Many analysts compare Turkey with countries in the Middle East, but I think we need to compare it with Russia. Both countries come from a tradition of empire, and also from a tradition of the strong state.

The words that come out of our mouths do not vanish but are perpetually stored in infinite space, and they will come back to us in due time.

Obviously, Turkey is not a typical authoritarian regime, and obviously it's very important that there are free elections. But it's also obvious that this is not a liberal, mature democracy. This is why I call Turkey a wobbly democracy. At any time, it can tip over and fall down.

Love exists within each of us from the moment we are born and waits to be discovered from then on.

I see two opposite tendencies in Turkish society: people feel demoralized, they lose the interest in politics and retreat to their private lives; or they become very angry and even more politicized, and radicalized. Both trends are troublesome.

The past lives within the present, and our ancestors breathe through our children.

Because time is a drop in the ocean, and you cannot measure off one drop against another to see which one is bigger, which one is smaller.