Category Archives: Vintage

A Magic Carpet Ride

With the exception of a couple trips to Mexico, Wendi and I had never ventured out of the USA together until, in April 1989, some friends asked us to go to Istanbul with them. They planned to stay with an uncle for 3 weeks and assured us that we were all welcomed. The uncle worked for an accounting firm that sent him to Istanbul to help modernize the Turkish banking system. He was given the top floor of a really nice building, a car and two driver/bodyguards. The two bodyguards worked alternating 12 hour shifts and both lived in the ground floor of the building. The uncle told one of the men was Greek Orthodox and the other a Muslim and that they never spoke or even acknowledged the other’s presence as they would pass in the hallway twice a day, every day. He suggested this was a sign of religious intolerance. We discovered this just added a little more tension to an already anxiety filled household. The uncle was hugely fearful of kidnapping and was very careful about taking a different route to work each day. The aunt was so nervous she would never leave the apartment without a bodyguard. Assuming in our usual naive fashion that they were over-reacting, we headed out to gleefully explore every inch of this mysterious city.

The Gate of the Sultan – Dolmabahçe Palace

TV Shop – The Turkish Football team is playing the Romanians in the European Cup Semi-finals.

Egyptian Obelisk

They say the obelisks were originally covered with brass plaques figuring Egyptian symbols. When the Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1203 their looting frenzy was such that they stripped the columns mistaking the brass for gold.

Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

Hagia Sophia, built in 537, was the patriarchal cathedral of Constantinople until the fall of the city in 1453. It was then converted to a mosque by Mehmed the Conqueror who had all the Christian symbols painted over or chiseled off the walls. In 1935 the new secular Republic of Turkey changed the mosque into a museum. For years it has been the most visited tourist attraction in Turkey until July 2020 when, in the face of condemnation from Turkish opposition, UNESCO, the World Council of Churches and many international leaders, President Erdoğan reclassified it back into a mosque.

The Blue Mosque

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the Blue Mosque, was built in the early 1600s. After a crushing defeat to the Persians the Sultan built the mosque to assert Ottoman power.

Prince’s Islands

We just had to get out of the apartment so we took a ferry out to the Prince’s Islands, an archipelago off the coast in the Sea of Marmara. During the Byzantine and Ottoman periods princes, princesses and Sultan’s families were exiled here, giving the islands their name. We got a room at the Splendid Palace Hotel on Büyükada, the largest of the nine islands. The island was like a trip back in time. It was small enough to cover on foot and, other than a few service vehicles, there was no motorized transport on the island.

Check Cashing

There were no ATMs, so we brought American Express Traveller’s checks. Cashing them was an adventure in itself. Merchants wouldn’t take them so we were left with two options, the bank or the AmX office at the Sheridan Hotel. I called the AmX office and asked when they were open. They told me occasionally. We opted for the bank.

The old bank building stood out on the corner like a grime grey ghost ship streaked with diesel exhaust. The 15’ high entrance was flanked by two uniformed police with machine guns. We entered a huge room with a giant portrait of Atatürk on the far wall and benches lining the other three. A tall podium sat in the exact center of the room with an older man perched on a high chair behind it. On the podium in front of him was a gigantic old leather-bound ledger with notes and odd pieces of paper sticking out in all directions. He motioned us forward and asked our business. We held up the AmX checks. He grunted, licked his thumb and, with practiced dexterity, located the exact correct page in the ledger and flopped the tremendous tome open with a loud thud. He signaled for the checks and our passports and began writing furiously in the ledger. He motioned for us to wait on one of the benches, then he leapt up and left the room with all our money and identification and disappeared through a small door at the back of the room. Being in a place where everyone looks at us like we just flew in from Saturn, we’re a tad apprehensive at this point. We sat very still and very straight with our eyes transfixed on the door that our entire security had just walked out of. After a long 10 minutes he pushed back through the door, briskly charged to the podium, hopped up on his high stool and completely ignored us. After an agonizing 20 more minutes a very tall stern looking woman in heels that clacked when she walked across the marble floor came through the door and headed straight for us. I was certain this is it, the gig’s up, we’re either going to the principle’s office or that prison in Midnight Express. She gestured for us to follow her. We scrambled to our feet and were led like ducklings to a small teller window at the far end of the room. She then handed a note to a small timid lady inside the cubicle who immediately began counting out Turkish lira. At about 2,000 lira to the dollar this made for a hell of a pile of bank notes. She pushed the mound of bills through the window to the stern woman who recounted it until she was satisfied then handed us the cash and a receipt. Finally, with a flourish, she produced our passports from some hidden pocket, smiled broadly and told us in perfect English to come again soon and have a lovely day.

