Modern Turkey: Ottomanism vs Secularism

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Amphipolis
    Banned
    • Aug 2014
    • 1328

    Sermons with swords part of Turkey's tradition, head of Diyanet says

    Turkey's religious chief on Friday explained that swords were traditionally held during religious sermons delivered at weekly Muslim prayers as a symbol of conquest.

    After leading the Friday prayer at the Hagia Sophia Mosque – the first prayer following its reversion to being a place of Muslim worship – Ali Erbaş told reporters: "Khutbahs (Friday sermons) have been delivered with a sword, without interruption, for 481 years. If Allah permits, we will resume this tradition from now on."

    "This is a tradition in mosques that are the symbol of conquests," explained Erbaş, who heads Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet), adding that the Hagia Sophia Mosque is one of those symbols of conquest.

    Comment

    • Carlin
      Senior Member
      • Dec 2011
      • 3332

      Wow, Erdogan is getting ready to (re-)conquer!?

      Are these articles all from Turkish sources/news sites?

      Comment

      • Amphipolis
        Banned
        • Aug 2014
        • 1328

        From Hurriyet


        The khutbah (sermon) Ali Erbaş, the head of Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), delivered at the first Friday prayers performed at Hagia Sophia on July 24 after the historical structure was turned into a mosque from a church has stirred a fierce debate as critics claimed that the country’s top imam targeted Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the republic.

        “Any property that is endowed is inviolable in our belief and burns whoever touches it; the charter of the endower is indispensable and whoever infringes upon it is cursed,” Erbaş said in the sermon.

        Politicians from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and İYİ (Good) Party claimed that Erbaş’s remarks were targeting Atatürk, some calling on him to resign.

        A cabinet decree back in 1934, when Atatürk was still alive, had turned Hagia Sophia into a museum. On July 10, a Turkish court annulled this decree, paving the way for its use again as a mosque after an 86-year hiatus.

        Erbaş dismissed claims that he cursed Atatürk in the sermon.

        “All deeds of trusts for foundations conclude with such a curse. And in my sermon, I referred to this and I referred not only to Hagia Sophia but all foundations. I also did not refer to the past but the future,” Erbaş told daily Hürriyet.

        He also pointed out that it is a controversial issue among historians if Atatürk played a role in turning Hagia Sophia into a museum.

        “Atatürk passed away 82 years ago. Prayers are said for those who passed away, not curses,” Erbaş said.

        As the head of Diyanet he said it is his duty to remind the public of protecting foundations’ properties. “I am fulfilling this duty.”

        However, politicians from the CHP and İYİ Party lashed out at Erbaş for his remarks.

        “You will pay the price for bedamning Atatürk,” said Özgür Özel, the deputy group head of the CHP.

        Gürsel Tekin, a lawmaker from the CHP, said no public servant can insult Atatürk, while another CHP lawmaker, Mehmet Ali Çelebi, said cursing at Atatürk is tantamount to treason.

        “One day there may be political and judicial consequences for Erbaş,” said Lütfü Türkkan, the deputy group chair of the İYİ Party.

        Aytun Çıray, a lawmaker from the İYİ Party, called on Erbaş to step down, saying that the head of the Diyanet in fact did not even know what was written in Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror’s foundation charter he referred to.
        Last edited by Amphipolis; 07-26-2020, 09:50 AM.

        Comment

        • Amphipolis
          Banned
          • Aug 2014
          • 1328

          Another Turkish opinion article from Yenisafak


          Hagia Sophia was engulfed in Sujood on Friday...

          Finally.

          It has been freed after 86 years...

          July 24th went down in history as a day of rebirth.

          July 24th has become a day of feast, of celebration, of ultimate union.

          Hundreds of thousands of Muslims, whose hearts burned bright with the fire of freedom and the love of truth in spirits and minds, flocked to Hagia Sophia from all over Turkey.

          Gone are the days of sorrow.

          It was an altogether different experience for those who were present at Hagia Sophia Mosque on Friday.

          The enthusiasm, excitement and joy were beyond explanation; it had to be experienced. Because history was being made. Milestones cannot be explained, only experienced. It all falls into place.

          With about half an hour left to Friday prayers, the call to prayer was performed in different makams; spirits soared high; people were enchanted; Hagia Sophia filled with sorrow and jubilation today.

          What does it mean to be a pariah? What does it mean to be free? It was then and there for the first time that I felt the meaning in my bones.

