Chapter 22

A letter in September tells of dinner with Perida and Piraya Iz and Mustafa and Ruki at Bebek. A few days later we went to the Covered Bazaar or Kapali Carsi with Perida looking for a worktable for Graham and some floor coverings. We bought a gaudy striped mat 14 feet by 10 feet for 150 lira (about fifteen dollars at that time). Good Turkish carpets are valued highly, approaching the values of Persian carpets, costing in excess of $150 (again, at that time). In Australia of course at that time the price would be double that. We saw old flintlock pistols in the antique section priced at about $100. Silver filigree work on bracelets attracted Ainsley and Robyn but even though there were hundreds on sale, the patterns did not vary much. High brass vases were there in plenty as were brass samovars and pots. China plates appealed to Marcia. The atmosphere in the bazaar was fascinating to us. Crowds of people, mostly Turks, wended their way slowly along main aisles past numerous side alleys. At each junction the pedestrian traffic leaving and joining contributed to slowing the pace in the main aisles. The shops or stalls varied in size but most were arranged to display all the wares on sale from small jewellery through pots and vases to carpets and furniture. Items in their hundreds were hanging from curtains or pegs on the walls. Our eyes could scarcely keep up with the shifting vistas constantly appearing with our progress through the bazaar. The sound of thousands of voices unhindered in volume by such niceties as thoughtfulness for others added to the turmoil. Smells of the multitude plus spices, tobacco smoke, garlic, coffee and tea wafted into tired nostrils. Fatigue overcame us and we went home to the glorious horizontality of our beds.
Although a trip to the island of Buyukada in the sea of Marmara had been planned for the next day, this was postponed so we took a ferry up the Bosphorus to the Black Sea. Our boat zigzagged across the water to landings on either side many times enabling close up views of habitation on both banks. Wooden houses, with their unpainted surfaces grey with exposure over time, were built right on the bank at the water’s edge. Sometimes part of the house could be seen hanging right out over the water. The trip from Bebek to the entrance to the Black Sea lasted 3 hours. On the way the passengers on the ferry moved around and a familiar accent came into our ears. Sure enough we met two people from Sydney and an older couple from Victoria’s Western District. Graham approached a German gentleman who turned out to be a physician from Frankfurt who was about to spend 40 days in a monastery in Southern Turkey. He was very pleased to speak with Graham.
Unfortunately many letters home mentioned sickness. There was no doubt that in the first three months, despite care in our habits and eating, we succumbed to much more sickness than we were used to in Victoria. There was, too, pressure on the children from the newness of the school system and the paucity of companions. Despite these shortcomings and the lack of a car and hence restrictions on our outings, I prophesied in one letter that having this experience to look back on later would compensate, especially when the memory of the troubled times had faded and the benefits could be recalled. Another compensating factor not to be ignored would be the improvement in our finances.
We had dinner with the landlord of the flat in Bebek. They are wealthy and their apartment shows it. Marcia says that on a smaller scale it reminded her of the porcelain and furniture displays at the Topkapi museum, the Palace of the rulers of Turkey throughout the years. M. loved the carpets, both Turkish and Persian. They had texture like velvet and such lovely colours and patterns. Despite their wealth the couple were quite homely and pleasant under their sophisticated appearance and pattern of living.
The famous trip to the beach at Floria with the Buckleys is mentioned in a letter from Graham. He starts by describing that one day later he is suffering from sunburn from head to toe. Grah. recalls “having a good time except for the kids who are real little B’s”. Susan was the child who, when asking impolitely for sweets and being questioned as to what were the “magic words”, uttered that now famous “I WANT”.
The brother of one of the Turkish vets was being married at Kadikoy over the Bosphorus from Galata, in a “wedding house”. I do not know whether they ever have religious weddings at mosques or whether they are all like this one. Arriving at noon we were in time to see the bride arrive, with the groom. She was arrayed in the finery typical of Western weddings. We assembled in a room forming three sides of a square. The fourth was made by a table at which the fathers sat, with the bride and groom and the “parson” or celebrant. He seemed to wear as a uniform something like a mackintosh. He read out a few speeches and soon after he had begun, he stopped and it was all over. It took about 8 minutes. No music was played and there was no great joy on the beholder’s faces. As we filed out we shook hands with a row of people including the pair, and someone presented us with a small pottery dish of sweets. That was it.
