I was among the guests at the dinner held at Çankaya on Tuesday evening in honor of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

- 13 / 05 / 2008 13:10

I was among the guests at the dinner held at Çankaya on Tuesday evening in honor of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. I had also attended as a journalist the reception held during the Queen's last visit in 1971.

She had somehow failed to impress me then as much as she has this time. It might have been the awareness brought on by the 37 years in between or the fact of having seen her in the media all this time or the plain curiosity of meeting once more the Queen, who has become as familiar as a close relative in the meanwhile.

 I was excited. That was history standing right in front of me. I've met thousands of famous people till now. I have shaken the hands of and talked to so many men and women leaders or big celebrities.

This time, however, it was different. Apart from the fact that she represented an empire, this tiny, white-haired woman facing me was very different from all the others in terms of experience. She looked very spry despite her 82 years.

She has evidently aged well. On the other hand, Prince Philip looked very old and more worn out. All these thoughts made me remember what I looked like 37 years ago, and I decided to close that subject for good (!) I had also attended the dinner held at Çankaya in honor of Iraqi President Talabani.

I had even told you about the poor quality of the food served that night. Hayrunisa Hanım seems to have stepped in, for this time, everything was perfect, including the food. It was a wonderful menu: Artichoke hearts in olive oil, cheese pastry, mutton wrapped in aubergine purée, rose-shaped baklava on pudding, all served with Corvus and Sarafin wines.

Unfortunately, the venue looked rather like the inside of a Moscow subway station. I was told, however, that those rooms are going to be redecorated to provide a warmer ambience. One old habit of ours had cropped up again.

The empty seats left by those, who had failed to RSVP the invitation, or worse, had said "yes" and failed to come stood out like decayed teeth. The situation was saved by last minute changes made in the seating arrangement.

Arriving late is usually another habit that we've never been able to drop. This time, however, everybody was on time, even the prime minister. It must have been the royal protocol!

I was also extremely impressed by the Doğuş Kids Symphony Orchestra. I made a point of congratulating Ferit Şahenk, who modestly sat among the guests and watched the children with moist eyes.

The way the Queen and the Prince perked up as the orchestra played Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance was a sight worth seeing. The English love this piece as we love our field music. In short, we all had a very pleasant evening. We met history.

The different attitudes of Erdoğan and Gül:

President Gül had never worn a tuxedo before. You'll remember that he was even sworn into office in a regular suit and tie instead of tails, for he represents a mentality that has no room for tuxedos or tails.

This time, however, he wore a tuxedo for the first –and maybe last - time out of respect for the Queen. He did not violate the English Royal Protocol. He could have worn a regular tie to this dinner, too, if he had wished to do so. It would not have caused the Queen to cut her trip short and return to her country.

She might have been hurt a little, but would have continued to perform her official duty as if nothing had happened. Gül wanted to pay the Queen a compliment. At the same time, he sent a message. He proved that he could be flexible and change his rules in case of necessity.

Prime Minister Erdoğan, however, left a very different impression. He attended the dinner in a regular suit and tie. Ali Babacan and the other "AKP" guests did the same. This shows an attitude. It's open to individual interpretation.

I drew the conclusion that the prime minister wished to say, “I never compromise my attitude,” as I didn't think it probable that, “our prime minister had understandably found no time to go home and change.”

When I wrote about that famous dinner at Can Paker's home, I called the conversation held at that table the Otağtepe Criteria. What the prime minister did this time was to confirm those criteria.

In other words, he continues his attitude of “not changing or forgoing his attitude, approach or views.”

This dinner revealed once more the enormous difference between the worlds and the attitudes of Gül and Erdoğan.

The translation of M.A.Birand's column was provided by Nuran İnanç (nuraninanc@gmail.com)