Istanbul, books?

[whtdog]

I need a good book... something based in Istanbul, cheesy historical romance or thrilling mystery...any ideas?

I have nearly memorized the travel books now I need a story...or movie:rolleyes:

 

Thanks,

Sunny

[cruisemom42]

Look for books by Orhan Pamuk, an award-winning Istanbul author -- he has written books set in the present and the past in Istanbul.

 

A really interesting historical novel, set in both Istanbul and Athens (about Lord Elgin -- who was an ambassador to Istanbul when he "rescued" the Parthenon marbles) is "Stealing Athena" by Karen Essex.

 

A great book about Turkey (but not Istanbul) is "Memed, My Hawk"

 

http://www.amazon.com/Memed-My-Hawk-Yashar-Kemal/dp/159017139X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1309917058&sr=8-1

[Dunmore2]

Sailing to Sarentium by Guy Gavriel Kay is about Istanbul during the time they built Hagia Sophia. He calls the cities other names, but it is a clever story about a man who travels to Sarentium because he has a talent for mosaic work. There is a mix of history, fantasy, mythology,religion and lots of drama about life in 6th century Byzantium. Part two is called Lord of Emperors.

[cruise kitty]

Try The Historian, by elizabeth kostova, blends Vlad Tepes the 3rd & his dealings with fighting the ottoman empire with the dracula legend, fun read.

[dln929]

Not cheesy, but surprisingly engrossing, are the letters of Lady Mary Montague in the 17th century. Her husband was British ambassador to Turkey and she wrote of her life in Istanbul. It takes a little while to get into the old-fashioned language but stick with it! Lady Mary was a keen observer of humanity and there was little that escaped her. And she told all (and then some). :D

 

http://www.amazon.com/Turkish-Embassy-Letters-Wortley-Montagu/dp/082031580X

 

I found my copy at the library; you might be able to do the same.

[cruise kitty]

I think I'll have to add a caveat... my recommendation was definitely fluff/cheesy compared to others... but highly entertaining! Please don't judge me too harshly:D

[cruisemom42]

I think I'll have to add a caveat... my recommendation was definitely fluff/cheesy compared to others... but highly entertaining! Please don't judge me too harshly:D

 

I wouldn't say it's fluffy or cheesy. I read it when it came out a couple of years ago and found it intriguing (if a bit slow in places) and unusual.

[lmg1230]

I'm about to start reading "The Oracle of Stamboul" by Michael David Lukas. According to the book jacket: "The prose effortlessly conjures the saffron-scented mansions and light-dappled alleyways of Istanbul in the twilight of the Ottoman Empire, but what will make you devour this book whole is the charming and irresistible young protagonist as she becomes embroiled in the fall of an empire and unravels the mysteries of her past." I can't wait to read it! :)

 

Lisa

[Hoyaheel]

Totally cheesy historical romance - Valide by Barbara Chase-Rimbaud. I read it years ago. Loved it:D

 

Right now I'm reading Birds without Wings http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Without-Wings-Louis-Bernieres/dp/1400079322/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310048382&sr=1-1

 

(I loved the Historian, but my mom and a few of my friends found it impossible to read. Ah well. I didn't really consider it about Istanbul, but then - when I read it, I wasn't planning a trip to that city! ;-)

[Zukini]

Surprised no one has mentioned the "Inspector Yashim" series, by Jason Goodwin. It features Yashim Togalu, a eunuch investigator for Sultan Mahmud II in the mid-1800's, and Istanbul is as much a character in the novels as the protagonists themselves.

 

The first book in the series is "The Janissary Tree".

 

http://www.amazon.com/Janissary-Tree-Novel-Jason-Goodwin/dp/B003R4ZISK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1310049662&sr=8-2

 

I don't know what I enjoyed more...reading the novels and then visiting Istanbul, or re-reading them now that I have first-hand knowledge of the locations that figure prominently in the books.

[dln929]

I think I'll have to add a caveat... my recommendation was definitely fluff/cheesy compared to others... but highly entertaining! Please don't judge me too harshly:D

 

I have to laugh at your caveat because I have one of my own~! I adore Regency Romances. I read them by the ton (and make no excuses for it either). That's why I was so surprised at how Lady Montagu's letters from Istanbul sucked me in. You would think that people from 300 years ago would be--how can I say it-- a little more modest or even prudish compared to today, wouldn't you? NOT! The book starts out with Lady Montagu's account of how a clergyman with an appreciative eye laid compliments on her...hoping for what I couldn't say...:p

[Dunmore2]

Surprised no one has mentioned the "Inspector Yashim" series, by Jason Goodwin. It features Yashim Togalu, a eunuch investigator for Sultan Mahmud II in the mid-1800's, and Istanbul is as much a character in the novels as the protagonists themselves.

