What sort of Turkey would it be? - Orhan Kemal Cengiz
In an article posted on Today’s Zaman website, the well-known Turkish journalist Orhan Kemal Cengiz, draws a comparison between Istanbul and Constantinople and asks the following question: what would be now but for the 1915 events?
The article reads:
“When I was young, we lived in a ‘Greek house.’ With its iron shutters, iron gate and high-rise ceiling, our house was different from those in its vicinity.
“I also remember seeing some female Greek tourists clinging to the walls of some houses in Çeşme, where we would go in the summer. Seeing those Greek women crying, my mother would also burst into cries. For many years, I have been unable to give any meaning to those tears. Our non-Muslims had melted into thin air, leaving behind their houses, streets, churches, fountains and other “remnants,” they have always continued to be part of our lives like some sinister ghost that we cannot ward off. Despite our history textbooks that carefully avoid any mention of them and despite their names erased meticulously from every place, it seemed, they have left some sort of tiny “reminders” across the country.
“After many years, I started to ponder the country’s matters and issues, and I came to realize that the problem was a “social earthquake” that was far bigger than I as a kid could perceive. If the pre-1915 demographic percentages still applied to today’s Turkey, there would be 18 million non-Muslims living in the country. Just try to visualize 18 million non-Muslims, consisting mainly of Greeks, Armenians and Jews, living in Turkey. What sort of Turkey would it be?
“We would presumably be more self-confident. We would have non-Muslim deputies in Parliament, just as was the case with the Ottoman Assembly of Deputies (Meclis-i Mebusan). And we would not have the Kurdish issue whatsoever. We wouldn’t be a society that has lost its memory.
“For instance, we would not hang a placard reading “İstanbul since 1453” during a soccer match between Turkish and Greek national teams. My friend, Bekir Berat Özipek, who related this incident to me, said: “In essence, this placard gives the following message to Greek fans: ‘We don’t feel like we belong to this city. This city is yours, but we have just captured it’.” I don’t think there will be a better sentence that can explain gracefully the “mood” for carefully hiding Byzantine remnants and refraining from exhibiting them on the streets.
“If we had not banished non-Muslims and if we had had the courage and honesty to face the misty passages of our history, we would surely not have taken offense from writing “Constantinople” beneath the signboard for “İstanbul.” We would have found the creative courage to re-open the Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) as a church/mosque where Christians and Muslims can worship together and in peace. We would commemorate İstanbul’s Armenian architects with gratitude. We would refer to Sinan the architect, who gave so many magnificent works to the Ottoman Empire, with his original name that proves his Armenian roots, namely Armen Sinanyan. And we would bow in front of this great master respecting his real identity, and we would contemplate with ecstasy under this dome of nations where a myriad of races and religions have intermingled.
“If we did not have such complexes, we would not have discussed whether the current successor of the Greek patriarch, whose autonomy Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror revived, is ecumenical or not, and we would be boasting with the fact that our country is hosting the leader and institution of the second largest sect of Christianity. If we really had had self-confidence, we would not have denied anything about our past, and we would have taken pride in both the Muslim and Christian identities of our country. We would not attempt to love only the physical beauty of İstanbul after denying its past. Our love wouldn’t be like the adoration a crude man feels toward the physical body of a woman.
“If we had been honest, we would have more authentic knowledge about ourselves and our past, and our intelligence sharpened with honesty and self-awareness would make us give everyone their due place. We would not see murderers as heroes and true heroes as traitors.
“If all this had happened, the heterogeneous texture coming from a diversity of religions, languages and races would be a great asset for us. Turkey would become an island of peace in its region. Do you think we can do it from now on?
“Can we overcome the pestilence of nationalism that haunted us coming from the Balkans? Can we feel in our hearts the sorrows the Muslims of the Balkans and the Christians of Turkey suffer from this pathological nationalism? Can we get over the damage done to us by pathological nationalism and love İstanbul as Constantinople?
“If the pre-1915 demographic percentages still applied to today’s Turkey, there would be 18 million non-Muslims living in the country. Just try to visualize 18 million non-Muslims, consisting mainly of Greeks, Armenians and Jews, living in Turkey. What sort of Turkey would it be? What do you think?”
