Last Train to Istanbul Quotes

“Think carefully. We only have one life to live. We alone are responsible for it.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“After all is said and done, what is life anyway? Aren’t we all going to die in the end? I believe life is only worth living if, while we are on this earth, we can do honorable things.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“My God, she thought, where on earth can I go to save my son from such suffering? Is there any corner of the vast world where people live without tormenting each other?”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“Love is like a flame; it burns itself out eventually,”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“Wouldn’t we be happier, she thought, if we could rid ourselves of the old conventions or shrug off the chains binding us to our past? If we could only do that, we’d be happier, more independent.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“It’s interesting, she thought, that one isn’t scared of death from a distance, but when it is staring you in the face it feels like a merciless enemy that you desperately want to avoid.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“He who falls into the sea will cling even to a serpent.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“the more people became interested in science, the pursuit of knowledge, and culture, the less importance they placed on religion. He often told his daughter that most bigots or fanatics came from poor, ignorant backgrounds.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“Life is too short, Selva. How often has Father told us about the value of time? Time is not to be wasted.” “If life is too short, isn’t that more reason to make the most of what we’ve got? To live the way we want to?”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“She kept everything with nostalgic significance, and this instinct was typical of people who are always on the move.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“Yes, religion was a many-splendored thing; surely it should be part of life and not used to separate people.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“nations have no friends or foes; they only have their interests.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“Either we get off together or we continue together.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“Is there any corner of the vast world where people live without tormenting each other?”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“If life is too short, isn’t that more reason to make the most of what we’ve got? To live the way we want to?”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“All he was now was a wretched number and old, very old, even older than his father, whom he referred to as “the old man.” He was now 3,233 years old.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“Sabiha.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“Is this how you repay me for taking such care of you and sending you to foreign schools?” “I had thought that my education was meant to expand my horizons, that you wanted me to be an equal, Father.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“We’ve vowed to stick together throughout our lives. He wouldn’t want to go back. You know all he went through, all those insults. And I just couldn’t leave him.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“War…It was worse than that, it was a cesspit, a filthy cesspit!”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“The heady scent of lilac and wisteria filled the Ankara air. The beautiful wisteria tumbling over the garden walls, hanging like bunches of grapes, seemed almost to accentuate her gloomy mood. Her pale-mauve suit was the only thing that harmonized with the surroundings.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“Non saremmo più felici, pensò, se riuscissimo a sbarazzarci delle vecchie convinzioni o a spezzare le catene che ci tengono legati al nostro passato? Se solo ci riuscissimo, saremmo più felici, più indipendenti.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“The third secretary, Muhlis, sitting opposite Tarık, joked, “Why all this passion?” “I’m using the kind of language these people understand.” “They only understand blasphemy.” “What a shame swear words aren’t allowed in diplomacy.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“Apart from the few occasions when she spoke to her mother or sister, and of course Rafo, she had no opportunity to speak Turkish to anyone. She hadn’t admitted, even to herself, that she missed using her mother tongue. At this moment she was trying to satisfy her longing by speaking to a man she hardly knew. Listening to him was like breathing Istanbul air!”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“Why on earth have we come here, then, if you hate the food so much?” “Because their wines are absolutely magnificent.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“After the birth of their son, Selva got used to this bitter coffee. She drank it to keep herself awake until the baby’s last feeding at night. What had begun as a way of keeping herself awake had turned into an addiction.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“but rest assured, no foreigner can speak a new language without an accent. Don’t feel embarrassed,”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“It’s a matter of principle, Macit; we fell in love knowing exactly where we came from. Everyone has the right to their own beliefs. Had he asked me to convert, I would have been hurt and angry myself. No! Rafo will never change his religion!”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“What made it even worse was that Selva had used all the advice he had ever given her against him.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul

“All I know is that I will find my own husband myself. I would hate to find someone through a competition organized by keen mothers.”
― Ayşe Kulin, Last Train to Istanbul