“The pleasant place of all festivity,
The revel of the Earth, the masque of Italy!”

— Lord Byron

“If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital… Whoever possesses Constantinople ought to rule the world.”

— Napoleon Bonaparte

“I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble”

— Augustus

“All strangers love her, will always find her fair,
Because such elegance, such happiness,
Will not be found in any town but this:
Paris is beyond compare.”

— Eustache Deschamps

“We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there”

— Pope Francis

“There is no more beautiful scenery or climate for summer travel than Switzerland presents. The people are industrious and honest, simple and frugal in their habits”

— Ulysses S. Grant

“Use every moment, dance every dance, you can’t take anything with you”

— Undeciphered Text on Goldenes Dachl

“Though remarkable for patient and laborious thought, the true German is a joyous child of freedom, fond of manly sports, a lover of music, and a happy man generally”

— Frederick Douglass

“Turks were a great nation even before they adopted Islam. This religion did not help the Arabs, Iranians, Egyptians and others to unite with Turks to form a nation. Conversely, it weakened the Turks’ national relations; it numbed Turkish national feelings and enthusiasm. This was natural, because Mohammedanism was based on Arab nationalism above all nationalities.”

— Atatürk