Istanbul -- Everyman Guides
a.k.a
Istanbul and Northwest Turkey
organized by Demir Onger and numerous contributors
They say Istanbul is home to some of the world's greatest architectural treasures and we think our resident reviewer agrees. But who'd know by the way she starts this review...
OK, so maybe you wouldn't judge a travel guidebook by a recipe. And my only justification for doing so was that I was trying to find something to "trash" about this book... (But I even failed at that because the recipe for Chicken with Apricots and Almonds on page 70, is fantastic and the directions are all perfect.)
The blurb on the jacket says there are more than 2,000 illustrations in
this slimline book. I haven't personally counted them all, but, for a book that can easily fit into the side pocket of your touring coat, there
are an incredible number of pictures in it!
When friends come to visit me, it is always the first book they grab if they haven't been to Istanbul yet. It's probably because the pictures are so lush. The beautiful building facades, street scenes, famous
landmarks interspersed with excellent illustrations and copies of art;
mostly in color, but many old black and white photographs of the city too.
And there are maps of the old town and "walking plan" maps with suggested
itineraries. Cool.
Every page is visually stimulating, and the information is encyclopedic. Information on the birds, rocks, animals, plants, and fish are presented along with the history, language, culture, art, architecture and cuisine.
And the page layout is clever too. For instance, in the sightseeing section there are attractive information bars on the side that give you further bits of trivia/information relating to history, art, biographical
information, or any one of a number of interesting tangential subjects relating to the sights then being described.
As for the "useful information" section at the back, I have personally
stayed in several pensions and hotels based on the recommendation in the
book and been very happy with them. I have also eaten in the restaurants
recommended by the book, and enjoyed the meals.
In addition, it has a very complete bibliography; a list of illustrations (giving information and the source of the drawing/photo/maps, etc.) from each page; and there's a glossary; and a page of useful phrases. The Index is divided into 2 sections: a complete index, and a thematic index...So, if you just want to find the 'towers' or only the 'mosques'... then simply check the thematic index, under those headings.
This book could serve two purposes when your return home from your
Istanbul (and environs) excursion. It could be used to help your children write a school
project paper about Istanbul and Turkey or it could just be kept as a lovely
souvenir to help you remember what a marvelous, timelessly beautiful city Istanbul is.
I recommend it completely...unless, you prefer to visit a city with no
travel guides... Then this one would be wasted on you.
The only other thing I can caution you about is that it has shiny pages...Some people
don't LIKE shiny pages...
JS (April '97)
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