August 2005			Book of the Month - August			Mark Merlino - Home page
		Imperial Istanbul:  A Traveller's Guide Includes Iznik, Bursa and Edirne. Jane Taylor. I.B. Tauris & Co. 1998.
If I could recommend any book for someone interested in having a serious and detailed guidebook of Istanbul, then this would be it. This book organizes the historical monuments in the city by time period and provides handy maps. The real value of this book however is the great detail that is given in describing what is found at each monument. With this book, you would not need a tour guide. The book also contains interesting sections on Iznik, Bursa and Edirne. A reminder though that this book does not try to give details about accomodations, restaurants or contain colour pictures of the monuments described.