10 Books Set in Turkey to Read Before Your Trip

Reading a book set in the place you're visiting changes how you see it: a ferry crossing, a crumbling wooden mansion or a village in Anatolia suddenly has a story. Turkey has inspired some of the most celebrated writers of the last century. These ten books – novels, memoirs and history – will take you there before you even board your flight.

Istanbul

1. Istanbul: Memories and the City – Orhan Pamuk

The Nobel Prize-winner's memoir of growing up in Istanbul in the 1950s and 60s explores hüzün, a collective melancholy, through old photographs and walks along the Bosphorus. The perfect companion to our Istanbul guide.

2. The Museum of Innocence – Orhan Pamuk

An obsessive love story set among Istanbul's upper classes. Pamuk later created a real Museum of Innocence in Çukurcuma, displaying the objects from the novel – a unique literary pilgrimage.

3. The Bastard of Istanbul – Elif Shafak

A vivid, funny and moving story of two families, one Turkish and one Armenian-American, that touches on the country's history and its women.

4. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World – Elif Shafak

Set in the city's underground world, a moving tribute to friendship and to the outsiders of Istanbul.

Anatolia and the coast

5. Birds Without Wings – Louis de Bernières

From the author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, a sweeping novel set in a village in south-west Anatolia (inspired by Kayaköy near Fethiye) during the end of the Ottoman Empire. Visit the ghost village of Kayaköy afterwards – see our Turkey destinations guide.

6. Memed, My Hawk – Yaşar Kemal

A classic adventure about a young rebel in the Taurus mountains, full of the landscapes and hardships of rural southern Turkey.

7. Snow – Orhan Pamuk

A poet travels to the snowbound north-eastern city of Kars, near the Armenian border. Political and atmospheric, it captures a side of Turkey few tourists see.

8. Madonna in a Fur Coat – Sabahattin Ali

Written in 1943, this love story between a Turkish man and a German artist in Berlin became a bestseller in Turkey decades later – especially good for German-speaking readers, as it is partly set in Weimar-era Berlin.

History and travel

9. Lords of the Horizons – Jason Goodwin

A lively, readable history of the Ottoman Empire, from its rise to its fall – ideal before visiting Topkapı Palace, the Süleymaniye Mosque and Hagia Sophia. See our Hagia Sophia guide.

10. Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie

The novel begins in Istanbul, and Christie wrote part of it at the Pera Palace Hotel, where her room is still remembered – a fun stop for fans.

Tips for literary travellers

• Visit the Museum of Innocence in Çukurcuma, Beyoğlu.
• Take a Bosphorus ferry with Pamuk's memoir in hand.
• Stay a night at the Pera Palace – or have tea there – to channel Christie.
• Love reading on holiday? See our books set in Greece.