position of Turkey and its multiple identities in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. (TKY64, $17.00)

Istanbul and the Civilization of the Ottoman Empire

Istanbul and the Civilization of the Ottoman Empire


by Bernard Lewis

  • HISTORY
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 187 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

In this slim volume the great Islamic scholar describes the invasion of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks on May 29, 1453, evoking the city at this pivotal moment in its long history. (TKY17, $24.95)

Istanbul, A Cultural History

Istanbul, A Cultural History


by Peter Clark

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Peter Clark celebrates the history, architecture, literature and society of Istanbul. (TKY254, $15.00)

Istanbul, City of a Hundred Names

Istanbul, City of a Hundred Names


by Alex Webb | Orhan Pamuk

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 136 PAGES

Webb illuminates the neighborhoods, diversity and confluence of cultures of contemporary Istanbul. (TKY148, $50.00)

Istanbul, the Imperial City

Istanbul, the Imperial City


by John Freely

  • HISTORY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

A lively, anecdotal history of the city geared for the traveler. With historic and modern photographs and neighborhood maps. Freely concludes with a helpful, 60-page section on monuments and museums. (TKY23, $17.00)

The Bridge, A Journey Between Orient and Occident

The Bridge, A Journey Between Orient and Occident


by Geert Mak

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES

Symbol at the heart of Istanbul, connecting East and West, Islamic and European, traditional and modern, Galata is a fitting subject for the gifted Dutch journalist's portrait of cosmopolitan modern Istanbul. (TKY209, $14.95)

The Secret History

The Secret History


by G. A. Williamson | Procopius

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

This is historical mudslinging only a Byzantine could devise, a withering expose of the scandals, intrigues and infidelities of the splendid empire and the court of Emperor Justinian by none other than its official historian. (TKY11, $15.00)

The Turkish Embassy Letters

The Turkish Embassy Letters


by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 190 PAGES

The unconventional wife of the British ambassador, Lady Montagu delights in Turkish life and society in these lively letters. (TKY45, $16.95)

An Evil Eye

An Evil Eye


by Jason Goodwin

  • MYSTERY
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 304 PAGES

Back from Venice, Investigator Yashim is drawn into the mysterious and dangerous intrigues of the sultan's harem at Topkapi Palace in this fourth novel in the Ottoman Empire Series. (TKY240, $26.00)

Constantinople

Constantinople


by Edmondo De Amicis | Stephen Parkin

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

Originally published in 1877, Edmondo De Amicis' entertaining sketches of the people, architecture, daily life and customs of the city show all the freshness of a young writer's first impressions of a great city. (TKY102, $17.95)

Istanbul, Poetry of Place


by Ate Orga

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 159 PAGES

Sultan Süleyman, W. B. Yeats and Nâzim Hikmet, amongst others, are included in this tribute to the world's most remarkable cities. (TKY243, $17.95)

Istanbul, The Collected Traveler

Istanbul, The Collected Traveler


by Barrie Kerper

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 594 PAGES

Barrie Kerper raided her file cabinets and cajoled many friends (interviews included) for this rich anthology on Turkey, its history, culture and allure. Her treasure trove includes thoughtful commentaries on everything from Turkish cuisine and Istanbul's monuments to Whirling Dervishes and famous personalities. (TKY202, $19.00)

Race of Scorpions

Race of Scorpions


by Dorothy Dunnett

  • LITERATURE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 534 PAGES

An absorbing tale of political intrigue set in the 15th-century Ottoman Empire and throughout the Mediterranean, including Cyprus. (MED33, $16.95)

Songs My Mother Never Taught Me


by Selcuk Altun

  • MYSTERY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 212 PAGES

Liberated from his overbearing mother and unengaged from the woman he was going to marry to please her, young Arda gets in all sorts of trouble on the streets of modern Istanbul in this brilliantly edgy, witty thriller by Selcuk Altun. (TKY262, $13.95)

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax


by Dorothy Gilman

  • MYSTERY
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 172 PAGES

The second mystery staring Mrs. Pollifax takes the grandmother-turned-CIA agent to Istanbul. (TKY228, $7.99)

The Bastard of Istanbul

The Bastard of Istanbul


by Elif Shafak

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 360 PAGES

An offbeat novel exploring Turkish national history and identity. (TKY144, $14.00)

The Black Book

The Black Book


by Orhan Pamuk | Maureen Freely

  • MYSTERY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 466 PAGES

This atmospheric, erudite and fast-paced mystery unfolds amidst the tumult of 1980s Istanbul, a city in transition. (TKY01, $15.95)

The Oracle of Stamboul, A Novel

The Oracle of Stamboul, A Novel


by Michael David Lukas

  • LITERATURE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 294 PAGES

A gloriously escapist story of a beautiful, crumbling empire and an extraordinary girl, this atmospheric first novel follows the fate of Eleanor, born in 1877 to a rug merchant in Constanta on the Black Sea, in the Sultan's court in late 19th-century Constantinople. (TKY246, $13.99)

The Rage of the Vulture

The Rage of the Vulture


by Barry Unsworth

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 443 PAGES

An atmospheric novel by the Booker Prize-winning author set in Constantinople during the last gasp of the Ottoman Empire. (TKY119, $14.95)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.