WHAT SORT OF TURKEY WOULD IT BE? - ORHAN KEMAL CENGIZ

[Yervant1]

WHAT SORT OF TURKEY WOULD IT BE? - ORHAN KEMAL CENGIZ

 

http://www.tert.am/en/news/2012/11/16/stambul-kostandnupolis/

16.11.12

 

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 CeÅ~_me, 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 "Ä°stanbul since

1453" during a soccer match between Turkish and Greek national teams.

 

My friend, Bekir Berat Ozipek, 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 "Ä°stanbul." 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 Ä°stanbul'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 Ä°stanbul 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 Ä°stanbul 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?"

[Arpa]

What sort of furkey would be?

It would be an uttoman utopia where Apostolic Christian turks (Armenians), Orthodox Christian turks (Greeks) and mountain turks (kurds) would all live in heavenly harmony, where 72 muslim virgins are waiting with their legs …..

[gamavor]

It would have been the same shit hole.

[Yervant1]

It would have been the same shit hole.

I disagree it would have been a nicer shit hole!!!!!!

[Hellektor]

What would it be like had the Armenians understood the real meaning of civilization? It's not just music, dance, painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, etc. To have great warriors and generals is not enough either, it also requires some Turk-becoming savagery. This is the reason Eurofags are so deeply into the cult of Turk Phallus Worship. After all, they annihilated some half a billion human beings in the last five centuries or so.

 

Had the Armenians slaughtered the whelps and females of the species of parasitical, nation murdering, culture destroying abomination going by the four-letter curse to humanity Turk the way they slaughtered our women and children, there would be about 50 million Christians living in their millennia old homeland, undisturbed by the cancerous Turk growth desecrating the same, multiplying itself like rats and cockroaches. There would be no sort of Turkey at all.

[Yervant1]

Armenian Genocide major cause of Turkey's problems - Turkish rights activist

 

tert.am

13:04 - 18.11.12

 

The Armenian Genocide and its denial are a major cause of the problems

Turkey faces today, says a Turkish human rights activist.

 

Speaking to Tert.am, Ayse Gunaysu, a member of the Istanbul-based

Human Rights Association, described denialism as a kind of curse upon

the country and condemnation. She said Turkey hasn't seen peace ever

since, with the bloodsheds going on and the Kurdish rebellions

following one another. Gunaysu, who is also a columnist for the

Armenian Weekly, noted that Turkey, has no real democracy, despite the

military coups that occurred repeatedly.

 

The Turkish activist thinks the country has to find itself in the

position of a loser to realize the importance of treating others well.

 

Characterizing victory as a poisonous thing and defeat - as an

instructive tool, Gunaysu noted at the end that the quality of life

became poorer in the country after it lost its best brains (Armenians,

Greeks etc.).

[Nvard]

too bad, there's no "would be" in history...we only have what happened

[Zartonk]

Yet a resurgent caliphate is all we're left with... Edited November 20, 2012 by Zartonk

[Yervant1]

Yet a resurgent caliphate is all we're left with...

The Arabs will never fall for that again, they can have their caliphate and eat it too.

[Nvard]

The Arabs from different countries are too different from each other in terms of religion, culture,history, goals, etc. to get united. It's not 9-10th century

[Yervant1]

Yes you are right that they are different, but they have one thing in common which was suffering under the Ottoman rule.

[Nvard]

Well, not all of them suffered from the ottoman rule, plus, for many of them the Sunni islam plays a very significant role which makes it easier to forgive and forget

[Yervant1]

I kindly disagree, it is not a coincidence that Turks claim that they have no friends and surrounded by enemies. Also it's a fact that Turks don't have high regards for Arabs, they look upon them the way deep South in the US looked at Blacks not long ago.

[Arpa]

I kindly disagree, it is not a coincidence that Turks claim that they have no friends and surrounded by enemies. Also it's a fact that Turks don't have high regards for Arabs, they look upon them the way deep South in the US looked at Blacks not long ago.

The saying in their non-language shows their love and respect (not!!) towards the Arab- “Arab, Arab dirty Arab , full of lice dirty Arab”.

[Nvard]

that kind of nationalism, if you will, is common for non-religious people. The religious fanatics from any average Arabic country get along with their turkish "co-workers" just fine.

[Yervant1]

that kind of nationalism, if you will, is common for non-religious people. The religious fanatics from any average Arabic country get along with their turkish "co-workers" just fine.

I'm not talking about Turks living in the diaspora, go see them in Turkey. I bet you did not know that in there they call Blacks as Arabs.

[Nvard]

let's just hope you're right

otherwise- religion unites