"Culture" is a new phenomenon, I believe. Culture is the new religion. People treat you based upon your culture. You are pushed to describe yourself by your culture: Kurdish or Turkish? Left wing or right wing? Progressive or conservative? Westerner… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share Image
Nowadays it's a big issue in Europe because you are forced to describe yourself by your culture, and you begin to forget about yourself, your identity. You're supposed to act in certain ways. You're limited. When you try to go… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share Image
Istanbul is divided by time, not space. The first Istanbul is the Istanbul of the past. A long time ago, during the empire, it… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share Image
People feel that the beauty of the Istanbul is something we used to have in the past or something we will have in the… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share Image
Turkish society is divided not only culturally but also politically. You're either conservative or progressive. Islamist or secular. Right wing or left wing. This… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share Image
So many academics have been imprisoned or expelled from their university posts just because they signed a letter calling for peaceful solution to the… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share Image
Some people are like a defeated warrior: they accept the defeat, go to work, go back home, watch TV silently. That is like a… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share Image
Laughter is something we have against oppression and oppressive people. Dictators hate people who laugh at them. It's easy for them to destroy people… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share Image
I've written some short stories about my personal experience, but it's not something you can use everywhere. Every novel, every work of fiction, needs… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share Image
We are not in prison so we are free and happy? No. We're in a different kind of prison in this life. We have… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share Image
Turkey are the independent people. We are our own nation in this world - a nation of writers, journalists, artists, moviemakers, and academics. We… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share Image
Someone might say about a person, "Oh, they are a 'Westerner." But who are Westerners? Greek, Bulgarian, German, English, Scandinavian, Spanish, American, Latin. All… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share Image
Democracy is to have different ideas, even extreme ones. In democracy there is space for all of them and bridges to connect them. In… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share Image
It's a bit questionable whether Turkey is a model country or not, since our government is supporting ISIS in Syria, since there are legislations… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share Image