Because the occasion had taken little time, we decided to explore the spice market near the Galata bridge over the Golden Horn. We lunched at a restaurant quite well for the equivalent of one dollar. We walked through the spice market where there were some interesting shops. Marcia got herself a pretty plate and a spoon while Grah bought crossed swords and a long pipe. Ainsley and Robyn bought dolls with exquisite dresses. Next morning we were awakened by much tooting and about 25 big buses rolled by full of suited men. Large black and red banners were draped on the vehicles. We did not find out what all the activity was about.
In December I went on a field trip to the west of Turkey in the part called Thrace that borders with Bulgaria. We went to a town called Vize and to a village near it. It was raining heavily most of the way, and the scenery was marred, if not quite obscured. Rolling plains and low hills predominated, with much of the land consisting of rather tiny 1-acre blocks under cultivation. There were some interesting hillocks at intervals, which turned out to be burial grounds of an earlier time. At the village we were ushered into the local hall where all the menfolk had gathered, as is their custom. All had their cloth caps on inside and were dressed in suits or sports clothes of some mileage.
Perhaps the villagers had been told that some foreigners were visiting, and this was the reason for such a good turn out, but we will never know. We were shown through a typical village house. The construction was of mud bricks faced on the outside with a clay and straw plaster. Inside we saw the bedrooms, rather small, with two shortish beds. On the floor were straw mats partly overlaid by cheap but colourful woollen carpets in several layers. Around three sides of a square were small covered cushions for sitting and the walls were draped with various embroideries for decoration. A child was sleeping in a wooden cradle suspended from the ceiling.
Dr Henry Chu called in on his way to Beirut. We dined together and chatted. During the night we awoke a couple of times and found that it was snowing. It was a great experience to see the snow gently falling through the beams of the streetlights. Silence prevailed and there was a presence that we were unused to. Next morning I went to the hotel to pick him up and snow was falling again. The children were able to witness from the relative comfort of the heated apartment, a lovely fall of snow that settled on the grass and trees. The children attended a carol singing at the Headmistress’s flat and they found this very pleasant, no doubt enhanced by the presence of snow. This would have been a great experience for the children, because there would have been no other reminder of Christmas in this Moslem country. I spent the morning with Chu at Dr. Nietzsche’s and then we lunched here and chatted all afternoon. During this time snow was falling constantly. It was a very pretty sight and we took some photos of the children and of the snowman that they built.
Around mid-December Ainsley’s letter to her grandmother wrote of the approach of Christmas. Robyn and she made some decorations and hung these with the few cards that had arrived. The large room was hard to decorate with the little at hand. At the school, which was associated with Robert College, it was arranged that everyone would give and receive a present. Each pupil drew a name from a hat, and bought a present for that person to a value that was limited.
Ainsley passed her music exam with 100%, matching the result of Joanne Wood expressed in my mother’s letter. A. also had exam results of 7A’s and 2 B’s.
By mid-January more snow had fallen. Robyn had made a snowman, and Graham had sculpted from soft snow a statue of Robyn, beanie and all. These looked lovely, indeed as Ainsley remarked in her letter. There was real talent there, and we took photos of them for posterity. Ainsley slipped over in the snow and damaged her kneecap. Occasionally holidays came along. After the end of Ramazan (Ramadan) there was the Sekur Bayram for two days, during which much slaughtering of sheep and feasting took place.
We visited the famous Aya Sophia (many different spellings). It was built in 500 AD as a Christian church. When the Turks took power in 1400 AD it was converted to a mosque. Now it is part mosque and part museum. The huge dome is an architectural masterpiece, particularly considering the date of construction. Beautiful mosaics dating back to the Christian era have been uncovered on the walls. Ainsley described a marble stone with a hole into which one should put one’s finger to bring good luck. (Perhaps it means you are lucky of it doesn’t get stuck). Nearby is the Museum of Antiquities. There one can see hundreds of relics unearthed in Turkey and elsewhere. The pottery and metalwork of several thousand years ago used not to intrigue me when I saw them pictured in encyclopaedias. Now, however, being fired by the history surrounding us and seeing these artefacts at first hand I have found them fascinating. The rooms with the marble statuary were so cold that we did not spend much time there. In fact they make one try to think about the nature of “cold”. It is hard to think of it as an absence of heat. When you touch one of these statues it makes your hand physically cold and this seems like a positive rather than a negative characteristic. Outside the building water had flowed out of a short pipe draining the roof, and frozen for a distance of several feet down from the opening. It was an amazing sight and suggested that time had stood still.
