(…) I have become the spouting blood of the celebrated white devil, when Rustam splits him in half with his wondrous sword; and was in the folds of the sheets between which he furiously makes love to his host’s daughter, the king of Turan. Yes, I was and am everywhere, always. (…) How lucky I am to be Red! I am the fire, I am the strength! Everyone notices and admires me, and no one resists me. I must be frank: for me, refinement is not hidden in weakness or subtlety, but lies in firmness and determination. I expose myself, therefore, to the eyes. I’m not afraid of colors or shadows; still less of the crowd or of solitude. What a pleasure I take in taking a surface offered to my ardent triumph: I fill it, expand on it; hearts sway, desire rises, eyes widen and all eyes shine! Look at me: it’s good to live! See how good it is to see! Living is seeing. You can see me everywhere, believe me: life always begins and ends with me.

(Excerpts from the chapter of the same name by Pamuk, Nobel Prize for Literature – 2006)