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106
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It was some time before we knew what the fuss was all about. The Greeks had damaged a statute of Ataturk in Greece and the Turks were showing their anger. This was the famous Istanbul riots of September 5, 1955.
We reached the Consulate at about 10:30 p.m., and saw the American flag draped over the gate of the compound, and I never was so glad to see some sign of America. We didn't leave the Consulate until 2:00 a.m. when the all clear signal was given, and we were taken to our hotel. This was our first trip out of the United States and we thought that perhaps we should have stayed home.
The next morning we could see the mess that had been left in the streets. There were armed soldiers and army tanks in every street around the hotel. I will never forget the sound of broken glass being swept up in the streets the next morning. Many of the Greek shops were looted and the goods strewn all over the sidewalk.
We stayed in Istanbul only the one night. The next evening we rode the ferry across the Bosphorus and took the train to Ankara. It was a comfortable night ride on the Orient Express. I wakened early and looking out the window and watched the sun rise over the dry, over-grazed, pasture of Central Turkey, a sight I would see often during the next five years.
The train came to a halt in the Ankara station at 8:30. We were met by the Mission Director, Mr. Hedges and the American Engineer who was to be my supervisor, Mr. Forsburg. The person to step forward first was Naki Uner. Naki was to be my Turkish counterpart for the next five years. The story of our travels, the work we did, the people we met, proved to be one of the most rewarding times of our lives.
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Metzger Memories
