This is a surprise from an unlikely author. Most of us in Turkey know Edmondo de Amicis from his famous book "Cuore" which was translated literally as "Child's Heart" and was a very popular children's book in my youth (in the 60's). It was written in the 19th century and was promoting the newly emerging nationalist values in a novel from a child's perspective.

Constantinople is de Amicis' travelogue, written in the late 1800's. It shows his fascination with the city, with its multiple cities with differing populations, a surprise waiting around each corner. He undoubtedly uses an orientalist point of view, but that was the default in his time. The only thing which reduced the value of the book in my perspective was the fact that he does not narrate everything directly from his several weeks' visit, but also takes descriptions from previous works and relates stories that he was told by others. The style is quite good (of course I could not read the original Italian but I'm assuming the translator has captured the style) and the narrative flowing. However I would prefer something coming more from first-hand experience rather than using his obviously superior narrative skills.

One thing he is really good at is reflecting the truly cosmopolitan nature of Istanbul in late 1870's. This nature has been lost in the following decades, making it nowadays devoid of the minorities which gave the city its real soul.