Turkish Myths

Turkish mythology is like a colorful eastern carpet, woven from many different but surprisingly harmoniously complementary threads. The territory of modern Turkey has been home to a wide variety of peoples, civilizations, and cultures throughout the centuries: from the semi-legendary Troy to the Ottoman Empire. The book you hold in your hands will introduce you to the myths and legends of this ancient region. You will learn what the pantheon of the ancient Turks looked like and what fantastical creatures, both good and not so good, inhabited their myths, what magical Turkish tales and stories about the resourceful and indefatigable Hodja Nasreddin teach, and what familiar childhood myths about Jason and Medea, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece, Hercules and Cerberus, Zeus and the nymph Io have in common with this region. Stories await you about treacherous viziers and fabulously rich sultans, about the queen of snakes Shahmeran and the monstrous cyclops Tepegöz, about happy poor and towers suffering from love.