The Architect's Apprentice Quotes

Sometimes, for the soul to thrive, the heart needs to be broken, son.

When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.

It's odd how faces, solid and visible as they are, evaporate, while words, made of breath, stay.

For apprentices everywhere - no one told us that love was the hardest craft to master

Little did he know, back then, that the worth of one's faith depended not on how solid and strong it was, but on how many times one would lose it and still be able to get it back.

ليس ثمة لعنة أسوأ من أن تدفن كل أحبّائك و تبقى أنت علي قيد الحياة

Working is prayer for the likes of us,” his master often said. “It’s the way we commune with God.” “Then how does He respond to us?” Jahan had once asked, way back when he was younger. “By giving us more work, of course.

عندما تفعل شيئا من أعماق روحك، فإنك تشعر بنهر يجري في داخلك بفرحة

Of three things in this life she expected no good: a man who had sold his soul to Sheitan; a woman proud of her beauty; and the news that could not wait till the morning to be delivered.

In order to gain mastery, you need to dismantle as much as you put together.

إذا أردت أن تتقن حرفتك، فينبغي لك أن تقنع الكون بأنّك أنت المطلوب و ليس غيرك

I cannot prevent people from destroying. All I can do is keep building.

Resentment is a cage, talent is a captured bird.

عندما تتمكن من لغة ما، فذلك يعني أنك أُعطيت مفتاحا لقلعة أما ما ستجده داخل المكان فيعتمد عليك

Busbecq believed there were two blessings in life: books and friends. And that they should be possessed in inverse quantities: many books, but only a handful of friends.

If you don't know what to do with an answer, don't ask the question.

In order to gain mastery, you need to dismantle as much as you put together.' 'Then there'd be no buildings left in the world,' Jahan ventured. 'Everything would be razed to the ground.' 'We are not destroying the buildings, son. We are destroying our desire to possess them. Only God is the owner. Of the stone and of the skill.

But Istanbul is a city of easy forgettings. Things are written in water over there, except the works of my master, which are written in stone.

العمارة مرآة تعكس الانسجام و الّّتّوازن اللّذين يحفل بهما الكون. و إذا لم تحتضن هذه السّجايا في فؤادك، فإنّك لن تتمكّن من البناء

If you carry a sword, you obey the sword, not the other way round. Nobody can hold a weapon and keep their hands clear of blood at the same time.

تزور بعض المدن لأنك تريد ان تزورها ، وتزور أخرى لأنها تريدك أن تزورها

لم يدرك إلا قليلًا أن قيمة إيمان الفرد لا تعتمد على متانته وصلابته، بل على عدد المرات التي سيفقد فيها ذلك الإيمان ويبقى قادرًا على إستعادته.

What difference did it make whether they were hurt or happy, right or wrong, when the sun rose and the moon waned just the same, with or without them?

Only remember that cities, too, are like human beings. They are not made of stones and wood, solely. They are of flesh and bone. They bleed when they are hurt. Every unlawful construction is a nail hammered into the heart of the Instambul. Remember to pity a wounded city the way you pity a wounded person".

At one glance I loved you with a thousand hearts  . . . Let the zealots think loving is sinful Never mind, Let me burn in the hellfire of that sin. – Mihri Hatun, sixteenth-century Ottoman poetess

there were three fountains of wisdom from which every artisan should drink abundantly: books, work and roads. Reading, practising and travelling.

It seemed to Jahan that, in truth, this world, too, was a spectacle. One way or another, everyone was parading. They performed their tricks, each of them, some staying longer, others shorter, but in the end they all left through the back door, similarly unfulfilled, similarly in need of applause.

Čitanje je bilo slično ljubavi… Onaj tko je to znao, znao je kako i zašto čovjek postane ovisan o tome. Onima koji to nisu znali, nisi mogao ni objasniti.

When you master a language, you are given the key to a castle. What you'll find inside depends on you.

If only humans could live exposed to the skies, open and unafraid, watching the stars and being watched by them, with nothing to hide.

ما من شئ يدمر روح الإنسان أكثر من الاستياء الذي يتأجج في داخله.

Stones stay still. A learner, never.

Pour lui, il y avait deux bénédictions dans la vie : les livres et les amis, qu'il fallait posséder en proportions inverses. Des livres en grand nombre mais seulement une poignée d'amis.

