Elif Shafak is one of Turkey’s most acclaimed and outspoken novelists

Acknowledgments 
Dost means “friend” in Turkish. I owe a bigger debt of gratitude than I can ever express to 
friends everywhere—Istanbul, Amsterdam, Berlin, and London. Many people inspired this novel 
with their stories and silences. I am deeply grateful to Marly Rusoff, my literary agent, who has 
believed in me from day one and has always seen through me with that third eye of hers. Thank 
you to dear Michael Radulescu for his continuing support and faith, and for just being there 
when I need help. I am indebted to my editor, Paul Slovak, for his many valuable contributions 
and inner wisdom, as well as for his indispensable suggestions as the manuscript traveled 
between Istanbul and New York. 
I owe a special thanks to Sufis all around the world, those I have met in the past and those I have 
yet to meet, carrying perhaps different names and passports, but always the same amazing ability 
to see things from two points of view, their own and that of another. Thank you, dear Zeynep, 
Emir, Hande, and Beyza, for your time, patience, amity, and precious contributions. My heartfelt 
thanks to Mercan Dede for his generous heart and unique friendship. 
Finally, to Eyup and my children, I thank you for showing me, a nomadic soul, that it was 
possible to settle down in one place and still be free. This book owes you more than I can tell. 

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Glossary 
baqa
: permanency that comes after annihilation, a higher state of life with God 
baraqa
: blessing 
dervish
: someone who is on the Sufi path 
fana
: annihilation of the Self while physically alive 
faqih
: a scholar of law 
faqir
: a Sufi practicing spiritual poverty 
ghazal
: a type of poetry common in Indo-Perso-Arabic civilization 
hadith
: the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad 
hafiz
: a person who has memorized the Qur’an 
hamam
: Turkish bath 
Insan-i Kâmil
: the perfect human being according to Sufism; the stage is genderless and is thus 
reachable for both men and women 
inshallah
: “if Allah wills it” 
khaneqah
: a center for dervishes 
kismet
: luck, fortune 
kudüm
 and 
rebab
: musical instruments 
lokum
: Turkish delight 
madrassa
: college, school where students are educated in a wide range of fields 
maktab
: elementary school 
maqamat
: stages of development 
nafs
: false ego 
ney
: a reed flute played mostly by Malawi dervishes 
qibla
: the direction Muslims face for daily prayers 

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salwar
: loose pants 
saqui
: one who serves wine 
sema
: the spiritual dance of whirling dervishes 
semazenbashi
: a dance master 
Shafi
, 
Hanefi
, 
Hanbali
, and 
Maliki
: the four schools of law of Sunni Islam 
sharia
: 1. a set of Islamic laws and regulations; 2. the mainstream; main venue 
tafsir
: interpretation or commentary, usually of the Qur’an 
Tahafut al-Tahafut
: The Incoherence of the Incoherence, by Averroës, in which the author 
defends Aristotelian philosophy in Islamic thought 
tariqa
: a Sufi order, or the way, the mystical path 
tasbih
: a rosary 
zikr
: remembrance of God 

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