Hooch, Turkish Rugs, and Ancient History
13ATHENS – We’re back in Greece now.
On Friday, we took a tour of the ruins of Ephesus.
It was to the small Christian community here that St. Paul directed so many of his letters. It was here, too, where Mary is said to have lived out her life after the crucifixion.
After visiting the House of Mary, and marching up and down over the tumbled stones of the Roman-era city, we took the bus back to Kuşadasi (next to Ephesus on the western Aegean coast of Turkey).
There, our group of amateur archaeologists and retired doctors was invited to sit down in the shade of a rug merchant’s showroom.
Drunken Shopping
Well, things seem to have gone okay without us. The Dow is back over 17,000 points.
Bloomberg noted that investors have suddenly gotten richer, thanks to central bank price-fixing:
Global stocks, commodities and emerging-market currencies headed for their best weeks in years, extending a rally that’s added about $2.5 trillion to equities as central banks show no desire to pull back on stimulus anytime soon.
And Ben Bernanke has a new book out with a title that must be the most bald-faced chutzpah we’ve ever seen: The Courage to Act.
That’s what he’s calling his market manipulation in reaction to the crisis of 2008. Instead of letting the markets correct the debt problem, Mr. Bernanke broke out in a cold sweat, panicked, and began the biggest market manipulation in history.
The result of this cowardice is that today the world faces an even bigger crisis.
(We ordered a copy of his book. We will refrain from further sarcasm and mockery until we’ve read it.)
Meanwhile, back in Turkey, we left Elizabeth and the other tourists in the carpet shop and walked around town. When we all got back together on the ship we asked:
“Well, did anyone buy a rug?”
“Yes, I did,” said your editor’s wife. “I bought two of them.”
Reprinted with permission from Bonner & Partners.
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