Proem Bir Varmış, Bir Yokmuş . . . The phrase above echoes the opening lines of Turkish fairy tales. As a child, I heard them time after time. It is impossible for me to estimate the number of the nights during which my mother read children stories to me, starting with "Bir Varmış, Bir Yokmuş" ("Once upon a Time"). My first utterances might as well have been a semblance of this fairy tale-opener...