Decorating

I think I mentioned that we have really nice office space – well equipped and well lit. However, I was beginning to get tired of staring at blank walls and have considered opening up my 2010 Washington wall calendar just to have a little color on at least one wall. However, before I could get to that, the problem was solved for me. Two workmen appeared this afternoon with a drill and a portrait of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. So now when you walk into our spacious and sunny office space and took at my desk, you’ll find me ensconced beneath THE portrait.

Actually, I’ve been reading the Crescent and Star by Stephen Kinzer, a book Maya lent me before I left. What Atatürk did was truly miraculous, taking the remnant of an empire that had been out of touch with the modern world for centuries and whose population was largely illiterate and creating the basis for a modern nation state. He is truly revered here. I chuckled when I found on Kinzer’s list of monuments to Atatürk the following: “In Gaziantep, a provincial capital in the south, the governor’s conference room is decorated with no less that fifty images, truly a blinding spectacle.” (p. 50, in case you’re interested). I guess that makes our one portrait a paltry acknowledgement of respect.