Turkey Book Talk episode #93 – Haris Theodorelis-Rigas on Skarlatos Byzantios’ “Constantinople” (Istos), a monumental social and historical description of Istanbul written in the mid-19th century.
Haris is a Latin and Classical Greek instructor at Koç University and translator of the first volume of this work, which Byzantios wrote from 1851 to 1869. He is also one of the founders of Istos, a publishing house focusing on the Greek Orthodox heritage of Istanbul and Anatolia.
The conversation discusses Byzantios’ life and work, as well as the work of Istos.
Apologies for the delay in posting, I have been on holiday!
Download the episode or listen below.
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Join as a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get a load of extras: A 35% discount on any of over 400 books in IB Tauris/Bloomsbury’s excellent Turkey/Ottoman history category, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire archive of 90+ episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
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Elif Mahir Metinsoy on Ottoman women during World War I
June 18, 2019
Turkey Book Talk episode #92 – Elif Mahir Metinsoy of Galatasaray University on her book “Ottoman Women During World War I: Everyday Experiences, Politics and Conflict” (Cambridge University Press).
The book describes the lives of Muslim women in the Ottoman Empire during the Great War, moving beyond a focus on the educated urban population, focusing instead on ordinary masses across Anatolia.
Download the episode or listen below.
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Related episodes
- Selim Deringil on the Ottoman twilight in Arab lands
- Yiğit Akın on the Ottoman home front during World War One
- Michael Provence on the last Ottoman generation and the making of the Middle East
- Ryan Gingeras on the fall of the Ottoman sultanate
Join as a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get a load of extras: A 35% discount on any of over 400 books in IB Tauris/Bloomsbury’s excellent Turkey/Ottoman history category, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire archive of 90+ episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Turkey Book Talk episode #91 – Selim Deringil, professor of history at the Lebanese American University, on “The Ottoman Twilight in the Arab Lands: Turkish Memoirs and Testimonies of the Great War” (Academic Studies Press).
The volume includes translations and annotations of fascinating memoirs by five Ottomans stationed in Syria and the Arab Peninsula during the First World War: Falih Rıfkı Atay, Hüseyin Kazım Kadri, Ali Fuad Erden, Münevver Ayaşlı and Naci Kıcıman.
Download the episode or listen below.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
Follow Turkey Book Talk on Facebook or Twitter

Related episodes
- Yiğit Akın on the Ottoman home front during World War One
- Michael Provence on the last Ottoman generation and the making of the Middle East
- Ryan Gingeras on the fall of the Ottoman sultanate
Join as a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get a load of extras: A 35% discount on any of over 400 books in IB Tauris/Bloomsbury’s excellent Turkey/Ottoman history category, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire archive of 90+ episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Turkey Book Talk episode #89 – Reuben Silverman, author of “Turkey’s Ever Present Past: Stories from Republican Turkish History” and “Politics in Turkey: Parties, Politicians and the Struggle for Power” (Libra Books), talks about his wide-ranging research on contemporary Turkish history.
Unfortunately, after yesterday’s election board decision to re-run the Istanbul mayoral election the first part of the conversation is slightly out of date. But hopefully the rest is enlightening!
Download the episode or listen below.
Do check out Reuben’s excellent blog, a real treasure trove of articles.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
Follow Turkey Book Talk on Facebook or Twitter

Join as a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get a load of extras: A 35% discount on any of over 400 books in IB Tauris/Bloomsbury‘s excellent Turkey/Ottoman history category, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire archive of 80+ episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
One more head’s up – Friends of the podcast, the Bosphorus Review of Books, have published a book containing a number of their pieces since launching. “The Two Currents” anthology can be bought online at the locations listed here, so do check it out.

Turkey Book Talk episode #87 – Şevket Pamuk, Professor of Economics at Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University, on “Uneven Centuries: Economic Development of Turkey Since 1820” (Princeton University Press).
The book examines institutions and economic development in the Ottoman Empire and Republic of Turkey over the past two centuries, looking at both ruptures and continuities.
Download the episode or listen below.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
Follow Turkey Book Talk on Facebook or Twitter

Join as a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get a load of extras: A 35% discount on any of over 400 books in IB Tauris/Bloomsbury‘s excellent Turkey/Ottoman history category, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire archive of 80+ episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Selim Koru on Turkey, Russia and the power of political resentment
February 12, 2019
Turkey Book Talk episode #83 – Selim Koru, fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, on his paper: “The Resiliency of Turkey-Russia Relations.”
Despite being historic rivals and at odds on many issues, Koru argues that Ankara-Moscow ties are becoming increasingly warm due to a shared underlying worldview, spurred by resentment of the West.
Download the episode or listen below.
Here’s the paper we are discussing.
And here’s a link to Selim’s other writing.

