“Ayşe Erkoç learned long ago that the secret of doing anything illicit in Istanbul is to do it in full public gaze in the clear light of day. No one ever questions the legitimacy of the blatant.”

“I made up my mind long ago that life was too short to do anything for myself that I could pay others to do for me.”

“Ther days may come,/Ther days may go,/But still the light of Mem'ry weaves/Those gentle dreams/Of long ago”

“One of the things I keep learning is that the secret of being happy is doing things for other people.”

“A long time ago I learned not to explain things to people. It misleads them into thinking they're entitled to know everything I do.”

“Istanbul these days has as much dynamism as New York.”

“Am I being paid back for something I did? He asked himself. Something I don't know about or remember? But nobody pays back, he reflected. I learned that a long time ago: you're not paid back for the bad you do nor the good you do. It all comes out uneven at the end. Haven’t I learned that by now, if I've learned anything?”

“I wanted no part of politics. And I wasn't in Berlin to compete against any one athlete. The purpose of the Olympics, anyway, was to do your best. As I'd learned long ago… the only victory that counts is the one over yourself.”

“Never do anything complicated when something simple will serve as well. It's one of the most important secrets of living.”

“All the light of the day, fleeing the earth, seemed for one brief moment to take refuge in the sky; pink clouds spiralled round the full moon that was as green as pistachio sorbet and as clear as glass; it was reflected in the lake.”