Mohammed’s Hair

During our tour of Tokopki Palace we had to see the Jewel Room. We strolled by cases filled with jewel-encrusted scimitars and daggers, amazing diamond bracelets and rings and necklaces with emeralds so large that the Sultan had to sit to wear them. Out of nowhere a huge commotion erupted from across the room. A group of about 30 or so women dressed in burka were standing in front of a large showcase, chanting, crying and rocking frantically. I pushed through the crowd to see what all the hubbub was about. When I peeked into the showcase I saw a gold satin pillow with a single long hair stretched across the top. This single hair is worshipped by the faithful as being from the head of their most revered prophet, Mohammed.

The Angels Wrote My Name

The old walled city sits on top of the Basilica Cistern, built in the 6th century by Justinian I to hold the city’s water supply. For over a millennium it provided water to everyone inside the city walls as well as security when under siege. As the city grew each sultan would construct new fountains and wells so people would have easier access to water and there by increase the revered one’s status in the afterlife. The idea being that every time you fill a jug or take a drink you ask Allah to bless the Sultan and with each blessing the Angels write the Sultan’s name. Each new entry in the Book of Life improves the Sultan’s ultimate position in Heaven.

Statues of Roman Gods were dismantled and used to support columns. Tradition suggests the heads were inverted to negate the power of the Gorgon’s gaze.

This cup hangs above a fountain and is for public use.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Atatürk is the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first president from 1923 until his death in 1938. He undertook sweeping progressive reforms, which modernized Turkey into a secular, industrial nation. He is regarded as one of the most important political leaders of the 20th century. His picture is everywhere.

Occasionally when traveling things will happen that make you realize just how much we take our freedoms for granted. We were sitting in the Sultan’s Pub talking to a couple Turkish basketball players about how much they admired Michael Jordon. One of the guys bragged that he had 20 points and 10 assists in his last game. I jokingly exclaimed, “Atta Turk!” Both men quickly leaned across the table and whispered “Shhh, you can’t say that. Joking about or disparaging Atatürk is illegal. Be careful what you say. If anyone overhears you, life could get very complicated very quickly.”

Chinese Whispers

We found an old Hammam, Turkish Bath, that had been converted to a carpet market and sold new reproductions of classic Turkish carpets for export. We were curious how much they cost and how it all works, but the salesman couldn’t speak English. He began circling through the rooms and returned with two couples, one Dutch and the other German. He pointed to the Dutch couple who could speak English and German. We explained what we wanted to know and they conveyed our message to the Germans who could also speak Turkish. They, in turn, spoke to the salesman and round and round we went for a half hour. It all worked amazingly well and was clearly a method the salesman had used before. They didn’t ship the carpets, but instead rolled them, attached a cloth handle and had you hand carry them to the airport. At least I think that’s what he said. We never bought a carpet.

