Hüzün does not just paralyze the inhabitants of Instanbul, it also gives them poetic license to be paralyzed.

Tell me then, does love make one a fool or do only fools fall in love?

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

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 don't want to be a tree; I want to be its meaning.

Istanbul is certainly in the process of transforming itself into an attractive cultural, tourist and financial center. But there are also millions of sad stories in this giant sea of immigration, poverty, misery and contradictions. So much anger, frustration and fury.

I don't read newspapers in the morning. I take a look at the dailies in the afternoon, but only when I've finished my work for the day. Reading about what is happening in Turkey once again would only be demoralizing for me.