FAQs for Early Christian World Pilgrims 2008
Helpful hints for our travel to Turkey
I hope this information will anticipate many of your questions about traveling on our pilgrimage. Some of it is quite standard information and advice gleaned from travel sources, but I have also included my own impressions and some of the things I have learned from my own travels to these places. I want to emphasize that all my comments are completely my own, and while they may be helpful, they are in no sense “official information” from any authoritative source.
If we all prepare well, for both the joys and perhaps some frustrations, remain flexible, keep our expectations realistic, and maintain a sense of humor, I think we can anticipate a uniquely spiritual and satisfying adventure.
Passports and Travel Documents
Be sure that you have a passport and that it is current.
If you are a U.S. citizen. You can get or renew your passport at any main post office, including Claremont, and at a number of other local and municipal facilities. Apart from the internet, the simplest way to get information is to call your local post office for an appointment. Complete passport information, and comprehensive foreign travel information and tips, including advisories and restrictions, can be found on the U.S. State Department’s Travel website: http://travel.state.gov . I recommend browsing this site for helpful information.
Make several copies of your passport identification page (inside front cover). This will facilitate replacement if it’s lost or stolen on the trip. Keep one or two copies with you, apart from where you carry your passport. Leave one or two copies with family or contacts at home. Just to be on the safe side, two more copies for the parish: one to be kept on file with your contact information at the parish office, and one to carry with me as pilgrimage leader – that way, I think we’ll have all the bases covered. (In the – we hope unlikely – event of a need to contact the American Embassy or Consulate in either Turkey, our guide and tour agency will be able to do so for us.)
Be sure to have $20 (American currency in cash) with you when we land at Istanbul. (According to Tom Brosnahan’s informative web site it might have increased a bit – be prepared.) This will be necessary to get a Turkish tourist visa, which is good for 90 days. (It will be a stamp in your passport.) There should be no other customs problem entering Turkey. Ordinarily they do not check luggage.
Travel insurance is recommended, especially if your health care provider doesn’t cover foreign travel. (Be sure to check.) Insurance will also reimburse losses incurred from a variety of things that can go wrong on the trip. Check with Roger Pendery of Claremont Travel for more information about insurance.
You should be extra-careful to carry your passport, credit cards, money and other i.d. on your person in a secure way. Everyone has their own favorite way to do this. Just don’t leave these things loose in your hotel room, handbag, or easily picked pocket. Crime isn’t a big problem in Turkey, but crowded tourist areas do provide opportunities for those of a mind to take advantage of them.
If you are not a U.S. Citizen, and are traveling on a passport issued by another country, it may be necessary for you to purchase a Visa to enter Turkey from the Turkish Consulate before you leave the U.S. It is important to do this, otherwise you may be barred entry at the Istanbul airport – not a pleasant prospect. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has complete visa information for all countries. See also the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles.
Do I need to get shots? What about health issues?
Anytime you travel, you should be sure that your standard immunizations are up to date, especially tetanus. Nothing else is needed for travel to Turkey, although some authorities recommend hepatitis-A vaccination. The areas of Turkey where we are going are as safe as anywhere in Europe (or the USA for that matter). You may want to ask for your own physician’s recommendations. And, if you are so inclined, check the CDC and WHO websites for latest information.
That said, let me state up front that this year for the first time we will spend one night in Antakya and one night in Adana, which are in provinces listed by the World Health Organization as having a malaria risk. However, in the past few years, few if any cases have been reported in these two populated areas even during the summer, and it is non-existent in early April when we will be there because it is not yet mosquito season. Nevertheless, be advised that the Red Cross will not allow you to donate blood for a year after visiting the Adana and Hatay provinces.
What about avian flu? At present the only way for a human to contract it is by working or living in close contact with infected birds, as on a poultry farm. Infected birds are eliminated as soon as discovered. If a widespread outbreak occurs because the virus mutates to enable human-to-human infection, it’ll rapidly become a problem everywhere, not just Turkey. Not likely to happen this spring, but it’ll be all over the media if it does.
Travelers’ diarrhea (in Turkey sometimes called “the Sultan’s revenge”) is a possibility. It’s more likely caused by change in diet and routine, as well as dehydration, than by any infectious bug. Because of sitting for hours on an airplane and bus, as well as the time change, constipation can be a temporary problem too. I’ve always brought a small packet of diarrhea medication (Imodium) and a mild laxative, but have never needed them. Aydin, our tour guide, also has some natural remedies that previous years’ Pilgrims found effective.