My Ottoman Princess

In the lobby of the Splendid Palace Hotel, Büyükada, Turkey

Wendi tells a joke at the Splendid Palace Hotel, Büyükada, Turkey

Bang The Drum

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The Castle Tour – Episode 5

Motto: “Flourishing both in sunshine and in shade”

William de Irwyn was Robert the Bruce’s armour bearer and secretary. Close allies of the Bruce, the Irvines fought alongside him on many campaigns against the English. After one battle the Bruce fled with a few aides. Exhausted and riding hard, he took rest under a holly tree while William Irvine kept watch. This story was the origin of the Irvines of Drum Castles coat of arms with three sprigs of holly. William also fought alongside the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in June 1314 and for his continued loyal service the King granted him Castle Drum and all it’s grounds in 1325. The Irvines backed the losing side in both the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite uprisings, but despite this they bounced back and were able to develop Castle Drum further during the 1800s. It remained the seat of the chief of Clan Irvine for over 650 years until 1975 when the property was given to the Scottish Trust.

Castle Drum

The original 13th-century tower of Drum Castle is believed to be one of the three oldest, and notably unaltered, tower houses in Scotland.

It is said that the house is riddled with secret rooms. One was recently discovered behind the bookcase on the right.

The Archangel Gabriel by Hugh Irvine. Some say it was a self portrait.

The five lions on the mantle are each different. One for each child to hang a Christmas stocking.

These aren’t weird torture devices. They’re cheese presses.

The View From The Tower

Mary Irvine, Daughter of Alexander Irvine, the 16th Laird of Drum by Henry Raeburn

Mary Irvine

Mary Irvine managed the entire estate during the Jacobite uprisings and is considered to have been one of the best at it.

The Laird of Drum escaped capture after the Battle of Culloden in 1746 and returned to Castle Drum where Mary hide him in a secret room for over three years, during which time English forces searched the property repeatedly.

By the early 1700’s virtually all the great oak trees that graced the estate had been chopped down for ship building and military needs. Mary replanted them all resulting in the oak forest we see today. She insisted, “they are not just trees, they are our future.”

Henry Quentin Forbes Irvine (1908–1975), 24th Laird of Drum

Henry Quentin Irvine, fought with the King’s African Rifles. Some ten years before his death, this popular 24th laird entered into an agreement with The National Trust for Scotland so that Drum and its 411 acres could be bequeathed to the trust and held for the benefit of the nation.

Covenanting Rebellion

Drum was attacked and sacked three times during the Covenanting Rebellion, probably one the most significant events in the history of the British Isles, with ramifications that still reverberate today.

On February 28, 1638 a large group gathered on the grounds of Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh to adopt a document that stood against “superstitious and papistical rites” and was an oath to maintain the reformed religion, i.e. Protestants vs. Catholics. This act would, over time, help bring about the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the English Civil War, the Scottish Civil War and the Irish Confederate Wars.

The Signing of the National Covenant in Greyfriars Kirkyard, by William Allan

What The Red Wants, The Red Gets

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The Castle Tour – Episode 3

Motto: “Grace, Me Guide”

Craigievar Castle, a pinkish harled castle named after a nearby hill, is one of the masterworks of Scottish baronial architecture.

The contrast of it’s massive lower story structure topped by the finely sculpted multiple turrets and gargoyles create this classic fairytale appearance. The castle is reputed to have been the inspiration for Walt Disney’s castle motif. The bottom section was built by the Mortimers who ran into financial troubles in 1610 and were forced to sell the lands and unfinished castle to William Forbes, who finished the top section between 1610 and 1626. His descendants occupied the castle until 1963, when it was turned over to the National Trust of Scotland.

Clan Forbes really didn’t make a lot of friends during the 16th century. They blackmailed the citizens of Aberdeen a yearly tun of wine, 252 gallons, for the fishings in the Don. The townspeople were having none of it, so when Arthur Forbes of Brux and his accomplices attacked Aberdeen in July of 1530 the citizens fought back. They brawled in the streets for over 24 hours. Fighting raged furiously throughout Aberdeenshire, and resulted in mutual massacres and murders. Several representatives of Aberdeen lodged a complaint with the King who cautioned the Forbes and their friends to show good behaviour towards the town of Aberdeen. But alas, memories seem to be centuries long here.

