Description
Book SynopsisAn enthralling guide to one of the world's great cities that blends history and insights into the present day from one of the most astute commentators on the politics of Istanbul'' PETER FRANKOPAN''A love letter to this ancient capital'' THE TIMESWalking along the crumbling defensive walls of Istanbul and talking to those he passes, Alexander Christie-Miller finds a distillation 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 centre 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 the world 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
Trade Review EARLY PRAISE FOR TO THE CITY
'A love letter to this ancient capital…a work of storytelling skill and passion, a handsome tribute to a city that always transfixes'
The Times
'The author is a sensitive and patient presence, piecing together these stories over many pages. Spending time at a teahouse, an animal shelter and a former Dervish hall that is now an academic institution, he brings to life the rich variety of these neighbourhoods. While Christie-Miller’s focus remains on the streets surrounding the walls, his characters offer broader insights into Turkey’s social and political make-up. He is also sensitive to the poetry of his surroundings, captured in moments of lyrical precision: “Behind them I saw the remains of the Byzantine sea wall hanging like a scrap of old parchment strung out to dry in the sun'
Financial Times
‘Alexander Christie-Miller is an exceptionally fluent and imaginative writer who knows Turkey intimately’
Max Hastings
'An absorbing and thoroughly engaging study of modern-day Turkey. His research is first class, and he writes very well…Christie-Miller’s love of the city and its people shines through this wonderful book'
Literary Review
'Between the ancient minarets that punctuate the city’s skyline, the author seeks out the real soul of Istanbul in its diverse peoples, past and present, by raising up voices rarely heard'
National Geographic Magazine
'Alexander Christie-Miller has written a gripping portrait, with both the sweeping scope of a historian and the intimate, laser-like eye of a travel writer. This also a deeply humane account of a legendary city, not always well served by its leaders'
Daniel Metcalfe author of Blue Dahlia
