Read Farewell: A Mansion in Occupied Istanbul (Turkish Literature) for Free Online

straight to the point. In two days, Re ş at and Mahir were to attend a dinner at the mansion of Count Ostrorog, on the shores of the Bosphorus. Among those dining with them would be the French High Commissioner, and Re ş at Bey was asked to keep his ears open throughout the evening.
    Ahmet Re ş at had a deep aversion to subterfuge of any description, even in service of the motherland. He was a straightforward man, well-bred, guileless. However great his reluctance to attend the function, he was somewhat comforted by the sight of Mahir, and absolutely overjoyed to encounter, in Ostrorog’s salon, his old friend, Count Caprini.
    “Caprini Efendi! How fortuitous! It’s been so long. You’re in good health, I hope?”
    “My dear friend,” said the Count, “the sight of you has improved my health no end. Now why don’t you join me in a corner and we’ll catch up.”
    Count Caprini reputedly held an administrative position at the Italian Commissariat, but had in fact been deployed to Istanbul to command the Italian Military Police and to prevent them from clashing with the Turks. He was known to be a friend to the Ottoman Muslims. As fate would have it, he had been serving at a gendarmerie in Crete during the massacre of the Muslims there and was subsequently rewarded for his humanitarianism by Sultan Abdülhamit II, who presented him with a medal and the title “Count Caprini Efendi.”
    The friendship between Ahmet Re ş at and Count Caprini went back even further. Ahmet Re ş at had held a government position in Thessalonica at the same time Count Caprini was employed there to help organize the Ottoman Gendarmerie. The two young men met and became fast friends. Together they enjoyed the diversions of the bustling port city, attended chess parties, and went riding. Many years later their paths had crossed on several occasions in occupied Istanbul. But, aggrieved by the treatment of his city, Ahmet Re ş at had chosen to avoid his old companion. Now fate had united them once more, and they found time to exchange a few words before they were seated for dinner.
    “If an emergency should ever arise, please come to me, Re ş at Beyefendi,” the Count said.
    May Allah save me from having to depend on any of you, was what Ahmet Re ş at thought to himself, but merely smiled and said, “How kind of you, Caprini Efendi.”
    After dinner, the men broke up into groups for bridge and chess. That first evening, no information of any kind was divulged. Still, the Grand Vizier thought it best for Re ş at to cultivate any acquaintances made that day. A useful social connection might still emerge. Who knew?
    Over the next few days, they spent a great deal of time with the French, one day attending a dance performance in Pera, followed by a trip to a bar. And it wasn’t long before an apparently indifferent Ahmet Re ş at heard lips loosened by drink convey some interesting information. His eyes fixed on the stage, his ears focused on the chattering Frenchmen, he had learned that even though the French were members of the Allied Forces they objected to being under British command, for which reason they were bedeviling General Wilson.
    Ahmet Re ş at’s stomach churned as he began writing up his report the following day. What if the document fell into the wrong hands? He, Ahmet Re ş at, was no spy! He was a finance officer. He tore the report to bits and went to the office of Ali Rıza Pasha, where he presented an oral account of what he’d overheard.
    From that day on, he found himself frequently invited to play chess and bridge with the French, who were themselves cultivating closer ties with Ottoman bureaucrats, in order to spite the English. He couldn’t bring himself to sound out Count Caprini, though. After all, he was a friend.
    When the cabinet of Ali Rıza Pasha ratified the National Pact presented by a delegation of nationalists based in Ankara, Ahmet Re ş at was suddenly hopeful that everything would turn out for