“Red” Sir John Forbes

“Red” Sir John Forbes (1636-1703) was reputed to be a tough laird and it was said that what “the Red wanted, the Red got”.

In 1668 he changed the coat of arms from three docile grey bears to three snarling dogs and adopted the new family motto, “Doe not vain sleeping dos.” or “Let sleeping dogs lie”.

The Forbes were staunch Protestants and the Gordons were committed Catholics so they had already been feuding for over 100 years before the Red came on the scene. There had been murders and unspeakable acts of violence on both sides. All of which added credence to a rumor that Red had happened upon a member of the rival Gordon clan bedding his daughter in the Blue Room and a sword fight ensued. Red forced him out the window at sword-point. Gordon fell 66’ to his death. Future generations have covered the window with a large headboard.

People still claim to hear Gordon’s footsteps walking in the Blue Room, re-enacting the moments prior to his death.

It’s a long way down.

Side Note: No pictures inside?? I don’t get it either.

A Bonnie Wee Place

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We visited Edinburgh 20 years ago and a lot has changed since then. There seems to be construction projects everywhere and yet it’s core appears relatively in tact with the exception of a hoard of new tourists from every corner of the globe.. During our first visit, traveling in Europe was still pretty much the purview of Americans, Canadians, Australians and other Europeans with just a smattering of folks from more distant locales. Now, in the new global economy, everyone has hit the road. Asians, Africans, Middle Easterners and South Americans all fill the streets to catch a glimpse of Europe’s cultural past. Crowded as it may be, this is still a wonderful city with much to see and do.

Dr. Thomas Chalmers Looks Towards Edinburgh Castle – New Town

Sir Walter Scott Monument – New Town

George IV Statue – New Town

The cultural center of the city is divided into two distinct areas, the Old Town which sits upon Castle Rock and the New Town in the valley directly below. Prior to the mid 1700s, Edinburgh was probably not a place anybody from the 21st century would want to visit. It consisted of a long market street, now the Royal Mile, stretching along the spine of the rock up to the castle at the top.

The Royal Mile – Old Town

Old Town

The Royal Mile – Old Town

Old Town

The Scotsman – North Bridge – Old Town

The narrow side alleys or closes ran perpendicular to the main street and snaked through the tall tenement buildings to the valley below. The buildings facing the market street were filled cheek to jowl with rich and poor alike. With absolutely no sanitation, sewage ran freely down the closes and culminated in a stagnant pond, i.e. cesspool, at the bottom of the hill. The city was a nasty and often dangerous place, filled with disease and rats. The slums were considered the worst in Europe and it is said that you could smell them from 12 miles away.

Advocates Close – Old Town

Old Town

Roxburgh’s Close – Old Town

Gladstone House – Old Town – Scottish National Trust

Riddle’s Close – Old Town

Riddle’s Court – Old Town

Wardroom’s Court – Old Town

This all changed in 1776 when a young architect named Jame Craig was selected to design a New Town in the area to the Northland below the old city. Over the next two decades the new grid layout filled with Georgian townhouses for the rich and fashionable and gave Edinburgh a whole new start, allowing it to be dubbed “the Athens of the North”.

The Albert Memorial in Charlotte Square – New Town

Georgian Townhouses

Georgian Townhouse

The Georgian House – Scottish National Trust

Over the past few years Wendi and I have been fortunate enough to see some great art in some of Europe’s most outstanding museums. Edinburgh, like all great European capitals, has it’s share. We have been to the Scottish National Gallery and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery this week and they are both amazing buildings filled with stunning works of art.

Scottish National Gallery

The view from Scottish National Gallery

Scottish National Gallery

Robert Burns at the National Portrait Gallery

Although I am consistently moved and inspired by so much of the art, the things that I have find most compelling and captivating are the amazing stories of the creators and the subjects they have chosen to depict.

Aye, so you think you love your wee doggie do you.

