Whatever Anybody Says, The Most Important Thing

Nationalism Stems From Catastrophes, Whether They Are Caused By Earthquakes Or Lost Wars.

It Was In Cihangir That I First Learned Istanbul Was Not An Anonymous Multitude Of Walled-in Lives - A Jungle Of Apartments Where No One Knew Who Was Dead Or Who Was Celebrating What - But An Archipelago Of Neighbourhoods In Which Everyone Knew Each Other.

It Is Not My Intention To Explain Turkey, Its Culture And Its Problems. My Literature Has A Universal Concern: I Want To Bring People And Their Emotions Closer To My Readers, Not Explain Turkish Politics.

Listen To Me: Life Is Not About Principles; It`s About Happiness.` `but If You Don`t Have Any Principles, And If You Don`t Have Faith, You Can`t Be Happy At All,` Said Kadife. `that`s True. But In A Brutal Country Like Ours, Where Human Life Is Cheap, It`s Stupid To Destroy Yourself For The Sake Of Your Beliefs. Beliefs? High Ideas? Only People In Rich Countries Can Enjoy Such Luxuries.` `actually, It`s The Other Way Round. In A Poor Country, People`s Sole Consolation Comes From Their Beliefs.

My Hero Wants To Belong Too, But He Doesn't Want To Give Up All The Things He Came To Value In The West.