Heaven Upstairs, Hell Downstairs In 1977, I was born into an ancient corner of Anatolia, where sons were heralded as strength, abundance, and future power. To announce our family's commercial prosperi...
The Wounded Child and the Inner Father When my father left our Anatolian home when I was eleven, he didn't just pack a suitcase—he took the foundation of my safety with him. In eastern Anatolia, a boy...
For years, patrons at the bars and jazz clubs I frequented in Istanbul would tilt their heads, study my graying hair, my lean frame, and say: " You look just like Anthony Bourdain ." The resemblance w...
The Tailor Who Couldn't Mend His Own Seam For twenty-five years, I wore the black robes of a criminal defense attorney in Istanbul. In drafty courtrooms, before impassioned judges and solemn prosecuto...