“Callum” – John Emms – 1895

Meet Callum, an adorable little Dandie Dismount terrier who was owned by James Cowan Smith. The Honorable Mr. Smith commissioned English artist John Emms to paint his beloved dog in 1895. In 1919 the Smith estate bequeathed £55,000 to the Gallery. This was an astronomical sum at the time, a legacy that allowed the purchase of John Constable’s Dedham Vale, Singer Sargent’s Lady Agnew and Goya’s El Medico. There was only one condition, the Gallery had to agree to permanently display Emm’s portrait of Callum. A promise it has keep for almost 100 years.

“Lady Agnew of Lochnaw” – John Singer Sargent – 1892

The American painter John Singer Sargent spent the vast majority of his life living and working in Europe and became hugely successful in his lifetime. After securing a commission through negotiations which he carried out personally, Sargent would visit the client’s home to see where the painting was to hang and would often review a client’s wardrobe to pick suitable attire. He often worked in his studio, which was well-stocked with furniture and background materials he chose for proper effect. He had no assistants and handled all the tasks, such as preparing his canvases, varnishing the painting, arranging for photography, shipping, and documentation himself. He commanded about $5,000 per portrait, or about $130,000 in current dollars. Some American clients traveled to London, at their own expense, to have Sargent paint their portrait. It all sounds good but the road was not without it’s bumps. When his most controversial work, Portrait of Madame X, now considered one of his best, was unveiled in Paris at the 1884 Salon, it aroused such a negative reaction that it is thought to have prompted Sargent’s move to London. Strange, given that the English critics were particularly harsh to him, calling his technique “Frenchified” with “no taste in expression, air, or modeling.” But all scandal disappeared in 1893 when this painting, the Lady Agnew, was exhibited at the Royal Academy. It’s critical success allowed Sargent to average as many as fourteen portrait commissions per year during the 1890s. If my math serves me right that’s a couple million a year. Not bad for a boy with almost no formal education other then a constant diet of museums and an odd assortment of art tudors.

“Winter Day, Finzean” – Joseph Farquharson – 1901

Besides being the Laird of Finzean in Aberdeenshire, Joseph Farquharson was a successful professional painter. He built a movable hut on wheels with allowed him to set up throughout his beautiful wooded estate and capture, en plein-air, the snowy landscapes that made him famous. Unlike this painting, much of his work contained the sheep that populated the estate, which prompted the nickname, “Frozen Mutton Farquharson”.

“The Comforts of Industry” – George Morland – 1780s

“The Miseries of Idleness” – George Morland – 1780s

Clearly English painter George Moreland knows his subject matter. By way of comparison, these two companion pieces illustrate the benefits of an orderly and industrious life as opposed to the shortcomings of a drunken and slovenly life. Ironically Moreland died bankrupted of alcoholism at the relatively young age of 41.

“Portrait of Sarah Malcolm” – William Hogarth – 1733

I guess you’d have to call this painting a spec job because I’m certain that Sarah didn’t commission it. She is shown here in her cell at Newgate Prison just two days before her execution for the murder of her mistress Lydia Buncombe and two fellow servants. Celebrated writer and collector Horace Walpole purchased the painting from the artist.

“The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think” – Horace Walpole

“The Three Legends of St. Nicholas” – Gerard David – 1500-20

We investigated the life and legends surrounding St. Nicholas while in Holland last December for the Sinterclaus celebration. This is the first artwork we’ve seen depicting the original Santa Claus’ legend and miracles. In the left panel the future Saint stands in a wash basin thanking God for his birth, certainly an early achiever. In the center panel he saves three impoverished girls from a life of prostitution by financing their dowries, something that he is reputed to have done throughout his life. By the third panel it all goes a little dodgy. He is said to have brought the three young boys back to life after they had been murdered and salted down for meat during a famine. Sure, that could happen.

