Pieces
Newest first.
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Let’s Have Some Cheese
Close Enough to Belong, Far Enough to Forget
I have never been good with weddings.Still, I went.I went because Esra, the bride, was a dear friend. We had not seen each other in years, and there are friendships that survive...
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None of Us Are
The Hunger to Remain Apart
We were standing outside Teacher’s Bar on a Saturday night.We had been sitting inside for hours—talking, drinking, breathing the same air for so long that stepping outside felt like waking up. Kadife...
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The Cost
Two Kinds of Price
He belonged to İstanbul—or to an İstanbul that is mostly gone now.White hair, neatly combed back. Thin glasses. A jacket that had not been chosen to impress anyone, which made it more...
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Collateral
A Turn Too Early
The halıcı in Kreuzberg owns the building and won’t sell a single flat. Narrow and tall, French balconies on every floor. Every flat one-plus-one. Kahraman walks through all of them. The ground...
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The Best Ideas Come When You Let Go
Default Mode Network and the Art of Not Thinking
I am walking along the İdealtepe coast. It’s five minutes until sunrise; the sky is torn between deep orange and pale blue, and the sea is almost silver. There isn’t a single...
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The Empathy Paradox
Outside Every Story but Our Own
We are sitting at a table by the window. Outside, the rain has just stopped; the pavement is gleaming. Two coffees, both gone cold. My friend is talking. I am listening.Her eyes...
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It Is Either from Love or Fear
Fear Wears Love’s Face—and Speaks Its Language
There is a city with white walls. It has always been under siege—or at least, that is the story it tells itself. And stories, told long enough, become the walls themselves.They wanted...
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Why Do Unfinished Things Haunt Us?
The Zeigarnik–Lacan Trap We All Fall Into
I’m at the register. Someone ahead of me is counting coins. The scanner beeps. I’m holding a shopping basket, wearing the face of an ordinary evening. From the outside, everything looks still....
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Jung’s Golden Shadow
Why Do We Envy the Things We Forbid Ourselves the Most
Have you ever noticed that your own potential shines behind the very things that annoy, anger, or make you envious?The answer to this question lies at the core of the “shadow” concept,...
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Our Defense Mechanisms
Have We Handed Over the Keys to Our Own Prisons
I’ve been digging into this topic for a while now. Especially when it comes to things that directly affect my life, I want to know what the experts say, how much of...
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Will AI Be Enough for Us?
A Reflection on AI’s Promise and the Warmth It Can’t Replicate
AI agents haven’t fully entered our lives yet—I know that. Most of us still wake up and go about our day without talking to an assistant, relying purely on our own will....
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Why Do We Say Hello?
Transactional Analysis and the Hidden Games in Our Relationships
Have you ever found yourself in an argument you never intended to have, asking, “How did we even get here?” Or, despite being an adult, have you ever felt yourself suddenly shrinking...