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Book Review of Turkey (Enchantment of the World)

Turkey (Enchantment of the World)
Turkey (Enchantment of the World)
Author: Tamra Orr
Genre: Children's Books
Book Type: Library Binding
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Although I've read several books about Turkey in recent days, I think this is the best one by far. The book has all color photos and illustrations. This is a Scholastic book and thus intended for students; there are oodles of photos included with the text.

The book starts with the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, with a bit of its history and what things look like now. Then the book explains the two parts of Turkey; this country is the connecting land mass between Europe and Asia (Thrace on the European side and Anatolia in the Asian part of the world).

Did you know that tulips originally came from Turkey? Dutch traders brought them back to their country and made them famous. Turkey also has an amazing variety of animal life; there are over 70 bird sanctuaries in the country.

The next section tells about Turkish history and modern changes. The description is short but very info-laden. Government systems are explained next; an incredible 87% of eligible voters mark their ballots in Turkish elections.

The rest of this enjoyable book is filled with the culture of the peoples living in Turkey: How they work, live, go to school and their religious lives (97 98% of the Turkish people are Muslim). There's a recipe or two, then an explanation of Turkish baths and Turkish delight. After reading this book, I felt ready to go to Turkey.