          It was the first time I shuddered as I felt with every fiber of my being that while the loss of independence of these lands was not experienced on the field, it happened mentally, and that the children of these lands were not only mentally enslaved, but in fact, they fell under the spell of their tormentors.

          It was on that day that I first understood in so clear a way what it meant to be free, what it meant for Hagia Sophia to be liberated.

          I cried and cried and choked up on tears of sorrow and joy.

          The biggest disaster that can befall a society is not being aware of its misfortune, I kept saying as I stood there.

          This is exactly what I fully comprehended in Hagia Sophia.

          With every fiber of my being, I saw and heard how Hagia Sophia was treated as a pariah, how the children and souls of these lands were destroyed and turned into pariahs...

          This country wasn’t exactly colonized per se, but it was mentally colonized and has been under the spell of its tormentor!

          I’m certain everyone experienced the same things I did both inside and outside Hagia Sophia Mosque...

          Tears of sorrow and joy flowed like torrents…

          The chains on Hagia Sophia have been broken. Hagia Sophia’s chains represented the shackles of our minds...

          Who could ever have been made uncomfortable by the liberation of Hagia Sophia?

          But this has also happened.

          Hagia Sophia has been reopened as a mosque, and Greece has declared mourning.

          This I can fathom.

          But it’s unfathomable for me how certain types among us have lost it over Hagia Sophia’s mosque reversion.

          Oh and by the way, weren’t you also the children of this country?

          What kind of schizophrenia is this! What kind of a disease!

          Hagia Sophia Mosque is the symbol of our civilization claims, which rendered these lands home, allowing us to wave the banner of justice and equity to the whole world.

          Hagia Sophia Mosque is both the deed and the symbol of Turkey’s leadership and Muslim unity, resurrection and rebirth.

          The Hagia Sophia Mosque is the most powerful, most steadfast and most unshakable gate of the only civilization that recognizes every other civilization’s right to life, the only, the last and most sophisticated representative of Islamic civilization, the Ottoman civilizational spirit and claims that has once again offered the gift of justice, peace and equity to all humanity.

          In a nutshell: It’s a divine decision, it has been preordained!

          O Lord!

          No amount of praise will ever be enough!
          Last edited by Amphipolis; 07-26-2020, 09:48 AM.

          Comment

          • Carlin
            Senior Member
            • Dec 2011
            • 3332

            Turkey tells US, EU to mind its own business as Greece ‘threatens’ military action

            URL:


            Days after the US State Department warned Turkey over its gas reserves exploration and drilling plans in waters between Cyprus and Greece, which Athens has declared ‘illegal’ given it cuts into Greece’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the European Union has also put Turkey on notice, warning it could move forward with sanctions.

            French President Emmanuel Macron said late this week that it’s “not acceptable for the maritime space of a European Union member state to be violated or threatened” and called for sanctions if it moves forward. On Tuesday a US State Department statement demanded that Turkey back down from its drilling plans which have put the Greek Navy on “high alert” – given Turkish exploration ships are already in or near Greek waters.

            Greek media sources are now reporting that Turkey through its embassy in Washington DC has informed the Americans that it plans to proceed unimpeded with its drilling research with the Oruc Reis vessel in the disputed eastern Mediterranean waters.

            “We urge Turkish authorities to halt any plans for operations and to avoid steps that raise tensions in the region,” the statement said. And Greece’s foreign ministry said it clearly violates the country’s sovereignty and that it stands ready to defend its territory.

            Turkey has so far rejected all demands from the US, EU, Greece and Cyprus that it back down. Turkey’s Daily Sabah newspaper cited President Erdogan’s office as follows:

            Turkey rejects Greece’s “maximalist” objectives in the Eastern Mediterranean, which lack a legal basis and disregards logic, Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın said Thursday.

            Kalın highlighted that Turkey opposes the rhetoric of threats and favors an equal distribution of resources.

            The Greek side’s “maximalist” position claims that the island of Kastellorizo (Meis in Turkish)-only 2 kilometers from the Turkish shore, but about 580 km away from the Greek mainland-“should have a 40,000 square km continental shelf area, which is almost like half of Turkey’s Gulf of Antalya,” Kalın told an online policy briefing by the European Policy Centre in cooperation with the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK).

            Turkey has claimed that it’s “well within its rights” amid the gas exploration and drilling.

            Though Turkish media has claimed the Oruc Reis vessel has already commenced with its mission in the disputed waters, a number of analysts have cried foul, citing that it hasn’t actually left port, given Ankara may be taking Greek threats of military action seriously:

            Turkey has used its claims over northern Cyprus, or the so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” to say it can drill in waters encircling the entire island.

