touring this enormous palace. It is the most recent of the Ottoman
palaces, also the place where Ataturk died, built in European style,
late in the 19th century. This guard is immobile, in the Buckingham
palace style. A second guard was wiping perspiration off of his face
(as if he were a statue) just before this photo.
In addition to the extreme opulence of the place, I was struck by the
mundane nature of the bejeweled artfacts of life. Make it out of gold
and alabaster, and a bathroom is still a bathroom. The impression for
me was of a kind of wretched excess, albeit very pretty.
The palace was built with borrowed money, as the Ottoman empire was
collapsing.
I think about the huge defense and security establishment my own
country is building with borrowed money. Too bad we won't be able to
turn that into a vast museum and tourist attraction. See the atomic
bombs! Check out the surveillance gear. Be sure to visit the gift shop
on your way out...
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