Drinking lots of water (more than you think you need) and washing your hands frequently (moist towelettes are a good thing to get and keep handy) are probably the two most important basic health measures when traveling. (This is important enough that I repeat it below too!)
If you are susceptible to hay fever or allergies, it’s not a bad idea to be prepared too. It’s spring, and lots of plants are in full bloom. Take your vitamins too. “Airborne” is often recommended as a good preventative vitamin supplement for travelers, especially those who spend long hours in the cramped space and recycled air of international flights. I use it as a precaution.
Be sure to bring an ample supply of any prescription medication you have to take. It’s a good idea to bring an extra prescription form from your physician as well. Pharmacies are readily available everywhere, and the pharmacists are professional and knowledgeable. You should also have any emergency medical instructions on your person if there might be any need for that. If you wear prescription glasses or contact lenses, be sure to bring an extra pair.
It is also highly recommended that you get support travel socks for the long airplane journey to help promote venous circulation in your legs while sitting for a long time. (Recommended for bus travel, as well as standing for long periods, as we will sometimes be doing.) “Deep vein thrombosis” (blood clots resulting from reduced blood flow in lower leg veins) is increasingly being recognized as a danger, and support socks reduce the risk. I wear them, and apart from the health benefits, they make the trip much more comfortable. You can get them at travel and medical supply stores, but I think the best source is www.ameswalker.com, 1-877-525-7224.
Regarding health insurance, check with your insurance provider to see if you are covered for emergency medical treatment overseas. If not, it may be advisable to purchase travel insurance here. Our local travel agent can assist in this.
The food anywhere that we will be eating is safe. So is the tap water in most places, but it may be heavily chlorinated. Bottled water is cheap and readily available in almost every store everywhere. You will easily get in the habit of buying and taking a bottle with you wherever we go.
Smoking does not seem to be as prevalent as it was some years ago, and I don't think we non-smokers should have too much problem with second-hand smoke. (Smoking is forbidden on the bus, and in an increasing number of public places.)
What kind of clothing should I bring? What about baggage?
The weather in Turkey in mid-April will be a lot like southern California. For the most part, it should be mild and Spring-like. There may be some late rain, and in some areas, for example, the plateau and mountains between Cappadocia in central Turkey and Izmir on the west coast, it could get a little chilly, like the mountains in southern California. We may even run into a bit of snow.
I would suggest keeping the following in mind:
· Dress for comfort, not style. There will be no formal occasions requiring any “dress-up” attire, but there are times, like some of our evening dinners, when you might be more comfortable in “dressy casual” attire. Remember that a lot of time will be spent walking on uneven or dirt paths and climbing over ancient ruins. Light, easily laundered clothing that you can “layer” is probably most practical.
· Do not bring more than two or three changes of clothing. There are only three places where we will stay only one night; all other hotel stays are at least two days, so there will be time to wash and dry clothing in your bathroom (the little bottles of hotel shampoo are really good for this). It’s quite easy and a good habit to wash some clothes in your sink nearly every evening. (You’ll need to take a flat rubber drain stop, because most of the sinks will not have drain plugs.) Take stuff you know will dry quickly, such as light cotton-polyester blends. Making use of the hotel’s laundry service is not recommended, and there are no self-service Laundromats anywhere. And don’t bring anything that needs ironing.
· A medium-duty jacket (that could double as a light raincoat) and a light sweater should be all you need for when it gets a little chilly. There may be some rain, but not a lot. I’d advise packing a small, folding umbrella. We might even encounter a little snow in central Turkey. (Last year it snowed lightly in Cappadocia in mid-April.)
· On some days we will spend a fair amount of time in the sun, so I recommend a broad-brimmed hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen.
· Be sure to bring good, comfortable walking shoes that you have already broken in, give good foot support, and you know won’t cause problems. (They will get dusty – go for comfort, not for looks!)
· Shorts and sleeveless tops may be OK for some places, but not to enter mosques and some churches. That goes for both men and women. (Women will need a head covering, but you can buy fairly nice scarves quite cheaply from the street vendors.) I think it’s best to be on the safe side and plan not to go “short” or sleeveless anywhere.