Videos
Interview with Francis Malige, EBRD Managing Director
Armenians Commemorating 106th Anniversary of Genocide
Biden Under Pressure to Recognize Armenian Genocide - KTLA 5 News
Governance and Oversight Capacities Account for Our Bank's Robust Management System - Philip Lynch, Independent Board Member at Ameriabank
'Mr. President, It Is Now in Your Power to Right Decades of Denial' - US Congressman Adam Schiff Urges Joe Biden to Recognize Armenian Genocide
Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in Despair After Trauma of Military Defeat - France 24
Interview with Kakhaber Kiknavelidze, an Independent Member of Ameriabank Board of Directors
Only Terrorists Keep Hostages, Putting Forward Preconditions for Their Release - Edmon Marukyan
Rep Adam Schiff Says Congress Should Recognize Artsakh
UN's Guterres Issues Global Appeal to Make 2021 'Year of Healing'
NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing Animations
Azerbaijan Uses Prohibited Phosphorus Chemical Munitions - Defense Army Video
Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Arms Supplies
Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Drone
Nagorno-Karabakh's Status Has Been At the Heart of Our Approach - Zohrab Mnatsakanyan
Artsakh Defense Army Releases Video Featuring Damaged Azerbaijani Military Equipment
Artsakh Defense Army Units Inflicting Manpower Losses on Azerbaijan
Gas Pipeline Damaged in Azerbaijani Fire Targeting Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital
President Armen Sarkissian Meets Emmanuel Macron at Élysée Palace
Artsakh Defense Army Neutralizes Azerbaijani Military Hardware
Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Military Infrastructures
President Armen Sarkissian Meets with NATO Secretary-General in Brussels
Buildings and Homes Lying in Ruins in Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital After Azerbaijani Shelling
Artsakh Defense Army's Precision Fire Gives Deadly Blow to Enemy
Artsakh Defense Army Units Destroying Azerbaijani Tank
Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Ceasefire Does not Mandate Azerbaijan to Kill Civilians and Hit Civilian Settlements
Armenians Protest Outside Turkrish Embassy in Los Angeles
Losses in Azerbaijan's Military Featured in Defense Army Footage
Artsakh Defense Army Neutralizing Adversary's Transport Column
Turkey openly backs Azerbaijan 'far more aggressively than in the past' - ABC News on Syrian mercenaries fighting in Karabakh
Iconic Armenian Church Hit in Azerbaijani Attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh City (photos)
Artsakh Defense Army Continues High-Precision Strikes
War Situation in Karabakh on European Parliament's Agenda
Call for Urgent Action: Armenian Journalist Brings Intn'l Colleagues' Attention to Situation iin Artsakh After Azerbaijani Attacks
Turkey's Support to Syrian Mercenaries Fighting Against Artsakh: Facts About Azerbaijani Aggression
Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital Under Azerbaijani Strikes
Armenian Armed Forces Neutralize Azerbaijani Defense Positions
ArmenianTroops Destroy Azerbaijani Armored Fighting Vehicle on Frontline
There is a solid evidence that Azerbaijan has launched a thoroughly planned attack on the NKR
EU calls for Immediate End to Hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh
- 15:20 • 24.05.21 Interview with Francis Malige, EBRD Managing Director
- 11:39 • 24.04.21 Armenians Commemorating 106th Anniversary of Genocide
- 09:40 • 23.04.21 Biden Under Pressure to Recognize Armenian Genocide - KTLA 5 News
- 15:34 • 22.04.21 Governance and Oversight Capacities Account for Our Bank's Robust Management System - Philip Lynch, Independent Board Member at Ameriabank
- 14:09 • 21.04.21 'Mr. President, It Is Now in Your Power to Right Decades of Denial' - US Congressman Adam Schiff Urges Joe Biden to Recognize Armenian Genocide
- 12:37 • 03.04.21 Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in Despair After Trauma of Military Defeat - France 24
- 17:33 • 11.03.21 Interview with Kakhaber Kiknavelidze, an Independent Member of Ameriabank Board of Directors
- 17:57 • 26.01.21 Only Terrorists Keep Hostages, Putting Forward Preconditions for Their Release - Edmon Marukyan
- 13:33 • 22.01.21 Rep Adam Schiff Says Congress Should Recognize Artsakh
- 09:42 • 29.12.20 UN's Guterres Issues Global Appeal to Make 2021 'Year of Healing'
