Istanbul

Three storeys up, in a long narrow wood paneled room with a dusty but bright yellow pine floor, a tall man sat hunched over a desk, checking a list. He was wearing a white cotton business shirt and tan twill trousers. His face was a long narrow focused oblong of concentration. As if the work had warped his ability to do — or be — anything else. There was a bed in the room, but other than that the rest of it was more like an office than living quarters. In fact, this was the library headquarters of the Compagnie International des Wagon-Lits, and the man, D.P. Kleinst, was its chief officer. We will pick up with Mr. Kleinst, or Dr. Kleinst, as he is known in the company, in a later blog post.