· Personally, I never wear shorts nor sandals, but for those who like them there will be days when they are not inappropriate. As I mentioned above, good, comfy walking shoes are a must. (Maybe two pairs of shoes, one a bit more “dressy” than the other.) I’m taking not more than 3 or 4 changes of underwear, 3 or 4 light shirts, a jacket and a heavy shirt/sweater, and 2 or 3 pairs long pants.
· You definitely want to bring swimming attire; many of the hotels have pools and/or hot tubs. Several of our hotels are in areas with natural hot springs, and have beautiful indoor pools. (The hammam or Turkish bath is an hour-plus-long “experience” for the adventuresome that will, for a surprisingly reasonable price, be available in a few locations. Robes, towels, and slippers are provided.)
· You may want to think about bringing some items of clothing you can discard at the end of the trip to make room for souvenirs you’ll want to bring back.
· Airline regulations vary as to their baggage requirements. They now are far less tolerant of overweight luggage than they used to be, so please check your own airline’s regulations at their website, and weigh your luggage before you leave home. I strongly suggest that you try to travel light. (Hotel staff will always carry your bags from the bus to your room and back, so you will seldom have to carry your luggage yourself during our time in Turkey—airports are another matter.) I will have a handy luggage scale on the trip in case you need to use it.
· I recommend that you bring some kind of medium-sized handy tote bag to take with you in the bus to keep your camera, maps, guidebooks, recorders, personal items, etc. with you. Your luggage will be safely stowed in the bus’s storage area.
What about lost luggage?
Misdirected luggage is increasingly a problem no matter where you’re traveling, and I don’t think it’s any more (or less) a risk on the LAX-IST route, which will always involve at least one change of planes. I would highly recommend packing one night’s supply of basic essentials in your carry-on luggage: at least a change of underwear and most needed toiletry items. (Remember the TSA requirements for liquids and gels – including toothpaste – in carry-ons: 3-ounces max per bottle, all must fit in one quart-sized Ziploc bag, removed from luggage for separate screening. See www.tsa,gov/311 for details.) We will be staying at the Madison hotel in Istanbul for the first three nights, so there will be plenty of time for delayed luggage to be retrieved. I wish I could say that the chances of luggage getting delayed were slim, but unfortunately it has happened much too often in my own experience, both in group and solo travel.
What else should I bring (or not bring)? What can I expect the hotels to supply?
All the hotels have wonderful towels (this is the land of Turkish towels, after all), but none of them have wash cloths. If you use a wash cloth, you have to bring your own. (I find the quart and gallon sized Ziploc bags very useful for packing this – and a lot of other things.)
If you need your own “brand-name” toiletries, be sure to bring enough for the trip. All hotels supply soap and the little bottles of shampoo and conditioner. And all, without exception, have a hair dryer in the room.
The hair-dryer leads to the electricity question. It’s all 220-volt, 50 cycles, with standard European sockets/plugs. If you bring something requiring electricity, be sure it’s dual voltage. It really isn’t worthwhile to purchase and lug around a voltage converter, in my opinion. Most battery chargers and transformers for personal electronics (including laptop computers, PDAs, small recorders and players) are automatically dual voltage. Many electric shavers and some curling irons are also. (How would I know about either of those things? you may rightfully ask: I checked the labels on the packages.) All you should need to bring is a plug adapter, which is the standard type for all of Europe except Italy and the UK. It costs between $3 and $5. I will have a few extra ones. Some hotels try to discourage the use of any electrical appliances in the room. In a couple of them, I had to move furniture and/or disconnect the TV to plug in my laptop computer or to charge my camera’s batteries. (Apart from a curling iron, if you really think you need it, don’t bring any other kind heating appliance, e.g., immersion coil for heating water or iron for clothes.)
Don’t depend on the hotel to have an alarm clock in the room, though. Bring your own small travel alarm. (You can get wake-up service, but I never quite trust it.)
Speaking of hotel amenities, all the hotels have TV, and you will be able to pick up English-language newscasts, at least CNN and BBC. Interestingly, even though there are several English-language Turkish daily newspapers (they have websites, too), I seldom saw them being sold at newsstands. Even the International Herald Tribune was hard to find in Turkey.
