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| Courtesy of famous hotels.org |
Discover relatively late in the day that tomorrow is a holiday, one borrowed from Türkiye. It’s the hundred and first anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Türkiye by Kemal Atatürk after the Turkish War of Independence following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War. A reminder for us of the time many years ago when we stayed at the Baron Hotel in Aleppo, Syria. Down on its luck but rich in memories of previous guests, including Atatürk, who is said to have mounted guns on the roof during WWI to ward off attacks by the British or Arab Legions. Many other notables as well, such as Lawrence of Arabia and Yuri Gagarin. King Faisal announced Syria’s independence from the balcony of room 215. The whole political spectrum represented, including Kim Philby. And we ourselves stayed in room 203 where Agatha Christie wrote the first part of Murder on the Orient Express.
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