I think it's horrible that we Turks are always seen under the aspect of Islam first. I am constantly asked about religion, and almost always with a negative undercurrent that makes me furious.

The first thing I learned at school was that some people are idiots; the second thing I learned was that some are even worse.

I am nothing but a corpse now, a body at the bottom of a well.

In his brilliant new book Pankaj Mishra reverses the long gaze of the West upon the East, showing modern history as it has been felt by the majority of the world's population from Turkey to China. These are the amazing stories of the grandfathers of today's angry Asians. Excellent!

Books, which we mistake for consolation, only add depth to our sorrow.

Sometimes I would see them not as mementos of the blissful hours but as the tangible precious debris of the storm raging in my soul.

Turkish football serves the cause of nationalism, but not of the nation.