Denizler Kitabevi

"We already had Internet access in the shop in 1996," says Turgay Erol proudly. The owner of Denizler Kitabevi (Maritime Bookshop) was one of the first sellers on AbeBooks and also one of the very first people from the 2500-year-old metropolis of Istanbul on the Bosporus, to go online.

The bookshop, found in a beautiful turn-of-the-century building, specialises in Maritime books. In the shop you breathe in history with every step: old sea maps, dark shelves full of maritime books in uncountable languages; on the walls are lithographs, old sails and in a corner at the back of the room an elaborate wooden pavilion. The pavilion serves as the office where we drink the tea so indispensable to Turkish hospitality.

Turgay Erol can not complain about poor business. Situated directly on the Istiklal Caddesi, the noblest shopping street in town, Denizler Kitabevi is frequented by passerby from many different nationalities. "I sell mostly niche titles on the 'Net," said the friendly seller, speaking in English. "We can supply any titles printed in Turkey on all subjects - not only maritime."

He shows me the catalog with images of his greatest treasures. These rarities change owner mostly at auctions, which the Antiquarian from Istanbul regularly organizes. Details of upcoming auctions can be obtained directly from Mr. Erol.

Denizler Kitabevi currently has more than 15,000 titles listed on AbeBooks, many of those in French, English and German, and they anticipate adding a further 60,000 titles to their inventory, to arrive from a large book depot.

Profiled by Angie Reinhardt and Victoria Chater, AbeBooks Europe

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