Ottoman Odyssey: Travels Through a Lost Empire

In this insightful and easily approachable combination of travelogue and history, journalist Scott (Turkish Awakening) surveys the mosaic of competing ethnic and religious allegiances that characterizes the former Ottoman Empire, from the Balkan states to the Middle East and the Caucasus, and the fate of the diverse former empire’s minority groups in the present-day climate of nationalism. Scott writes that she had planned for her second book to focus on the minority religions of Turkey, but her intentions changed after she was expelled from the country by the Erdogan regime in 2016. This forced her to range farther afield in her research, seeking out the Turkish diaspora and the remnants of empire, “descendants of ancient minorities that were allowed to flourish in the empire, and then intimidated, ignored or expelled from modern Turkey” including “auto mechanics in rural Kosovo... the children of Armenian genocide survivors in Jerusalem... Lebanese warlords, and professors in... Sarajevo.” With a skill for drawing out telling anecdotes from her subjects, a lyrical sense of humor, and an evident compassion for those whose lives have been constrained by forces larger than themselves, she probes the scars left by history even 100 years after the end of empire. This is essential reading for those interested in how historical mythologies warp and contort individual lives. [em](May) [/em]