6 Interesting Books about Turkey

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Ever since I first came to Turkey in 1990 after hitchhiking through the UK and travelling in Europe, I’ve read hundreds of interesting books about Turkey in many different genres. Although I graduated in sociology and prefer cultural and social studies about Turkey to history books, basically I read anything that takes my interest.

Having said that, my reading interests are pretty wide, and include fiction, crime novels, biographies, travel guides, memoirs, religion, women, food, culture, art and architecture, travel essays, Turkish literature in translation, a bit of poetry, and some history as well, usually modern, as long as it’s not too dry. As a result, my bedside reading stack (or should I say tower?) never gets any smaller because whenever I come across something I haven’t read before, it joins the pile.

The following is a small selection of interesting books about Turkey that for me, really stand out and a worth a read if you want to better your understanding of the country and its people.

Dinner of Herbs – Carla Grissman

Reading Carla Grissman’s memoir of the year she lived in a small farming village 249 kilometres east of Ankara took me back to my first long stay in Turkey in 1990. I was in Göreme, Cappadocia for almost for almost three months. It was still a small village then so Grissman’s account of her experiences thirty years earlier in similar place, resonated with me. She found a generous people, strong communal spirit and much happiness, and aptly named the book for Proverbs 15:17 which reads, “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than feasting on a fattened ox where hatred also dwells”.

Village life was basic but Grissman expressed no judgements or desire to change things. Instead she engaged and observed, resulting in a revealing look at a way of life that still continues in parts of Anatolia today.

Turkish Awakening: A Personal Discovery of Modern Turkey – Alev Scott

Turkish Awakening is the result of Alev Scott’s desire to discover the land of her mother’s birth and explore contemporary Turkish life and politics. Scott combines personal insights with an objective gaze to focus on a confusing and often contradictory culture, to try to unravel the complex relationships between modernity and religion unfolding in Turkey today. She chats with taxi drivers, examines how sex work and transgender inhabitants coexist, sometimes uneasily, next door to conservative Muslims recently relocated from the country, and explores the impact of popular soap operas featuring the newly rich on the aspirations of ordinary Turks and international tourism.

The rise of the ruling Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP – Party for Justice and Progress) is covered as well as Turkey’s changing relationship with the EU. The book ends with Scott’s observations about the protests that sprang to life in Gezi Park in Istanbul and then spread throughout the country in 2013. Turkish Awakening is an essential book about Turkey to read so you can better understand what makes the country and its people tick.

Dervish: Travels in Modern Turkey – Tim Kelsey

Dervish was published more than twenty years ago, but the Turks about whom Kelsey writes, archaeologists (and others) in search of the Ark, human rights activists, famous pop stars both straight and transsexual, Kurdish insurgents, desperately poor villagers and aspiring politicians, are still in existence today. In this book about Turkey Kelsey captures the contradictions inherent to life in modern Turkey, revealing a people as diverse as its varied geographical regions.

Portrait of a Turkish Family – Irfan Orga

Orga’s memoir begins with scenes from his idyllic childhood as the son of a great beauty, adored by his autocratic grandmother and indulged by all. His was a prosperous family, their future secure under the Ottoman sultans until the First World War broke out and everything changed. They went from enjoying elaborate dinner parties, going to the hamam and sleeping on soft sheets, to living in poverty, waking in dank rooms and never knowing if there’d be enough to eat.

Orga writes without sentiment of the impact of the war on his upper class family, and the complete reconstruction of society under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the modern Turkish republic. Orga lived and observed the tensions and struggles around sacred and secular life, the divide between rich and poor and the importance of family to all. Despite the passing of the years, many of the events and consequences he recounts still play out in Turkey today.

The Forbidden Modern – Nilüfer Göle (Out of Print)

One the first things people still ask me about living in Turkey is, do you have to wear a headscarf? Whether a woman covers or not and the manner in which she wears her scarf reflects much more than differing levels of religious conviction. Göle explores the extremely nuanced and conflicting relationships around the subject, combining sociological research with historical analysis and in-depth interviews.

Göle examines the ways young women form their identities in relation to the issue of covering, how they adapt fundamental religious tenets in response to the pressures of modernity, what covering contributes to debates about politics, nationalism and other issues. Anyone wanting to know more about the practice of veiling beyond the standard modern/backward, secular/religious divides should read The Forbidden Modern. By the way, if you’re still wondering, the answer is no.

Turkey Culture Smart – Charlotte McPherson

Turkey Culture Smart provides the reader with valuable insights into the nuances of Turkish culture and society. It contains a carefully thought-out wealth of information about the cultural differences and complexities that make up Turkish life today. From making new friends and socialising the Turkish way to navigating tricky cultural issues such as how to approach expressing differences of opinion and problem solving, McPherson has it covered.

As a long time resident in Turkey and a trained anthropologist, McPherson is attuned to the less obvious markers of ‘Turkishness’, such as being aware that a Turk would rather lose a friendship than discuss a problem directly. This knowledge is shared in well-written and easily digestible sections on Turkish values and attitudes, the meaning of private life in Turkey and the role of the family.

Turkey Culture Smart also includes a short guide to doing business. As anyone who’s tried to conduct business in a foreign country will know, it’s essential to be aware of what is and isn’t acceptable, whether it relates to body language or gender roles. Whether you’re coming to Turkey for the first time or plan to live here for a while this pocket size book about Turkey is a must read.

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I hope you’ve found something to add to your reading list! Remember, these are just a few of the many interesting books about Turkey worth adding to your library. Scroll through my website page My books and others for suggestions of other titles to read.