The History and Biography Group will discuss Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul, by Charles King

When the Ottoman Empire collapsed, between WWI and WWII, so many spies mingled in the lobby of Istanbul’s legendary grand hotel, The Pera Palace, that the manager posted a sign politely requesting such “visitors” to relinquish seats to paying guests.  The Pera Palace remained the place to be as Kemal Ataturk founded a new nation, Muslim feminist Halide Edit fought for women’s rights, Leon Trotsky hid out on an island in the Bosphorus from Bolshevik assassins, and the future Pope John XXIII secretly helped the Jewish activists who were spiriting thousands of people out of Nazi-occupied Europe .  A lively, fascinating read.

Registration is required.