Jack and Liam, fed up with kiss-my-arse bosses and nose-to-nipple commutes, quit their jobs and move to a small town in Turkey. Join the culture-curious gay couple on their bumpy rite of passage in a Muslim country. Meet the oddballs, VOMITs, vetpats, emigreys, semigreys, debauched waiters and middle England miseries. When bigotry and ignorance emerge from the crude underbelly of Turkey's expat life, Jack and Liam waver. Determined to stay the course, the happy hedonistas hitch up their skirts, move to the heart of liberal Bodrum and fall in love with their intoxicating foster land. Enter Jack's irreverent world for a right royal dose of misery and joy, bigotry and enlightenment, betrayal and loyalty, friendship, love, earthquakes, birth, adoption and a senseless murder. Perking the Pansies will make you laugh out loud one minute and sob into your crumpled tissue the next. "Scott pulls no punches. A good read and hopefully the first of many by new boy on the block." Jane Akatay, journalist "An insightful tale of life abroad - with a twist - from the pen of a serial people watcher. Expat Jack lays his characters bare along with his heart and soul, '' Kym Ciftci, On the Ege Magazine, Ontheege.com "Jack and Liam bring a certain je ne sais quoi to the souks and heap a plate of dry British wit to their Ottoman misadventures," Charles Ayres, author, Impossibly Glamorous Impossiblyglamorous.com ..". hilarious, saucy, witty, heartwarming and incredibly moving, Perking the Pansies is chock full of odd characters and odder situations. Jack Scott has a way with words and proves that it is the relationships we surround ourselves with that matter most," Linda A Janssens, Writer and Co-Author, Turning Points, Adventuresinexpatland.com

In his first novel since Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernières creates a world, populates it with characters as real as our best friends, and launches it into the maelstrom of twentieth-century history. The setting is a small village in southwestern Anatolia in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. Everyone there speaks Turkish, though they write it in Greek letters. It’s a place that has room for a professional blasphemer; where a brokenhearted aga finds solace in the arms of a Circassian courtesan who isn’t Circassian at all; where a beautiful Christian girl named Philothei is engaged to a Muslim boy named Ibrahim. But all of this will change when Turkey enters the modern world. Epic in sweep, intoxicating in its sensual detail, Birds Without Wings is an enchantment.

Charmed by the fulsome hospitality of strangers, enthralled by breathtaking archeological sites, dazzled by beautiful beaches and scenery the author fell in love with Turkey in 1972. The lifelong romance that followed has included many incredible, sometimes sad but more often comical situations as a regular holiday destination later became a permanent home. They include being arrested as a spy, watching a man swallow a snake, judging a beauty contest, being given a front row seat at a circumcision and seeing Turkey's most famous criminal crash a plane. Whether you are a casual traveller, looking to live abroad or a seasoned ex pat the book seeks to explain Turkey's sometimes crazy but endearing customs, habits and culture. If you have a comment on the book please contact me at gdearsley AT aol DOT com

Tackles one of the most enduring and contentious issues of positive political economy: common pool resource management.

This report concludes that the Government is right to continue to support Turkey's accession to the European Union, as long as Ankara meets the accession criteria, and subject to the Government imposing restrictions on the right to free movement from Turkey after it joins. However, at the moment, shortcomings in Turkey's justice system are leading to human rights abuses, including as regards freedom of expression and the media, and making it harder to advocate Turkey's EU membership. Turkey's EU accession process is in any case stuck: effectively, it is hostage to the Cyprus dispute. The Committee said that, by undermining the force of EU leverage, the stalemate is having consequences that are detrimental to UK objectives in Turkey across a range of fields, including not only human rights but also energy and market access issues. The Committee found this especially regrettable given that Turkish democracy may be in a critical phase, and given the influence that Turkey may have at the moment over reforming Arab states. The Committee also said that, by creating uncertainty over the timing - if not the fact - of Turkey's EU accession, the stalemate was discouraging both the EU and Turkey from starting to address some of the most difficult issues that would be involved in Turkey's EU membership. The Government's continuing support for Turkey's EU membership has provided a strong basis for the further development of UK-Turkey bilateral relations which has significant potential. As a foreign policy partner Turkey could potentially add value to UK foreign policy

With such an immense political and cultural heritage, it's no surprise kaleidoscopic Turkey is such a feast - a prime cut of authenticity, seasoned by the West and spiced by the East. Jack Scott knows a thing or two about the country. He lived there for years and travelled widely - to Istanbul and along its south-western shores from Izmir to Alanya. In Postcards from the Ege, Scott shares some of his must-sees and personal highlights. Follow Scott's trail. Come to Turkey.