Delik deşikti zaman
Ne yaşamaktan  ne de ölümden korktuk
Kalabalıkların içinde sevdik yalnızlığın sırma saçmalarını
Çıplak bir yürüyüştü
Ayak seslerini duyuyor musun?

My first fiction novel as a short story novelist, “Zamansız” which means Timeless, was published in Turkey in January 2018. It was a long journey for me that started two years ago and throughout this time I was on an emotional and mental roller coaster until I finished writing the book. As a lifelong learner, I have done vast research on history, quantum physics, mindfulness and Sufism relation as well as the social life of different cultures. “Zamansız” features a woman who travels in time but still keeps her feet on the ground. The multi-cultural lifestyle of the UAE has a significant influence on my book and it refined my creativity. The plot of the book implicitly questions collective wisdom, understanding the meaning of life, justice and happiness.

The book has three interdependent parts which take place in three different cities namely Istanbul, Abu Dhabi and Seoul. The lives of Ferzin, Ece and Kim Kyong Jou intersect inadvertently in an enigmatic way.

The story starts in Galata region of Istanbul in the 18th century with Ferzin, nicknamed as Sultan. She is a mysterious urban legend in a peculiar way. She entertains European merchants and prominent figures of the city and lives in her mansion along with her young slaves from different nations. However, the life of Sultan turns into Ece’s puzzling life centuries later and being the protagonist of the book, the story is mainly based on her journey and struggle for existence.

Ece, a young and successful engineer, is unaware that this mysterious story dating centuries ago is going to completely change her life while she lives in Istanbul in the 2000’s. When Ece loses her father, a history professor, she begins questioning life. The enameled box inherited by her father not only keeps the family tree but also keeps the important traces of the family past. After being offered a job in the UAE, she starts a new life without knowing that she carries past secrets with her. She finds herself lost in a trap of mysterious dreams which finds a way out with love, friendship, and inner peace. Particularly, it is worth reflecting that the wisdom of Persian Sufi poet Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi sheds light on Ece while she is striving to find her own level of wisdom.

The cure for the pain is in the pain,
Good and bad are mixed
If you don’t have both
You don’t belong to us
When one of us gets lost
He must be inside us

The book ends with a short reflection from the life of human rights lawyer Kim Kyong Ju who lives in Korea and is unexpectedly related to the two preceding women characters. Three women had one destiny, in other words, they had three different lives until they understood that they were one. This is all to say that “Zamansız” is a timeless story.

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