What kind of camera should you bring? I’m all for digital. There’s a great danger that film will be damaged by X-ray security equipment. But be sure you have enough memory cards, extra batteries and a battery charger. If you’re into video, and especially if you want to have a record of the trip you can easily share with others, sound included, a small video camera with an ample supply of tapes or whatever media it uses, could be a really good idea. Nowadays, they actually don’t cost much more than a good digital still camera. DV tapes, batteries, and memory cards are readily available, but will be fairly expensive.
If you insist on film, don’t pack it in your suitcase, the high-powered x-ray machines may reduce it to expensive gray fog. Put it in your carry-on luggage, and try to insist on hand inspection rather than passage through the carry-on x-ray. (Theoretically possible, I’ve been told, but I’ve never succeeded at it.) Unlike the checked luggage X-rays, one or two passes through the carry-on machines probably won’t noticeably damage most film, but the effect is cumulative, and can build up rapidly after the second pass. X-rays have no effect on electronics and digital or magnetic media. Most popular varieties of film are readily available wherever we will go, but will probably not be cheap, and you should check the expiration date carefully.
A small flashlight may come in handy. Also a packet of moist hand wipes (“towelettes”) can make traveling more pleasant. (Frequent washing of hands is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of getting sick on trip—and the easiest. The other is drinking plenty of water to avoid dehydration which tends to creep up unnoticed.)
For carrying your passport, credit cards, and money, a simple, inexpensive pouch you can hang around your neck under your clothes, I think serves best. In certain crowded tourist areas pickpockets are plentiful, active, and crafty—and anything in easy reach (like an outside pocket or purse) is fair game. (I got my “American Tourister” pouch which hangs around the neck under my shirt, at Office Depot quite cheap. They also have brightly colored luggage tags.)
I will supply whatever we need for liturgy and prayer on the pilgrimage, but you should bring a small Bible, at least the New Testament. You will find it very helpful as we pray and as we tour. (I don’t recommend any particular translation. It might be nice to have a variety of the major ones along.) Each Pilgrim will also get a paperback translation of the Qu’ran, courtesy of the local Islamic Center of Claremont. I will be very helpful for our preparation and interfaith discussions.
How can I stay in contact back home? What about emergency contacts?
In case of emergency, people at home can contact you through the hotels where we will be staying and/or through our tour agent, Oriontours in Istanbul. Be sure you give them your itinerary and these numbers. OLA parish office will also have this information. The complete itinerary, together with phone and email contact information for Oriontours and all our hotels, will be found on the OLA website: http://www.olaclaremont.org/ecw .
To call back home, phone cards are sold almost everywhere and are quite cheap, although they are not always prominently displayed and you may have to ask for them. Public phones are fairly ubiquitous (although rarely in hotel lobbies) and very easy to use, with instructions in English. Don’t buy phone cards here and expect to use them there – either they won’t work or they will be very expensive. Calling from the hotels or using your credit card can also be quite expensive.
If you can’t live without your cell phone, check with your provider about international service. (According to their website, Verizon Wireless Global phone rental is $3.99 per day, and $1.49 per minute for calls. I don’t know if there are additional roaming charges. Phone reception is excellent nearly everywhere in Turkey. Believe it or not, the locals are even more addicted to their cell phones than we are!)
Lately, I have found Skype, the internet phone service, to be very useful. If you are bringing a laptop computer, most of our hotels have free high-speed connection in the lobby, and you may be able to talk with home at little or no cost. See www.skype.com for more information.
The time in Turkey is ten hours ahead of Pacific Time, and we will both be on Daylight Savings Time. At 8:00 am in Istanbul, it will be 10:00 pm the previous evening in Claremont; at 6:00 pm in Istanbul, it will be 8:00 am in Claremont. A good “rule of thumb” on the trip: don’t call home in the middle of the day.
As I mentioned above, most of our hotels have free wireless internet service in the lobby; some have computers with internet connections for a fee. Internet addicts among us need never be far from our email – great also for checking up on local news on the LA Times or Daily Bulletin websites.
What about money?
I emphasized before that you will need $20 American cash to get into Turkey. American cash may come in handy for some extra expenses, such as the balloon ride and folkloric show. I’d suggest bringing several hundred dollars in cash. There is an exchange window near the baggage area of the Istanbul airport.
