From the mythical heart of Greece to the fruits of the Black Sea coast; from Croatian and Albanian flavours to the spices and aromas of Turkey and beyond – the cuisine of the Eastern Mediterranean is a vibrant melting pot brimming with character. Accompanying the major BBC Two series, Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul includes over 100 spectacular recipes discovered by Rick during his travels in the region. The ultimate mezze spread of baba ghanoush, pide bread and keftedes. Mouthwatering garlic shrimps with soft polenta. Heavenly Dalmatian fresh fig tart. Packed with stunning photography of the food and locations, and filled with Rick's passion for fresh produce and authentic cooking, this is a stunning collection of inspiring recipes to evoke the magic of the Eastern Mediterranean at home.

"Explores how diplomatic interpreters, converts, and commercial brokers mediated and helped define political, linguistic, and religious boundaries between the Venetian and Ottoman empires in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries."--Author's Web site.

This book examines how Ottomans were mapped in the narrative and visual imagination of early modern Europe's Christian kingdoms.

This book presents 13 studies on different regions of Greece that combine documentary and archaeological evidence to investigate the development of landscapes and sites between 1500 and 1800 A.D.

You can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when traveling in Istanbul. Following Rick's self-guided tours, you'll experience the wonders of East and West in this fascinating city—the capital of two great empires. Explore one of the world's largest domed churches, haggle with merchants in the exotic Grand Bazaar, and discover the secrets of the sultan's harem in Topkapi Palace. Wander through monumental mosques, shop along sophisticated avenues, and watch whirling dervishes in action. Cruise the Bosphorus for a quick trip to Asia, and end the day relaxing in a Turkish bath. Rick's candid, humorous advice will guide you to good-value hotels and restaurants in delightful neighborhoods. You'll learn how to get around on the city's trams and ferries, and which sights are worth your time and money. More than just reviews and directions, a Rick Steves guidebook is a tour guide in your pocket.

From 828, when Venetian merchants carried home from Alexandria the stolen relics of St. Mark, to the fall of the Venetian Republic to Napoleon in 1797, the visual arts in Venice were dramatically influenced by Islamic art. Because of its strategic location on the Mediterranean, Venice had long imported objects from the Near East through channels of trade, and it flourished during this particular period as a commercial, political, and diplomatic hub. This monumental book examines Venice's rise as the "bazaar of Europe" and how and why the city absorbed artistic and cultural ideas that originated in the Islamic world. Venice and the Islamic World, 828–1797 features a wide range of fascinating images and objects, including paintings and drawings by familiar Venetian artists such as Bellini, Carpaccio, and Tiepolo; beautiful Persian and Ottoman miniatures; and inlaid metalwork, ceramics, lacquer ware, gilded and enameled glass, textiles, and carpets made in the Serene Republic and the Mamluk, Ottoman, and Safavid Empires. Together these exquisite objects illuminate the ways Islamic art inspired Venetian artists, while also highlighting Venice's own views toward its neighboring region. Fascinating essays by distinguished scholars and conservators offer new historical and technical insights into this unique artistic relationship between East and West.

"A beautifully written trilogy."—Wanderlust Published to critical acclaim in 2008, Nicholas Woodsworth'sMediterranean Trilogy, released originally in three volumes, is now available in a single paperback edition. Combining travel narrative, history, and reflection on contemporary Mediterranean life, Woodsworth finds an intimacy, a garrulous warmth, and a near-tribal sociability that belongs uniquely to the cities on the fringe of this sea. It is neither African, nor European, nor Middle Eastern, but it is identifiable; it is Mediterranean. This sea, he argues, should not be seen as an empty space surrounded by Europe, Asia, and Africa, but as a single entity, a place from whose coastlines people look not outward, to this country or that capital, but inward, over the water to each other. The sea, Woodsworth tells us, has its own cities, its own life, its own way of being. Woodsworth sets out from Alexandria, discovers the intimacies of Venice rarely witnessed by those on the tourist trail, and then, through Albania and toward the Aegean archipelago, arrives at Istanbul, where he installs himself in a former Benedictine monastery overlooking the Golden Horn. In all these places he finds traces of an older, more sophisticated existence and asks what these cities and their inhabitants owe to the sea. Nicholas Woodsworth was born in Ottawa, Canada. He was the Africa correspondent of theFinancial Times and is the author ofSeeking Provence (Haus Publishing, 2008).