Echoes of History: A Journey Through Istanbul and the Middle East

Tarihin İzinde: İstanbul ve Orta Doğu'ya Bir Yolculuk

A Memento for Istanbul by Ahmet Ümit (HARD COVER) A Memento for Istanbul by Ahmet Ümit

Originally published as İstanbul Hatırası, this English translation by Rakesh Jobanputra is a masterful blend of a modern-day police procedural and historical fiction. The story follows Chief Inspector Nevzat as he investigates a series of murders where each body is discovered at a different historical monument in Istanbul, with an ancient coin left in the victim's hand. The narrative moves back and forth through time, exploring seven distinct eras of the city's history—from its early days as Byzantium to the Ottoman Empire—unraveling a mystery that links the city's dazzling past to its thriving modern metropolis. What Went Wrong? by Bernard Lewis

In this New York Times bestseller, renowned historian Bernard Lewis examines the historical relationship between the Islamic world and the West. He explores how the Middle East, once a global leader in science, military power, and economic achievement, was eventually overshadowed and dominated by Western modernization. Through thought-provoking comparisons of culture, secularism, and social structures from the 18th to the 20th centuries, Lewis analyzes the "anguished reaction" of a civilization in turmoil as it struggled to understand its changing global position.