Category: 2021

Oct. 29 is Republic Day in Turkey, and what better way to celebrate than remembering the founder of the republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk? In Turkey we spent our childhoods being dragged from one event to another on national holidays, and being spoon-fed republican history in our classrooms. It can sometimes suck the joy out of this day for even the most ardent follower of Kemalist values. So today, I’m going to set out on the streets of Istanbul to visit some of the most important places in the life of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and see if I can’t bring back some of that revolutionary air into my own life.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, then known as just Mustafa Kemal, was just 18 years old when he first stepped foot in Istanbul, in 1899. The young cadet, fresh out of Monastir (Bitola) military high school in Macedonia, enrolled in the Ottoman War Academy (Mekteb-i Harbiye-i Şahane) to train to become a career soldier. In much the same fashion, we’re starting our Istanbul trip from the same place young Mustafa Kemal began.

The Ottoman War Academy building still stands today, but now houses the Istanbul Military Museum in Harbiye, a quarter that borrowed its name from the academy. You might have seen it before; it’s a stone’s throw away from the Osmanbey metro stop with intimidating tall fencing and a garden full of weaponry. However, it’s not a major tourist stop, perhaps due to its rather tired interior and uncanny wax figurines. It’s quite the pity, because it’s stock full of enough war memorabilia for any military history nerd to gasp and drool over. One amazing piece is the original chain the Byzantines stretched across the mouth of the Golden Horn during the siege of Constantinople.

Indeed, I’ve frequented the building often to gasp over its ancient swords, intricate armor and intimidating modern guns. But what always brings me back is imagining the young Mustafa Kemal marching along its corridors with his future brothers-in-arms, discussing politics and dreaming of a new tomorrow.

It was tough going. According to Andrew Mango’s book “Atatürk,” the young Mustafa Kemal and his fellow cadets were worked hard and treated roughly, and fed a simple diet of rice, beans and mutton. Teachers were strict on the students, but the young cadets frequently visited the districts of Beyoğlu and Galata for evening revelries after days of working hard. The young Mustafa Kemal was no exception, working hard and playing hard. Among the 700 students of his cohort, Mustafa Kemal finished eighth. But perhaps more importantly, here he met friends and rivals who would later form a budding nation alongside him: Ali Fuat Cebesoy, who would become the general commander of the National Forces, Kazım Karabekir, who would lead the 9th Army Corps, Refet Bele, one of the commanders of the nationalist forces, and even Ismet Inönü, who would ultimately succeed Atatürk in becoming the second president of Turkey.

I’m heading first to room number 12 on the ground floor, called “Atatürk’s Classroom Hall.” This, the museum explains, is one of the classrooms Mustafa Kemal studied in. The room tries to replicate what the classroom looked like in the 1910s, a classroom of wax students with period-accurate uniforms listening to a lesson on the Dardanelles. Small plaquettes are in front of the wax figures, titled “Mustafa Kemal” and “Ali Fuat” – students who studied in this classroom, and later went on to fight in the Turkish War of Independence. It’s slightly uncanny when I head upstairs to rooms 32 to 35, and find rows of weaponry and clothing that belonged to the adult versions of the very students who studied in those classrooms.

The museum is open between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Make sure to also check out room 2, containing the school’s original hammam. It’s full of amusing and kitsch wax figures wearing traditional hammam garb, and it brings a chuckle out of me every time.

As I mentioned before, school life wasn’t all hardship and dry beans for the young Mustafa Kemal. Close by was Beyoğlu, the entertainment hub of the capital. Mustafa Kemal’s school friend Ali Fuat Cebesoy explains in his book “My Schoolmate Atatürk”: “Sultan Abdülhamid II had forbidden uniformed officers from drinking in public places. This prohibition was applied strictly. Those who did not follow this rule were punished regardless of their rank. However, both Mustafa Kemal and I did not neglect to have a glass of beer, rakı or whiskey when we went on a week off.” On their downtime, the young soldiers would head out to the neighborhood to visit places such as the German Zeuve Beerhouse and an English restaurant run by an Armenian called Con (John) Paşa. They enjoyed the international and multicultural atmosphere of the city. Few of the beerhouses, taverns and restaurants these school-goers visited have lasted until today. But we can still get a glimpse of what it was like.

Rejans was a Russian restaurant that opened in 1931, which Atatürk visited during his time as a president. According to the Istanbul Encyclopedia (published by the History Foundation), the restaurants were run primarily by White Russian émigrés, people who fled Russia after the Bolshevik revolution. The restaurant has changed hands various times, going from the name “Rejans” to “1924 Istanbul” to now “1924 Rejans.” But the menu still remains loyal to its Russian roots, featuring modern twists on old Russian classics like borsch soup, stroganoff or piroshki. Not to mention the building has been restored beautifully, and the restaurant interior is a replica of the original.

One table sits in the corner with a small sign declaring “Reserved Forever.” This, the restaurant claims, was the very table that Atatürk once sat at. Reserved for him forever, the table stands waiting with a bottle of “Kulüp” brand rakı and a bowl of white chickpeas. It’s been long reported by many of Mustafa Kemal’s friends and associates that he loved nothing more than to eat chickpeas alongside this brand of rakı.

