" He grew up and later lived with an insatiable wanderlust. He always carried a rug with him and used to say, "My home is where my rug is"; he spent the better part of his life among tribes so wild that, after shaking hands, he always had to count his fingers. Only illness provided some sort of island of peace in his life. As soon as he fell ill, he would forget every other language save his own. "

― Milorad Pavić , Dictionary of the Khazars