            Analysts have feared the additional deployment of naval forces by both sides amid the dispute could easily lead to a break out into war.

            Comment

            • Soldier of Macedon
              Senior Member
              • Sep 2008
              • 13669

              “We urge Turkish authorities to halt any plans for operations and to avoid steps that raise tensions in the region,” the statement said. And Greece’s foreign ministry said it clearly violates the country’s sovereignty and that it stands ready to defend its territory.
              Macedonians don't really have a dog in this fight, but I find it ironic that Greece would complain about violations after it's vicious assault on Macedonia for the last 30 years. Consequently, irrespective of whether or not the Turks are right to pursue further operations, I could care less about the sovereignty of Greece.
              In the name of the blood and the sun, the dagger and the gun, Christ protect this soldier, a lion and a Macedonian.

              Comment

              • Amphipolis
                Banned
                • Aug 2014
                • 1328

                Another opinion article from Daily Sabah. As you can see they're quite clear.


                The Hagia Sophia’s reclassification as a mosque and last week’s Friday prayer, which drew around 350,000 people, including Turkish statesmen, continues to make waves. No, this piece is not about reactions to that decision. I will not delve into its international reception, Greece’s response or the significance of that ancient temple serving as a mosque again for Turkey. Instead, I intend to reach certain conclusions about Turkish foreign policy on the basis of the Hagia Sophia’s reopening. I will also analyze what kind of strategic initiatives Turkey can take when it is absolutely necessary.

                When Turkish troops were deployed to Cyprus in 1974, Turkey had very good reasons to launch that operation under international law. A military coup had taken place on the island and Greek Cypriot gangs had begun to massacre ethnic Turks. Citing those legitimate reasons, Turkey conducted a military operation and proceeded to gain control of predominantly Turkish parts of the island. The Cyprus conflict has been awaiting a solution since 1974. In 2004, then-United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan devised a peace plan, which the Turkish Cypriot community endorsed, whereas Greek Cypriots vetoed the initiative and perpetuated the dispute.

                Indeed, Turkey’s interest in Cyprus predates the 1974 operation. The Turkish people have been more aware of the situation in Cyprus and have occasionally staged street protests over that matter since the 1950s. The Turkish people and government’s concerns about Cyprus primarily relate to protecting the Cypriot Turks’ right to life. There is, however, an additional strategic consideration. The Dodecanese islands were taken from Turkey and placed under Italian control shortly before World War I, only to be handed over to Greece after World War II. A quick look at the map of the Aegean Sea would suffice to appreciate how their placement under Greek control represented a massive strategic loss for Turkey. That development limited Turkish control over the Aegean Sea to several miles, despite Turkey’s huge coastline, making it hardly possible for that country to leave the Aegean. A loss of such magnitude could not have been expected not to push Turkey, a country with a sizeable population and an extensive history, to take new initiatives. My interpretation is that Turkey responded to the situation in the Aegean Sea by playing the Cyprus card and carving out space in the Mediterranean.

                Here’s the lesson of that story: When Turkey encounters strategic containment, it tends to take new military, diplomatic, economic, and political steps in response, attempts to undermine that policy of containment and seeks to change the rules of the game by challenging the status quo.

                In the 1970s, Turkey’s economy and national security depended heavily on outsiders. The country’s democracy was in a dismal state, and domestic political turmoil and military coups consumed its energy. Even under those circumstances, however, Turkey managed to take an important step in Cyprus. Needless to say, there is a huge gap between Turkey’s economy, population, defense industry and military experience and capabilities today and back then. The country, however, faces similar challenges to its vital interests and new containment policy. There was an attempt to establish an independent statelet for the terrorist organization YPG/PKK, with U.S. backing, in northern Syria – which Turkey thwarted by conducting several cross-border operations to neutralize the threat. The most recent escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean has similar reasons. Greece, the Greek Cypriots, Egypt, and Israel joined forces to exploit natural resources in the area and deny Turkey its fair share. According to Greek maps of the Mediterranean, the entire area was to be divided between Greece and the Greek Cypriots, unlawfully leaving Turkey, which has the longest coastline, a small maritime jurisdiction. In this regard, Turkey faces the same kind of attack against its interests in the Mediterranean that it faced in the Aegean Sea back in the day.

                Turkey responded to the said attack by concluding a memorandum of understanding with Libya regarding the two nations’ respective exclusive economic zones. It supported that country’s legitimate government against the putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who proceeded to suffer humiliating defeats, and challenged Haftar’s foreign sponsors in the Libyan theater. Ankara also reiterated that it would protect its interests in the Mediterranean at all costs.

