ATATURK

This month the Turkish nation commemorates the 73rd anniversary of Ataturk’s passing. On this solemn occasion, rather than lamenting his loss, it is more fitting to take stock candidly of how true we have been to the legacy of this great leader.

Ataturk, now more than a mortal, is an ideal that permeates past, present and the future in many ways. He has grown in stature and impact with the passage of time. Always fresh, he transcended centuries. Ataturk’s emergence was not accidental created by the circumstances of one-time event like a spark; rather, it is Providential, a heightening of Divine intervention. His accomplishments are the great Turkish epic. Long before his fateful odyssey, Ataturk was obsessed with the sacred mission of liberating the country from the backward regime of the sultans. This idea germinated in his mind very early, and became his lifetime calling. His keen vision and selfless devotion resonated with his people, and penetrated their heart and soul; he was consumed with a burning desire to free the downtrodden nation from humiliation and the tyranny of a corrupt dynasty.

Ataturk emerged as a leader, anointed and inspiring savior when the country was beaten and exhausted. He believed in the unspoiled core of the Turkish character. He infused his nation with hope, self-reliance and dignity. He embraced the democratic ideal, and made it an integral part of the Turkish heritage. He was an ultimate statesman, a great teacher and a devoted founding father. [Read more...]

Ataturk

This year, on October 29 the Turkish Nation will celebrate the 88th Anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic in Turkey. It is an epic saga that started on May 19, 1919 and came to a glorious climax on October 29, 1923 with the rebirth of a nation. No other nation on earth has ever gone through such an ordeal to prove itself as worthy of a dignified existence. The Turkish Nation paid its due with blood and enormous sacrifice in a life-and-death struggle to take its place in the sun.

In the WW I, while the country was defeated and prostrate before the combined enemy forces, a leader with an extraordinary vision stepped onto the world scene. He thwarted all the sinister designs laid out by the victorious powers to carve his homeland. His name was Mustafa Kemal, the architect of an incredible metamorphose ever undertaken by any nation. Following his miraculous military victories against enormous odds he steered his fragile nation through the intricate waters of the international politics. Unfortunately, in this saga the internal perpetrators proved more insidious and vicious than the external enemies. The last Sultan, Vahdettin, a renegade, had turned a puppet of the British; he put the country in enormous turmoil, and then defected to the British. On November 17, 1922 he and his retinue boarded a British warship and fled the country. This is cowardly, a treason unheard of in the annals of history, and certainly not in the tradition of the Ottoman dynasty.
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Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is a majestic sculpture that towers above Liberty Island at the entrance to New York Harbor. This figure of a woman draped in a loose robe holding a glowing torch in her uplifted right hand is renowned throughout the world. It is a symbol of the United States and a beacon of freedom to people throughout the world. The Statue is a monumental feat of sculpture, engineering and architecture, which this year celebrates its 125^th anniversary.

The purpose of this article is to correct an inaccuracy in the history of the Statue, and put it in true historical perspective. Common knowledge tells us that this Statue was a gift by the people of France to the United States on the occasion of the 100^th anniversary of the founding of this country. In fact, the Statue did not belong to France; it was originally intended for a different locale – the City of Port Said of Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea, at that time a Turkish soil. The Statue, “The Light of Asia” was ordered in the name of the Turkish sultan Abdul Aziz (1861-1876) to celebrate the inauguration of the Suez Canal, and the money was paid from the Turkish Treasury. The entrance of the Canal was to be crowned with a statue depicting a woman towering above the harbor. She was to be draped in a graceful loose robe, wearing a crown with seven spikes on her head to represent the Ottoman Sultan whose title was the “King of Seven Seas.”

The order for this Statue was placed with Frederick Auguste Bartholdi, the foremost sculptor in France. A socialite, Isabelle Eugenie Boyer (widow of the Singer sewing machines inventor Isaac Singer) posed as a model for the Statue. Bartholdi completed the copper and steel frame of the Statue in Paris, working together with Gustave Eiffel, another technical genius.

