Dan Brown says Istanbul is his favorite city in world

By Salih Seref, Dilan Pamuk

ISTANBUL (AA) – Dan Brown, the American bestselling author, participated in an online talk-show administrated by Turkish TV hostess Ece Vahapoglu and talked about his recently-published children’s book, Wild Symphony.

Brown, who acquired inspiration from traveling a lot and non-fictional books, said Istanbul is the city that he loves the most in the world.

"[Istanbul] is the only place that's been the capital of three empires, it is this bridge between east-west, its spectacularly beautiful," Brown said.

Usually focusing on darker and more complicated issues in his novels, Brown said that he wrote a children's book as he wanted to get away from that dark world.

"I'm a child in heart. I think we all have a little bit of a child in us even as adults. It's funny my world felt like it needed something simple, pure and optimistic; I wanted to spend some time in a world from my childhood that brought back fantastic memories, music and pictures."

Brown said his new book harbors elements for both children and adults. He said that he wanted to remind some notions that adults know but forget.

As Wild Symphony is a book that merges technology and music with reading experience through QR codes by which the readers can listen to classical music played by an orchestra, Brown stressed the significance of music in terms of universal communication.

Words or the extent of their meaning can change when translated into different languages, but music is the universal language and all children can experience it in the same way, he said.

"I tried to write a book that I myself want to read. So, a part of me was trying to create that book that as a seven-year-old I would have loved; this would have been my favorite book as a kid," Brown added.

Participating through his Instagram account, Brown showed the audience his study room, library, and a secret locker where he keeps some figures mentioned in his books as well as the first story that he wrote, named "The Giraffe, the Pig and the Pants on Fire" (by dictating to his mother) when he was only five years old.

*Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara