Turkey (Culture Shock! A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette)

Whether you travel for business, pleasure, or a combination of the two, the ever-popular "Culture Shock!" series belongs in your backpack or briefcase. Get the nuts-and-bolts information you need to survive and thrive wherever you go. "Culture Shock!" country guides are easy-to-read, accurate, and entertaining crash courses in local customs and etiquette. "Culture Shock!" practical guides offer the inside information you need whether you're a student, a parent, a globetrotter, or a working traveler. "Culture Shock!" at your Door guides equip you for daily life in some of the world's most cosmopolitan cities. And "Culture Shock!" Success Secrets guides offer relevant, practical information with the real-life insights and cultural know-how that can make the difference between business success and failure.

Each "Culture Shock!" title is written by someone who's lived and worked in the country, and each book is packed with practical, accurate, and enjoyable information to help you find your way and feel at home.

 (8 customer reviews)

This is not an academic book with pedantic overtones, nor is it a promotional book which shows only what the Turks would like the outsiders to see. One cannot claim it is a literary piece either, although it is dotted with some poetic expressions. Instead, it is an extremely enjoyable book with useful explanations and tips to prepare the reader for a variety of contexts and characteristics, well beyond the stereotypes. The style is chat-like and personal, the tone is level-headed.Certain things need updating. For instance, since the publication of this book, Istanbul has been introduced to a new subway system and a second bridge. The author, however, excels in the description of the national spirit and the cultural features, which do not change so easily. Furthermore, local characteristics such as the vitality of an Istanbul street, the rustic colours of the intercity areas, the serenity of the old graveyards on the Bosphorus, the slow-paced offices of the state sector, the...Read more

This book is full of exaggerations about Turkey. No wonder that the author has spent ``a month per year'' there in the last dozen years or so... The Turkey described by this book belongs to the 1970's and not so much to the dynamic society of the 1990's. If you read this book, the REAL Turkey (as it actually exists) will be a pleasant surprize to you. So read it and go there and have a real shock! Turkey is a modern democratic society with Western values which at the same time keeps the cultural heritage of the Caucasus, Siberia, Balkans, ancient Anatolia, the Ottomans, the Byzantines etc

This book is a complete failure. Read Mary Lee Settle's "Turkish Reflections" instead! Arin Bayraktaroglu (apparently an expatriate Turk living in London) seems even more ignorant about Turkey than the avarage tourist. At some points, the book is deliberately misleading, and the attempts at humor are particularly unsuccesful. Don't waste your money on this. Buy Mary Lee Settle's "Turkish Reflections" instead.