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Turkish History - An Overview.
Positioned at the exact point where Europe meets the Orient, the land mass of Anatolia, which we now know today as Turkey, has been a highly desirable position both strategically and in terms of trade routes by both land and by sea.
Throughout ancient times the superpowers of the Classical world - Greece, Persia and Rome - all laid claim to the region, frequently coming to blows as a result. In the time of Xerxes and the famous battle of Thermopylae, Anatolia was firmly under the control of the Persian Empire. The Persians would later be driven from the land by the Greeks as Alexander the Great's forces swept across Asia Minor and deep into the Asia itself. His conquests, though short lived, would serve to open up trade routes from Greece all the way to India.
After the Greeks came the Romans, who left their indelible and easily distinguishable mark upon the country, as can be seen in such cities as Ephesus. When the division of the Roman Empire began, starting with Diocletian and continuing with Constantine, Rome was split into two separate, autonomous Empires, the original Western Empire, ruled from Rome and a second Eastern Roman Empire, ruled from the new city of Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul.
In time the new Eastern Empire superseded the old Western one, by which time it was known as the Byzantine Empire. And as the once glorious Roman Empire eventually faded, the Byzantine Empire lasted well into the Middle Ages, until it was finally overrun by the Ottoman Empire.
Under Suleiman the Magnificent, Anatolia became the centre of one of Europe's largest Empires whose influence extended over three continents; spanning Asia, Arabia and North Africa. It also extended right up through Greece and Bulgaria, the former-Yugoslavia and all the way up as far as Hungary and Austria.
Though its decline had already begun before the turn of the 20th Century, the Ottoman Empire did not fall until after the First World War. Its longevity, however, was nothing short of remarkable. Here was an Empire, originating in the days of the Crusades, which had managed to last through the Middle Ages, the Colonial Age and the Industrial Age. From mounted knights, castles and cannons, to armoured tanks, airships and artillery.
Following the Ottoman defeat in the First World War Turkish lands were ceded to the victorious Allied powers, though they would not remain so for long. Under the strong, brilliant leadership of Mustafa Kemal, a former commander in the Ottoman army, the Turks fought for their independence and won. In 1923 the new Turkish Republic was born, with Mustafa Kemal, or "Ataturk" (Father of Turkey) as its new leader. Under Ataturk the new nation would adopt a very different posture to that of the Ottomans. Ataturk set about to create a new society, a modern, progressive and secular society which lasts to this day.
Bodrum Castle
Written by admin on August 4, 2008 – 6:02 pm -
Bodrum’s primary landmark, Bodrum Castle, also known as Saint Peter’s Castle, is a well-preserved medieval stone fortress built by Crusaders in the 15th Century.
The castle was constructed using stones from the ruined *Mausoleum of Mausolus, once one of the *Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Its builders were the Knights of St John, (also known as the Knights of Malta or the Knights Hospitaller) who controlled, and operated from, the Greek island of Rhodes.
This order was separated into different “tongues”, each one representing a different language, encompassing different regions of Italy, France, Germany and the British Isles. Each tongue was given its own distinctive tower in Bodrum Castle, each tongue paid for their own tower and were charged with its own defence.
With the rising threat of an ever-expanding Ottoman Empire and the brilliant campaigns of Suleiman the Magnificent, it was ordered that the castle’s defences be strengthened even further to prepare for an attack. Suleiman, however, had other plans. He instead laid siege to the order’s headquarters of Rhodes, eventually forcing their surrender but allowing them to go in peace. The Knights left Rhodes and were later gifted the island of Malta by the king of Spain. It is the island of Malta which we now most associate with the order today.
After the Knights’ capitulation the region came firmly under Ottoman control and the castle’s chapel was symbolically converted into a mosque.
During the First World War the castle was subjected to naval bombardment. The damage suffered, whilst significant, was hardly critical damage, and the castle remained intact when the Italian Army used it
as a base until Turkish Independence
Today the castle is open to the public. You can explore the various towers and the castle grounds, which have all been fully restored, then climb to the top to get a fantastic view of Bodrum Bay.
The castle grounds are also the location for the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology, a showcase for the rich variety of artefacts which have been recovered from the surrounding seabed.
One of many peacocks found inside the castle walls
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Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
Written by admin on July 7, 2008 – 9:17 pm -
The Turks are a very proud and nationalistic people, something which one cannot help but notice when traveling through the country. Flags and banners are ubiquitous, especially on national holidays like Republic Day, where one can see the Turkish flag flying proudly wherever they look. Just as popular as the flag itself, if not more so, are banners that commemorate Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic.
Mustafa Kemal, the man who would later become known as Ataturk, or Father of the Turks, was born in 1881. Enrolling in the military at a young age, Mustafa Kemal had a distinguished career, coming to prominence during the First World War.
Despite his own remarkable efforts during the war, including a decisive role in The Battle of Gallipoli resulting in bitter defeat for the Allies, the Ottoman Empire was, none the less, defeated. In the aftermath of the war the Allies now began the process of carving up and occupying the shattered remnants of a once-mighty Empire. The Turks were far from defeated, however, and from these shattered pieces, Mustafa Kemal helped the scattered military units to regroup and form a coherent resistance movement. Mustafa’s ultimate goal was no less than complete and total independence for Turkey, a dream which came to fruition in 1923.
Though Ataturk created a secular republic, the Turks’ veneration of Ataturk is practically cult-like. In a sense, Ataturk was more than a political leader, he was also a spiritual one, even if his doctrine was deliberately non-religious. Ataturk was adamant that the new Turkish Republic be a secular, democratic and modern one, and no sooner had he pronounced the new nation, than he commenced his policies of modernisation, revolutionising every aspect of Turkish life from education and language to the nation’s economy to the very notion of nationhood itself. In “Kemalist” doctrine religion and state were irrevocably detached from one another and in its place Ataturk promoted a modern, pragmatic philosophy favouring nationalism and national unity over any form of religious devotion. By doing this, Ataturk not only fought for, created and re-invented a new secular, modern and democratic Turkish Republic, but also helped to create the very ideological glue that has, for decades, helped to bond the nation and its people together.
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