When the Statue was completed, Egypt had won its independence from the Ottomans; the new Egyptian ruler, Hidiv Ismail, objected to the Statue on two grounds; first, an imposing structure rose from the bosom of the sea could have impressed people, and it could become a subject of idolatry, a mortal sin in Islam. Second, as the Statue represented a woman this might cause disturbances in a Muslim country. Under the circumstances the enterprise was suspended, and the Statue was put in storage in France until a suitable location could be found. At that time, the Ottoman Empire was in turmoil; beleaguered with endless wars and internal problems, and the Turks had forgotten that they had paid for and owned the Statue.

Historically, from the time of Marquis de la Fayette there existed a strong friendship between the United States and France. An organization called “The French-American Friendship Society” was founded to promote this friendship even further. Mr. Edouard Laboulaye, a politician and a legal scholar was its president. Aware of the existence of the Statue, he envisioned it as a monument to the U.S. independence as well as to the ideal of liberty shared by both people. At that time the United States was on the rise with a whirlwind dynamism. On January 1, 1863, the 13^th Amendment abolished slavery.

At Gettysburg in July 1863 the Confederate cause ended. Finally, in 1864, the Civil War came to an end. America, united and democratic, emerged as a highly respected, progressive country. As a token of the enduring friendship between the two countries, Laboulaye wanted to make a gesture to the United States. And what could be more fitting than to make use of the Statue that lay idle in storage for years?  By making a gift that belonged to a third party the French put themselves in an awkward position. As for the Americans, giving them the benefit of doubt, they were perhaps unaware of the intricate history of the Statue. Besides, as a recipient of the favor they might have considered it inappropriate to question the provenance of the gift.

The occasion of the gift was to be the 100^th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Laboulaye convinced the French government to support his idea, and the work of refurbishing and completing the Statue was assigned to Frederick Bartholdi, the creator of the Statue. Upon completion, he disassembled the Statue into 350 pieces packed in 214 wooden crates, and shipped them to the United States for re-assembly in New York. The French freighter “ISERE” carried the pieces across the Atlantic Ocean. She arrived in New York on June 17, 1885, carrying a “symbolic” 100^th anniversary gift (as the 100^th anniversary had already passed). The American architect Richard Morris Hunt was selected to design the pedestal. To have the Statue made it the 110^th anniversary (in 1886) a hectic schedule was applied. The erection of Lady Liberty in New York Harbor took four months. As was originally intended a tablet is cradled in her left hand. The dedication ceremony took place on October 28, 1886, and it was inaugurated by Bartholdi himself.

France and the United States raised funds for this project; but those funds had nothing to do with the Statue per se; they covered the construction of the foundation and the pedestal, the refurbishing work, shipping and handling, erection, additional engineering and the architectural expenses as well as making changes to the face; Bartholdi made an alteration by putting his mother Charline’s face on it.

The French conveniently got credit on the Turks without even a token reference to the Turkish generosity. By right, the Statue itself which is an enduring symbol of freedom, opportunity and hope can actually be considered a gift from the Turkish people.

Ayhan Ozer

Pennington, NJ

23rd October 2011

Ulan Batur Mongolia

A two day conference was held in Ulaanbaatar on Aug 25 – 27, 2011 on Global Peace Leadership as part of the 5^th “Convention of World Mongolians” and “Global Peace Festival.” The title of the conference was “Mongolia and Northeast Asia Peace.” Several other events also took place during and after the conference, including the celebration of the 2,220^th anniversary of the founding of the first Hun Empire in Mongolia, also referred to as the Mongol Empire. An exhibition, “Global Peace Festival of Hun Origin People” was held at the National Museum, followed by a fashion show and concert. The world’s tallest monument, Chinggis Khan Monument, was visited during a trip to the 13^th century tourist attractions. The participants at the International Youth Convention and Cultural Exchange which was also held in Mongolia took part in the final session of the Conference and the Festival.

Global Peace Foundation Festival is hosted by Global Peace Festival Foundation, a non profit international civil organization established in 2007, with headquarters near WDC. The Foundation has branches in 23 countries, but not in Turkey. Among the main activities are stated to be “Support for developing countries to become independent, carrying on continuous activities for world development based on the UN Millennium Development Goals.” Global Peace Festival (GPF) claims providing an opportunity where all mankind can share the vision of “One Family Under God” through strong social cohesion. [Read more...]

