Turkish Odyssey, A Traveler's Guide to Turkey and Turkish Culture [Paperback]

Serif Yenen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

Turkish Odyssey is an unusual culture guide offering a clear, concise overview of Turkey and the Turkish people.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"So far, this beautiful book has been the most comprehensive and useful (guide book) of all the published works on Turkey. You are introducing Turkey and the history of Anatolia vividly through 550 pages and a rich archive of pictures. I believe the term "guide book" will not suffice because you are presenting the cultural history of Turkey with all its richness. After reading your work thoroughly I derived the conclusion that it should be used as a reference book in every home, secondary and high school libraries. I am deeply impressed by the fluency of style in covering the areas such as geography, history, economy, administration, natural resources, religion, language, traditions, handicrafts. You have a very good command of English. And I must confess that I envy the high quality of the photos. On the other hand, the painstaking page design is a great success in its kind too...." -- Professor Ekrem Akurgal's-Archeologist, born in Istanbul, 1911- letter of April 3, 1998 to Serif Yenen

Serif Yenen has worked as a tourist guide for many years. His Turkish Odyssey is an invaluable work in English about the history, culture, geography, customs and daily life of this ancient land. Thousands of years after that first long journey was recorded by Homer, this book is a fresh look at the setting of that epic story.

Yenen has learnt by experience what most interests foreign visitors to Turkey, and presents a comprehensive map of Turkish culture.

The book opens with these famous words by the 6th century BC philosopher Heracleitus, "Everything flows and nothing stays", and continues with a quotation from Bozkurt Guvenc entitled "We Turks!... Who are we?", so introducing readers to the enigmatic process of change which runs through the history of Turkey and the Turks. As home to so many civilisations, cultures and religions over the millenia, Anatolia's history is an ever shifting kaleidoscope. -- Skylife Magazine, 11/97

TURKISH ODYSSEY

Here's a unique guide: a tourist's handbook to Turkey written by a Turk and packed with over 300 color photos, illustrations and maps. The focus here is upon Turkey's society and culture, from daily life and rituals to festivals and beliefs. While this will excite any destination-bound tourist, many an armchair readers will benefit from the in- depth information to Turkish culture. Use this to supplement the more usual guides to accommodations and restaurants: this has much more cultural depth than others. -- Midwest Book Review, February 1999

TURKISH ODYSSEY

The desirability of Turkey as a travel destination for English-speaking travelers has resulted in almost a dozen guidebooks to Turkey in print. All tell the would-be traveler how to get there, where to eat and to stay and what to see, plus additional and usually condensed background information. All of them have two drawbacks: not one of them is written by a Turk; all are by Americans, Australians, Brits, etc. Not one tells the traveler what makes Turkey and the Turks so interesting: Turkish culture.

Serif Yenen's "Turkish Odyssey" fills that gap. Yenen is a professional, licensed tourist guide who has drawn on his own knowledge and that of his guide friends for answers to the questions the visitor to Turkey wants to know.

"Turkish Odyssey" resembles the usual guides in its last 200 pages, in which Yenen discusses the six areas most commonly visited by tourists. Where the usual guidebook describes every place of possible interest, in this one Yenen limits his descriptions to those sites that tour groups normally visit.

The independent traveler who wants to see everything will therefore want to carry a normal guide in addition to "Turkish Odyssey." Those who expect to be with a tour need bring only Yenen's book, because its 560 pages contain information they may not get in such detail from their guide. -- Paula M. Strain, International Travel News, January 1999 p.131

From the Author

Turkish Odyssey is the first guide book of Turkey ever written by a Turk.

It focuses on culture rather than listing restaurants and hotels. (Nearly 80% of American tourists in Turkey travel in organized tours. This means their hotel and restaurant selections have already been made and transportation problem has been solved.)

Many topics which cannot be found in other guide books are included in Turkish Odyssey; such as daily life, families, marriages, circumcision, educational system, religion, military service, proverbs, superstitious beliefs, customs and behavior, etc.

The content is based on Serif Yenen's field experience as a guide.

