Turkey: Recommended Books and Movies

By Rick Steves, Lale Surmen Aran, and Tankut Aran

To learn more about Turkey past and present, check out a few of these books and films. (And see our similar lists for elsewhere in Europe.)

Books: Nonfiction

Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey (Andrew Mango, 1999). This is the most comprehensive biography of Atatürk since Lord Kinross's 1967 Atatürk: A Biography of Mustafa Kemal.
Crescent & Star (Stephen Kinzer, 2001). Kinzer sheds light on Turkey's culture and reports on its fraught political landscape.
Eat Smart in Turkey (Joan Peterson, 2004). Peterson describes the fascinating history and culture of Turkish cuisine and includes delicious recipes.
The Drop That Became the Sea (Yunus Emre, 1999). A compilation of Sufi poetry introduces readers to the spirit of Islamic mysticism.
Istanbul: The Imperial City (John Freely, 1996). Freely's book serves as both a brief history and a travel guide.
Istanbul: Memories and the City (Orhan Pamuk, 2005). Pamuk's portrait of Istanbul is also a portrait of his own life within the city.
Memoirs of an Exile (Aziz Nesin, 1957). The famous Turkish satirist tells of his forced banishment to Bursa.
The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mullah Nasrudin (Idries Shah, 1968). Shah gives the mysterious 13th-century Sufi Mullah Nasrudin a voice by collecting stories told by other mystics.
Sailing from Byzantium (Colin Wells, 2006). The story of Byzantium is full of high drama and exciting adventure.
A Short History of Byzantium (John Julius Norwich, 1997). Norwich's history is a good way to learn about the rise and fall of Constantinople.
Suleiman the Magnificent (André Clot, 1992). This history chronicles the life of the most celebrated of Ottoman sultans.
Tales from the Expat Harem (Anastasia M. Ashman and Jennifer Eaton Gökmen, 2006). This anthology compiles 29 personal stories from foreign women living in Turkey.
Turkish Reflections (Mary Lee Settle, 1991). Mary Lee Settle recounts two visits to Turkey, 15 years apart.
Turkish Odyssey (Serif Yenen, 1998). This handy guide to Turkish society and culture is comprehensive and beautifully illustrated.
The Turks Today (Andrew Mango, 2004). This sequel to Atatürk showcases a portrait of Turkey's recent development.
Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire (Caroline Finkel, 2005). Finkel traces the empire from medieval times to modernity.

Books: Fiction

The Bastard of Istanbul (Elif Shafak, 2006). A young Armenian girl living in Arizona secretly travels to Istanbul to find out more about her identity and cultural heritage.
Birds Without Wings (Louis de Bernières, 2004). Bernières depicts a village tragedy amid the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
The Black Book (Orhan Pamuk, 1990). After an Istanbul lawyer's wife disappears, he begins assuming the identity of her ex-husband.
Bliss (O. Z. Livaneli, 2002). After intense trauma, a young Turkish girl begins a journey of transformation in Istanbul.
Human Landscapes from My Country (Nazim Hikmet, 1966). This novel, written in verse, describes Hikmet's time in a Turkish prison during World War II.
Memed, My Hawk (Yashar Kemal, 1955). This is a dramatic tale of a bandit hero seeking justice in the Turkish countryside.
My Name Is Red (Orhan Pamuk, 1998). A group of artists in 16th-century Istanbul are commissioned with a dangerous task resulting in a frightening mystery.
One for Sorrow (Mary Reed and Eric Mayer, 1999). The first of six mysteries set in a vividly Byzantine Constantinople follows the Lord Chamberlain of Emperor Justinian.
Portrait of a Turkish Family (Irfan Orga, 1950). A wealthy Ottoman family disintegrates at the end of the Ottoman Empire.
Snow (Orhan Pamuk, 2002). An exiled poet returns to Turkey and faces suspicion after making a controversial report.

Books for Kids

Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant (Tony Cliff, 2011). The first book in the Delilah Dirk series of graphic novels finds the Indiana Jones–esque heroine causing trouble in Constantinople.
Istanbul for Kids (Burçak Gürün Muraben, 2014). Adults and children alike can enjoy the stories and histories presented in this easy-to-read book.
The Road from Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl (David Kherdian, 1979). This nonfiction book chronicles the life of Kheridian's mother, who survived the Armenian Genocide as a girl.
The Stone of Destiny: Tales from Turkey (Elspeth Tavaci, 2012). A poor stonecutter journeys to Istanbul and must tell stories to stay alive.
T Is for Turkey (Nilufer Topaloglu Pyper, 2010). Turkey is showcased in each letter of the alphabet, illustrated by colorful photographs.
Turkish Delight: A Kid's Guide to Istanbul, Turkey (Penelope Dyan, 2011). Using poetry and photographs, this guide focuses on what children might find interesting in the city.

Films

The Accidental Spy (2001). Parts of this Jackie Chan film take place in Istanbul, featuring many Turkish artists, actors, models, and stuntmen.
Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2005). This documentary stands out for its fascinating musical portrait of modern Istanbul.
Distant (2002). A photographer and his unemployed cousin try to connect in snow-covered Istanbul in this award-winning film.
From Russia with Love (1963). Sean Connery sneaks around Istanbul as James Bond, with a great scene filmed inside the Underground Cistern.
Gallipoli (1981). Two Australian soldiers (including a very young Mel Gibson) fight in the Gallipoli campaign during World War I.
Hamam (Steam: The Turkish Bath) (1997). An Italian inherits a traditional public bath in Istanbul.
Istanbul (1957). Errol Flynn stars as a suspected diamond smuggler who returns to Istanbul and finds a woman he thought long dead.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011). Parts of this Cold War drama take place in the heart of Istanbul.
Topkapi (1964). Peter Ustinov won an Oscar for his supporting role in this crime caper, worth seeing for its grand tour of 1960s Istanbul.
A Touch of Spice (2003). A Greek boy growing up in Istanbul learns about both food and life from his grandfather.
The Water Diviner (2014). An Australian man goes to Turkey after the Battle of Gallipoli in order to find his three missing sons.
The World Is Not Enough (1999). In this James Bond film, M is imprisoned in Istanbul's Maiden's Tower.
Yol (1982). Five political prisoners in Turkey struggle with readjusting to the outside world when they are given a week's home leave.

Lale Surmen Aran and Tankut Aran are the authors of the Rick Steves Istanbul guidebook.