My friend Barb and I had planned to meet a bunch of friends in Istanbul's Yıldız Park for a fitness challenge this weekend. Unfortunately, none of them showed up! We lost our motivation to explore the park. "Let's go across the street to the fumoir in the Cırağan Palace and I'll teach you to smoke nargile," I said. So we did.
First, we wanted to explore the palace.
A view of the Palm Court
from the Grand Staircase.
Imaginative use of glass
creates an aesthetically-pleasing
foyer within the grand stairwell.
The glass chandelier was unlit
but we could imagine its warm glow.
Cırağan Palace Kempinski artwork
of ladies like us
enjoying the Bosphorus
back in the day.
A view of the Bosphorus
from the Sultan's balcony.
The hospitable and lovely Barçak
at the Hendrick's gin cart
Nargile pipes at rest
The eye-catching array of nargile water pipes
and the pots of fruit flavors
waiting for us to choose.
I suggested apple flavoring
because it is most popular.
Our drinks arrived
and rested on cloth coasters.
They were served alongside Mediterranean treats
of olives, hazelnuts, and cashews.
An Istanbul still life!
The drinks were so quenching!
A refreshing slice of cucumber
set off a glittering gin and tonic.
The drink on the right was gin infused with rose flavoring. It was called the Sebestian Vettel (named for a famous Formula 1 driver). We selected it from the part of the beverage menu that showcased drinks celebrities chose when they stayed there.
Barb said Hendrick's gin was especially known for the
herbaceousness of its flavor.
Naruttin primed the coals
and showed us where the flavoring
went in the pipe.
I'm always struck how by deeply
nargile staff breathe in the smoke.
They prime the pump
by getting the coals burning.
Barb about to try her first puff.
Each smoker uses a disposable tip
that they remove every time they pass the pipe.
It is the yellow part at the top of the pipe.
Barb's first puff of nargile.
Not a bad spot for a relaxing
afternoon conversation.
The expat life!
With typical American attitudes about smoking (we're both against it and find it unattractive), neither of us thought we'd ever try nargile. Yet living in Istanbul makes one appreciate the joy of slowing down, breathing deep, and engaging in conversation with a fellow human being in an unhurried, almost meditative manner.
I like this tradition better than the American tradition of staring at a screen in a sports bar and not talking to each other much. Sharing nargile seems very intimate and close. Besides, it was fun to watch the staff set up for a wedding happening later that night under the palms.
Every weekend in Yıldız Park in Beşiktaş, brides come to have their photos taken amidst the greenery of the park. It is so fun to see the variety of head coverings and dresses. This bride's beauty stopped me cold.
Today the citizens of Turkey find out if their Olympic bid for the 2020 Olympics will be awarded to them. I wish all Turkish citizens "Iyi şanslar!" on their bid. Turkey would be the first Muslim country to ever be awarded the Olympic Games. As a country with a young, growing population, it would be a terrific fit. Yes, there would be all kinds of problems to be solved, such as smooth traffic flow, but I believe Turkey is up to the task!
I saw the man first.
He was in a long royal purple tunic with white pants.
A cult member, surely, I thought.
Then I rounded the corner
and saw another man in the same dress.
Ha! A cult convention.
Then I came up against the limits of my knowledge.
It couldn't be a cult.
There were so many of them.
Not just men. Whole families.
And so many beautiful women.
Her sandals.
Those "I Dream of Jeannie" sandals!
Happy.
Joyous.
Crackling with energy.
I laughed at myself, recognizing my own American parochialness.
Don't we always compare new information to our old information?
I understood instantly these were a people I had never seen or met before.
One
exquisitely dressed woman
after another
poured out of the hotel.
"Where are you from?" I asked.
"Pakistan, he said. "We are here for a wedding."
The island of Jamaica
sent spectacular sunshine.
"Are you from Pakistan too?"
I asked a gorgeous young woman
dressed differently than the others.
"No, I'm from Jamaica." she said.
"Of course you are!" I thought,
marveling at Istanbul's constant ability
to make the ordinary encounter extraordinary.