- 18:41 • 24.12.20 NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing Animations
- 13:33 • 31.10.20 Azerbaijan Uses Prohibited Phosphorus Chemical Munitions - Defense Army Video
- 16:37 • 30.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Arms Supplies
- 11:25 • 28.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Drone
- 13:45 • 24.10.20 Nagorno-Karabakh's Status Has Been At the Heart of Our Approach - Zohrab Mnatsakanyan
- 11:51 • 24.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Releases Video Featuring Damaged Azerbaijani Military Equipment
- 11:40 • 24.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Units Inflicting Manpower Losses on Azerbaijan
- 10:39 • 24.10.20 Gas Pipeline Damaged in Azerbaijani Fire Targeting Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital
- 12:41 • 23.10.20 President Armen Sarkissian Meets Emmanuel Macron at Élysée Palace
- 12:16 • 23.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Neutralizes Azerbaijani Military Hardware
- 12:02 • 22.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Military Infrastructures
- 10:35 • 22.10.20 President Armen Sarkissian Meets with NATO Secretary-General in Brussels
- 10:51 • 17.10.20 Buildings and Homes Lying in Ruins in Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital After Azerbaijani Shelling
- 15:09 • 15.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army's Precision Fire Gives Deadly Blow to Enemy
- 13:13 • 13.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Units Destroying Azerbaijani Tank
- 12:56 • 12.10.20 Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Ceasefire Does not Mandate Azerbaijan to Kill Civilians and Hit Civilian Settlements
- 12:23 • 12.10.20 Armenians Protest Outside Turkrish Embassy in Los Angeles
- 17:23 • 09.10.20 Losses in Azerbaijan's Military Featured in Defense Army Footage
- 15:53 • 09.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Neutralizing Adversary's Transport Column
- 14:11 • 09.10.20 Turkey openly backs Azerbaijan 'far more aggressively than in the past' - ABC News on Syrian mercenaries fighting in Karabakh
- 15:52 • 08.10.20 Iconic Armenian Church Hit in Azerbaijani Attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh City (photos)
- 10:57 • 08.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Continues High-Precision Strikes
- 14:24 • 07.10.20 War Situation in Karabakh on European Parliament's Agenda
- 19:31 • 05.10.20 Call for Urgent Action: Armenian Journalist Brings Intn'l Colleagues' Attention to Situation iin Artsakh After Azerbaijani Attacks
- 16:17 • 04.10.20 Turkey's Support to Syrian Mercenaries Fighting Against Artsakh: Facts About Azerbaijani Aggression
- 12:39 • 04.10.20 Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital Under Azerbaijani Strikes
- 13:49 • 03.10.20 Armenian Armed Forces Neutralize Azerbaijani Defense Positions
- 10:12 • 29.09.20 ArmenianTroops Destroy Azerbaijani Armored Fighting Vehicle on Frontline
- 23:42 • 28.09.20 There is a solid evidence that Azerbaijan has launched a thoroughly planned attack on the NKR
- 18:45 • 28.09.20 EU calls for Immediate End to Hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh
Most popular articles Today Yesterday For a week
-
Law 15:01 • 17/05 Pro-Kurdish leader Demirtas gets 42 years in prison A Turkish court on Thursday sentenced Selahattin Demirtas, the former leader of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party, or HDP, to 42 years in prison for his alleged role in deadly protests in 2014 that were triggered by an Islamic State attack on the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani.
-
Event 12:26 • 17/05 Тhe Vardanyan family call on representatives of the international community to demand for Ruben Vardanyan's and the 22 other Armenian prisoner unconditional release For eight months, the Azerbaijani authorities have flouted international law and human decency by keeping Ruben incarcerated without trial and without any proper process.
-
Economy 17:26 • 17/05 Armeconombank has successfully accomplished about 120 projects with international institutions by attracting funds equivalent to about USD 640m. Astghik Manrikyan Currently the Bank cooperates with almost all leading financial institutions, and it managed to accomplish about 120 successful projects aimed at the development of micro, small and medium enterprises.
