For him the prize was both "a celebration of the Turkish language, of Turkish culture, which I'm a part of," as well as "recognition of my 32 years of humble devotion to the great art of the novel," he told the British daily The Guardian.
Za njega nagrada predstavlja i «veličanje turskog jezika, turske kulture, čiji sam i ja deo» i «priznanje moje 32-godišnje skromne posvećenosti velikoj umetnosti pisanja romana», izjavio je on britanskom dnevniku Gardijan.