Good books about Turkey
There are many good books about Turkey, and after reading most of them (and writing one or three of them), here are some I’d like to recommend (updated October 2021). Happy reading! * Reviews for items marked with an asterisk can be found on the Book Reviews page of this site.
Memoirs
- Turkish Letters – Ogier De Busbecq
- Dinner of Herbs – Carla Grissman
- Turkish Embassy Letters – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
- Expat Sofra: Culinary Tales of Foreign Women in Turkey – eds. Katherine Belliel & Francesa Rosa
- Istanbul Dreams – Lisa Morrow
- Twelve Camels for Your Wife – George Dearsley*
- Portrait of a Turkish Family – Irfan Orga
- The Caravan Moves On – Ifran Orga
- Istanbul: Memories & the City – Orhan Pamuk
- Turkey Street: Jack and Liam move to Bodrum – Jack Scott*
Fiction
- 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World – Elif Safak*
- A Mind at Peace – Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar
- The Two Currents: Bosphorus Review of Books Anthology
- The Red Haired Woman – Orhan Pamuk
- Aziyade – Pierre Loti
- The Four Humors – Mina Seckin
- Ginger and Salep – Jane Gundogan
- Birds Without Wings – Louis de Bernieres
- Bliss – O Z Livaneli
- Ward 72 – Orhan Kemal
- Final Summer of Vodka: The Marmaris Diaries – Louise Bell*
- The Black Book – Orhan Pamuk
- They Burn the Thistles – Yashar Kemal
- The Three Daughters of Eve – Elif Safak
- The Pull of It – Wendy Fox*
- anything by Yashar Kemal
- Salep and Ginger – Jane Gundogan
- anything by Barbara Nadel, including Blood Business, The House of Four & Incorruptible*
Culture, Society & History and more
- Goodbye to the Fez – Barbro Karabuda
- Streets of Memory: Landscape, Tolerance and National Identity in Istanbul – Amy Mills
- Fragments of Culture – ed. by D Kandiyoti & A Saktanber
- Exploring Turkish Landscapes– Lisa Morrow
- Crescent & Star – Stephen Kinzer
- A Village in Anatolia – Mahmut Makal
- Ataturk: the Rebirth of a Nation – Andrew Mango
- The Turks Today – Andrew Mango
- Turkey – Culture Smart! – Charlotte McPherson*
- Inside Out In Istanbul – Lisa Morrow
- The Harem: The World behind the Veil – Alev Lyle Croutier
- The Turkish Labyrinth – James Pettifer
- A Fez of the Heart – Jeremy Seal
- Strolling through Istanbul – Hilary Sumner-Boyd & John Freely
- Turkish Cinema – Gonul Donmez-Colin
- A Short History of Byzantium – John Julius Norwich
- Turkish Awakening – Alev Scott*
- Longing for Istanbul – Lisa Morrow
Cookbooks
- Istanbul & Beyond: Exploring the Diverse Cuisines of Turkey – Robyn Eckhardt*
- Ozlem’s Turkish Table: Recipes from my Homeland – Ozlem Warren*
Other book lists
Best Books for Exploring and Understanding Istanbul, Discover the Best Books, May 31, 2021.
Best Books to Understand the Heart and Soul of Turkey and Its People, Discover the Best books, June 21, 2021.
Subscribe to my blog via email (see top right hand corner of the page) to receive my latest book reviews and more.
Thank you so much.
That is duch a good idea.
Thank you. I hope you have many hours of happy reading.
I think you don’t have any female authors on your list. I would include Elif Safak’s books which reflect life in Turkey mostly Istanbul.