I arrived in Istanbul from Ankara, so many moons ago, as a young aspiring writer, dreaming of a life in words. I had just finished my first novel, and with a courage that comes easily to the ignorant, I put it in the post and sent it to a major publisher. About a month later an editor gave me a call. He said they loved the novel and wanted to publish it. He wondered if at any point I could visit the publishing house. “How about next week?” I heard myself saying. “Because I am moving to Istanbul.”