New Guides to Istanbul Offer Insider Tips

Thanks to a handful of new books by locals in the know, visitors to Istanbul can now delve even deeper into this city’s delights.

The American writer and teacher Ann Marie Mershon teamed up with a locally renowned guide, Edda Renker Weissenbacher, a polyglot Turk known for her fascinating strolls through undiscovered areas, to produce “Istanbul’s Bazaar Quarter: Backstreet Walking Tours.”

Their four chosen itineraries take readers down cobbled streets to narrow stairways, in the zone that stretches from Aksaray through the Grand Bazaar down to the Egyptian spice market.

“You could fly through any of the walks in an hour to 90 minutes,’’ Ms. Mershon said, “but to really enjoy them, you should allow about four hours for each.”

To find a lunch spot to break up those walks, try one of the frills-free places profiled in “Istanbul Eats: Exploring the Culinary Backstreets,” written by two Americans who have lived in Istanbul for years and who appreciate a well-grilled kofte.

The authors, Yigal Schleifer, an occasional contributor to this blog and the Times Travel section, and Ansel Mullins, a real estate consultant, have tracked down dozens of often-overlooked restaurants.

“There are so many great, amazing places in this city and the food culture is so rich and so deeply intertwined with the larger culture here,” Mr. Schleifer said over a serving of grilled meatballs at Kofteci Huseyin on a side street in the Beyoglu neighborhood. “But we kept seeing the same old places being advertised and promoted.’’

So they started a blog, Istanbul Eats, and the blog led to the book.

“Everybody comes to Istanbul expecting one type of thing: they’re really shocked to find there’s something other than the kebab,” Mr. Mullins said, wolfing down a generous portion of piyaz, a white bean and onion salad.

To help put that history into a contemporary context, Pat Yale, a London-born writer, and Saffet Emre Tonguc, a Turkish writer and private tour guide for clients like Oprah Winfrey, have collaborated on “Istanbul: The Ultimate Guide.”

At more than 600 pages, their encyclopedic effort takes readers to sites absent from most itineraries -– and guidebooks — like Yenikoy on the Bosporus and Caddebostan on the Asian side.

“Of course like everyone we wanted to cover Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia,” Ms. Yale wrote in an e-mail. “But Saffet and I wanted to show that there is also much that is fascinating about the more modern city — the Abud Efendi mansion that was used in the smash-hit Turkish soap opera Gumus, which is credited with kickstarting the Arab world’s recent love affair with the city.” (“Istanbul: The Ultimate Guide” will soon be available on Amazon.com and is sold in major bookstores in Istanbul.)

via New Guides to Istanbul Offer Insider Tips – NYTimes.com.