On the 12th February I flew to Athens, arriving about lunchtime with a wait of about 6 hours before my onward journey. I lunched at a restaurant in the middle of the city and took a taxi to the Acropolis, the hill on which the Parthenon stands. I walked around the top of the hill and in and out of the Parthenon itself. It has such wonderful lines. The gracefulness of the proportion of width to height, I believe, is due to the use of the “Golden Mean”. Time and conquerors have ravaged the building destroying some of its structures and gloss.
The same day I flew Swiss Air to Cairo and Khartoum. The temperature of 85 degrees Fahrenheit was in contrast to the cold of Turkey and Athens. I stayed at the Grand Hotel, a sprawling two storey building reminiscent of colonial days, set on the banks of the Blue Nile. For the next four days I attended the meetings at the conference and the social events that were held each night. I saw the Blue Nile and its junction with the White Nile, Kitchener’s gunboat, the former residence of the Governor and the fort at Omdurman. The latter seems to be the beginning of Sudanese History. There was no talk of the days of the Turks during the Ottoman Empire, only of Kitchener and the times since. Independent since 1962 they seem to be valiantly and intelligently trying to build up but the country is very poor. Income depends on cotton and cattle, with not much of that. the people are hospitable, and most of the senior veterinarians had been overseas for long periods. There is a large University in Khartoum with 5000 students. Interestingly the Uni buildings and those of the Government seem to be the only ones of note in the city. Both Gregory and Hudson attended the conference. My return flight was via Cairo and Beirut, to Istanbul. When Turkey came into sight, the land as far as the eye could see was covered in a white blanket of snow.
We planned to visit Beirut at Easter when the Turks have Kurban Bayram. This is a good opportunity to let the family see more of the Middle East. There is a slight complication with the airfares to Beirut—there is a 100% tax applicable. We overcame this problem and set off to Yesilkoy airport. There we were approached by the Tax agent with the advice that there was some error in the bookings. This by now was not an unexpected happening. Yes, he said, it looks as if you will have to travel first class! Well, of course we objected and only accepted reluctantly! We set off in a Scandinavian Caravelle that was almost noiseless. We had a marvellous dinner with champagne, and enjoyed the flight. Dr Chu and a friend from Cambridge (possibly Audrey Newnham) met us and settled us into Aoun House Hotel. The next morning we had to get some nose drops to clear Ainsley’s eustachian tubes that were painful from pressure differences. We explored some of the city that is devoted to commerce and retail merchandising and we enjoyed a morning of window- shopping. The stores and small shops were sophisticated compared with those in Istanbul. We were amazed at the range and quality of the goods on sale. It was like fairyland. Moreover the prices compared favourably with those in Australia and were often cheaper than some in Turkey.
In the afternoon Dr.Chu called for us and we drove up to the nearby hills where with the sun shining, we had absolutely glorious views of sea on one side and snow-capped mountains on the other. We lunched at a Chinese restaurant. In the afternoon Dr.Chu called for us and we drove up to the nearby hills where with the sun shining, we had absolutely glorious views of sea on one side and snow-capped mountains on the other. In the evening we visited Audrey Newnham and husband who now live in Beirut as he works here at the American University.
The next day Chu took us to Baalbek where excellent Roman ruins still stand. If anything, the run up to Baalbek is as impressive as the ruins themselves. The route passes over a snow-clad mountain range and a long run up a beautiful valley. I wonder now whether at the time this was the place where I was told that it was the biblical “land of milk and honey”. Perhaps that was in Iran. We were fortunate enough to be taken out yet again on the next day. This time we went to Saida (Sidon). The weather was not prepossessing, but there was some sun and some rain. It is a charming small town near Tyre. Little alleyways lined with tiny shops wound through the town. The people that we met were friendly, and the children were happily curious. We explored a well-preserved Castle built by the Crusaders on the harbour’s edge. After Saida we visited Beit Eddine, a palace built in the 1700’s by the ruling Ottoman representative or Emir. It is considered here to be a grand palace, but to me it fell short of expectations, except for some rooms panelled with Lebanese cedar.
On the next day, Thursday, we strolled around the shops until the allowance was spent. Nearly all of it went on presents for other people. Marcia carefully chooses a distinct item for each person. This takes a long time (but she loves it). I think she should select only two items and buy the appropriate number of each. Last night we shouted the Buckleys (who are here too) and Dr. Chu to the Casino du Liban. It was a wonderful night. The casino is primarily a gambling place like Monte Carlo but also has a theatre with a floor show that is famous throughout the Middle East and rivals the Folies Bergere or the Lido. It is a first class show, fast moving and glamorous, lasting 2 hours. Naturally the children stayed at home, as it is not suitable for them.
