The Ottoman Empire

I've just spent a week in Istanbul. Turkey is a real culture shock for someone used to western European and American societies. They have a long and illustrious history of their own, with our societies having little relevance in their development.

Walking through a huge, bustling middle-eastern city of 15 million people, I was struck by all the signs and billboards. Big letters, exclamation marks and colourful pictures proclaimed their messages, but I could not make out one clue as to what they all meant. In most western European countries you could work out at least some of the communications. Not in Turkey.

The Turks are friendly and you feel quite safe. They either ignore you or are interested in where you are from. The have little need to speak English as they have their own self-contained language and culture. Turkic type languages are spoken by many millions of people right across Asia, with whom they have a natural racial affinity.

The main reason for going to Istanbul was to attend a European pain conference. It was very well organised. The audiovisual presentations NEVER failed, they all worked perfectly, and that's rare. Congratulations to Lutfi Kirdar Centre.

I started reading about the Ottoman Empire, about the great deeds, the battles, the cruelties, the riches and the great architecture. It was a huge empire and it lasted a long time, much longer than the British or American Empires.

All those battles are described in heroic terms but the suffering must have been enormous. You get no sense of the pain, the injuries and the long-term disability which resulted. So many thousands of men, damaged so badly, with no record of their lives after the event. Lots of work for a physiotherapist there, but I don't know if there was anyone who worked in rehab. I should look that up.

Looking at the magnificent monuments built through the ages, apart from reverence and respect, I am always amused by what the tourist guidebooks say. "Agia Sofia, the greatest church in eastern Christendom, was built by Justinian in...". Built by Justinian? Built by Mehmet the Conqueror? Built by Suleiman the Magnificent? Well, they gave the orders.

It was thousands of ordinary people who actually toiled for years to build the monuments we now enjoy. They slugged away, suffering back pain and who knows what else, falling from heights, having things fall on them, having short lives.

Am I depressed by all this? No, not at all, but it's good to remember all the people who worked their lives, died or suffered in battle, behind the grand history.