Customer Reviews

Imperial Istanbul: A Traveler's Guide (Cinema & Society)

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If I could recommend any book for someone interested in having a serious and detailed guidebook of Istanbul, then this would be it. This book organizes the historical monuments in the city by time period and provides handy maps. The real value of this book however, is the great detail that is given in describing what is found at each monument. With this book, you would not need a tour guide. The book also contains interesting sections on Iznik, Bursa and Edirne. A reminder though that this book does not try to give details about accommodations, restaurants, or contain colour pictures of the monuments described.

This is a good, intelligently written, historical guide for the visitor to Istanbul who wants to venture out from the sights in the Sultanhamet area (which this book also covers quite well). Ms. Taylor is knowledgeable, and has a dry English sense of humor that sparkles throughout the book.

While obstensibly not a walking guide to the city, it is structured like one and can easily be used for that purpose.

Added features include tours of Iznik (Nicea), Bursa and Edirne, interesting places in their own right that are not covered by most other guides.

There is a later edition of this book available Imperial Istanbul: A Traveller's Guide: Includes Iznik, Bursa and Edirne. Unfortunately, it appears to be a cheap reprint of this book; its maps are of lower quality and difficult to read. Be sure to buy this edition and spare yourself some grief. The price is roughly the same.

All in all, a good guide to the city, although a better one is Strolling Through Istanbul (1972), but it is out of print may be difficult to find at a reasonable price.