Burhan Sonmez

Istanbul is divided by time, not space. The first Istanbul is the Istanbul of the past. A long time ago, during the…

— Burhan Sonmez

People feel that the beauty of the Istanbul is something we used to have in the past or something we will have…

— Burhan Sonmez

Turkish society is divided not only culturally but also politically. You're either conservative or progressive. Islamist or secular. Right wing or left…

— Burhan Sonmez

So many academics have been imprisoned or expelled from their university posts just because they signed a letter calling for peaceful solution…

— Burhan Sonmez

Some people are like a defeated warrior: they accept the defeat, go to work, go back home, watch TV silently. That is…

— Burhan Sonmez

Laughter is something we have against oppression and oppressive people. Dictators hate people who laugh at them. It's easy for them to…

— Burhan Sonmez

I've written some short stories about my personal experience, but it's not something you can use everywhere. Every novel, every work of…

— Burhan Sonmez

We are not in prison so we are free and happy? No. We're in a different kind of prison in this life.…

— Burhan Sonmez

Turkey are the independent people. We are our own nation in this world - a nation of writers, journalists, artists, moviemakers, and…

— Burhan Sonmez

Someone might say about a person, "Oh, they are a 'Westerner." But who are Westerners? Greek, Bulgarian, German, English, Scandinavian, Spanish, American,…

— Burhan Sonmez

Democracy is to have different ideas, even extreme ones. In democracy there is space for all of them and bridges to connect…

— Burhan Sonmez

It's a bit questionable whether Turkey is a model country or not, since our government is supporting ISIS in Syria, since there…

— Burhan Sonmez

Syrian people have right to fight for democracy and freedom in their country but they don't need the penetration of foreign elements,…

— Burhan Sonmez

"Culture" is a new phenomenon, I believe. Culture is the new religion. People treat you based upon your culture. You are pushed…

— Burhan Sonmez

I believe Tunisia and Egypt should look to Turkey and see what not to do. Turkey seems to be a secular and…

— Burhan Sonmez

When you go from one part of the Turkish community to another, it's like you're moving from one century to another. People…

— Burhan Sonmez

We would like to have a great future, so we need to think about the urban philosophy, the urban problems, and the…

— Burhan Sonmez

Nowadays it's a big issue in Europe because you are forced to describe yourself by your culture, and you begin to forget…

— Burhan Sonmez

When people are not in a prison cell they believe they are free and happy. That's not true. Because in Istanbul, the…

— Burhan Sonmez

The way I wrote it is a nice and enjoyable way to write stories, to pretend to say something when you're really…

— Burhan Sonmez

Maybe divisions like that are easy for people to accept, because then you don't have to make an effort to understand people…

— Burhan Sonmez

The Syrian war was started and fueled by three countries in the region, namely Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey. They acted for the…

— Burhan Sonmez

Without any hope you cannot talk about suffering. If you talk about suffering without hope it's enjoying our euthanization. I tried to…

— Burhan Sonmez

We have to consider culture respectfully, but on the other hand, it's dangerous. When we begin talking about cultures, we begin forgetting…

— Burhan Sonmez

When I decided to write a novel about Istanbul, I thought I should put the different faces of Istanbul into one book.…

— Burhan Sonmez