After the young Mustafa Kemal finished his education in 1905, he began a promising career in politics and the military. But tragedy struck the Ottoman Empire in 1913 when it lost a huge swath of land in the Balkan War. It was also a moment of personal tragedy for the young Mustafa Kemal and his family. All Ottoman land outside of Istanbul and eastern Thrace was now lost, including Mustafa Kemal’s homeland of Macedonia. His mother and sister fled to Istanbul, alongside thousands of others who left much of their land and belongings behind. Mustafa Kemal had no idea that when he left his hometown of Salonica (modern day Thessaloniki) it would be the last time he ever saw it. They made the best of it. He greeted his mother and sister in Istanbul and found them a new home in Beşiktaş. The home he chose was one of the Akaretler, a series of terraced houses that were built as government-owned rental properties for the upper-middle class.

After sitting in disrepair for many years, the buildings were restored in 2008 to become one of Istanbul’s most “in” locations. Art galleries, hotels, pubs, restaurants … Among all the chaos, one can easily miss the Akaretler Mustafa Kemal Museum, in the very building Mustafa Kemal rented out for his mother and sister. It’s a nice little museum worth a quick visit when you’re in the area. Entrance is free, and the museum is open between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., and closed on weekends.

The museum has no English signs, but I found a quick workaround. If you have Google Translate downloaded on your phone, you can open up your camera from within the app to translate the text around you. It worked particularly well in this museum and I read everything flawlessly, though forget trying to decipher the cursive titles.

Around November 1918, a weary Mustafa Kemal returned to Istanbul. He had been on the front of various wars almost non-stop since 1911, fighting first in the Italo-Turkish War, then the Balkan Wars, then in WWI on the Gallipoli, Caucasus and finally the Palestinian fronts. Despite this, he was eager for another posting. The Istanbul he found was much changed, now under occupation from Allied forces, and he was eager to assist in its liberation. But it became clear quick that no such post was incoming, and he was stuck in the city for a while yet.

He rented a quaint three-storied house in Şişli, Istanbul, from a woman called Madam Kasapyan. He moved his mother Zübeyde and his sister Makbule from their Akaretler residence, and put them up on the top floor of the apartment. He took the middle floor, and gave a room to his aide on the ground floor. Here he secretly met up with old school friends and brothers in arms, making and discarding plans to save the country from the mess it had fallen into. The house has become a legend in the Turkish consciousness ever since, and above the door in proud letters the museum declares “Atatürk prepared the liberation of the motherland in this house in 1919.”

Admission to the museum is free, and it is open between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and closed on Mondays. This one is quite worth the detour, filled with many of Atatürk’s iconic personal belongings. But make sure you have your Google Translate app with you, all the labels here are Turkish too.

Mustafa Kemal left the house for good on May 16, 1919, and after saying a farewell to his mother and sister, got on a small ship called the “Bandırma” to sail to the province of Samsun. It was from here he would start his quest to free Anatolia and start the War of Independence.

The next time he returned to Istanbul, he would be the president of a budding nation. Happy Republic Day, everyone! See you again on Nov. 10, when I’ll be heading out to see the other must-see spots in Istanbul, this time from the later years of Atatürk’s legendary life.

Fuzuli was once under Armenian occupation after the first Karabakh conflict ended with Armenians occupying Azerbaijani land. In the second Karabakh War, cities like Fuzuli were liberated after a valiant Azerbaijani military operation with the help of Turkish forces.

Now a brand-new airport has been built in Fuzuli, and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan flew there last week for the official inauguration with his Azerbaijani counterpart, President Ilham Aliyev.

The airport was completed in eight months, and it has the distinction of being the first airport built by Azerbaijan in the liberated area. Erdoğan is the first leader to have landed at the airport.

Let me remind you that Fuzuli International Airport is not only an airport. It is the only air link between Karabakh and the world – it is the vital oxygen line of the region.

Nagorno-Karabakh had been under Armenian control since 1991 until Azerbaijan retook control of the area in 2020. Over the course of the 29-year occupation, the towns were depopulated and then repopulated by Armenia.

I went to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2009 as a journalist. I remember how poor and afflicted the land was. You cannot blame the civilians who were placed there. Most of them did not even know what happened before and during the war. It was hardly possible to find a meaningful Azerbaijani population in the towns at that time.

There were very few left in the capital Khankendi (Stepanakert, which is how the Armenians call it) and Shusha, the idyllic Azeri city, was almost a ghost town.

When I was traveling in the area I saw devastated cities and hopeless people: The issue was like a bleeding wound. The Azerbaijanis never forgot Karabakh and never gave up the struggle.

On the other hand, the Armenian civilians were living in a different reality. Politics divided a land and took it from its owners, but the new owners were mostly ignorant of the brutal past.

However, with Armenia’s aggression the situation became unbearable by September 2020. They attacked Tovuz and the Yerevan government signaled the end of negotiations that were ongoing for years, so in these circumstances, Azerbaijan began to fight for its territory.

