Turkish Letters book cover

16th-Century Ottoman Court

Travel Writing

Turkish Letters

by Ogier De Busbecq

Intelligent but unpretentious, gossipy yet honest, inquiring and unprejudiced - de Busbecq is the sort of man we would all like to meet on our travels.


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About the book

As Habsburg ambassador to the 16th-century court of Suleyman the Magnificent he missed nothing: the intrigue of Roxelana at court, the unloading of Spanish prisoners of war, the yoghurt diet of country Turks, the brutal realities of 16th-century realpolitik, and the charming, but expensive, habit of being welcomed with gifts of flowers by Janissary guardsmen. De Busbecq brings Constantinople, at the heyday of Ottoman power, bursting into life. This is eyewitness history at its best.

Book details

Published by Eland Publishing Ltd

Paperback ISBN: 9780907871699 4 Mar 2005 216 x 137 x 12 (mm) 260g