To the City: Life and Death Along the Ancient Walls of Istanbul

by Alexander Christie-Miller

Walking along the crumbling defensive walls of Istanbul and talking to those he passes, Alexander Christie-Miller finds a story of the country’s history, a mirror of its present, and a shadow of its future.Caught between two seas and two continents, Istanbul lies at the center of the most pressing challenges of our time. With environmental decay, rapacious development and tightening authoritarianism straining its social fabric to breaking point, it represents the precipitous moment civilizations around theworld are currently facing. In and around its crumbling Byzantine-era fortifications, Alexander Christie-Miller meets people who are experiencing the looming crisis and fighting back, sometimes triumphing despite the odds. To the City seamlessly blends two the story of Turkey’s tumultuous recent past told through the lives of those who live around the walls, and thestory of Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II’s siege and capture of the city in 1453. That event still looms large in Turkey, as Recep Tayyip Erdogan like a latter-day sultan invokes its memory as part of his effort to transform the country in an echo of its imperial past. This is a meditation on the soul of Istanbul, a paean to its resilience and fortitude. To the City takes us on a narrative journey and along the way, we witness danger, beauty and hope.

Genres: History

416 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2024

Reviews

[Sud666 · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few weeks ago, I returned from vacation, and one of the places that made a huge impression on me was Istanbul. From history to food to the cosmopolitan makeup of the city, every facet exceeded my pre-established view of the city. Absolutely loved it.
Thus, when I returned and saw this book, I snatched it up. Perhaps that was a mistake. It's not what I thought, but not bad for what it is. Allow me to explain this cryptic statement. I assumed this would be a historical travelogue. Sort of. Unfortunately, the author studied English Lit and Theatre at Trinity. Why is this important? The field of study requires a Leftist (as opposed to Liberal) mindset, and that is soon on display with the way the book unfolds.

Each chapter revolves around one of the remaining entry gates to the Constantinian Walls. From the Tanners' Gate, Cannon Gate, Crooked Gate, etc., we are led through a brief history of Istanbul and then a heavy focus on the locals who inhabit these locales. The positive part? His historical insights and even his local flavor views are quite good. Had he stuck to that story, this would have been a 5-star book, but sadly, his Leftist brain-rot manifests, and he proceeds to spend far too much time on the personal stories of these various individuals and their particular sob stories. Sadly, this type of story seems to occupy 65% of the book (compared to the remainder being excellent history and travel lore) and I noticed a suspiciously very high number of these individuals are all affiliated with some kind of Leftist fetish (Communist Party Member, Anarchist, "activists" who got carried away and crossed the line into rioter, etc), which is invariably casually mentioned, and then we get pages of information about how this ruined their lives. Ok then. Also, the chapter called " Crooked Gate", which ostensibly should have given historical and local context on this ancient Gate, is instead, in its entirety, covers the story of a cab driver named Mustafa and his love affair with a girl, but she marries someone else, blah, blah, blah. Seriously? What am I reading here? After finishing the chapter, I realized no history or culture was covered, just this gibberish sob story.

This is what inhibits what could have been an excellent book. When he sticks to history, or even wants to analyze at how Istanbul views Erdogan, or the social changes coming to Istanbul under the AKP he shines and is quite adept. Sadly, his fascination with these sob stories and his in-depth research into these various stories occupy too much of his writing.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 and 1/2 stars out of 5 to this interesting, but slightly flawed non-fiction book about Istanbul, both historically and in current times.