Read Online Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine 11/01/12 by Dell Magazines - Free Book Online Page B
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something? Even if it's only that they like home
more?"
The corners of my mouth twitched. "Yes. I've decided. Make it so."
"How about if I buy you an ice cream at the next stop, instead?" We'd become
addicted to the many varieties of gas-station freezer goodies we'd encountered
during our long drives across the country.
"Fine. I may jam it up Rose's butt, though."
"Your call. Waste of a good ice cream, you ask me."
A short drive took us out of the rain and back into the bright sun.
The weather was just as variable as the landscape in Turkey, which could change
two or three times a day, shifting from vast brown plains in the morning to
rolling green hills with red soil in the afternoon. I found myself thinking one
moment, "That plain looks like fields in the Midwest," and the next, "Those
cliffs remind me of Hawaii." Every once in a while, we'd go through a small city
that was a blend of modern shops, rows of tiny specialty stores, and
covered-over marketplaces selling everything from pots and pans to prayer beads
to cell phones. The clothing on the women changed too, as we headed north and
west, and while I always saw plenty of them dressed in traditional baggy
trousers, overshirts, and head scarves, as we neared the outskirts of Ankara,
the capital, I saw fashions I couldn't distinguish from home in New England.
We arrived at what I imagined would be the highlight of the day, on a par with
the view at Mount Nemrut. If there's anything in the world I love more than
exploring sites, it's going behind the scenes in a museum. Seeing things in
their cases can be a treat, but getting to see them up close, with no Plexiglas
separating you, is an extraordinary event.
We would be coming back to the museum tomorrow for a formal tour of the public
collections, but Lale had studied with Dr. Saatchi and wanted to show off the
prizes of the museum to us.
"Hey, Em. Calm down," Brian said. "You look like you gotta pee."
I realized I was bouncing around a little, and tried to chill out. My good mood
lessened when I saw Lale take Dr. Saatchi aside and hand him the small object
Rose had taken. He frowned and asked her several questions. He glanced at Rose,
and then, after Lale said something else, glanced at me. I nodded. He continued
with Lale in Turkish.
With a gesture that said the matter was over, he pocketed the clay disc. I was
surprised when Lale led him over to me.
"Dr. Fielding, I am pleased to meet you. I used your paper on trade goods on
early American sites to do something similar with trading centers in Asia
Minor."
A little shocked, I shook his hand. "I'm delighted it was useful to you."
"Well, we have so many cultures, so much history in Turkey, we are happy to use
whatever tools best give us a clear picture of the past."
Brian nudged me; I raised one eyebrow and gave him a mock-serious frown. Yes, I
was totally awesome; he shouldn't ruin it by acting like this didn't happen all
the time. This was one situation where I didn't mind bringing my profession into
my vacation.
Lale explained that Dr. Saatchi would be showing us important artifacts from
sites from all over Turkey, including finds from the Roman, Greek, Persian, and
Hittite cultures. We'd be seeing things from as far back as the Assyrian and
Babylonian cultures; southeastern Turkey, with the headwaters of the Tigris and
Euphrates, had been part of Mesopotamia two millennia BCE.
He unveiled a tray of tiny treasures in glass and stone and clay. Their colors
ranged from shiny black to bone white, including pale pink, brown tiger-stripes,
deep blue, spotted green, and blood red.
First was a group of cylinder and stamp seals; with their tiny images and
symbols, they looked like beads no longer than my fingertip. Alongside them were
the impressions made by them on soft clay, showing how the marks would have
appeared on wax.
"I saw on the news that a lot of those kinds of things
more?"
The corners of my mouth twitched. "Yes. I've decided. Make it so."
"How about if I buy you an ice cream at the next stop, instead?" We'd become
addicted to the many varieties of gas-station freezer goodies we'd encountered
during our long drives across the country.
"Fine. I may jam it up Rose's butt, though."
"Your call. Waste of a good ice cream, you ask me."
A short drive took us out of the rain and back into the bright sun.
The weather was just as variable as the landscape in Turkey, which could change
two or three times a day, shifting from vast brown plains in the morning to
rolling green hills with red soil in the afternoon. I found myself thinking one
moment, "That plain looks like fields in the Midwest," and the next, "Those
cliffs remind me of Hawaii." Every once in a while, we'd go through a small city
that was a blend of modern shops, rows of tiny specialty stores, and
covered-over marketplaces selling everything from pots and pans to prayer beads
to cell phones. The clothing on the women changed too, as we headed north and
west, and while I always saw plenty of them dressed in traditional baggy
trousers, overshirts, and head scarves, as we neared the outskirts of Ankara,
the capital, I saw fashions I couldn't distinguish from home in New England.
We arrived at what I imagined would be the highlight of the day, on a par with
the view at Mount Nemrut. If there's anything in the world I love more than
exploring sites, it's going behind the scenes in a museum. Seeing things in
their cases can be a treat, but getting to see them up close, with no Plexiglas
separating you, is an extraordinary event.
We would be coming back to the museum tomorrow for a formal tour of the public
collections, but Lale had studied with Dr. Saatchi and wanted to show off the
prizes of the museum to us.
"Hey, Em. Calm down," Brian said. "You look like you gotta pee."
I realized I was bouncing around a little, and tried to chill out. My good mood
lessened when I saw Lale take Dr. Saatchi aside and hand him the small object
Rose had taken. He frowned and asked her several questions. He glanced at Rose,
and then, after Lale said something else, glanced at me. I nodded. He continued
with Lale in Turkish.
With a gesture that said the matter was over, he pocketed the clay disc. I was
surprised when Lale led him over to me.
"Dr. Fielding, I am pleased to meet you. I used your paper on trade goods on
early American sites to do something similar with trading centers in Asia
Minor."
A little shocked, I shook his hand. "I'm delighted it was useful to you."
"Well, we have so many cultures, so much history in Turkey, we are happy to use
whatever tools best give us a clear picture of the past."
Brian nudged me; I raised one eyebrow and gave him a mock-serious frown. Yes, I
was totally awesome; he shouldn't ruin it by acting like this didn't happen all
the time. This was one situation where I didn't mind bringing my profession into
my vacation.
Lale explained that Dr. Saatchi would be showing us important artifacts from
sites from all over Turkey, including finds from the Roman, Greek, Persian, and
Hittite cultures. We'd be seeing things from as far back as the Assyrian and
Babylonian cultures; southeastern Turkey, with the headwaters of the Tigris and
Euphrates, had been part of Mesopotamia two millennia BCE.
He unveiled a tray of tiny treasures in glass and stone and clay. Their colors
ranged from shiny black to bone white, including pale pink, brown tiger-stripes,
deep blue, spotted green, and blood red.
First was a group of cylinder and stamp seals; with their tiny images and
symbols, they looked like beads no longer than my fingertip. Alongside them were
the impressions made by them on soft clay, showing how the marks would have
appeared on wax.
"I saw on the news that a lot of those kinds of things
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