Turkey

Wendy said, "I just finished Birds Without Wings, by Louis De Bernieres. It is a good read for Turkey. You can read my review here. I am planning a project to READ THE WORLD. You can find all my posts for this personal challenge here."

Birds Without Wings by Louis De Bernieres traces the fortunes of one small community in southwest Turkey (Anatolia) in the early part of the last century -- a quirky community in which Christian and Muslim lives and traditions have co-existed peacefully over the centuries and where friendship, even love, has transcended religious differences.

But with the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the onset of the Great War, the sweep of history has a cataclysmic effect on this peaceful place: the great love of Philothei, a Christian girl of legendary beauty, and Ibrahim, a Muslim shepherd who courts her from near infancy, culminates in tragedy and madness; two inseparable childhood friends who grow up playing in the hills above the town suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of the bloody struggle; and Rustem Bey, a wealthy landlord, has an enchanting mistress who is not what she seems.

Far away from these small lives, a man of destiny who will come to be known as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is emerging to create a country from the ruins of an empire. Victory at Gallipoli fails to save the Ottomans from ultimate defeat and, as a new conflict arises, Muslims and Christians struggle to survive, let alone understand, their part in the great tragedy that will reshape the whole region forever.

Thanks, Wendy, this looks good! I hope you will continue to share ideas with us "over here" as you read the world in your personal challenge. Maybe we'll even have an idea or two that you can use.