Tension between Hellas and Ionia

The geopolitics of the Antiquity has a way of not going away. Israel (Judea) and Greece (Hellas) and Italy (Rome) are coalescing in a block to build a long submarine pipe line to sell gas to Europe.  The Ionian settlements on the Asian seaboard, once Persian satrapies and now Turkey, aspire to become the energy hub of the region and want to control the sea. The conflicting projects caused Turkey to ally with the GNA faction in Lybia and to send a  military expedition to sustain the alliance. The GNA is in danger of being defeated by the forces of General Khalifa Haftar. In the pic Fuat Aktay pasha, a high officer in the court of Sultan Erdogan. No natural light, everything dark brown, a 19th Century desktop penholder with its ink bottle and a large official stamp holder. On the wall, a classic 150 years old print of Ataturk. Behind, an ornate mahogany cabinet with gilded bronze mounts and handles. The office suggests a man living in the 18th Century.