                If Greece and the Greek Cypriots refuse to agree on a fair allocation of Mediterranean resources, it would be reasonable to expect Turkey to take additional steps in the near future. One could indeed speculate that the Turkish government’s future steps won’t be limited to symbolic decisions, such as the reclassification of the Hagia Sophia as a mosque.

                Comment

                • Carlin
                  Senior Member
                  • Dec 2011
                  • 3332

                  Turkish naval strength in Eastern Mediterranean shifts balance of power

                  URL:


                  Ankara’s long-term plans to strengthen its naval forces are paying off in the Eastern Mediterranean.

                  While Turkey has been part of NATO for more than six decades, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ankara has managed to develop its military capacity indigenously.

                  Recent events in the Eastern Mediterranean show the improvement of Turkey’s naval fleet that have managed to deter regional powers from Greece to the Greek Cypriot Administration, Egypt and other powers.


                  The Turkish Navy has become one of the world’s ten sea powers, designing and building its own frigates among 20 other powers, according to prominent experts and former admirals.

                  “The Turkish Navy does not sail with tugboats like Russia does,” said Cem Gurdeniz, a retired Turkish rear admiral, in an interview last year.


                  Turkey has also been in stiff competition with powers like Russia, France, Egypt and Greece in Libya's civil war. Ankara supports the war-torn country’s internationally-recognised UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli against the warlord Khalifa Haftar, whose militias are based in Benghazi.

                  Ankara has changed the course of the civil war by deploying its naval forces across the Eastern Mediterranean and providing its newly-developed drone technology to the service of the Tripoli government.


                  The country has managed to match other naval forces including France, Russia, Egypt and Greece, all of whom support Haftar, outplaying them in the region as the GNA forces march towards Sirte, a strategic coastal city, where the country’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi was born.

                  With its navy’s support, Ankara has also protected its maritime rights across the region, continuing to explore and drill gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean.

                  Can regional powers compete with the Turkish navy?

                  “Turkish Navy frigate(s) continue to sail 4 months around Libya offshore non-stop. While Greek frigate's system failed and returned their base. While Russians can't sail without tugboat, Egyptians are missing, can't use their new toys effectively,” writes Kevin Sky, an expert on the defence industry, on Twitter.

                  The Turkish Navy continued its naval drills in the region without any interruption, Sky noted.

                  While Egypt’s putschist general-turned-President, Abdul Fattah al Sisi, appeared to strengthen the country’s navy more than most of his predecessors, its naval budget under the continuing economic crisis is still very limited according to experts.

                  Despite running an aggressive modernisation program for its navy in recent years, the Egyptian fleet does not have enough training and exercises, and might be short on logistics, experts like Gurdeniz and Sky point out.

                  As a result, the Egyptian navy appeared to shy away from any possible engagement with its counterparts in the Eastern Mediterranean.

                  Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration (GCA) have countered with strong rhetoric against a Turkish naval presence in the region, but have done little to stop Ankara. In January, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was in Paris to seek help from French President Emmanuel Macron against Turkey.

                  After the meeting, Macron dispatched war frigates to the region to show France’s strategic bond with Greece. Even the Greek defence minister claimed that the country is “examining all scenarios, even that of military engagement” against Turkey.

                  But Greek and French threats against Turkey have not impressed Ankara much.

                  “I want to underline in a mathematical certainty that Greeks would not want to stage a war with Turkey,” said Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, during a TV interview on June 10, describing his Greek counterpart’s words as “a slip of tongue.”


                  For more than nine centuries, the Greeks have not won any significant battle against the Turks.

                  In May, France appeared to send more warships to the region to counter Turkey.

                  On June 10, according to French authorities, an incident happened between Turkish and French navy forces in the East Mediterranean. Paris claimed that Turkish warships flashed their radar lights three times at Courbet, one of the French warships deployed into the Eastern Mediterranean waters.

                  But Ankara denied French claims saying that the French military ship was making fast and unnecessary manoeuvres in the region, endangering NATO principles and navy security rules. Turkey, Greece and France are members of NATO.

                  More ships than fish

                  Besides regional powers, at least ten other countries including Russia, the US, Italy and the UK also have a naval presence in the Eastern Mediterranean.

                  According to reports, the US operates a large fleet consisting of more than ten warships in the region, in part to keep a check on increasing Russian ambitions across the Mediterranean.

