"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
Istanbul is divided by time, not space. The first Istanbul is the Istanbul of the past. A long time ago, during the empire, it was beautiful, it was the glorious time of our nation, people say. Then, when they talk about today, they complain about it: It's very melancholic, it's very stressful. We've lost our golden age in the past,… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share
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 kind of division can be seen in any society, but in Turkey, the problem is that we are losing any kind of connection between groups and any kind of desire to understand one another. The groups… — Burhan Sonmez Copy Share
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
