Where East Meets West (1999)

 

 

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY: WHERE EAST MEETS WEST (1999)

This is one of my favorite photos of Marieta and I together. We’d been married for about 7 years when this was taken. The picture was snapped 25 years ago this week, during one of our visits to Turkiye.

September 1999: It was the perfect trip. The perfect vacation. The perfect boat ride. The perfect sundown. The perfect, well — everything.

I’d worked in the Turkish Embassy in Washington for five years up until this moment. I’d studied Turkey, and even learned some basic Turkish. I’d become fascinated by the wonderful history and culture of that part of the world. To then visit, and experience it for myself and share it — was magical. I think my appreciation of Turkey was amplified by Marieta’s knowledge of Turkey, as well. After all, Romania was invaded and occupied by the Ottomans for three centuries. She grew up with many Turkish influences, from the cuisine to everyone in Romania smoking Turkish cigarettes. For both of us, for very different reasons, Turkey was a social, cultural, and historical Disneyland.

This photo shows us on a ferry boat from Kilitbahir (technically part of the European continent) across the Dardanelles Strait over to Canakkale (which is geographically within Asia and the Middle East). That’s the city of Canakkale in the background.

When I think back of this snapshot in time, I’m reminded that a wonderful memory with a loved one is the greatest comfort — not a possession, not material wealth measured in dollar signs, nor even fame. All those shiny objects are illusory — and ultimately fleeting. Empty substitutes for authenticity.Real experiences LAST forever.

Every picture tells a story, and this was one of our happiest chapters.