Books, Which We Mistake For Consolation, Only

No One Drives Me Into Exile, Not Even The Nationalists.

I Sometimes Joke That I Am The First Writer Of Historical Fiction Who Can Look Out His Window And Point To The Objects In His Novels. I Have A View Of The Entrance To The Bosporus, The Old City, Hagia Sophia, The Blue Mosque.

National Consciousness Is Truly A Miraculous Thing. When I Am Not In Turkey I Feel Even More Turkish Than In Istanbul. But When I'm Home My European Side Becomes More Apparent.

In The Mornings I Used To Say Goodbye To My Wife Like Someone Going To Work. I'd Leave The House, Walk Around A Few Blocks, And Come Back Like A Person Arriving At The Office.

I Think Perhaps It Is A Generational Thing. I Talk To Younger People And They Say, Where Is This Melancholy City You Talk About My Istanbul Is A Sunny Place.