Ordinarily, however, all you will need is an ATM debit card and your Visa or MasterCard credit card. (American Express or Discover are not so universally accepted.) You’ll probably want to pay in Turkish cash for small purchases and services, but most stores also take credit cards. Use your credit card whenever it seems appropriate for purchases and services, just like here. ATMs are not only the best but are rapidly becoming the only way to exchange money. They are very simple to operate, and the instructions are in English. You just key in the amount of local money you want, and your checking account is automatically debited according to the current exchange rate. Many banks do not have a service charge on their debit cards, so there’s no additional expense, unlike a cash advance on a credit card.
I highly recommend that you phone your bank and credit card company (the 800 number on the back of the card) before you leave to let them know the dates you will be in Turkey. If without warning they suddenly get a request for approval for a purchase in Turkey they may not approve it – and the reason why they will refuse you is to protect you! Also, if there should be any fraudulent use of your card as a result of the trip, you can find out about in time prevent damage.
You can still get travelers’ cheques, but many places don’t accept them. Go with the ATM card. Apart from the hotels, which give bad rates and charge fees, it will not be easy to find “over the counter” money exchange services. You may want to check with your bank representative about what security measures they recommend in using “plastic” overseas. One thing I can assure you: Turkey will be no more “risky” than any other tourist destination in Europe.
Turkish money is the
New Turkish Lira (YTL); the Euro (€) is not used in Turkey.
1 YTL= about $.85, and
$1.00 = about 1.20 YTL
Unlike the Euro, the Turkish Lira and the Dollar have remained pretty stable relative to each other; there has been very little change in the exchange rate over the past year.
What about food?
As I said above, the food is safe. Of course, the next question is, is it good?
All our breakfasts will be in the hotel, and most of our dinners. Most of the hotels have a very extensive breakfast buffet with many options, including (at the time we’ll be going) the most wonderful tomatoes in the world. Yogurt, olives, cucumbers, bread, cereals, various cheeses, eggs, and slices of indefinable processed meat will usually be on the buffet. Coffee is always instant “Nescafe.” Turks are not into coffee the way we are. (“Turkish coffee” is an occasional drink for them; to me it’s undrinkable mud.) They are big on many varieties of tea, with apple tea being a tourist specialty in some areas. Dinners in the hotel will be generally good, but, with perhaps few exceptions, are nothing to write home about. We will have some very nice lunches and dinners in special restaurants. Although Islam forbids alcohol, wine and beer are readily available for purchase at hotels, most restaurants, and some stores.
Apart from our tour transportation, how can we get around?
If you are arriving early or staying a day or two later, there will be opportunities to explore Istanbul a bit more. Public transportation is good, but can be time consuming and daunting, unless your goal is to explore Istanbul’s subways and byways. Taxis are plentiful and cheap, especially if the fare is divided among members of a group.
Uhm . . . what about the threat of terrorism?
Terrorism is an international phenomenon – not directed just at the United States or U.S. citizens traveling abroad. Unless the whole international scene changes radically in the next few months, I believe that traveling to and through Turkey will be no more risky than traveling to and through Los Angeles or any other major American or European city. (Count the number of killings place by place, and you really might not want to stay home!) If you want to stay abreast of current news in this regard, I recommend the English language Turkish news websites and the U.S. State Department travel advisories, as well as local Turkish news sources. Links are on the OLA website.
What about buying things? Do I have to (or get to) haggle the price down?
Probably not at the local kiosk or tourist stop where you buy bottled water, snacks and personal items. But haggling is expected, say, at tourist souvenir stands, the bazaars or market stalls, or with the guy who’s trying to sell you a scarf, packet of postcards or other trinkets on the street. (For the most part ignore the street vendors unless you really want what they’re selling or want to communicate with them for fun: I’m still walking on a fairly nice 2x3-foot throw rug that I got in 2000 for less than $5.00!) A rule of thumb is, never offer less than half the asking price, and expect to settle for about 75-85% of what they first ask. Almost everything in Turkey is cheaper than comparable stuff elsewhere, but you have to be careful about quality.
What about tips?
Tips for hotel and food service is included in the cost of the tour. (Because hotel maid service at the very low end of the pay spectrum, you may want to leave something extra, say $2-3 per night; more if the service was exceptional.) We will also take up a collection at each place where we will celebrate Mass for the folks supporting the church. Because the Catholic churches there are extremely poor, $5-10 per pilgrim at each Mass would be really appreciated. Also, at the end we will take up a collection for a tip for our tour guide and the driver. The suggested amounts are $5 per person per day for the guide, and $3 per person per day for the driver. (Or more, if you’re really happy with them.) Tips can be in equivalent Turkish lira or Euro amounts.
