The Palace Lady’s Summerhouse and other inside stories from a vanishing Turkey

Patricia Daunt is a writer, married to a former ambassador to Turkey, Sir Timothy Daunt; they first met when both were stationed at the British Embassy in Ankara in 1960. Over the past sixty years she has travelled widely in Turkey, often on horse or foot, acquiring a deep knowledge of its history and civilizations. She has introduced parties of enthusiasts to Turkey's archaeological and architectural treasures, as well as its indigenous plants and trees. But her abiding interest remains the ancient city of Aphrodisias. Since 1993, she has been chairman of the Friends of Aphrodisias Trust, a British charity that supports archaeological projects at the site, in the southwest of Turkey.

Foreword; PALACES OF DIPLOMACY; 1 The Winter Palaces The Pera Embassies; WINDOW ON THE BOSPHORUS; 2 Boating with Billy; 3 The Summer Palaces: The Bosphorus Embassies; 4 The Jewel Box: The Çürüksulu Mehmet Pasha Yalı; 5 The Vizier’s Retreat: The Kıbrıslı Yalı; 6 A Room for the Books: Ahmed Vefik Pasha’s Library; 7 Water’s Edge: The Hekimbaşı Yalı; 8 The Talk of the Bosphorus: The Zeki Pasha Yalı; 9 Some Enchanted Evenings: The Ratip Efendi Yalı; 10 The House that Came out of the Blue: The Germen Yalı; 11 In the Spirit’s Wake: Sumahan on the Water; 12 The Palace Lady’s Summerhouse: The Ethem Pertev Yalı; TRAVELS IN ANATOLIA; 13 The Country Houses that Ride the Storm; 14 The Lake that Time Forgot; 15 Sublime Portals The Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği; SECRET ANKARA; 16 A Brave New World The Embassies’ Big Move to Ankara; 17 Fly in the Face of Fashion Ankara’s Hidden Assets; PARIS A LA TURQUE; 18 Treasures of a Lost Dynasty; 19 From Lunacy to Diplomacy 276; APHRODISIAS REBORN; 20 City of Aphrodite; Acknowledgements and glossary; Index