50 Books about Turkey - everything you need to know about the country for a better experience

Freepik

Even though these days we don't travel, it's always a pleasure to make plans and get my hands on some good reading. One of the sources for my travel inspiration has always been the books. Turkey is my favorite country so I thought I'd share my list of books on Turkish history, culture, and traditions. 

Alan Moorehead - Gallipoli

Anastasia M. Ashman and Jennifer Eaton Gökmen - Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in modern Turkey

Andrew Finkel - Turkey: What Everyone Needs to Know

Andrew Mango - Atatürk

Andrew Mango - The Turks Today

Angie Brenner&Joy E. Stocke - Anatolian Days and Nights: A love affair with Turkey

Ann Pierpont - Sinan Diaryz: A Walking Tour of Mimar Sinan’s Monuments

Arın Bayraktaroğlu - Culture Shock! Turkey: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette 

Atulya K Bingham - Ayse's Trail: One woman's hike through Turkey and time

Caroline Finkel - Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire 

Cecily Hennessy - Painting in Cappadocia: A Guide to the Sites and Byzantine Church Decoration

CevdetBayburtluoğlu – Lycia

Charlotte McPherson - Turkey - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture

Chris Hellier&Francesco Venturi - Splendors of Istanbul: Houses and Palaces Along the Bosphorus

Christopher de Bellaigue - Rebel Land: Unraveling the riddle of history in a Turkish town

Clyde E. Fant&Mitchell G. Reddish - A Guide to Biblical Sites in Greece and Turkey

Deniz Kandiyoti&Ayse Saktanber - Fragments of Culture: The Everyday of Modern Turkey 

Dux  Schneider - Bolkar: Travels with a Donkey in the Taurus Mountains

Giles Milton - Paradise Lost: Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of Islam’s City of Tolerance

Henry Matthews - Greco-Roman Cities of Aegean Turkey: History, Archaeology, Architecture

Hugh Pope - Sons of the Conquerors: The rise of the Turkic world

Hugh Pope&Nicola Pope - Turkey Unveiled: A history of modern Turkey

Irfan Orga - Portrait of a Turkish Family

Jack Scott - Perking The Pansies: Jack and Liam move to Turkey

Jack Scott – Turkey Street: Jack and Liam move to Bodrum

Jason Goodwin - Lords of the Horizons: A history of the Ottoman Empire

Jeremy Seal – A Fez of the Heart: Travels Around Turkey in Search of a Hat

Jeremy Seal - Meander: East to West along a Turkish river

John Julius Norwich - A Short History of Byzantium

Karen & Ray Gilden - Tea and Bee's Milk: Our Year in a Turkish Village

Kevin Revolinski - TheYogurt Man Cometh: Tales of an American Teacher in Turkey

Lisa Morrow - Exploring Turkish Landscapes: Crossing inner boundaries

Lord Kinross – Ottoman centuries: The rise and fall of the Turkish empire

Louis de Bernières - Birds without Wings

Mary Lee Settle - Turkish Reflections: A biography of a place

Norman Stone - Turkey: A Short History

Nuray Aykin - Pomegranates and Grapes: Landscapes from my childhood 

Pat Yale - Handbook for Living in Turkey

Philip Mansel - Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean

Raphaela Lewis - Everyday Life in Ottoman Turkey

Richard Stoneman - A Traveller’s History of Turkey

Roderic H. Davison - Turkey, a Short History

Serif Yenen - Turkish Odyssey: A cultural guide to Turkey

Seton Lloyd - Ancient Turkey: A Traveller’s History

StephenKinzer - Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds

Steve Eckert – Fairy chimneys of Cappadocia

Suraiya Faroqhi - Subjects of the Sultan: Culture and Daily Life in the Ottoman Empire

Susanne Oberheu&Michael Wadenpohl - Cappadoccia: A travel guide through the land of fairy chimneys and rock castles

Tom Brosnahan -Turkey: Bright Sun, Strong Tea

Toni Sepeda - Life with a View: A Turkish Quest

 

I hope this list will help you get a closer look and understanding of the Turkish culture. Share your thoughts.