We had wanted to go to Jerusalem at Easter and although we are currently very close, the time and the extra expense have proved too much so we will not see Jordan or Israel at this time. We may get to Byblos tomorrow: it is another ancient town as the name suggests.
As mid-1967 approached the time remaining in Turkey diminished. Ainsley’s letters to my mother said that while she was looking forward to seeing her and in having a break from school, she was reluctant to leave Turkey. No doubt there was a constant fascination about the place and many m9ore sights to see than we had managed. The most recent visit was to Buyukada an island in the sea of Marmara. We travelled ‘by ferry for 30 cents per head, taking 2 hours” We hired a horse and buggy that took us all around the island in about an hour and a half. Quoting Ainsley “then we had lunch at a posh restaurant, took a buggy up to a pine forest and sat and looked at the most beautiful view that you could ever see”. The island had no cars and the absence of noise was restful.
At various times the British and American navies sent vessels to visit Istanbul. On one occasion two of the wives took their children and ours to the ships, out of interest. The nature of the visit altered somewhat after mutual interests with the sailors came to the fore and the presence of the children was not so welcome. While descriptions of events are scanty, reports of events to the husbands are probably also scanty. Let us say that a good time was had by all.
Around this time Graham was sitting for exams controlled by the correspondence school in Victoria. They required supervisors to be present. As I recall the British Council acted for some of this and as far as German was concerned, arrangements had to be made to have a German speaker read the dictation. Fortunately Dr. Nietzschke agreed to carry this out. He and his two daughters duly came to the apartment and took on the dictation. I wonder whether they may have been a distraction, attractive as they were. However Grah passed German without any trouble.
One of the delights of having a small gap between buildings on the other side of Kucuk Bebek square is that we can see the rather majestic merchant ships from the Russian Black Sea ports passing down the Bosphorus towards the sea of Marmara and out to the Mediterranean. As I was writing this Robyn, now nearly 6 is writing a letter as well, but in the phonetic style taught at her school. It reads like this HA PE BUVDA. This translates to Happy Birthday!!
Today I was sitting on a chair on the front porch and suddenly out of a clear sky, the porch lurched violently from side to side about 4 times. People ran out of their houses into the street and pointed. Possibly they were seeing the tops of taller buildings still swaying. Marcia has her own story to tell of how it affected her in the kitchen. Of course it was an earthquake but it was far away from here, as much as one hundred miles away I believe. Grah was annoyed because of all things he was on a swing in the backyard and did not feel a thing.
Around this time, in mid 1967 Mum moved into her unit in Clayfield. This move sounded very suitable from many points of view as it would be more manageable than a house, and was near transport.
Bill Watson and I went on a business trip to Teheran in Iran, visiting a vaccine establishment, the Razi Institute, associated with the famous Pasteur Institute in Paris. Dr Baharsefat whom I had met in the US met us. He helped us to visit the right people in the Institute and then helped to entertain us in our off duty moments. Dr Sohrab, whom we had entertained in Yeronga long ago, also entertained us. We obtained permission to visit the Palace of the Shah that was his second palace. We saw huge graceful rooms with mirrored walls everywhere. There were large displays of pottery, china, glass and dinner services of gold. These were often labelled with the giver of the present, usually royalty from some European State. The wealth of the leaders of these countries is awesome. In the streets at this time we saw some protests. Marcia suggests that they were anti-Shah at this time. Our car was man handled and bounced by a number of people. Bill Watson was all for leaving expeditiously, but the driver, my friend Baharsefat did not seem unduly worried so I kept as calm as I could. Later we were able to drive away through a gap in the crowd. It was a small example of what we often see happening on the news in other countries.
At a Persian market I bought a watch for Marcia and one or two knick-knacks showing old style Persian inlay work in designs and scenes. The other purchase of which I am quite proud was the silver tray and liqueur set. This heavily engraved set of 6 silver glasses and a silver flagon was for sale at the State run emporium for a fixed price that I considered quite reasonable and far less than it would have been at home. Bill, who hailed from Liverpool scorned that easy purchase and sought a similar article from a roadside stall. Here he attempted tough negotiation and it seemed to be cruelly successful. He paid far less than I did. Soon after we returned to Istanbul I asked whether his wife had liked the gift. He said that she had but after a few days the silver had all turned black. Apparently the quality was not there, because at no time has extreme tarnish been a problem with ours in 33 years, and the assessed value is now many times the sum that I paid for it.