I'm sure Jamaicans at Pakistani weddings are a common sight,
don't you think?
Referring to the work of United States theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (author of the serenity prayer), Bacevich felt expansionist militaristic activity represented almost an addict's way of denying the reality that there are "limits to power."
His book was just as compelling as the talk I had originally heard. I admired his ability to dissect American thinking from within America.
Bacevich urges readers not to look to their politicians with blame for their dependence on foreign oil, necessary military expansion to access it, and demands that the world conform to America's way of thinking. He argues the politicians have just sold Americans what they want to buy: a foreign policy based on grandiosity without the budget or wherewithal to achieve it.
“History will not judge kindly a people who find nothing
amiss in the prospect of endless armed conflict so long as they themselves are
spared the effects. Nor will it view with favor an electorate that delivers
political power into the hands of leaders unable to envision any alternative to
perpetual war.
Rather than insisting the world accommodate the United
States, Americans need to reassert control over their own destiny, ending their
condition of dependency and abandoning their imperial delusions. “ - page 13
I found this to be deeply inspiring, deeply patriotic reading. Bacevich asks Americans to ask more of themselves. Bacevich's book made me want to read everything else he has written. He has a new book soon to come out called "Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country."
"The Limits of Power" is part of a whole series of titles called "The American Empire Project" devoted to asking Americans to consider whether empire is the highest expression of the American idea. More titles can be found at www.americanempireproject.com
If you would like to hear an interview with Andrew J. Bacevich from when the book was published, click here for part one. To learn more about this public intellectual who attracts interest from both sides of the political aisle, click here.
Andrew J. Bacevich believes Americans are still in denial and not ready to face that we are choosing a life of dependency on foreign oil and credit. He says there is nothing in the preamble to the Constitution to try and "remake the World in our image" and our perpetual war to 'spread freedom' actually detracts from freedom at home.
While Americans view our projection of military power as a strength, Bacevich actually argues our perpetual war is a way of delaying our acknowledgement that we have chosen to squander our power (and our moral authority, when we choose global preemptive war) for our generation and generations to come.
An example from the book of what Americans should be working on vs. what we are working on:
For the United States, abolishing nuclear weapons ought to be an urgent national security priority. So too should preserving our planet. These are the meta-challenges of our time. Addressing them promises to be the work of decades. Yet ridding the world of nuclear weapons is likely to prove far more plausible and achievable than ridding the world of evil [something Bush said he would do - an example of American foreign policy grandiosity]. Transforming humankind's relationship to the environment, which will affect the way people live their daily lives, can hardly prove more difficult than transforming the Greater Middle East, which requires changing the way a billion or more Muslims think. -page 178
What do you think? Is American engagement with the world attempting that which we can not pay for or even accomplish (eliminating evil, establishing Western democracy in countries that don't have it)? What's your view? How would America go about changing our priorities, especially when continuing with perpetual war and lack of reform benefits those in power?
I love experiences that heighten the senses. It was with great anticipation that I accepted an invitation to dine at the Çırağan Palace Kempinski's Bosphorus Grill. It's not everyday that one is invited to dine where sultans did, in an Ottoman palace setting, no less.
Earlier this year, I had had my first hammam in Istanbul at the Çırağan Palace Kempinski. Knowing the excellence that the Kempinski Hotel group brought to the operation of their properties, I knew that dinner at the Çırağan Palace Kempinski would be just as divine.
I'm an American expatriate bursting with enthusiasm to GET OUT AND EXPERIENCE OUR GLOBE!
Here's what the Wall Street Journal said about my blog:
"EMPTY NEST EXPAT saw her youngest daughter leaving for college as the opening of a window of opportunity to see the world—one that might only last for a decade or so before her kids start their own families.
Parents looking for inspiration to help them see their empty nest as a ticket to pursue new dreams would do well to start here...Her blog makes a fun read for anyone looking for reassurance that change can be a wonderful thing..."
The London Telegraph said "Empty Nest Expat is one of the top places to go for expat advice and resources."
Daily Sabah newspaper in Istanbul named 'Empty Nest Expat' an Ultimate Expat Blog in Turkey!
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