بعد هذه الحادثة، فهم جهان أن سر معلمه لا يكمن في الشدة لأنه ليس فظا أصلا، ولا في جبروته لأنه ليس متجبرا، انما في قدرته على التكيف مع التغييرات والكوارث وإعادة بناء نفسه مرات ومرات من جديد... وإذا كان جهان قد من خشب وداؤود من معدن ونيقولا من حجر ويوسف من زجاج، فإن سنان كان مصنوعا من ماء جار... فكلما حدث انسداد في مجراه، كان يجري من تحت ومن حول ومن فوق قدر استطاعته. كان يجد طريقه بين الشقوق ليظل منسابا إلى. الامام

If there were no hope of reward and no fear of punishment, would I work less ? I don't believe so. I work to honor the divine gift. Every artisan and artist enters into a covenant with the divine. Have you made yours?

Quand tu mets ton âme dans ce que tu fais, tu sens en toi courir une rivière, une joie.

The creature who arrived at your door, having bitten the hand that fed him all along, would not hesitate to sink his teeth into your flesh once he was inside.

there were two blessings in life: books and friends. And that they should be possessed in inverse quantities: many books, but only a handful of friends.

Whatever you do, she would have said, don't hurt anyone and don't let anyone hurt you. Be neither a heartbreaker nor heartbroken.

How soon things changed and how low people fell and from what heights. Even those whom he thought untouchable. Or perhaps, especially those. It was as if there were two invisible arcs: with our deeds and words we ascended; with our deeds and words we descended.

Page 158: 'Architecture is team work,' said Sinan. 'Apprenticeship is not.' 'Why don't you want us to look at each other's drawings? ' Jahan once asked. 'Because you'll compare. If you think you are better than the others, you'll be poisoned by hubris. If you think another's better, poisoned by envy. Either way, it is poison.

instead of believing that the worst in humans can be found in God, believe that the best in God can be found in humans.

he had lost his balance and toppled down a cliff while trying to enfold the sunset in his arms.

ان براءة الطفولة تغادرنا كلنا في نهاية المطاف

Sometimes, for the soul to thrive, the heart needs to be broken.

Those who surround themselves with grovellers who praise everything they do will not forgive the honest man who tells the truth.

if human beings could only live more like animals, without a thought to the past or the future, and without rounds of lies and deceit, this world would be a more peaceful place, and perhaps a happier one.

He would never have dared to call this thing he felt for Mihrimah love, and yet when it was uttered, unveiled, by someone else, he carefully picked up the word and hugged it to his chest, not willing to let go.

The four borders of the Taj Mahal are designed to be identical, as if there were a mirror situated on one side, though one can never tell on which one. Stone reflected in the water. God reflected in human beings. Love reflected in heartbreak. Truth reflected in stories. We live, toil and die under the same invisible dome. Rich and poor, Mohammedan and baptized, free and slave, man and woman, Sultan and mahout, master and apprentice … I have come to believe that if there is one shape that reaches out to all of us, it is the dome. That is where all the distinctions disappear and every single sound, whether of joy or sorrow, merges into one huge silence of all-encompassing love. When I think of this world in such a way, I feel dazed and disoriented, and cannot tell any longer where the future begins and the past ends; where the West falls and the East rises.

Rome, the city where memories were chiseled in marble.

Whatever you hate in me, does it not also exist in you?

Jahan thought there were two main types of temple built by humankind: those that aspired to reach out to the skies and those that wished to bring the skies closer down the ground . On occasion, there there was a third: those that did both. Such was San Pietro (St Peter's Basilica)

Masters are great but books are better. He who has a library has a thousand teachers. Your Prophet said, “Seek lore, even if it be in China.” Mine said, “God created us because He wanted to be known.” Ignorant men think we are here to fight and make wars and to couple and have children. Nay, our job is to expand our knowledge.

It was after this incident that Jahan understood his master’s secret resided not in his toughness, for he was not tough, nor in his indestructibility, for he was not indestructible, but in his ability to adapt to change and calamity, and to rebuild himself, again and again, out of the ruins. While Jahan was made of wood, and Davud of metal, and Nikola of stone, and Yusuf of glass, Sinan was made of flowing water. When anything blocked his course, he would flow under, around, above it, however he could; he found his way through the cracks, and kept flowing forward

Like all these long low squat houses, it had been built not for but against. They were built against the forest, against the sea, against the elements, against the world. They had roof-beams and doors and hatred--as though in this part of the world an architect always included hatred among his tools, and said to his apprentice: 'Mind you've brought along enough hatred today.

I wish I could look back and say that I have learned to love as much as I loved to learn. But if I like, there could be a cauldron boiling for me in hell tomorrow, and who can assure me tomorrow is not already on my doorstep, now that I am as old as an oak tree, and still not consigned to the grave?

İstanbul dediğin unutkanlıklar şehri.

Quoi que tu fasses, ne fais de mal à personne et ne laisse personne te faire de mal. Ne sois ni brise-cœur ni cœur brisé.

Comme il arrive trop souvent aux jours heureux, on ne les apprécierait qu'une fois enfuis.

