In the blog
THE BLUE LANTERN Jane posted an entry on the Fountain of Ahmed III in Istanbul. Seeing as I was travelling to Istanbul I was wondering if I would see it. My first stop was the Topkapi Palace. Of course I was impressed, not just by the harem, the library, the jewels and buildings and the view over the Bosphorus and across to Asia, but I was also impressed by this young Turkish woman with whom I fell into conversation. As you can see, she was pretty upset because that morning she and the rest of the Turkish nation discovered that nine of their compatriots had been killed by the Israeli armed forces. My whole week there was punctuated by funerals of the victims and anti-Israel demonstrations.
I left the Palace by the main entrance, the Imperial Gate, and there was the kiosk, or fountain, immediately recognisable. Unfortunately there were no attendants giving water or sherbert free of charge. Instead the kiosk is surrounded by a sturdy fence and locked gate and there is no running water in sight. Still, the building is a little gem.
Gosh, that is beautiful (both the young woman and the fountain). I have been trying to follow the whole Israel situation with a sense of objectivity which is not easy. Part of me feels that the State itself is valid but I have to condemn their actions. It reminds me so much of the Apartheid state of affairs.
ReplyDeleteIt is complicated - Israel offers a number of admirable democratic freedoms that no Arab state offers, for instance there is no other state in the Middle East where an Arab can safely participate in a Gay Pride Parade. Israel was founded by and for victims (Jews) but another people (Palestinians) became victims of the victims.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that abut the Gay Pride Parade r any other freedoms Arabs might enjoy there. Interesting. That last sentence is profound - I may quote you on that one day!
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