So many academics have been imprisoned or expelled from their university posts just because they signed a letter calling for peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue. They are all declared enemies of the state by the president. Just because they published a letter saying, "stop killing each other and begin talking for a peaceful resolution." That kind of intolerance from the government towards the rest of society - especially people in favor of freedom of speech, human rights, and more democracy for everyone - is a very important issue in Turkey.

It's a bit questionable whether Turkey is a model country or not, since our government is supporting ISIS in Syria, since there are legislations that are not in line with democratic rules.

Turkey are the independent people. We are our own nation in this world - a nation of writers, journalists, artists, moviemakers, and academics. We act together. If there is a problem, we act to correct it.

Syrian people have right to fight for democracy and freedom in their country but they don't need the penetration of foreign elements, fundamentalist ideologies and violence.

When I decided to write a novel about Istanbul, I thought I should put the different faces of Istanbul into one book. I also put the characters in a cell, and it's three stories underground, rather than on the surface. The characters have one Istanbul, the other one is above ground. One is in dark, one is in light. That kind of contradiction - those opposite sides - creates a great energy in Istanbul.

Maybe divisions like that are easy for people to accept, because then you don't have to make an effort to understand people or appreciate each of them. You just give them a general name: "black people" and "white people." "Tall people" and "short people." "Man" and "woman." But we have to forget about all those terms. Every individual is unique in herself or himself.

I've written some short stories about my personal experience, but it's not something you can use everywhere. Every novel, every work of fiction, needs its own food.