If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul.
Alphonse de Lamartine
We fell in love with the Istanbul from the moment we entered its outskirts on a bus from Bulgaria. The layers of civilizations, the meeting-point of cultures, the insane round-the-clock movement, the salty ayrans, the mystery of the inner rooms of the Topkapi Palace, but most of all, we fell in love with the light. It’s the kind of light I only remember seeing in my Lisbon. Very difficult to describe, but someone told me it has a scientific explanation, something to do with the latitude, longitude and proximity of large bodies of water. On and off we play with the possibility of moving there for a while (unlikely with our jobs), but all the same we’re planning to return in 2011 to explore it further.
From that first visit I started to read fiction set in Istanbul and its previous incarnations as Byzantium and Constantinople, so when Joanna and I decided to create the “One, Two, Theme Challenge” I instantly knew what my top-theme would be.
After some research and going through my TBR I finally decided on a reading list, which turned out to be a liiiitle beyond the needed 6 books. Other books might be added along the way, so please feel free to give me more suggestions, especially on modern history (I know I have a knowledge-gap there) and graphic novels.
(first stab at)
A Reading List for “One, Two, Theme” Challenge
Theme 6: Byzantium/Constantinople/Ottoman Empire/Istanbul
NON-FICTION
- Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World by Colin Wells (TBR)
- Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire by Judith Herrin (TBR)
- Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire by Jason Goodwin (TBR)
- Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk
FICTION
- The Sultan’s Seal (Kamil Pasha, #1) by Jenny White
- The Abyssinian Proof (Kamil Pasha, #2) by Jenny White (TBR)
- Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernières (TBR)
- My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk (TBR)
- Baudolino by Umberto Eco (TBR audiobook)
- The Flea Palace by Elif Şafak
- Bliss: A Novel by Zülfü Livaneli
Any further suggestions welcome!
The Sleepless Reader 
11 comments
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December 3, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Andre
nothing will come more natural than going back again to Istanbul this year?;)
December 3, 2010 at 2:32 pm
Christina
Definitely keeping your recommendations in mind as I read about Turkey for one of my themes.
December 3, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Falaise
Alex,
A couple more suggestions (although you seem to have plenty to be going on with!):
Fiction:
The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin – A bit like Boris Akunin’s Fandorin but featuring a eunuch detective in the Ottoman Empire of the 1800s.
Non-fiction:
Constantinople: the last great siege: 1453 by Roger Crowley – very readable history about the fall of the last Byzantine emperor
December 3, 2010 at 7:25 pm
Steph
Istanbul (and Turkey in general) is a place I’d love to visit some day, so I can totally get behind this reading project! I’m really looking forward to hearing what you think of all of these books (of which I’ve read none!).
December 4, 2010 at 12:16 am
amymckie
What a great list – I want to read a lot of them as well! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
December 4, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Tiina
Great list! I’m going to join your challenge as soon as I’ve decided which themes to choose. I have read Herrin’s book about Byzantium and Pamuk’s My Name is Read. Both are great reads. Herrin’s book gives a good general view of the Byzantine Empire and My Name is Red is an amazingly rich historical tale.
I could suggest The Dark Angel by the Finnish author Mika Waltari, if you can find a copy (it was translated already in the 1950s). It’s a story about a hopeless love set in 1453 during the fall of Constantinople. Waltari also wrote a prequal about Johannes Angelos, the main character in The Dark Angel, but that has not been tranlated into English as far as I know.
Also Pamuk’s The White Castle is set in Istanbul. It’s a story about a young Italian who is captured by pirates and sold to slavery in Istanbul. This is a quicker read than My Name is Red.
Greetings,
Tiina
December 5, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Nymeth
Istambul is high on my list of places to visit. Thank you for this list! *bookmarks*
December 6, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Alex
@Andre: Counting the days!
@Christina: I want to hear yours as well. Do you already know some of what you’re reading? let em know when you do!
@Falaise: Thanks 🙂 The Janissary Tree and am considering going for the next in the series. The non-fiction you mention is on all the lists about Turkey, but I decided to only go for it if the ones already on the list don’t satisfy me on the Siege.
@Steph: When you do go, let me know and I’ll give you the name of an extraordinary restaurant we discovered by chance!
@Amy: I’m still deciding on the first one. Probably a non-fiction for background.
@Tiina: I keep getting surprised at the non-fiction about this theme that other book bloggers have read! A book about Turkey written by a Finish author? Sign me up 🙂 I’ll take a look at it, thanks for the tip!
@Nymeth: Definitely worth going – See my comment to Steph
December 17, 2010 at 4:49 pm
The Book Whisperer
I’m desperate to go to Istanbul, Alex. I have been to the south cost of Turkey 3 times and done a bit of exploring round there but I have a real thing about wanting to go to Istanbul.
Great list – I have only read Birds Without Wings so will check out the others too.
December 30, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Mady
Xana, I’ve had Baudolino on my TBR for years and years!!! Not sure if I’ve been saving that book as it’s from an author I really admire or if the size has been putting me down 😛 Anyway, if you think we can manage to read/listen this one along, just let me know!
January 3, 2011 at 3:05 pm
Alex
Let’s do it later in the year, say, May/June?