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{{work}}
{{quote| Istanbul was a neutral city where enemies fighting to the death sat table to table in elegant restaurants listening to Gypsy orchestras. It was a city where a German and an American intelligence agent fell in love with the same Hungarian singer. Those who had barely escaped from lands of bombed-out buildings, shortages, and fear came to a place of bounteous peace. For people daily risking their lives elsewhere, as one of them put it, the most urgent question in Istanbul might be the waiters query, "Do you prefer red wine or champagne with your dinner?"|From the Preface to ''[[Istanbul Intrigues]]''}}
 
A history of espionage in Istanbul and the surrounding area during [[World War II]], written by Barry Rubin. It is a better read then most [[Spy Fiction]], and contains an large amount of stories. All of these are true as far as the author can tell (for obvious reasons, this kind of story generally supposes some leeway).
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{{tropelist}}
== This work includes examples of: ==
 
* [[Always Gets His Man]]: Turkish security, called the [[Emniyet]]. Don't ever cross them.
* [[The Alliance]]: The Allies
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* [[Badass Family]] : The Whittall family were old Middle-Eastern hands, and provided a number of agents for British intelligence.
* [[Badass Israeli]]: The Zionists
* [[Ban Onon Politics]] : At every Romanian Cafe there was a sign that said, "Discussion of politics is prohibited." This included the cafes most frequented by spies, so of course that prohibition had rather limited effect.
* [[Fancy Dinner]]: A number of these are given for diplomats. Another kind of battlefield in a way, but somewhat more pleasant.
* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: For the Poles and the Czechs who were some of the Allies best agents and ended the war seeing a victory for others but their own countries occupied.
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* [[Dirty Communists]]: The Russians
* [[The Don]]: Andre Gyorgy, the best smuggler in the Balkans. Everyone availed themselves of his services, on all sides.
* [[Fake -Out Make -Out]]: One female Zionist agent bought a large number of condoms in which to smuggle messages to refugees. Most people of course assumed it was for another purpose which was not good for her reputation.
* [[Femme Fatale]]: German agent Wilhemina Vargasy
* [[Gambit Pileup]]: At the end the author gives a list of thirteen separate spy agencies, and the code words for about two dozen ops and individual agents.
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* [[Practical Joke]] : On hearing of a meeting at a restaurant in which a high ranking German was to speak, the British abducted the doorman and put a replacement of their own in who told all the guests that the meeting was canceled. When the speaker arrived he found the place empty.
* [[Quintessential British Gentleman]] : British ambassador Knatchbull-Hughsson
* [[Recycled in Space]]: Not in the sense of a deliberate attempt by the author. However [[Istanbul Intrigues]], by coincidence, has a weird resemblance to [[Babylon Five5]].
* [[Schizo -Tech]] : The British and Americans hire Aegean "caiques"(fishing boats) to smuggle arms to partisans. They use a design that is hundreds of years old, but is adequate for their purpose.
* [[Screw the War Were Partying|Screw The War, We're Partying]] : Rich people in the Balkans before the Germans arrive. Not really much else they could do about it.
* [[Secret Police]]: The Gestapo and the NKVD
* [[Secret War]]
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Non -Fiction Literature]]
[[Category:Istanbul Intrigues]]
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