A Little Bedtime Reading

As per usual when approaching a travelling adventure, I have been reading what I can about Istanbul, before heading off.  How much has been absorbed remains to be seen!

Here's my reading list;
DK ISTANBUL GUIDE - my travelling 'must have' because of the pictures, clear maps & all the helpful suggestions.  I also like Lonely Planet guides, but find them more digestible on-line than in book form! Besides, I'm a visual person, I need pictures!

THEODORA by STELLA DUFFY- this has been an easy & enjoyable read about the one-time actress/coutesan who became Empress of Constantinople!  I dont know how accurate it is, but regardless, it gave an interesting insight into that period in this great City's history, when Christianity was still forming it's ideals.  It is a book about survival & power, particularly political power. Well worth diving into if, like me, you prefer your history lessons in novel format!

ISTANBUL, MEMORIES AND THE CITY by Orhan Pamuk- I am a third of the way through it & finding it very hard going! It's interesting, but oh, so DEPRESSING! He describes 'huzun', a kind of communal melancholy born out of respect for what was lost & what has passed. I feel it!! But, I dont WANT to be depressed about what Istanbul has lost, I really want to be inspired by what is STILL THERE! Therefore, I'm leaving this book at home...and may read it when I get back & am feeling the post-holiday blues!! I might be able to get into it more then!

MY NAME IS RED-By Orhan Pamuk.  This book was the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 2006 & I am taking it with me! Apparently it is a very 'different' book....I'll let you know what I think!

TALES FROM THE EXPAT HAREM- By Foreign Women in modern Turkey.  This is my Airport/Travel reading matter! One of the authors is Trici Venola who is an artist living in Istanbul, literally DRAWING the city!  I have booked a day with her, which I am very excited about!  Another author is Eveline Zoutendijk, who runs a cooking school with whom we have booked a cooking lesson.  My stomach growls in contemplation!

As for the little "Teach yourself Turkish' book, I'm going to leave it behind!  I really havent had the time to learn much from it, so I will just have to learn from the people themselves!!