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If you enjoyed this episode, you may also be interested in episode #70 from August 2018: Dimitar Bechev on Turkey-Russia relations, past and present.
Don’t forget: IB Tauris/Bloomsbury have agreed to renew the exclusive discount for Turkey Book Talk members. Join as a member to get access to a 35% discount on any of over 400 books in IB Tauris’ excellent Turkey/Ottoman history category.
Members also get (English and Turkish) transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the entire archive, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Caroline Eden on a culinary journey across the Black Sea coast
January 15, 2019
Turkey Book Talk episode #81 – Caroline Eden on “Black Sea: Dispatches and Recipes – Through Darkness and Light” (Quadrille).
The book is richly illustrated and lovingly put together: A part-cookbook, part-travelogue describing places, people and recipes from the Black Sea coasts of Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria to Istanbul, Trabzon and Rize in Turkey.
Download the episode or listen below.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
Follow Turkey Book Talk on Facebook or Twitter

Join as a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get (English and Turkish) transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the entire archive, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Yigit Akin on the Ottoman home front during World War One
January 1, 2019
Happy New Year one and all.
Turkey Book Talk episode #80 – Yigit Akin of Tulane University on “When the War Came Home: The Ottomans’ Great War and the Devastation of an Empire” (Stanford University Press).
The book is a richly researched study on the consequences of the First World War on everyday social life across Ottoman territories as the empire collapsed.
Download the episode or listen below.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
Follow Turkey Book Talk on Facebook or Twitter

Join as a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get (English and Turkish) transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the entire archive, access to a 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Alev Scott on ‘Ottoman Odyssey: Travels Through a Lost Empire’
November 27, 2018
Turkey Book Talk episode #78 – Alev Scott on “Ottoman Odyssey: Travels Through a Lost Empire” (Riverrun), her travelogue exploring the past and present of Turkey and the former territories of the Ottoman Empire.
Download the episode or listen below.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
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Don’t forget the new addition to Turkey Book Talk’s membership system: Members now get access to an archive of 231 book reviews originally written for the Hurriyet Daily News. That archive was still standing for a few months but it now seems to have been deleted from the HDN website.
The reviews cover a pretty diverse spread of subjects: Turkish and international fiction and poetry, history, journalism, politics, the Middle East and Europe.
Members also get full transcripts in English and Turkish of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (over 70 conversations so far), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman History titles published by IB Tauris.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Avedis Hadjian on the ‘hidden Armenians’ of Anatolia
November 13, 2018
Turkey Book Talk episode #77 – Avedis Hadjian on “Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey” (IB Tauris).
Download the episode or listen below.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
Follow Turkey Book Talk on Facebook or Twitter

Don’t forget the new addition to Turkey Book Talk’s membership system : Members now get access to an archive of 231 book reviews originally written for the Hurriyet Daily News. That archive was still standing for a few months but it now seems to have been deleted from the HDN website.
The reviews cover a pretty diverse spread of subjects: Turkish and international fiction and poetry, history, journalism, politics, the Middle East and Europe.
Members also get full transcripts in English and Turkish of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (over 70 conversations so far), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman History titles published by IB Tauris.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Begüm Adalet on the Cold War origins of Turkey-US ties
October 30, 2018
Turkey Book Talk episode #76 – Begüm Adalet on “Hotels and Highways: The Construction of Modernization Theory in Cold War Turkey” (Stanford University Press).
The book looks at Turkey in the aftermath of World War Two, the early years of its alliance with the United States at the advent of the Cold War. Ankara was a major recipient of aid as part of the Truman Doctrine, which knitted it into the Western alliance against the Soviet Union and reshaped its economic preferences. The 1950s was also an era when Turkey started to be put forward as a “model” for various other countries, particularly in the Middle East.
Download the episode or listen below.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
Follow Turkey Book Talk on Facebook or Twitter

Don’t forget the new addition to Turkey Book Talk’s membership system : Members now get access to an archive of 231 book reviews originally written for the Hurriyet Daily News. That archive was still standing for a few months but it now seems to have been deleted from the HDN website.
The reviews cover a pretty diverse spread of subjects: Turkish and international fiction and poetry, history, journalism, politics, the Middle East and Europe.
Members also get full transcripts in English and Turkish of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (over 70 conversations so far), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman History titles published by IB Tauris.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Turkey Book Talk episode #74 – Sinan Yıldırmaz on his book “Politics and the Peasantry in Post-War Turkey: Social History, Culture and Modernization” (IB Tauris). The book examines the transition to the multi-party system after the Second World War and the crucial importance of migration from rural to urban areas in shaping politics in the country up to today.
Download the episode or listen below.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
Follow Turkey Book Talk on Facebook or Twitter

Consider joining as a member to support Turkey Book Talk. Membership gives you full transcripts in English and Turkish of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (over 60 conversations so far), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman History titles published by IB Tauris (again, including Yıldırmaz’s book).