“Landscape with Huntsmen and Dead Game (Allegory of the Sense of Smell)” – Jan Weenix – 1697

This one of a series of five large paintings depicting the five senses. It was purchased in the 1920s by American Press Magnate, William Randolph Hearst, who sold it to RKO Pictures. They, in turn, sold it to Paramount Studios who used it as a backdrop in a Bob Hope movie in 1946.

“A School for Boys and Girls“ – Jan Steen – 1670

This painting is not just some light-hearted view of a classroom out of control. It is meant to demonstrate the evils of inattentiveness in a school without discipline. There are many clues hidden in the picture but the most telling is a child offering a pair of glasses to an owl next to a lantern with illustrates an old Dutch proverb, “What use are glasses or light if the owl does not want to see?”

“A School for Boys and Girls“ – Detail

“The Murder of David Rizzio” – Sir William Allan – 1833

By 1566 members of Mary, Queen of Scots court felt that the young Queen was far too influenced by her private secretary, the Italian musician David Rizzio, and murdered him, as she watched, in an apartment at Hollyroodhouse in Edinburgh. During 1817 Sir Walter Scott asked Allan to illustrate major themes from Scottish history and the two visited the apartment which was already a major tourist attraction.

“The Murder of David Rizzio” – Detail

Got to get gaun, we be having a bevvy the nite.

Social Media For Pedestrians

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Hello again. We are finally back on the road where we feel most comfortable. This year we are lucky enough to start our trip with good friends in Haarlem, NL.

This is a lovely, picturesque city as you can plainly see.

Grote Market

Molen de Adriaan

Grote Market

But that’s not really what I want to talk about. I’ve noticed a rapidly increasing number of, let’s just call them, “Window Creatures”.

Bernie

I found the Bernie and the Cabbage Patch Kids peeking at me from a couple windows in Portland, Ore.

Cabbage Patch Kids

Because they’re cultural icons I didn’t think much of it until I got to Haarlem, NL. and noticed that there are Window Creatures peering out at the street everywhere I walk. I quickly realized this is not just about our political favorites or some nostalgia for childhood toys. The people that lodge behind this panes of glass are sending messages. I’ve always thought that what people chose to display says a lot about them.

Bear in mind that these miniature tableaus did not occur by accident. They represent a conscious effort to put a message in a bottle and send it out into the world, but with no request for rescue or any response at all. It is a kind of lo-tech social media that requires no Likes, Thumbs Up, emojis, bookmarks or cookies. This is strictly a one way communication, a lot like a piece of art that says, “ I think this is “something” and I want everyone to know. At least everybody that walks by my window.”

The Queen and her getaway car.

Does anyone know who this is?

Well, I’ve decoded all the signs and I’m now ready to reveal my findings.

” We’re all just a little wacky and want everyone to know.”

Jittery at Jaarbeurs

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Jaarbeurs

For 2 days each November, completely over the top, massively obsessed collectors of every conceivable stripe converge on Utrecht in the Netherlands to buy, sell, barter and bullshit at Verzamelaars Jaarbeurs, The International Collectors Fair and Europe’s biggest Vintage Event.

We thought it would be a perfect fit for us, but as we approached the building the sky darkened, the clouds began to roil and it all started to feel, you know, funny. A peculiar vibe emanated from the doors and we soon discovered that the hall was filled to capacity with very strange creatures indeed. I can’t prove it, but I just know, they’re watching us.

“The odds are you’ll find what you’re looking for, but there are even better odds that you’ll find something else, because this happens to be The Twilight Zone…..”

“Marsha White, in her normal and natural state, a wooden lady with a painted face who, one month out of the year, takes on the characteristics of someone as normal and as flesh and blood as you and I. But it makes you wonder, doesn’t it, just how normal are we? Just who are the people we nod our hellos to as we pass on the street? A rather good question to ask . . . particularly in the Twilight Zone……” The After Hours – Season 1 – Episode 34

Collection of Curiosities

To lighten the mood we thought a quick stop at the University Museum might just hit the spot. This small museum has a lovely botanical garden which only serves to hide many curiosities.