Hitherto unpublished Istanbul tales which have been found in Mehmet Halit Bayri’s archive are now meeting readers. Mehmet Halit Bayri (1896-1958) was one of the founders of populography, Turkish folklore and folk literature specialist and a researcher whose name was identified with Istanbul folklore because of the important work he accomplished in order promote Istanbul's cultural life.

Starting with the idea that tales are one of the most prominent species of oral tradition and their historical and folkloric value must be emphasized, Sevengül Sönmez and Uğur Aktaş prepared “The Tales of Istanbul” for publication which will serve as an important source in the area of oral culture.

As quite interesting examples of oral literature compilation, these tales have been translated from Ottoman and re-written. Enriched by modern drawings “The Tales of Istanbul” will be an indispensable resource for popular literature of Istanbul.