                  Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, Moscow started increasing its presence there, building a dream Mediterranean naval force. In exchange for the support Moscow has given to the Assad regime in the civil war, Damascus has allowed Moscow to have more access in the Mediterranean, using the country’s ports for its naval operations.

                  It is a far-fetched political equation for a country that has long aimed to reach “the warm waters” of Europe. Having a grasp of the Mediterranean has been a driving political aspiration for landlocked Russia ever since its imperial days under Peter the Great in the early 18th century.

                  But while Russia has increased its naval forces in the region, it has not helped Libya’s Haftar claim Tripoli as Turkish-backed forces effectively routed them out from western part of the country.

                  Turkey’s new naval doctrine: Blue Homeland

                  In recent years, Turkey has developed a powerful military doctrine, aiming to protect all of its maritime rights and political interests in the country’s three seas, which is called the “Blue Homeland”.

                  In March, Ankara conducted the country’s biggest maritime exercises simultaneously with more than 100 military vessels in its three seas: the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black seas. The exercises are also named after “Blue Homeland”.

                  According to experts, the Turkish Navy’s success story lies in the recognition that Turkey could be a great power across the Mediterranean and even the globe as the country’s predecessor state, the Ottoman Empire, had once determined rules of the engagement in the region.

                  “...it is clear many within Turkey’s political establishment believe that the country is close to standing shoulder to shoulder with other greater powers. The Turkish navy’s reformation represents an acute example of this emerging worldview...,” says Ryan Gingeras, a professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, and an expert on Turkish, Balkan, and Middle East history.

                  “With more than 87 percent of the country’s trade conducted via maritime ports of entry, and a number of transnational pipelines passing through Turkish territorial waters, the country’s naval capabilities have come to figure more prominently in contemporary Turkish thinking,” Gingeras wrote.

                  Since 2007, Turkey’s spending on research and development has significantly increased, tripling its previous levels, according to a survey conducted by a leading defence industry group. Last year, it passed $1.2 billion, the survey showed.

                  Turkey has also increased its technical military capacity to a level, where it could test all of its naval capabilities without needing any external support.

                  Turkey also has the biggest submarine fleet in the region. Israel, Greece and Egypt are following Turkey’s lead in that area too.

                  The Turkish Navy has had 112 military vessels until now, but Ankara plans to add a total of 24 new ships - which include four frigates - before the Republic reaches the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2023.

                  “In addition to a new line of frigates and corvettes, known as the MILGEM program, local contractors have come to supply the fleet with a new array of torpedoes, missiles, and sensory equipment,” Gingeras observed.

                  As a result, with its enlarged fleet, the Turkish Navy has become an imposing power in the Eastern Mediterranean, defending the status quo in the Aegean Sea and enhancing the security of its strategically crucial channels in the Dardanelles and Istanbul.




                  Turkey to build two military bases in Libya

                  URL:
                  The nation headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan will build two bases in Libya, one at ...


                  The nation headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan will build two bases in Libya, one at Misrata port and another at Al-Watiya air base, according to local media Yeni Safak. The first will be a naval base in the form of a port with permanent assault capabilities, reconnaissance and auxiliary aircraft storage, while the second will be an air base equipped primarily with unmanned aerial vehicles.

                  This information comes one week after Erdogan, together with the Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNA), Fayez al-Sarraj, announced the military victory over the country's capital, Tripoli, after 14 months of offensive by the rival faction, the National Liberation Army (LNA), commanded by Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

                  In these seven days, new details of the agreements ratified between the two leaders have been discovered, which contemplate, for example, facilities for Turkish companies that want to operate in Libya and access to the nation's energy resources. At this point, it is worth remembering that Erdogan recognized his intention to conquer the oil city of Sirte. To this end, a military source consulted by Al-Arabiya, has assured that Sarraj's troops "are placing minefields in Sadada, west of Sirte".
                  Last edited by Carlin; 07-28-2020, 03:08 PM.

                  Comment

                  • Soldier of Macedon
                    Senior Member
                    • Sep 2008
                    • 13669

                    Turkey slammed Greek authorities for provoking the public and allowing the burning of the Turkish flag in Thessaloniki over the reversion of Hagia Sophia...

