Radikal columnist Ismet Berkan traveled to Stockholm in December 2006 to cover the Nobel Prize ceremony honoring Orhan Pamuk, and found the Turkish laureate's fame pervasive from the moment he landed. Swedish border police and a Turkish Airlines service agent both greeted him with enthusiasm for Pamuk, mentioning the novelist's works "Snow" and "Istanbul: Memories and the City" by name.
The hotel hosting the Turkish press contingent also served as an informal Nobel hub, with the Nobel Academy maintaining a desk there to assist accredited journalists. Turkish reporters outnumbered those of most other nationalities, though journalists from around the world attended.
Pamuk's image appeared on large posters across the city and filled a full page in the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine, while television outlets worldwide also covered his award. Berkan noted that some voices back in Türkiye were working to minimize or sensationalize Pamuk's achievement, a contrast he found striking given the international recognition on display.
Pamuk chose to deliver his Nobel acceptance speech in Turkish, the language in which he writes, rather than in English, which he speaks fluently. Berkan wrote that he felt personal pride watching a novelist who had forged a deep bond with readers win the world's most prestigious literary honor in their shared mother tongue.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in December 2006, in its own words.