Expat Harem: 9 Years On The Reading List

Thrilled to see Expat Harem top this list of best expat books in the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah. Thanks to Expat Harem book and blog writer Catherine Yiğit for the heads up! Leyla Yvonne Ergil writes, "Many an expat has penned their experiences of living of Turkey in captivating accounts of the beauty of the landscape and cultural divides...

"...some of the best reads to laugh, commiserate, and experience the wonder that is Istanbul through foreign eyes."

Glad to be included on this list with:

• "Fez of the Heart: Travels around Turkey in Search of a Hat" by Jeremy Seal
• "Living Under the Shadow of Two Cultures" by Hugette Eyüboğlu
• "Beyond the Orchard" by Azize Ethem
• "Tea & Bee's Milk: Our Year In A Turkish Village" by Karen and Ray Gilden
• "The Yogurt Man Cometh" by Kevin Revolinski
• "Life With a View: A Turkish Quest" by Toni Sepeda
• "Anatolian Days and Nights: A Love Affair with Turkey, Land of Dervishes, Goddesses, and Saints" by Joy Stocke and Angie Brenner
• "An Island in Istanbul: At Home on Heybeliada" by M.A. Whitten
• "Perking the Pansies: Jack and Liam move to Turkey" by Jack Scott
• "Inside Out In Istanbul" by Lisa Morrow
• "Turkey with Stuffin: A Scrumptious Tale of Adventure and Just Desserts" by Kym Ciftci

And thanks to Elle Loftis for recommending the book in her top 10 Turkey reads in Today's Zaman paper.

"It shows a side of Turkey and Turkish culture rarely portrayed outside of fiction, and definitely not covered by international media. Expats in particular will enjoy this anthology, where many of the stories will undoubtedly hit home," Loftis writes.

My Global Niche: An Interview With Today's Zaman Newspaper

American reporter in Turkey Brooks Emerson asked me about the foreign edge, and the challenges of finding my niche in Turkey for his series on expat success stories in national English-language newspaper Today's Zaman. In the far-ranging interview, Emerson asks me what the initial impetus for my success as an expat was, and how I've evolved.

No surprise to those who know me, foreign language adoption has not played much of a role -- once I realized that taking business meetings and doing live television interviews in Turkish literally was rendering me mute! But mentoring in all realms of my personal and professional life has been a "secret weapon" in the creative entrepreneurship of self that I aim to practice.

Emerson asks me how the environment affects the outcome of an expat's endeavors. I tell him how sense of place can inspire a sense of self.

"Anastasia says that she has always been attracted to places with an amalgamation of people and cultures. However, the biggest pull is “the idea of crossroads … like Rome, where [she] studied in college … and now here on the Bosporus,” where she senses a positive energy and vibration for self-discovery and reinvention.

"Anastasia believes that working and living abroad is an excellent way to discover new self-potential."

Read Emerson's entire July 2011 interview "The global niche of Anastasia Ashman" online.