A lovely, lyrical and always insightful account that is as much about the present as the past. A joy from start to finish

Beautifully written with clear-eyed judgements and a sharp ear for fascinating anecdote and memorable characters. Exhilarating and often eye-opening, it shows this crucial region of the world from a new perspective. Essential reading for anyone interested in Turkey and its history

Alev Scott approaches the crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean by side roads and unfrequented channels. Her book is clear, bright, humane and never disheartened.

Brilliantly written with a real feel for character, the book is a pleasure to read and an erudite lesson in a fascinating chapter of Modern History. An indispensable addition to our understanding of the Middle East today.

This is a book full of fun, “I never knew that” moments . . . Scott’s mission is not to tell the history of the calamitous way the British and French dismantled the empire. Her aim is to find out whether the bits left behind as Ottoman imperialists became Turkish nationalist have common threads . . . She is fascinated by the survival and difference of forgotten, represses and otherwise threatened minorities

Moving and amusing

Beautifully written – combines history, travel writing and personal discovery . . . Scott’s writing is lyrical . . . She writes with a maturity and insight that belies her age, and is surely a rising star of the literary world. Her overall message is one of optimism.

Despite the bloody histories and ugly contemporary realities she seeks to investigate, Scott is always entertaining. She regales her reader with witty pen portraits.