Istanbul: Memories and the City Free Audiobook Download by Orhan Pamuk

Orhan Pamuk wrote about the dichotomies he saw in Istanbul, Turkey. One of the dichotomies is between the city and its people. When Pamuk talks about how some of the people who live in this megacity have forgotten that they don't need to go outside anymore to get what they need, he talks about the city forgetting them. This is a concept that has been further explored by John Lee in his audiobook "Istanbul: Memories and City".

The talk of Istanbul is not just the new bridge, but also a rich and intriguing perspective on 70 years of history. The city has been captured in a time-lapse video that captures some of the most iconic sights and sounds.

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and is home to many historical sites. This audio book starts in 1453 with the Siege of Constantinople, when Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II conquered the city from its Byzantine occupiers. It then delves into other periods throughout history: The modern city's industrialization, World War I, and Ottoman times. Pamuk's audiobook also relates memories of Istanbul such as visiting a market in a poor neighborhood and looking through a broken window.

This audiobook by Orhan Pamuk is an easy to listen to, yet engrossing exploration of Istanbul. Pamuk laments how his city has been neglected and abused due to political and economic motivations. He writes about the different people that he meets throughout the story, from a beggar to a politician.

I was born in Istanbul in 1952. My first memories of the city are from the airplane windows as I grew up and traveled with my family around the Ottoman Empire. I always knew that I wanted to visit as an adult, but it would be decades before I got there and took note of how much the city had changed. In this audiobook, Pamuk gives a brief history of Istanbul from its founding by Byzantines until its transformation into a European metropolis by Napoleon's troops.