For now, grief was pickled and preserved, kept next to the salted meat and dried peppers in the cellars, to be partaken of in better times.

Because you’ll compare. If you think you are better than the others, you’ll be poisoned by hubris. If you think another’s better, poisoned by envy. Either way, it is poison.

I didn’t say are you a student. I asked, are you a learner? Not every pupil is a learner.

At night, flooded with light, Istanbul shone brighter than the eyes of a young bride.

the worth of one’s faith depended not on how solid and strong it was, but on how many times one would lose it and still be able to get it back.

In that moment Jahan understood that life was the sum of the choices one did not make; the paths yearned for but not taken.

Architecture is a conversation with God. And nowhere does He speak more loudly than at the centre.

Does what we do in life matter so much? Or is it what we don't do that carries weight? .... You build with wood, stone, iron. You also build with absence. Your master knows this well.

I had pledged my heart to someone, your Highness - ' 'What happened?' 'Nothing,' Jahan said, Those who grew up with stories of love that inevitably ended in rapture, revelry, chivalry or calamity could not fathom why for many people love amounted to naught, eventually. 'She was beyond my reach and did not love me. It was not meant to be.' 'There're plenty of women,' the Shah said. Jahan would have liked to say the same thing to him. Why did he still mourn his wife? What he could not put into words, the Shah understood. A thin smile etched on his lips as he said, 'Maybe not.

I have come to believe that if there is one shape that reaches out to all of us, it is the dome. That is where all the distinctions disappear and every single sound, whether of joy or sorrow, merges into one huge silence of all-encompassing love. When I think of the world this way, I feel dazed and disoriented, and cannot tell any longer where the future begins and the past ends, where the West falls and the East rises.

He was losing his faith in his workmanship. Little did he know, back then, that the worth of one's faith depended not on how solid and strong it was , but on how many times one would lose it and still be able to get it back.

Resentment is a cage, talent is a captured bird. Break the cage, let the bird take off and soar high. Architecture is a mirror that reflects the harmony and balance present in the universe. If you do not foster these qualities in your heart, you cannot build.

elephants were huge not only in size but also in heart. Unlike other animals, they comprehended death; they had rituals to celebrate the birth of a calf or to mourn the loss of a relative. Lions were fierce, tigers were regal, monkeys were smart, peacocks impressive – yet only an elephant could be all of those things at once.

That’s why when you see a human being, slave or vizier, Mohammedan or heathen, you ought to respect him. Remember, even a beggar owns a palace.’ Jahan said, ‘With much respect, master, I don’t see perfection. I see the missing teeth. This crooked bone. All of us, I mean, some are hunchbacked, others–’ ‘Cracks on the surface. But the building is flawless.

If you are a great warrior, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before the lowest opponent. If you are a great general, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before the lowest soldier. If you are a great politician, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before for the lowest constituent. If you are a great governor, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before for the lowest peasant. If you are a great president, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before the lowest citizen. If you are a great leader, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before for the lowest servant. If you are a great pastor, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before the lowest parishioner. If you are a great prophet, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before the lowest seer. If you are a great pope, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before the lowest priest. If you are a great teacher, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before for the lowest student. If you are a great guru, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before for the lowest disciple. If you are a great architect, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before the lowest mason. If you are a great engineer, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before the lowest mechanic. If you are a great inventor, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before for the lowest scientist. If you are a great doctor, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before for the lowest nurse. If you are a great judge, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before the lowest lawyer. If you are a great artist, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before the lowest apprentice. If you are a great coach, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before for the lowest athlete. If you are a great genius, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before for the lowest talent. If you are a great philanthropist, you are supposed to be prepared to humble yourself before for the lowest beggar. In the school of patience, it is the long suffering who graduate. In the school of generosity, it is the kind who graduate. In the school of activism, it is the devoted who graduate. In the school of honor, it is the noble who graduate. In the school of wisdom, it is the prudent who graduate. In the school of knowledge, it is the curious who graduate. In the school of insight, it is the observant who graduate. In the school of understanding, it is the intelligent who graduate. In the school of success, it is the excellent who graduate. In the school of eminence, it is the influential who graduate. In the school of conquest, it is the fearless who graduate. In the school of enlightenment, it is the humble who graduate. In the school of courage, it is the hopeful who graduate. In the school of fortitude, it is the determined who graduate. In the school of leadership, it is servants who graduate. In the school of talent, it is the skilled who graduate. In the school of genius, it is the brilliant who graduate. In the school of greatness, it is the persevering who graduate. In the school of transcendence, it is the fearless who graduate. In the school of innovation, it is the creative who graduate.

