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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nMy debut novel Holiday Country<\/a><\/em> follows a young Turkish American woman who spends her summers on the Turkish Aegean. Not yet all that comfortable with the country\u2019s culture and customs, she\u2019s hyper-aware of her surroundings, interactions, and the linguistic nuances she spends an inordinate amount of time picking apart. All this, she hopes, will give her the answers she\u2019s seeking about herself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Below, I\u2019ve gathered a list of novels, memoirs, and collections in which Turkey is thrown into high relief. In other words, books reflecting the experiences of those getting to know Turkey\u2014or a new Turkey\u2014inch by inch. Everything to them is peculiar, fascinating, worthy of exploration. It\u2019s that time when all the senses are on high alert. Before everything fades into the background, and becomes once again, the setting for life as usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Samanc\u0131 grew up along the Aegean, and her graphic memoir chronicles her burgeoning understanding of her country through an inquisitive child\u2019s eyes. She recalls crushes on teachers, her admiration of Turkey\u2019s first president, and the difficulty of navigating religious differences as a student. There\u2019s a lot packed into this story from girlhood to university graduate, but approaching convoluted topics with a strong dose of innocence offers an entertaining glimpse into the life of a young woman making sense of a convoluted and evolving country\u2014and her place in it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yvonne travels from Vermont to Dat\u00e7a, a peninsula in southwestern Turkey, where she and her late husband once honeymooned. Though the area is surrounded by gorgeous beaches and happy vacationers, her experience is more of a harsh and deteriorating environment. Yvonne finds herself often feeling misplaced, on the wrong side of power dynamics, and second-guessing her interactions with various tourists and locals. As an unlikely friendship leads to devastating consequences, Yvonne has to come to terms with her actions\u2014and her past\u2014to escape the heavy sense of loneliness that violently clings to her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Orga\u2019s memoirs from childhood begin while he\u2019s living in the lap of luxury, with house staff in a konak<\/em> in the heart of Ottoman Istanbul. In the summer of 1914, his bourgeois world grinds to a halt with the onset of WWI. This book chronicles Istanbul\u2019s transformation as the Ottoman Empire transitions to the Turkish Republic through the lens of a single family. Perhaps most aptly symbolized by Orga\u2019s grandmother, who refuses to abandon her aristocratic airs as life falls apart around her, it\u2019s a tale of pride and survival, and of how to rebuild life again and again without losing hope. <\/p>\n\n\n Northern California native and world-traveling diplomat Whitten and her husband become enamored by a trip to Turkey, and eventually make their way once again to Istanbul where they settle on one of the Princes\u2019 Islands, Heybeliada. Whitten\u2019s chronicle of island life is divided into two sections: the first detailing the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of procuring and remodeling an old island home, and the second, an in-depth exploration of life in Istanbul. Written with the friendliness and accessibility of a travel guide, it\u2019s a great read for those unfamiliar with Turkish culture, fans of Peter Mayle\u2019s A Year in Provence<\/em>, and who love to live vicariously through those building their dream lives abroad. <\/p>\n\n\n An expansive and gorgeously detailed novel told through the perspectives of an eclectic cast of characters in a Turkish village. Neighbors of various ethnic and religious backgrounds live lives deeply integrated with one another, until war strikes and brings everyone a jarring new perspective on nationality and religion. As developments in war and legislation shape allies and enemies, the villagers find themselves pulled apart from each other in the most shocking of ways. Brimming with witty proverbs, historical anecdotes, heartfelt love stories, and, ultimately, unimaginable grief. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Turkish-American college student Sibel brings along her American boyfriend for a summer in Istanbul, where she mostly watches soap operas all day. While she juggles taking care of her ailing grandmother, tending to her sister\u2019s eating disorder, and self-diagnosing her own mysterious headaches, she simultaneously avoids and desperately seeks connection with her dead father. As a family secret as complicated as Turkey\u2019s chaotic history begins to unravel, Sibel starts to finally find an end to her grief, and a better understanding of her relationships. <\/p>\n\n\n A collection of writing about Turkey\u2019s southwestern coast that includes excerpts from authors and travelers both ancient and contemporary. Perfect to dip in and out of while vacationing on the Turquoise coast, the selections range from explorations of the finer points of Turkish cuisine to underwater discoveries, from chronicles of the plants and animals of the region to the stories behind its archeological ruins. The book also includes excerpts from other writers mentioned in this list, including \u0130rfan Orga and Louis de Berni\u00e8res.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How many stories does it take to get to know a place? Lifelong residents may write confidently of their homeland, but among the travelogs and novels and poems and memoirs that give shape to a city, I\u2019m partial to books written from the perspective of those still calibrating their relationship to a place. These include […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":260525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5647],"tags":[175,5686,48],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDare to Disappoint<\/a><\/em> by \u00d6zge Samanc\u0131<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The Lovers<\/a><\/em> by Vendela Vida<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Portrait of a Turkish Family<\/a><\/em> by \u0130rfan Orga<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/electricliterature.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/III_544_786_80.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAn Island in Istanbul: At Home on Heybeliada<\/a><\/em> by M.A. Whitten<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBirds Without Wings<\/a><\/em> by Louis de Berni\u00e8res<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The Four Humors<\/a><\/em> by Mina Se\u00e7kin<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nTurkish Coast Through Writers’ Eyes<\/a><\/em> by Rupert Scott<\/h4>\n\n\n\n