Book Review

 I have been blessed with some excellent reviews for my book.

This is so much more than just a travel book. It's a truly immersive experience. George Dearsley gets to the heart of his beloved Turkey and this is the record of his 50-year love affair with the place. 'Twelve Camels...' starts with a post-university road trip to the Far East, with Turkey just one leg on that journey, but something about the country pulled him back, again and again, ultimately making his home there with his wife Carolyn. As a top national newspaper journalist in the UK, we expect a well written account that reflects the highs and lows of any love affair. We get that, but we get so much more too. It is Dearsley's meticulous skills as a diarist and deft writing that set this work apart. His detailed notes and memories from the 1970s onwards fill every page with the sights, sounds, colours and smells of the cities, villages, bazaars and night-life of Turkey. En route we meet a cast of eccentrics, drifters, locals, lifelong friends and work colleagues as Dearsley drops in on weddings, funerals and intimate family scenes in this most welcoming of countries. As a backdrop to a hugely entertaining series of anecdotes and observations, Dearsley also cleverly outlines the great political, religious and cultural changes that have taken place in the half century since he first went there. It may be a love affair, but this is no saccharin-coated memoir; at its heart is a reporter who wants the world to know the whole picture. If you're planning a trip to Turkey, this is a must-read, with a clear message to get away from the tourist resorts and off the beaten track to experience the generosity and wonder that this often misunderstood country has to offer. Well before the final page, you'll find that you have acquired the Turkey bug too. Highly Recommended, (review by David Nicholson, former senior executive Today newspaper).