The month of August has a special meaning for the Turkish nation. When the Ottoman Empire was defeated at the end of the First World War, the 622-year existence of this once vast and glorious Empire came to an end on August 10, 1920 with the signing of the notorious Treaty of Sevres with the acquiescence of  the Sultan’s Istanbul government.

The fledgling nationalist government in Ankara under Mustafa Kemal did not recognize this cruel Treaty, and the Grand National Assembly in its session of August 19, 1920 proclaimed all those who signed the Treaty of Sevres as well as those who took part in the Council of the Sultan, as “traitors.” This Treaty was never ratified. This was an ominous August. [Read more...]

Atomic bombing of Japan

While attending Tarsus American High School in the early 50s, one of our teachers Frank Stone would hold debates on various subjects. One of these was on “Whether US was justified in using atom bomb to end the World War II.” Two groups would be picked, but our teacher knowing my views on the subject, including the belief that this was a crime against humanity, would not allow me to participate in the debate. Since than, I have kept my interest on the subject and attended many commemorations in the US, Japan and Turkey.

Americans and some others defend the dropping of atomic bomb at Hiroshima and later at Nakasaki stating that it ended the second world war although many believe Japan was ready to surrender before the horrible act, probably the worst in the history of mankind. Over 250,000 people at Hiroshima and 150,000 at Nakasaki, including many children, died and many villages and towns disappeared. Many children were affected after the bombing. [Read more...]

Urfa Sanctuary

In 1986, a local man discovered a statue while tilling the soil in his small field in a place called Göbeklitepe - The Hill With a Belly. He took the statue to the Şanlıurfa Archeology Museum where experts determined that it was perhaps created between 6000 and 7000 BC by the ancient people who lived during the Neoloithic Age (1). Other statues were also found when the ancient temple was unearthed in the center of Harran Plain , 17 kms from Şanlıurfa(2). Further studies indicated that the temple dated back to 10,000 BC, making it the oldest place of worship in the world. Before the discovery in Göbeklitepe, the worlds oldest temple was found in Malta, dating back from 5000 BC.

The photograph in the Attachment was taken on March 24, 2010 during a visit where we also met the son of the discoverer of the first statue at Göbeklitepe. An exhibition on Gobekitepe at the Turkish Library and Museum in New York would bring thousands of visitirs to Sanliurfa.

Notes.

(1)  Chronology of Major Events in Richard Stoneman’s excellent book “A Traveler’s History of Turkey” identifies the dates between 12,000 BC and 6,500 BC as the Mesolitic Age.

(2) Şanlıurfa is known as the City of the Prophets, competing with another historical city Diyarbakır. Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim), considered the father of the three religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, was born in Şanlıurfa.

Yuksel Oktay

Dr. Polat Kaya

The Redhouse Turkish-English Dictionary [1] provides us with a very interesting definition. The entry is called “TARIH-I TÜRK” and is defined as:

“TARIH-I TURK, IS ALSO CALLED THE TURKISH ERA, DIVIDED INTO AGES OF 10,000 YEARS EACH, AND INTO PERIODS OF 60, 12 AND 10 YEARS EACH, THE TOTAL PREDESTINED DURATION OF THE EARTH BEING 300,000 AGES. THE PERIOD OF TWELVE YEARS IS THE ONE COMMONLY USED: IN IT EACH YEAR RECEIVES THE NAME OF AN ANIMAL”.

This entry in this dictionary is one of the most interesting entries regarding the past history of Turks. One cannot help but ask:

If Turks were not ancient people (as is commonly and wrongly portrayed), then how come such a historical concept is attributed to the Turks? If Turks did not have a history in excess of 10,000 years, how would Turks develop such a systematic division of ancient history into segments of 10,000 years each? Furthermore, they have divided the age of the earth into 300,000 ages. How were they able to estimate the TOTAL DURATION OF THE EARTH BEING 300,000 AGES? What is the source of this entry in this dictionary? If the source is Turkish, why then don’t Turkish historians mention it to the Turkish people? Why is information as obviously important as this never mentioned? [Read more...]