Books from Türkiye

In contemporary Istanbul, Fanis Paleologos is a charming widower and a respected member of the city’s dwindling Rum community, Greek Orthodox Christians whose families have lived in Istanbul for centuries. His quiet routines are disrupted when Daphne, an American-born woman of Greek and Ottoman heritage, arrives in search of her roots. Her presence awakens old memories of the woman Fanis once loved and lost during the devastating 1955 Istanbul pogrom. Meanwhile, Kosmas, a talented pastry chef hoping to find a suitable wife within his community, also falls for Daphne and attempts to win her heart through his culinary skills. As romantic rivalries unfold amid afternoon tea, traditional pastries, and lively neighbourhood gatherings, long-buried family secrets threaten to complicate their hopes for happiness. Blending humour, romance, and history, Nektaria Anastasiadou’s novel explores cultural identity, the meaning of home, and the resilience of a community determined to preserve its traditions despite decades of discrimination and upheaval.