What about religion?
Although Turkey is 99% Muslim, it is not an Islamic state, and there is no need to be shy about our religious practice. Christianity is freely practiced there by the very few Christian residents and by foreigners, even if restricted and regulated in ways that we may be accustomed to. (Islam is similarly restricted in some ways, and these are not all that popular.) Some areas (like Konya) are quite conservative, and you’ll find a lot of women in traditional garb. Not so much in Istanbul and some other urban areas.
What makes this trip a “pilgrimage,” and different from a vacation or a tour?
We are going to emphasize the religious dimension of every aspect of this trip. We are going to have Mass in significant locations whenever we can. There will be some days when it will not be possible to celebrate Mass, and on a few occasions we may have Mass in a hotel conference room. We will also be praying daily a short version of morning and evening prayer, sometimes on the bus and sometimes at the sites we will be visiting. In addition, we will pause for prayer at significant sites, recalling the history and meaning for us of the site.
We will pay special attention to the sites of St. Paul’s missionary journeys, the Seven Churches of the Book of Revelation, and St. John and the Blessed Virgin in Ephesus, as well as the sites of the Cappadocian Fathers and the development of Christian monasticism, and the sites of the first seven Ecumenical Councils which defined our faith in the form in which we profess it today. (The Councils did not “invent” anything, but there was a lot of controversy over exactly what “biblical faith” was, and the Councils sought to settle it – with sometimes very mixed short-term success, but long-term decisive effect on the faith of the Church, both east and west. Political battles and faith battles were often intertwined in those days, as they are today, so perhaps we can find a lesson in them.)
Here we also have opportunity to understand the spread of Islam and the effect of the Crusades, the echoes of which extend to our own day as well, even in some surprising ways.
We will also visit the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, which is the center of Orthodox Christianity, and several Byzantine Catholic churches, with the opportunity to learn more about the whole history and culture of eastern Christendom that is virtually unknown to most Roman Catholics. Traces of the historical Jewish presence in these lands are also everywhere, and there remains today a small but ancient and vibrant Jewish community in Turkey. Our pilgrimage will also include sites and events important to the many varieties of Islamic tradition, and a chance to participate in the sema or traditional ceremony of the Whirling Dervishes, a particular religious order of the mystical Sufi branch of Islam.
This is a pilgrimage because the sites we will visit are places made holy by the events of our own history and heritage as Christians that unfolded in them. As Catholics, we believe that God has continued to be active in our history. These places are part of the foundation of who we are as Christians today, and we will visit them in faith and drink from their spirit in prayer.
For more information and lots of links to informative, interesting, and helpful websites as well as recommended reading, check the Early Christian World Pilgrimage website frequently:
http://www.olaclaremont.org/ecw..
I’m getting really excited about this!
Fr. Tom Welbers twelbers@olaclaremont.org, November, 2007
Books
I recommend the colorful and attractive DK Eyewitness Travel Guides to Turkey and Istanbul because they are easy and fun to use. They give you a brief introduction , with lots of pictures and diagrams, without a lot of details.
An extremely good book for our “pilgrimage” purposes is Anna G. Edmonds, Turkey’s Religious Sites. Although it’s very well written and illustrated, it’s very expense (for a relatively small book), and almost unavailable in the USA. It’s published in Turkey, but I haven’t seen it a lot even there. If you find it, buy it – it may be your very best souvenir. Even so, expect to pay $30-40 for it.
A very nice, compact introduction that touches bases of both geography and history is Richard Stoneman, A Traveller’s History of Turkey, about $15.
For Byzantine/Eastern Orthodox history and background, two very accessible books:
Mary Cunningham, Faith in the Byzantine World, Inter Varsity Press, $14
Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church, Penguin, about $15.
For a beginners understanding of Islam:
Yahiya Emerick, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Islam, $19
Karen Armstrong, Islam: a Short History, Modern Library, $14
(Both Armstrong and Emierick have also written excellent biographies of Muhammad; Emmerick’s is more factual and historical, Armstrong’s more interpretive for western mentality.)
For the most part, however, I think time (and money) would be best spent examining the material to be found on the internet—there’s really a lot of unique and excellent stuff, FREE! Follow the links in the “itinerary” page of our website: www.olaclaremont.org/ecw.