-
Event 12:50 • 17/05 Ucom Celebrates Telecommunication Day The International Telecommunication Union today is a United Nations (UN) agency that coordinates the use of global radio frequencies, advancing telecommunications infrastructure worldwide, and fosters the development of technical standards on a global scale.
-
Law 15:01 • 17/05 Pro-Kurdish leader Demirtas gets 42 years in prison A Turkish court on Thursday sentenced Selahattin Demirtas, the former leader of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party, or HDP, to 42 years in prison for his alleged role in deadly protests in 2014 that were triggered by an Islamic State attack on the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani.
-
Event 12:26 • 17/05 Тhe Vardanyan family call on representatives of the international community to demand for Ruben Vardanyan's and the 22 other Armenian prisoner unconditional release For eight months, the Azerbaijani authorities have flouted international law and human decency by keeping Ruben incarcerated without trial and without any proper process.
-
Economy 17:26 • 17/05 Armeconombank has successfully accomplished about 120 projects with international institutions by attracting funds equivalent to about USD 640m. Astghik Manrikyan Currently the Bank cooperates with almost all leading financial institutions, and it managed to accomplish about 120 successful projects aimed at the development of micro, small and medium enterprises.
-
Event 12:50 • 17/05 Ucom Celebrates Telecommunication Day The International Telecommunication Union today is a United Nations (UN) agency that coordinates the use of global radio frequencies, advancing telecommunications infrastructure worldwide, and fosters the development of technical standards on a global scale.
-
Politics 12:27 • 14/05 I encouraged the two countries to maintain momentum in peace discussions, for the benefit of the people. OSCE Chairman-in-Office “Recently announced border demarcation agreement with Armenia is a step in the right direction. Encouraged the two countries to maintain momentum in peace discussions, for the benefit of the people,” he wrote.
-
Event 11:15 • 15/05 Trump's Boeing 757 clipped corporate jet at West Palm Beach airport - source Former U.S. President Donald Trump's private Boeing 757 clipped another corporate jet while taxiing at West Palm Beach International Airport in Florida on Sunday, a source familiar with the incident said on Tuesday.
-
Economy 14:18 • 14/05 “Capital markets have a crucial for economic development.”: Grigori Zakaryan As for the prospects, I think the development of Armenia’s capital market will depend on a significant increase in the number of new issuers and issues, and on how the process of bringing companies to capital markets turns out.
-
Law 15:01 • 17/05 Pro-Kurdish leader Demirtas gets 42 years in prison A Turkish court on Thursday sentenced Selahattin Demirtas, the former leader of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party, or HDP, to 42 years in prison for his alleged role in deadly protests in 2014 that were triggered by an Islamic State attack on the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani.
-
Event 12:26 • 17/05 Тhe Vardanyan family call on representatives of the international community to demand for Ruben Vardanyan's and the 22 other Armenian prisoner unconditional release For eight months, the Azerbaijani authorities have flouted international law and human decency by keeping Ruben incarcerated without trial and without any proper process.
-
Economy 17:26 • 17/05 Armeconombank has successfully accomplished about 120 projects with international institutions by attracting funds equivalent to about USD 640m. Astghik Manrikyan Currently the Bank cooperates with almost all leading financial institutions, and it managed to accomplish about 120 successful projects aimed at the development of micro, small and medium enterprises.
-
Event 12:50 • 17/05 Ucom Celebrates Telecommunication Day The International Telecommunication Union today is a United Nations (UN) agency that coordinates the use of global radio frequencies, advancing telecommunications infrastructure worldwide, and fosters the development of technical standards on a global scale.
Politics
-
10:21 • 09.05.24 Lukashenko congratulated the RA President
Law
-
19:14 • 30.10.23 Conductor Sergey Smbatyan Acquitted
Economy
-
19:13 • 16.05.24 Armeconombank and EBRD Signed USD 10m Agreement
-
12:08 • 07.05.24 ARMECONOMBANK's statement regarding the Freedom House report
Event
-
17:08 • 16.05.24 “Get Started”: An educational platform for young startuppers
Science/tech
-
14:18 • 08.05.24 AstraZeneca withdrawing Covid vaccine worldwide