The book is supported with many visual materials like professional quality photographs, maps, city plans, and above all, 3-dimensional reconstruction drawings.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Serif Yenen; 1st edition (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9759463806
• ISBN-13: 978-9759463809
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #810,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Serif Yenen

Serif Yenen was born in Odemis-Izmir in 1963. He graduated from Kuleli Military High School in Istanbul, earned a degree in English Philology at the University of Istanbul in 1985, became an Army Officer, and taught English as a second language for a while.

He quit the Army when he was a lieutenant and began as a tour guide in 1989, and has been working as a national tour guide with great enthusiasm ever since. He has held elected positions as chairman of the Istanbul Tourist Guides Guild (IRO), the Federation of Turkish Tourist Guides (TUREB) since 2002, the Tourist Guides Foundation (TUREV) between 2002 and 2009, and was an executive board member of the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA) for two terms between 2003 and 2007.

While actively working as a tour guide, he also writes guide books, articles for travel magazines, and weekly columns on tourism for newspapers and websites. He gives comprehensive lectures about 'Turkey' and 'Civilizations of Anatolia' at schools, universities, museums, cruise ships, tour companies, etc. Among the places where he has lectured successfully several times are the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., Boston University and Penn Museum in Philadelphia.

He is an active licensed professional tour guide and prides himself on his ability to add personal touches to every tour he conducts. It is extremely important to him that his guests return home with experiences to remember.

Mr. Yenen has many years experience in guiding tours all over Turkey as well as in Istanbul. As a Turkey Travel Specialist with contacts and years of experience, he is able to help travelers with their plans and itineraries. (www.tourguideturkey.com)

Mr. Yenen is married and has two sons: Ege (born in 2004, www.egeyenen.com) and Atlas (born in 2009, www.atlasyenen.com)

Books and other works by Serif Yenen

"Turkish Odyssey" was published in 1997. It is available in English, German, Italian and Turkish. The multimedia production of the same work as a CD-ROM was published in 2001. Quick Guide Istanbul is a practical guide to Istanbul. Quick Guide Istanbul and Turkey Brochures are his new ongoing project. These pamphlets have a lot of illustrations, maps and plans.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining insight into Turkish culture., April 30, 2000

By 

Garden Mad (Napa, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Turkish Odyssey, A Traveler's Guide to Turkey and Turkish Culture (Paperback)

This is the book you will want to read after you've been to Turkey (which is not to say you shoudln't read it before going). It is not the typical "travel guide" with hotel and restaurant listings nor is it the typical "insight guide" with ponderous prose and more history than any but a history professor could love. If you want a book to carry as a reference, buy something else. For one thing, this book is too beautiful to ruin carting it about in your suitcase. There are over 300 excellent photos depicting the country and the people. The book is entertaining, easy to read, and beautiful to look at. Serif Yenen answers the odd questions every traveler has (but is usually afraid to ask his travel guide), and he is unabashedly proud of his Anatolia. (The author is a well known travel guide in Turkey and you may be interested to know that he maintains an informative web site for his travel company.) I would recommend this book to someone who has been to Turkey or is planning a visit and wants to have a greater connection to the people, traditions, culture and history.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book on Turkish Culture, Not a Travel Guide, May 2, 2000

By 

Allison Motto - See all my reviews

This review is from: Turkish Odyssey, A Traveler's Guide to Turkey and Turkish Culture (Paperback)

This book is a wonderful book to use to find out about Turkish culture. It has a overview of the history, geography, culture, foods, religion and sites of this amazing country. It is not a travel guide. Do not buy this if you are looking for a book to tell you where to spend the night in Istanbul. Do buy this book to find out those things you did not ask your guide in Turkey. I personally recomend it as a good way to begin finding out about Turkish culture, perfect to read and then discuss with your Turkish frineds before your trip to Turkey.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Turkish Odyssey is my choice of reference books about Turkey, November 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Turkish Odyssey, A Traveler's Guide to Turkey and Turkish Culture (Paperback)

Have visited Turkey a number of times, and have quite a large collection of Books about Turkey. My favorite reference by far is the Turkish Odyssey