Istanbul_ The Collected Traveler_ An Inspired Companion Guide - Barrie Kerper [84]
Luxe City Guides: Istanbul for its size (about 3×6 inches) and great recommendations. “The best of the best, stylish, brutally frank, and sometimes, frankly brutal” is this series’ motto. Each edition is nothing more than an accordion-style foldout pamphlet geared mostly toward visitors who have only a few days in Istanbul.
StyleCity: Istanbul for its abundance of fabulous and idiosyncratic listings for places to sleep, eat, drink, shop, and retreat.
Time Out: Istanbul for its small size and great coverage, especially in the Arts & Entertainment, Shops & Services, and Resources sections.
Wallpaper City Guide: Istanbul for its unique, interesting, hip, and worthwhile suggestions for things to see, do, and experience.
Fiction
Arabesk (Headline, 2001), Belshazzar’s Daughter (Felony & Mayhem, 2006), Harem (Headline, 2003), and The Ottoman Cage (Thomas Dunne, 2000), all novels by Barbara Nadel, all set in Istanbul.
Enlightenment, by Maureen Freely (Overlook, 2008).
Halide’s Gift, by Frances Kazan (Random House, 2001).
Istanbul: Poetry of Place, edited by Ateş Orga (Eland, 2007). Among the poets featured are Lord Byron, Ivan Bunin, İrfan Orga, Orhan Veli Kanik, Robert Liddell, Roza Eskenazi, Théophile Gautier, and Nâzım Hikmet.
Kamil Pasha novels by Jenny White: The Abyssinian Proof (Norton, 2008) and The Sultan’s Seal (Norton, 2007). Like Barbara Nadel’s mysteries, these are all set in Istanbul—though in the 1890s—and each is incredibly atmospheric.
Leyla: The Black Tulip, by Alev Lytle Croutier (Pleasant Company, 2003). For children, but a good read for anyone of any age.
The Palace of Tears, by Alev Lytle Croutier (Delacorte, 2000).
Stamboul Train, by Graham Greene (William Heinemann, 1932; Penguin, 1992).
INTERVIEW
Gamze Artaman
When I asked Tom Brosnahan to recommend a tour guide for me, he immediately suggested Gamze Artaman. Before I met Gamze (pronounced GAHM-say), I assumed Tom had chosen her because I was a repeat visitor and because I had my own list of things I wanted to see and do. Gamze was happy to accommodate me, but she is as terrific for things to see and do that are a little off the well-trodden path as she is with first-time visitors and major sites. Her enthusiasm is the same for the monuments of the old city (Sultanahmet) as for the neighborhoods of Balat, Fener, and Eyüp. Gamze became a licensed guide in 1991.
Q: I understand that the process of becoming a tour guide in Turkey is quite intensive. What is required?
A: When I began, in 1990, the ministry of tourism organized courses every year. Exams had to be first taken on general knowledge, language skills, etc., and then, if you could pass the tests, you would qualify to attend a nearly eight-month course. After this was the traineeship, when for a whole month we were taken around Turkey to see the major sights (professors accompanied and lectured us all the way). Now, things have changed: it’s even more difficult, and one must earn a four-year academic degree!
Q: As demanding as the process is, there are a lot of guides in Istanbul. But as with other aspects of travel, there are good guides and then there are superb guides. What are some characteristics that define a superb guide?
A: I personally separate tour guiding in two parts: guiding groups and guiding individuals (private tours). This might not make a lot of sense to some people, but the way I consider my profession they actually are two very different things. As 90 percent of my tours are private, I will speak to this type. I think that to lead a private tour, first of all, a tour guide has to be alert all the time and judge from the reactions of his or her guests what’s most appealing to them. Some of my guests like to see as much as