Wright “was a great architect,” explained his former apprentice Edgar Tafel, who worked on Fallingwater, “but he needed people like myself to make his designs work—although you couldn’t tell him that.” Wright’s story exposes the gap between our natural tendencies to attribute creative success to individuals and the collaborative reality that underpins much truly great work. This gap isn’t limited to strictly creative fields. Even in seemingly independent jobs that rely on raw brainpower, our success depends more on others than we realize.

There was something so infantile in the man's fright that Jahan could not help but chuckle. Children, only they, stared up with sparkling eyes, pointing at the white beast.

The boy caught an almost imperceptible movement, the insatiable greed of maggots crawling inside human flesh.

as well. One of them was quite pesky, insisting

zhadi. Of admirers and foes, she had plenty. They said she

Zašto ponekad iznenada otvorimo srce strancima? Zašto samo njemu, a ne nekome drugome povjerimo ono što nikome dotada nismo? Što nas to tjera da strancu podastremo svoje srce, poput slatkiša na srebrnom pladnju?

Izgubio se među knjigama kako bi pronašao sebe.

Masters are great but books are better. He who has a library has a thousand teachers.

Truth is a butterfly: it lands on this flower and that. You run after it with a net. If you capture it, you are happy. But it won't live long. Truth is a delicate thing.

Every time he allowed someone, anyone, to prise open the shell of his soul he repented of it instantly.

God has built the palace of our body and entrusted to us its key,

pledged his wrath in steel, his love in diamonds and his grief in white marble.

Stone reflected in the water. God reflected in human beings. Love reflected in heartbreak. Truth reflected in stories. We live, toil and die under the same invisible dome. Rich and poor, Mohammedan and baptized, free and slave, man and woman, Sultan and mahout, master and apprentice

Stone reflected in the water. God reflected in human beings. Love reflected in heartbreak. Truth reflected in stories. We live, toil and die under the same invisible dome. Rich and poor, Mohammedan and baptized, free and slave, man and woman, Sultan and mahout, master and apprentice . . . I have come to believe that if there is one shape that reaches out to all of us, it is the dome. That is where all the distinctions disappear and every single sound, whether of joy or sorrow, merges into one huge silence of all-encompassing love. When I think of this world in such a way, I feel dazed and disoriented, and cannot tell any longer where the future begins and the past ends; where the West falls and the East rises.

Women can't hide their feelings because they're weak. Lucky for them, they hide behind veils. But a man has to learn to mask his emotions.' 'What should I do?' asked Jahan. 'Hide your face, seal your heart,' said Sangram. 'Otherwise it won't be long before they make a hash of both.

Never before had he thought that among an architect's tasks would be the protection of the city from its inhabitants and the protection of the past from the future.

Those who yearned for completeness would be called ‘the lovers’, and those who aspired to knowledge ‘the learners’.

Aş vrea să pot spune, privind în urmă, că am învăţat să iubesc în aceeaşi măsură în care am iubit să învăţ.

Yet I remember the promises we made, and then failed to keep, every single one of them. It's odd how faces, solid and visible as they are, evaporate, while words, made of breath, stay.

Ali ako želiš uspješno obaviti neki posao, moraš uvjeriti svemir da si upravo ti, a ne netko drugi, prava osoba za njega. A jedini način da to učiniš je da naporno radiš.

Čovjek koji na ramenima nosi teret prošlosti brzo se umara i ne stiže daleko.

Love only brought pain

Bila zgrada mala ili velika, bila to džamija nekog sultana ili najobičnija mahalska česma, zapamti da pod svakom tom građevinom kuca srce svemira. Ti gradiš nad Središtem zemlje. Tako razmišljaj. Tako ćeš u poslu biti zadovoljniji i pažljiviji.

Zapamti, majstori su važni, ali knjige su važnije. Kad čovjek ima knjižnicu, ima tisuće učitelja. Najvažnije je učiti. Budale misle da smo na ovaj svijet došli kako bismo jeli, pili i svađali se. Ili pravili djecu. Ali prava nam je zadaća proširivati znanje. Zato smo ovdje.

Majstori su učili iz tri izvora : iz knjiga, od ljudi i s putovanja. Trebalo je puno čitati, učiti od svojih majstora i putovati. "Ako pažljivo promatraš, vidjet ćeš i da kamen nije sasvim miran. Zato i majstor koji ga obrađuje mora biti poput joručkog konja. Mora se neprestano kretati.

...sve bogomolje, bez obzira na vjeru, mogu podijeliti na dvije skupine : na one koje se trude dotaknuti nebo i one koje ga pokušavaju približiti tlu. Prve nastoje čovjeka približiti Bogu, a druge Boga približiti čovjeku. Rijetke su one koje su uspjele postići oba cilja.