The war began on Sept. 27, and after a couple of days, Baku took the military initiative. The Armenian president lost his credibility, and the war drastically transformed the political atmosphere in Yerevan.

The Armenian air defenses were neutralized and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were deployed against Armenian tanks.

The victory was a big political motivation for the Azerbaijanis and the concrete assistance from Turkey helped to achieve the result.

Turkey’s help showed also its strength in producing air defense systems in recent years. Turkish drones played a big role in the war. It is important to stress that the war was fought to return the land to its real owners, but it was not designated against a nationality. Turkey has been living together with its Armenians for centuries. Armenians are our brothers and sisters, much like our Azerbaijani sisters and brothers.

So the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh is a big and just victory, but it is unrelated to our relationship with our Armenian population.

Turkey and Azerbaijan are two close friends and allies. Turkey is focused on the achievement of long-term peace in the region. For this goal, Ankara is engaged in dialogue with every country in the region. A search for a durable political settlement has begun. It includes dialogue with Armenia as well.

The Armenia-Turkey border

The topic of normalizing relations between Yerevan and Ankara, a year after Turkey overtly and aggressively supported Azerbaijan in its brutal attack on Artsakh, is gaining momentum, with Ankara signaling that it is in discussions with Baku on the subject. Separately, Armenia has been probing the matter with Russia.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told CNN Turk that Turkey has been working jointly with Azerbaijan on the matter of normalization of relations with Armenia.

“During the Turkish president’s recent visit to Azerbaijan, we discussed, with [Azerbaijani] Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, the issue of normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations,” Cavusoglu added.

The head of Armenia’s National Security Council Armen Grigoryan said at a news confernce on Thursday that Armenia is ready to normalize relations with Turkey.

“We have repeatedly stated that we are ready to start discussing … the normalization of relations with Turkey,” Grigorian said. “We are also discussing this with our Russian partners, [talking] about how we can move forward in this process.”

“I think it’s best to start that work because both we and the Turkish side have pointed out that there are positive signals and we can start the normalization of relations,” added Grigorian.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voiced Moscow’s support to Turkey-Armenia normalization, saying last month Moscow is ready to assist in the process “in the most active manner.” Of course, Lavrov tied the process to the Kremlin’s plan of opening transportation links between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

All this comes days after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey reiterated his precondition that Armenia must recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity before any dialogue on normalization of relations can begin.

“If Armenia demonstrates a sincere will to normalize its relations with Azerbaijan then there will be no obstacles to normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey,” Erdogan said standing alongside his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on Monday at a ceremony to inaugurate an airport in occupied Artsakh.

Presidents Erdogan and Aliyev lay the foundations of a highway that will run to the Armenia border

During the same event, Azerbaijan signaled that it would penetrate Armenia through a highway currently under construction that leads to the Armenian border as part of Aliyev’s often cited “Zangezur Corridor” that envisions a direct link to Nakhichevan through Armenia.

Aliyev on Thursday praised Erdogan and Turkey, expressing his gratitude for Erdogan’s “political and moral support and the fraternal Turkic state” during last year’s aggressive attack against Artsakh.

Grigorian, Armenia’s National Security chief, insisted that the issue of a corridor is not being discussed, and ventured to say that Erdogan did not echo Aliyev’s demand for the road link, when it was Erdogan who prodded Azerbaijan’s director of highways to offer his vision that after construction on the road is complete it will reach all the way to Istanbul.

Video footage shows Azerbaijani forces fortifying their positions within Armenia

Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan on Thursday released footage of Azerbaijani forces fortifying their positions in Armenia’s Gegharkunik Province.

Tatoyan firmly stood by his assertions despite a rebuke by Armenia’s Defense Ministry, which accused the Human Rights Defender of not having all his facts.

Last week, Tatoyan said that the Defense Ministry, along with Armenia’s National Security Service, had embarked on a campaign to discredit his office.

“We are publishing factual analysis of the illegal deployment of Azerbaijani armed forces in the immediate vicinity of villages in the Gegharkunik region and the unlawful construction to fortify their positions,” said Tatoyan in a Facebook post on Thursday.

Tatoyan explained that due to the criminal actions by Azerbaijan, an Armenian company which has a government-issued license cannot use almost 500 acres of land, on 75 acres of which it operates two wind turbines, thus depriving Armenians of their right to do business.

The Human Rights Defender also warned that the civilian population in the area is in danger because of sporadic shooting from Azerbaijani forces.

On Thursday, Armenia’s Deputy Defense Minister Aram Sargsyan told parliament that Armenian forces have stopped Azerbaijanis’ construction efforts.

“We are talking about the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia—the border regions where the Azerbaijani military has positioned itself since May 12. Attempts are regularly made by Azerbaijan to use heavy engineering equipment to pave roads leading to their combat positions,” said Sargsyan.

“Nevertheless, we are preventing all those attempts, and this has been announced several times before,” insisted Sargsyan.