If you've ever been to Istanbul, I'm sure you've been to all the major MUSTS: The Bosphorus, The Haghia Sophia, The Blue Mosque, The Basilica Cistern, Bartering at the Bazaars, Topkapi Palace, a Whirling Dervish Ceremony and so on.
I would also add this book to that list.
Almost as fascinating as seeing a new city for the first time, is hearing how a native views their own city. While most foreigners would praise the exotic Istanbul skyline, native Orhan Pamuk dwells on the "huzun" or melancholy that has sunk into every stone in the city. Where a foreigner would be amazed and proud of something like the Haghia Sophia, Orhan Pamuk explains that the native would feel depressed at knowing that it is a symbol of better times gone by.
Weaving back and forth throughout the narrative (like those rugs every Turk tries to sell you) are snippets of autobiography. At the very beginning, when the author mentions "the other Orhan", I was heavily reminded of similar themes by Argentinian author JORGE LUIS BORGES, who often wrote about "the other Borges", as if there were another of him in the world.
The parts about family life were interesting too, such as the descriptions of how some of the people in the apartment kept rooms as "museums".
Scattered throughout the text--which can admittedly be dry at times--are dozens of photos and drawings of Istanbul through the ages. Most of the pictures are from other sources but there are a handful that the author himself took.
Although I have once been to Istanbul, this book succeeds--perhaps unintentionally--in creating a longing for one to return, to view the city through native eyes.Get more detail about Istanbul: Memories and the City.
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