I work seven days a week, from 9 in the morning till 8 at night. I have the titles of the next eight novels I want to write. I feel myself pitiable, degraded on a day that I don't write.

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

Great changes in the direction of peace have often come from people who were no great advocates of peace to begin with.

To savour Istanbul's back streets, to appreciate the vines and trees that endow its ruins with accidental grace, you must, first and foremost, be a stranger to them.

The secularists in Turkey haven't underestimated religion, they just made the mistake of believing they could control it with the power of the army alone.

Without patience and the skill of a craftsman, even the greatest talent is wasted.

What is the thing you want most from me? What can I do to make you love me?' Be yourself,' said Ipek.