“Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?”
Elif Shafak
Elif Shafak is one of Turkeys most read female authors. I enjoy her books as it is easy to read. Her writing is a blend between East and West.
Her book HONOUR tells a story of a family stretching over three generations. It is about a terrible murder a brother committed. An account of murder, love and family set in a Kurdish village, Istanbul and England. The story is powerful, brilliant and gripping.
'A beautiful book, the finest I have read about Turkey' Irish Times
The back of THE BASTARD OF ISTANBUL reads: One afternoon in Istanbul, a women walks into a doctor's surgery. 'I need an abortion,' she announces. She is nineteen years old and unmarried. What happens that afternoon will change her life. 'A brave and passionate novel' Paul Theroux
Orphan Pamuk received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2006. In the same year he was also chosen as one of the the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine. This author has a beautiful way with words. He grew up in Nisantasi, an affluent area of Istanbul and that is where you will find him walking the streets today.
“When you love a city and have explored it frequently on foot, your body, not to mention your soul, gets to know the streets so well after a number of years that in a fit of melancholy, perhaps stirred by a light snow falling ever so sorrowfully, you'll discover your legs carrying you of their own accord toward one of your favorite promontories” Orphan Pamuk MY NAME IS RED is the story of Ottoman and Persian artists and their ways of seeing and portraying the non-western world told through a love story and family story.
ISTANBUL is the early memoirs of Orhan Pamuk and an essay about the city he grew up in. The book has photographs from his own album and pictures of western painters and Turkish photographers.
“The first thing I learned at school was that some people are idiots; the second thing I learned was that some are even worse. ” Orhan Pamuk
'It was the happiest moment of my life. I didn't know'. That's the first line in MUSEUM OF INNOCENCE. This book challenges the readers thoughts about love,marriage,sex,family and friendship.
“As always after drinking too much, I felt like my own ghost trying to take it's first solo walk outside the body.”
Orhan Pamuk
“To see me does not necessarily mean to see my face. To understand my thoughts is to have seen me.”
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
When you live in Istanbul you can't but read about the Father of Turkey. You see Atatürk's statue and photographs of him all over Turkey, so you feel you need to know where this man came from and what exactly he did to be the hero for so many people in Turkey.
“Teachers are the one and only people who save nations.”
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Reading ISTANBUL CONTEMPORARY CUISINE will give you an insight into a rich, sophisticated and multicultural cuisine which is one of the greatest in the world.
This recipe book is packed with the favorite dishes of Istanbul's top chefs and best-selling food writers. 130 recipes to bring Turkey to your home and table.
street food in Turkey is a bustling and vibrant aspect of the community
With STREET FOODS OF ISTANBUL you are taking a walk through Istanbul's culinary streets. It gives you alot of insight onto Turkish life.
Beautiful pictures and stories behind the food you see people in Istanbul eat everyday.
street food in Turkey is a bustling and vibrant aspect of the community
ISTANBUL EATS is a guide not only to eateries, but also to the food and culture of Turkey. A lovely personal recommendation from Ansel Mullins and Yigal Schleifer that has more than 12 years experience of eating their way through Istanbul. I am busy working my way through this book and trying the lesser known spots in the backstreets of Istanbul.
“Every true love and friendship is a story of unexpected transformation. If we are the same person before and after we loved, that means we haven't loved enough”
Elif Shafak
