Any recommendations on quick reads on the history of Turkey in preparation for my trip there this September?
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
7670 posts
Wikipedia can be a good start.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Turkey
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Republic_of_Turkey
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_the_Ottoman_Empire
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Turkish_War_(1919–1922)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_genocide
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_War_of_Independence
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Kemal_Atatürk
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_alphabet_reform
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_language_reform
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_of_Kurdish_people_in_Turkey
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_invasion_of_Cyprus
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Turkish_coup_attempt
Posted by
Atlanta, GA
871 posts
Birds Without Wings is a good historical novel about the complex relationship between Christians and Muslims at the end of the Ottoman Empire in western Turkey.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
3298 posts
The host of this site has quite a few articles and TV and radio episodes that may be of interest: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/turkey
Posted by
Central Coast CA, USA
300 posts
I read Richard Stoneman's "A Traveller's History of Turkey" before my trip. While he does a good job condensing a lot of information into one book, it is still a lot to take in. I also read a couple of Orhan Pamuk's books....mostly fiction, but provided a wonderful background/context. Have fun in Turkey!
Posted by
44 posts
The Architect's Apprentice by Elif Shafak. Historical fiction taking place during the time of Suleyman the Magnificent and his grand architect Sinan.
Posted by
US
2 posts
There is a well-known historian in Turkiye named Serif Yenen. As far as I know, he is a guest lecturer at the Smithsonian and contributes to "Anatolia's Ancient History".
You can try his book "Turkish Odyssey". As far as I know, the first edition was published in 1998. However, the last time I checked, a new edition was published last year. The book can be found on Amazon. It has received very good feedback from Western readers.