Unofficial historical registry of Turkish diplomacy on table shelf

An antique table at the Turkish embassy in London has shed light on a succession of diplomats for nearly 113 years, excluding a gap of six years in the 1960s, former and incumbent ambassadors have said.

The first signature on the table's shelf was put in 1907 by "First Secretary M." (Başkatip M.)

"The signatures show both the Ottoman and the Republic eras. Those putting their signatures are diplomats of high value, who were the keystones of the Turkish foreign affairs. It is an honor to have my name there," said Uğur Ergun, a retired ambassador who served in the United Kingdom's capital between 1982 and 1986.

The signature of another Ottoman Empire diplomat, named Tuani Bey, also was put on it in 1914, the starting year of World War I, in which the Turkish and the British states were on the opposite sides.

After the collapse of the Ottomans and the declaration of the Republic of Turkey, Köprülüzade Kemal Bey and Vedad Uşşakizade kept up with her practice in 1927.

Feridun Cemal Erkin Bey (1929), Muzaffer Kamil Bey (1935), Bülent Uşaklıgil (1937), Necdet Kent (1945), Osman Olcay (1952) and Tanju Ülgen (1961) followed suit.

Then, there was a break explained by retired ambassador Ümit Pamir.

"I was assigned there as a clerk. There was a couple of newly assigned colleagues too. So, there was a problem of space. I didn't have a table. A new table was procured but it wasn't deemed suitable. There were some old tables in the depot, we were told. We went there and found a table. I started using it after a renovation. There were signatures on its shelf. But there was no signature after 1964. Obviously, it was taken to the depot that year. I put the first signature after it was taken out of the depot. The signatures...