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March 28, 2005
Greece, Turkey and Thoughts from Vacation
I have been traveling through Greece and Turkey in the past eight days with my family. Here are a few experiences that might provoke a laugh or nod of recognition.
While walking through Ephesus in Turkey, our guide pointed out what is regarded as one of the first known advertisements. Engraved on a piece of marble is a drawing of a woman’s head, her foot, a heart, a map and tiny coins. This turns out to be an ad for an enterprising prostitute who attests to her looks through her picture and dimutive foot size, suggests that her love is available for a good price and that all who are interested should precede this way. We also learned that there was a secret underground passage between the library and very large public brothel, providing men with the ideal excuse for the afternoon. On the way out of the ancient ruins, merchants posted the sign, "Real Fake Watches," a lot better than you get from the
"Rolex dealers" on the sidewalks of Times Square.
In Olympia and in Delphi, we saw large stadiums that were designed to host quadrennial games. During the period of the athletic contest, all warring city-states were to cease hostilities to enable the competitors to reach the games. On the path to the stadium in Olympia stood 16 statues of Zeus, the father of the gods. Inscribed on the base of each statue were the names of athletes who were found to have cheated during the competitions. This sounds like an appropriate punishment for the baseball players who took steroids to enhance performance in the past few years. Or maybe we could do the same on the doors of the New York Stock Exchange for CEOs and CFOs who have violated their fiduciary responsibilities.
For "keeping up with the Jones" and actually surpassing any of them, the award must go to the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul. Constructed in the mid 1800s by the Sultan, this fairy-tale palace features a ballroom with a 10,000 pound chrystal chandelier with 750 light bulbs, multiple Turkish baths and stunning combinations of ceiling painting and tapestry. Huge gifts from all of the other crowned heads of state in Europe dot the palace, including a never-assembled pipe organ from Germany and giant bear skins from Russia, plus large portraits of Queen Victoria and her son, the Prince of Wales. That such a huge expenditure could have been made at a time of economic difficulty for the Ottoman Empire shows the tremendous gulf between the ruling class and the people. This type of behavior was typical, according to our guide. To finance the deficit on construction of the stunning Aya Sofia cathedral in the fifth century A.D., the Emperor Justinian levied a tax on all men with long hair. The Emperor is reported to have walked into the Cathedral on its completion and exclaimed, "Solomon (King of Israel who built the Second Temple in Jerusalem), I have surpassed you."
On a more serious note, Greece is extremely proud of its performance in hosting the Summer Olympics but very disappointed in the slim economic return. In fact, last summer was a disaster for the tourism industry, as most vacationers chose other locations due to security concerns. Many Greeks express real anti-American feelings, which are exacerbated by the war in Iraq but really have their roots in US support for the military junta that overthrew a left-leaning but democratic government in the late 60s. The Turks, by contrast, are extremely pro-American but again the conflict in Iraq is seen by many as having no clear end point. The Turks are very focused on getting into the European Union and becoming a bridge between the EU and Middle East. Even the Turks are affected by the growing power of China—the textile industry here has lost export market chare to Chinese competitors.
Posted by Edelman at March 28, 2005 11:24 AM
Comments
So enjoy your blog. This post would have been great with a few "mobile phone" shots or perhaps a podcast - would have loved to have seen that ad!
Posted by: Toby at April 15, 2005 12:44 AM