Visitors on Turkey tours will find plenty of culture and fine architecture during their time in the country, but there is also a rich literary culture - meaning perfect holiday reading, or even the chance to dip your toe into the culture before you arrive by reading a Turkish novel. When you get some downtime during your Turkey tours, pick up a book and continue your travels across Turkish space and time in your imagination - and give your feet a rest!
Where to begin?
Turkish literature has developed considerably since the end of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century and the founding of the modern republic of Turkey - this was confirmed in 2006 when Orhan Pamuk was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Pamuk is probably the most familiar Turkish writer to visitors on Turkey tours, with his works having been translated into many languages.
Orhan Pamuk
Pamuk has become an internationally popular post-modernist novelist over the past two decades. He is Turkey's best-selling writer, and much of his work focuses on his home city of Istanbul. The earliest Pamuk novel available in English is 'the White Castle', the third he published in Turkey, released in 1990. This was followed by 'the Black Book' in 1994. The colour-themed titling scheme was briefly abandoned for 1997's 'the New Life', before a return for 2001's My Name is Red. This book, along with 'Snow', published in 2004 is perhaps the best known of Pamuk's works in the English-speaking world.
Other writers
Postmodernism has also been part of the work of Pamuk's contemporary, Latife Tekin, probably the foremost female writer working in Turkey today. Her 1983 novel 'Dear Shameless Death' is her best-known work. Incorporating strong elements of magical realism, like Pamnuk she also focuses on her hometown, this time the city of Kayseri in central Anatolia - another great destination on Turkey Tours.
A lesser-known gem of Turkish literature is Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar's 'A Mind at Peace'. Although written in 1949, 'A Mind at Peace' was only published in English in 2008. The book is a rich, interwoven fabric conveying many different strands of Istanbul life. It explores the tensions between the eastern and western influences over the city, on the eve of the Second World War, following the cultural revolution that occurred after the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. The rediscovery of Tanpinar's work has led to a significant growth in his popularity in recent years.
Gordon Trevennan works for Peter Sommer Travels, a company specialising in cultural, educational, and historical Turkey tours as well as gulet cruises and charters in Turkey, Greece, and Italy. Our experienced guides bring the past to life on all of the Turkey tours that we offer.
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