Their Excellencies the Lebanese and Turkish Presidents, with their wives, attending the opera in Ankara.

could not be safe from the detective on my heels... to say nothing of the photographers and the newspaper editors! Then there is the official program crammed with surprises, from the marvels of the archaeological and art museums, to the towering opera houses, to the cultural and professional institutions — only to return in the evening to a dinner party of exchanged compliments, or a reception spent on our feet, shaking hands, however great our exhaustion! And with all this we were in continual movement, hardly setting down our baggage before starting to pack and strap our suitcases anew!

This grueling routine spoiled my chance of enjoying things at leisure, as I would have wished; apart from that, the utmost efforts were exerted to honor us and to strengthen the ties of friendship and affection.

— And what impression did the visit to the Vatican leave upon you?

— Our visit to the Vatican left the deepest impression on my soul. Our reception was described as one of the grandest that State has known since the Second World War. And how marvelous is the order made manifest in all that pomp and glory! And the person of His Holiness the Pope — how it breathes spirituality and deep rever-ence, so that whoever stands before him sinks to his knees in prostration, needing no promptings of protocol.

His Excellency President Chamoun and his wife, visiting one of the colleges in Turkey