Imperial Istanbul: A Traveller's Guide: Includes Iznik, Bursa and Edirne

by Jane Taylor

Jane Taylor's classic guidebook to Istanbul is acknowledged as the ultimate introduction to the city. It leads travellers from the great monuments of Byzantium and early Constantinople to the mosques and palaces built for Suleyman the Magnificent and the other Sultans while providing both practical information and a rich historical context. It also covers more recent sites: ranging from the mundane (the Galatasaray fishmarket) to the magnificent pavilions and villas of late Ottoman times. In addition to Istanbul, the cities of Iznik, Bursa and Edirne are covered in extensive detail. Filled with maps, itineraries, plans and descriptions of all the sites that any visitor could hope to see, this is the only guidebook that a traveller to Istanbul will ever need.

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

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Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is just one problem about reading Imperial Istanbul; when to actually read the book.
I tried reading it at home but since most chapters are based on walks through the city it is kind of irritating to get the walking directions while you are still at home. Also, because most stories are linked to each other based on distance it is a little bit more complicated to get the big picture of this city's interesting history. Luckily most walks ARE also based on a certain timespan so you are not left completely in the dark on the chronological time line.
After reading two chapters at home I gave up and decided to continue reading on my holiday in Istanbul, hoping it would be easier at the location itself. This gave a different problem: a lot of the stories and paragraphs are very long and reading them on the spot sometimes just took up to much time...
I ended up skimming the text on my hotel room for anything interesting and reading those parts at the different buildings and monuments we were sent to.

In the end I think I read about 90% of the book (the Istanbul part that is, since I didn't visit the other cities featured so I only read some parts of these chapters)

This book gave us some very nice insights to the city that I think ordinary tourists don't catch up on. We especially enjoyed knowing more about the city's bloody past. Just knowing about another sultan who ended his day by being "quietly strangled", reading about Basil the Bulgar slayer, having seen the small fountain that belonged to the head executioner (who at the same time was head gardener at the palace) really enriched our holiday.

I would recommend this book to every body who is going to Istanbul on a holiday and is interested in history. Do take a small city guide with you as well if you want to find some hotels, restaurants or shops since this isn't featured in "Imperial Istanbul"

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of great information--designed as a walking guide, it would be much more useful with more maps and illustrations. Better to read it before the visit.

3 stars for scant illustrations and being a bit out of date.