A final requirement for our part of the project was to organize a course in infectious diseases of sheep and goats to benefit several countries in the region. We prepared lectures and displays for this and were greatly assisted by the presence of Fred Brown, a technician working in diagnostic bacteriology in the Veterinary Service in UK. Two veterinarians from each of 6 Muslim countries attended the course that was to run for about 3 weeks. It was held in the Resort attached to the main Turkish lab at Pendik. This was where numbers of Vets from all parts of Turkey were housed during their summer vacation. The course went well and then it was time for the project to fold.
We were to report to Rome for debriefing. I had accumulated some leave from FAO and in addition CSIRO had indicated that I should visit some appropriate laboratories in UK before returning. Thus some financial help was available as well as the permission to spend some time in UK. This was very acceptable, and indeed well earned even though I say it myself. We had worked hard during the 13 months here, and not only trained the counterpart vets but done enough research to produce about 5 major and 2 minor scientific publications.
On a less modest note I should record that the project manager, Dr Wallace Stableforth, asked me to stay on past the allotted time, but CSIRO would not agree. He was the former head of the laboratory side of the whole UK Veterinary Investigation Service. As it happened Watson later became the head of Weybridge like Stableforth before him, and I am sure his record in Turkey helped to get him that position. The project must have been extended, because Foggie from Scotland was appointed for a spell and a technician was required for him. I was asked to recommend someone, and I suggested Jack Etheridge. As it turned out he had about two years there with Foggie. This was not the only opportunity that arose from this project. Doug Skerman, an Australian Veterinarian whom I knew well, was working in FAO and was about to head up a project in Cyprus and Jordan. He invited me to be the microbiologist on the project. This had all the earmarks of a wonderful opportunity. However before much time had passed war broke out in the Middle East between Israel and Egypt and the project was shelved. Thus we missed out on being in two of the most interesting countries in the area. One never knows what might have been had this been our next move. It may have had a deleterious effect on the education of the children.
We had rather wanted to see Gallipoli (Geliboli). Unfortunately the times of the ferries forced one to spend more time there than we could afford. Buses were more suitable but very risky, and less desirable for the whole family to travel in together. We did not get there. We had however, travelled to the famous towns on the west coast by the kindness of Lloyd Whitten. We saw Izmir (Smyrna), Mt. Uludag and Bursa and then the areas around Ephesus. One cannot help being entranced by the sight of these very ancient buildings and hearing the stories of the history of these places.
Anyway we packed up and arranged the air freighting of our goods to Australia. We flew first to Athens. The two days spent here were full of interest. In the afternoon following our arrival we took a bus to Cape Sounion. At the destination there are remains of what must have been a delightful building overlooking the clear water of the Aegean. Allegedly this was where Aegea awaited the return of Theseus from some journey. On the boat the signal that Theseus was still alive was to use the white sails. Black sails stood for death. Unfortunately as so much time had passed, this coded was overlooked and the black sails were still aloft. Aegea took this to mean that his son was dead and he committed suicide by jumping over the cliff. His distraught son had the Temple of Poseidon built in his memory. When we visited it was late afternoon and we watched the sun go down through some pillars of the Temple. Graham took photos at this time that were worthy of the National Geographic Magazine. The view was superb. The next day we took a long boat ride to Hydra and some other island in the Aegean. Again the striking clarity of the water and its beautiful blues and greens impressed us. The islands and the way of life appear to be peaceful and very livable. It should be an ideal environment for creative writing and painting.
Any city would be in stark contrast to the Greek islands and London was no exception. We did not tarry long there, but made contact with the Scientific Liaison Office. Then followed a train ride to Scotland. In Edinburgh we picked up the Hire Car and visited Moredun to see Stamp with whom I had renewed my friendship in Turkey (and whose family had befriended ours). On the walk around the lab. I was introduced to a young Australian named Peter Doherty who was doing some post-graduate work with Stamp. He had worked, as did I, at Yeerongpilly with Geoff Simmons. He later won the Nobel Prize in Medicine (Immunology). We drove to meet Bill Watson in Pooley Bridge. He was stationed at the Veterinary Centre in Penrith where we went to discuss the publications resulting from our work in Turkey. After a day or two here in the Lake District we drove slowly down the West Coast enjoying all the delightful sights of England.