Any person who thinks about the meaning of life, at least once wonders about the meaning of the place and time of his birth. Why was he born exactly then and there? Is it fair that he got this family, country, city, which he learned to love and really sincerely loved? Orhan Pamuk admits that Istanbul, where he was born and lives, became his destiny. Black and white, like old photographs, immersed in semi-darkness, the leaden-gray city remained forever in his heart, predetermining the life of the most famous Turkish writer of our time. This book is about such an election, about the genius loci, who calls upon those who hear his voice.