It is obvious that the more reading on the subject you can do the, more you will get out of your trip. Accordingly we have prepared a recommended reading list to help you in your preparation.

The list is based on our readings, and preceding customer recommendation; and we are always interested in hearing from you about books and articles you have found valuable.

Guide books about Turkey:

Bean, George E. Lycian Turkey, John Murray Ltd., London, 1989. Paperback.
 
Freely, John. The Aegean Coast of Turkey, Redhouse Press, Istanbul, 1966.
 
Freely, John. The Black Sea Coast of Turkey. Redhouse Press, Istanbul, 1966.
 
McDonagh, Bernard. Blue Guide to Turkey, W.W. Norton, New York, NY, 1995 (2nd ed).
This, in our experiences, is the best guide book you can buy, especially for those who are interested in the deep details of history, archaeology and culture.
                                      
Peck, Adam and Sachet, Manja. Turkey Guide, Open Road Publishing, NY, 1999 (2nd ed)
Peck & Sachet in their work have very successfully presented Turkey to travelers giving clues, hints and tips about places to go, to eat, to stay, things to do etc.

Guide books about Istanbul:

Frrely, John. Blue Guide Istanbul, W W Norton, NY, June 1997 (4th ed)
Another very successful work by Freely, the perfect guide to Istanbul, with maps that come very handy, and the best information you can get about Istanbul.

Sumner-Boyd, Hillary and Freely, John. Strolling Through Istanbul, Redhouse Press, Istanbul, 1989 (4th ed.).

Knopf Guides. Istanbul & Northwest Turkey, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, 1993.

Miller, John & Kirsten, Chronical Books, San Francisco, 1995, Istanbul,

History, Essays and Chronicles:

Montague, Lady Mary Wortley. The Turkish Embassy Letters, Virago Press, London, 1999.

Seal, Jeremy. A Fez of the Heart: Travels Around Turkey in Search of a Hat, Picador, London, 1995.

Selby, Bettina. Beyond Ararat: A Journey Through Eastern Turkey, John Murray, Ltd. London, 1993.

Stark, Freya. Alexander's Path. The Overlook Press, Woodstock, NY, 1968.

Acherson,Neal. Black Sea. Hill & Wang, New York, 1996.

Freely, John. Istanbul: The Imperial City, Viking, N.Y., 1996.
 
Kinross, Lord. The Ottoman Centuries: The Rise & Fall of the Turkish Empire. Morrow Quill Paperbacks, NY, 1977.

Grant, Michael. Greek & Roman Historians: Information & Misinformation, Routledge, London/NY, 1995.

Lloyd, Seton. Ancient Turkey: A Traveller's History of Anatolia, British Museum Publication, London, 1989.

Mansel, Philip. Constantinople: City of the World's Desire, 1453-1924. St Martin's Press, New York, 1996.

Norwich, John Julius. The Early Centuries; Byzantium: The Apogee, the Decline, and Fall. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1966.

Stoneman, Richard. A Traveller's History of Turkey. Interlink Publishing Group, New York, 1993.

Cleary, Thomas. The Essential Koran. Harper & Sons, San Francisco, 1994.
 
Croutier, Alev Lyle. Harem:The World Behind the Veil. The Abbeville Press,  New York, 1989.

Fromkin, David. A Peace to End All Peace: the Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East. Avon Book, New York 1989.

Kinross, Patrick. Ataturk: A Biography of Mustafa Kemal. Quill William Morrow , New York, 1994.

Leyla Hanimefendi, The Imperial Harem of the Sultans. Peva Publ. Istanbul, 1994. .

Mango, Andrew. Turkey: The Challenge of Its new Role. The Center for Strategic & International Studies, Washington, D.C., 1994.

Wilson, A.N. Paul: the Mind of the Apostle. WW Norton & Co, NY, 1997.

Arts, Architecture and Crafts:

Atasoy, Nurhan and Raby, Julian. Iznik: the Pottery of Ottoman Turkey. Alexandria Press, London, 1994.

Glassie, Henry. Turkish Traditional Art Today. Indiana University Press, Indianapolis, 1993.

Goodwin, Godfrey. A History of Ottoman Architecture. Thames & Hudson, NY, 1992.

Hellier, Chris. Splendors of Istanbul: Houses & Palaces Along the Bosphorus. Abbeville Press, New York,1993.

Stierlin, Henri, Ottoman Turkey, Architecture of the World Series, 1992.
This is an excellent introduction to the essence of Ottoman architecture.

Yerasimos, Stephane. Turkish Style, The Vendome Press, New York, 1992.

Literature:

Homer, translated by Fagles, Robert. The Iliad & The Odyssey, Viking. Penguin Books USA, N.Y.,1990 & 1996.

Kemal, Yasar, Mehmed My Hawk. Harvill/Harper Collins, 1992.

Pamuk, Orhan, translated by Guneli Gun, The New Life. Farrar & Strauss & Giroux, New York, 1997.