 

The first book in the series is "The Janissary Tree".

 

http://www.amazon.com/Janissary-Tree-Novel-Jason-Goodwin/dp/B003R4ZISK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1310049662&sr=8-2

 

I don't know what I enjoyed more...reading the novels and then visiting Istanbul, or re-reading them now that I have first-hand knowledge of the locations that figure prominently in the books.

 

Yes, I enjoyed Yashim's investigations and learning about the Janissaries.

[cruisemom42]

I have to laugh at your caveat because I have one of my own~! I adore Regency Romances. I read them by the ton (and make no excuses for it either). That's why I was so surprised at how Lady Montagu's letters from Istanbul sucked me in. You would think that people from 300 years ago would be--how can I say it-- a little more modest or even prudish compared to today, wouldn't you? NOT! The book starts out with Lady Montagu's account of how a clergyman with an appreciative eye laid compliments on her...hoping for what I couldn't say...:p

 

The "Stealing Athena" book I mentioned above also used Lady Montagu's letters as a basis for the story.

 

I ended up feeling very sorry for her and very much that her husband was a cad -- for more than just taking the marbles!

[whtdog]

Thank you all for your ideas...and more ideas please :rolleyes:

 

I should have time for the book store saturday....

 

Thanks bunches

 

Sunny

[porsena]

Historical romance: The Sheen on the Silk, by Anne Perry. Set in 13th century Istanbul against the backdrop of a threated crusader invasion from the west, it's full of the intrigues between the church and state in Istanbul, Rome, and Venice. The heroine is a female physician who disguises herself as a eunuch, becomes doctor to the famous and powerful but gets drawn into their machinations.

 

Real history: John Julius Norwich wrote a trilogy on Byzantium from its Roman roots to the Ottoman conquest. He shortened the work into a single volume called A Short History of Byzantium. The pages have real drama and Norwich is a very capable writer, which makes reading it nothing like history at school.

[cruise kitty]

So many good leads on books here, I'm ready to load up my kindle with some the books mentioned here...

 

& thanks to everyone for understanding why I adore The Historian... I was feeling like my choice wasn't academic enough when I saw some of the others:)

[Hoyaheel]

Ooh, I read Stealing Athena last year too:D I forget what I read unless I look at my reading list or am reminded. Guess I can consider that my "Athens" book for the cruise. Read City of Falling Angels (non-fiction, by John BErendt) as my "Venice" book.

 

The Black Sea is proving a little more challenging:p My dad was happy to give me lots of military history recommendations, but not quite what I'm interested in at the moment. Peter Hopkirk has some interesting looking books on Central Asia & the British EMpire.....This one is about WWI and efforts of the Kaiser to get people to rise against the Brits (from the Ottoman empire to Afghanistan) "Like Hidden Fire: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire"

 

Lords of the Golden Horn by Noel Barber is also on my list for Istanbul/Turkey.

[texancruzer]

OOOOOOOOOOO I have a l-o-n-g list for my kindle now !!!! Thanks guys !

[altiva]

May I suggest - something about Roxolana? She was a Ukrainian girl,

born in 16 century, called Anastasia captured by Turks and sold as a slave to

Istanbul. There, she became a favourite concubine and later on - a

legal wife to Süleyman the Magnificent, the great ruler of Ottoman

empire. One of her sons with Süleyman inherited the empire!

Her fate was so extraordinary - born to a local clergyman, solved

into slavery, raised to be freed - it was VERY unusual then - and

married to the most prominent man of that time! It beats any

romance, and it's true!

You can visit her mausoleum at the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul.

Hers is adjacent to his.

In novels (note, that it's all fiction, so they added and changed

facts):

Barbara Chase Riboud Valide (1986);

Alum Bati Harem Secrets (2008);

Colin Falconer Harem (Sultan's Harem);

Dorothy Dunnet Pawn in Frankincense, the fourth book of the Lymond Chronicles

Robert E. Howard in The Shadow of the Vulture imagined Roxelana to be sister to its

fiery-tempered female protagonist, Red Sonya.

[MarleneAm]

Rent the movie "Topkapi" from 1964. This movie started my fascination with Istanbul, it took me 40 years to get there! Also John Freely wrote a 1 volume history of

Istanbul that is very interesting for background. There were so many wars, coups and changes!