More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
The longer he stared the more the land seemed like an extension of the sea, a molten town perched on the tip of the waves, swaying, dizzying, ever changing. This, more or less, was his earliest impression of Istanbul, and unbeknown to him, it would not change even after a lifetime.
The Muslims wore turbans; Jews had red hats; and Christians, black hats. Arabs, Kurds, Nestorians, Circassians, Kazakhs, Tatars, Albanians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Abkhazs, Pomaks . . . they walked separate paths while their shadows met and mingled in knots.
How long were you going to shrink from God, he asked, when you could, instead, start to love Him?
Whereas I say: instead of believing that the worst in humans can be found in God, believe that the best in God can be found in humans.’
‘If you wish to excel at your craft, you have to convince the universe why it should be you rather than someone else.’
Architecture is a mirror that reflects the harmony and balance present in the universe. If you do not foster these qualities in your heart, you cannot build.’
Upon finishing it, no matter how great the building, he would leave within it a flaw – a tile placed the wrong side up, an upended stone or a marble chipped on the edge. He made sure the defect was there, visible to the knowing eye, invisible to the public.
That was the thing about colossal buildings. While they did not change, the people who ordered, designed, built and eventually used them constantly did.
Nay, our job is to expand our knowledge.
He said there were three fountains of wisdom from which every artisan should drink abundantly: books, work and roads. Reading, practising and travelling.
Rome, the city where memories were chiselled in marble.
Only remember that cities, too, are like human beings. They are not made of stones and wood, solely. They are of flesh and bone. They bleed when they are hurt.
Never before had he thought that among an architect’s tasks would be the protection of the city from its inhabitants and the protection of the past from the future.
