Endgame - Ahmet Altan

Unfortunately a trashy novel centred around a village feud in coastal Turkey.  Sex, violence, monologues with God.  Skipped many pages, just flipped through it to see who he killed in the end.
Trash pop writer.  Avoid!

The Young Turk's Crime Against Humanity - Taner Akçam

An academic book by a turkish historian working out of big american university.  This book offers a meticulous examination of several questions around the Armenian genocide and tries to answer the questions through examination of historical documents, archive records, witness accounts both from inside and outside the government, trial records, etc.  The evidence seems to be overwhelmingly in support of a deliberate and centrally organized attempt to eliminate the Armenian population of Turkey.  It also explores some of the reasons behind this plan besides the usual "internal enemies of the state" argument, for which it seems there is little evidence, and in fact several statements from local governors stating the opposite.  One important causal element was the need to find a place for hundreds of thousands of repatriated turkish speakers from countries in the Balkans and Greece.

A definitive read.

Umut Yarına Kaldı - Yavuz Özkan

A strange little film from Turkey made in the 80s.  An artsy film in the sense of Ingmar Berman - not much happens, lots of moody atmosphere - but a lot more awkward and a bit amateurish.
What is interesting about this film is you can see it as one of the last calls from a time and an era that has been lost in Istanbul, from a time before the Anatolian flood.
There is a level of sophistication, a sense of cultured people fallen on hard times.  All of the music is either European classical music or opera. The whole film takes place in a yali along the Bosphorus.  The owner, short of cash perhaps, and from an old moneyed family, rents out rooms in his yali to artists.  There are some lovely views out windows over the Bosphorus as ships and ferries glide by.  In the background there is also a continual symphony of boat horns, seagulls and waves.  There are several scenes in the yali garden right on the edge of the Bosphorus - quite charming.  The yali owner even swims in the Bosphorus!  From another time....

Unfortunately the sound is bad and the dialogue is very hard to follow.

Macedonia and the Macedonians - Andrew Rossos

An excellent overview of Macedonian history from ancient times to the present.  It answered many of the questions I had about how Macedonia came to be such an important part of Balkan, and modern European, history.
Excellent discussion of how, over many years, the Macedonian people struggled to assert their identity and establish a homeland in spite of almost constant resistance from Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia.  Quite an accomplishment, actually.  Really the work of the people themselves, as they had no foreign sponsors, no Macedonian church, no strong political elite or association for most of their history.
There is also some interesting discussion of Macedonia's place in Yugoslavia - the Yugoslavian communists were the first (and only) to recognize Macedonians as a distinct ethnic group and support the establishment of a Macedonian state.
Didn't read every detail of the 20th century ins and outs of the struggle, but the book is well set up for skimming, with a summary at the beginning of each more detailed chapter.

Manzaradan Parçalar - Orhan Pamuk

Bu makaleler okuyabildiğimden ve anlatabildiğimden çok şaşırdım.  Sözlük çok kullanmam gerek ve yavaş yavaş gelişiyorum ama yapıyorum.  Orhan Pamuk'un dili çok açık ve çok güzel.  Istanbul hakkinda fikirleri çok ilginç.

Turkey: What Everyone Needs to Know - Andrew Finkel

A good general introduction to modern Turkey.  Finkel touches on many current issues and trends, and gives historical background where necessary.  I would say it is a fairly balanced presentation, looking at strengths, issues and weaknesses.  For me, I would like to see a bit more depth but I think it functions well as an overview or introduction to the present state of Turkey.

The Black Sea: A History - Charles King

A basic history of the region.  Bit of an uninspiring read but some good background information.  While King covers the basics, he doesn't necessarily do a great job of putting things in the wider context - I am currently reading another book on the same subject which is much better in that way. (Black Sea by Neal Ascherson)  The most interesting part was the section about the Kalmouks and their reverse migration during the time of Catherine the Great.

Some interesting characters to look up:
Pero Tafur - Travels and Adventures - travelling in the area in the 1430s
Bratianu - La mer noire - Hungarian monks travelling the area in the same period

To find:
The Western Question in Greece and Turkey - Arnold Toynbee

The Lion and the Throne 31761069705192 Rob

A beautiful retell of some of the early stories in the Shahname.  Prose retell.  Reproductions of old miniatures from old editions of the book.

To find again.
Source for storytelling.

Princess Peacok - Tales from the Other Peoples of China

- from TPL

Some interesting folk tales from several islamic peoples of China, some Turkic speakers, mostly in the Xinjiang area.
Good resource.