Nationalism stems from catastrophes, whether they are caused by earthquakes or lost wars.

My decision to view the world through novels, as it were, which is a typically European way of looking at things, became a heavy burden for me. But I took it on consciously, even though it was torture for me.

When Turkey began approaching the EU, I wasn't the only one who worried that the dark stain in Turkey's history - or rather the history of the Ottoman Empire - could become a problem one day. In other words, what happened to the Armenians in World War I. That's why I couldn't leave the issue untouched.

We fall in love more deeply when were unhappy.

Painting taught literature to describe.

Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.

What was venerated as style was nothing more than an imperfection or flaw that revealed the guilty hand.