The Turkish Nobel laureate opened the "Museum of Innocence" in Istanbul, an unusual space dedicated to characters and objects from his novel of the same name.
Eighty-three museum display cases - one for each chapter of the novel published in 2008 - are dedicated to the impossible love of Kemal, a wealthy 30-year-old who, upon seeing his engagement to a girl from his family, meets a poor distant relative, Fusun.
Love for Fusun turns into a fetishistic adoration of the objects that belong to her, from the earring in the first chapter all the way to the spring dress.
"While writing the novel, I collected the objects that I described in the book," confirmed Pamuk while presenting the museum. The museum is not an illustration of the novel, and the novel is not an explanation of the museum, but they are closely related, he added, recounting the creation process of the novel and the museum.
The writer, who received the Nobel Prize in 2006, is not so much interested in the nature of each object on display as in its ability to evoke feelings.
"Glorious pages of the past, sultans or great military leaders are not important, people and their objects are important. We say that our everyday life is honorable and that our objects must be preserved - our gestures, words, smells", claims the writer.
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