It's already a part of tradition that I always find and buy a book about the places I visit - fortunately Istanbul have not one but two excellent english bookshops in the central area (same owner) that cater for tourists, visitors and diplomats - there is a nice selection of books about Turkey and Islam in english so I selected "Istanbul - the imperial city" by John Freely as my first introduction to this beautiful and exciting city, since I don't know much about its history except basic informations.
So far I am really enjoying it - not too much space was focused on early settlers but very soon author moves on to explain it greeks and roman roots that have left much more traces than people who lived here before. Right now I am at the Chapter 12 and romans are in full swing - lots of interesting and brutal anecdotes about emperors being killed by mobs and queen mothers having their tongues sliced (!), noses cut off and such stories. We also get informations about all the important palaces,temples and public buildings built around this time as well as occasional story about ordinary people who lived there, famous courtesans, saints, priests and soldiers who were remembered in history. Very gripping story and I am truly enjoying it - and so far its still a roman city, at this stage of the book muslims are only distant treat from far away.
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