best guide book?

What do you recommend as the best travellers guide book for Turkey please?. hopefully includes some options to avoid tourist jams and good values, in addition to the most wonderful places thanks

in english? generally the germans do far better guidebooks.
the LATEST, from whatever editor is usually the most up todate. I recently enjoyed paging a recent ROUGH guide. if its just hoStels and the cheapesta bus you want, then definitely LP (their maps have gone downhill in their effort to anti-copy grey)

It's not a guide book but I would highly recommend you have a look at Small Hotels of Turkey which according to its blurb specialises in 'the small, charming and truly extraordinary hotels of Turkey'. I hasten to add that I have connection with the publishers - I just love this book (and it's website: http://www.nisanyan.net) and can spend ages dreaming about where to go and stay next in Turkey. You can click on the map of an area you'd like to visit and see what hotels etc are there. They're not all expensive and luxurious either - an excellent range.

thanks all. I will check oout rough guide.. Hotel will be of interest too but only when I know where I am going! unless the hotel itself is the worthwhile destination! more later ...

My wife and I (who are reasonably adventurous travellers in our fifties) have used LP in Turkey, Bali and Hong Kong over the last few years and found them excellent. Good info on local transport options, a range of price options for accomadation, self guided tours arounds major towns and important sites and lots of helpful hints. Can't comment on other guides - why not go to your local bookshop (or your library) and compare the various guides

You ask this question on the Lonely Planet site? :)

LP used to be my first choice, but some of their recent guides, particularly the city guides, have lost their edge. Last year I took the LP Dubai guide with me and regretted it sorely. I took the LP Beijing guide with me this year and that was OK but nothing to write home about.

The LP country guides are faring better. For Turkey the LP still has the edge over RG. On the other hand, having compared the two, I took the Rough Guide to Egypt with me last year. But RG let themselves down with their wimpy number system for indicating price. The categories are uselessly broad.

Mind you, if you want to lowdown on that obscure old site, nothing beats the Blue Guides to Turkey and Istanbul. Useless for accomodation, getting around or prices, but superb detail on the ground.

thanks all Of course I am already reading LP plus the forum as though I was taking an exam . However in some countries LP is not numero uno... Sometimes not updated recently enough (Turkey is current) or just not the cutting edge that some other guidebook might have. Havent figured out the obscure sites yet so dont need Blue Book , unless of course you have some great obscure sites for me. ( would love that please) Trip happened rather suddenly ( great airfare on Lufthansa) and have not had time to do the usual deep research . Give me one great site and I will trade with you my most favorite secret site----- in the yucatan! ( I think it is still a secret site ). Is trip to Mount Nemrut all that I fantacize and is there any danger being so far east? leaving in 9 days.