                    Turkey blasts Greece over reactions to reopening Hagia Sophia for worship

                    JUL 25, 2020

                    Turkey slammed Greek authorities for provoking the public and allowing the burning of the Turkish flag in Thessaloniki over the reversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the new Istanbul office of the country's National Intelligence Organization (MIT), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Sunday: “As we witnessed during the reopening process of Hagia Sophia as a mosque, some still cannot accept the fact that Istanbul belongs to the Turkish nation and Muslims.” The Defense Ministry on Sunday condemned the incident and said that such abuses and provocations must end immediately. The Foreign Ministry also released a written statement on Saturday. "We strongly condemn hostile statements made by members of the Greek government and Parliament provoking the public opinion and allowing the burning of our glorious flag in Thessaloniki," Hami Aksoy, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said in the statement. Reactions from Turkey came after a group of far-right Greek extremists burned Turkish flags late Friday in Thessaloniki to protest the reopening of Hagia Sophia for worship in Istanbul. The group burned a Turkish flag after gathering outside the Hagia Sophia Church before marching toward the Turkish Consulate while holding signs that read: "For homeland, nation and orthodoxy." The protesters were stopped outside the consulate by security forces but burned another Turkish flag and sang the Greek national anthem and shouted slogans. Aksoy said Greece showcased its hostility against Islam and Turkey once again under the pretext of reaction against the reopening of the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul for Muslim worship. He said "the spoiled children of Europe," who cannot accept the reopening of the iconic architecture as a mosque, were "delirious" again.

                    "These racist mindsets, who have not drawn the required lessons from history, those who disrespect our glorious flag should remember their fate in the Aegean," Aksoy stressed. "Greece should, from now on, wake up from the Byzantine dream that it has been unable to wake up from for 567 years and get rid of its frustration emanating from it," he said. The Greek oppression against the Muslim Turkish minority in the country has been registered by the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, he noted, adding that Greece is the only European country with no mosque in its capital and it has condoned the destruction of historical mosques in its territory. Aksoy highlighted that the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque has reopened for worship in line with the will of the Turkish nation. He added that the mosque, like other cultural assets on the Turkish lands, belongs to Turkey, and said: "It will be in our possession and protection forever." He also stressed that the reopening of it for Muslim worship complies with the "requirements and spirit" of the 1972 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

                    "No country can teach Turkey about exercising its national sovereignty," he warned. "In line with Turkey's commitment and tradition of tolerance to all religious rights and freedoms, the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, the sanctuary of Islam, the religion of peace which embraces all religions, will continue to be open to all," Aksoy said. Ömer Çelik, a spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), also condemned the burning of the Turkish flag in Greece. "We strongly curse the burning of our glorious flag in Greece. We condemn the politicians who encouraged the Greek fascists who are trying to protest the reopening of the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque," Çelik said on Twitter. He added that those who hung the Byzantine flag next to the Greek flag on Friday and declared mourning cannot disrespect our flag. "The Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque is open to everyone as a common value of all humanity," he stressed. Following reactions from Turkey, Greek authorities on Saturday also condemned the burning of the Turkish flag during protests in Thessaloniki a day earlier.

                    "We categorically condemn any action that desecrates a national symbol of any country, in this case of Turkey," Greece's Foreign Ministry said in a tweet. Hagia Sophia reopened for worship Friday for the first time in 86 years. Earlier, this month a Turkish court annulled a 1934 Turkish government decree that transformed the historic building into a museum, paving the way for its use as a mosque. Hagia Sophia served as a church for 916 years until the conquest of Istanbul and as a mosque from 1453 to 1934, for nearly 500 years and most recently as a museum for 86 years. One of the most visited historic buildings in Turkey by domestic and international tourists, Hagia Sophia was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985, during its time as a museum. Thousands of people took part in Friday prayer both inside and outside the historic mosque in Istanbul, Turkey's largest metropolis. Besides being a working mosque, Hagia Sophia is also among Turkey's top tourism destinations and will remain open for domestic and foreign visitors. On Friday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called Turkey a "troublemaker" and the conversion of the site an "affront to the civilization of the 21st century." Greece and Turkey disagree on a range of issues from airspace to maritime zones in the eastern Mediterranean and ethnically split Cyprus.
                    In the name of the blood and the sun, the dagger and the gun, Christ protect this soldier, a lion and a Macedonian.

                    Comment

                    • Soldier of Macedon
                      Senior Member
                      • Sep 2008
                      • 13669

                      A group of unidentified people on Tuesday attacked a 16th-century historical Ottoman-period mosque with stones in the Greek city of Trikala. Windows on...


                      16th-century Ottoman mosque vandalized in Greece

                      AUG 05, 2020

                      Agroup of unidentified people on Tuesday attacked a 16th-century historical Ottoman-period mosque with stones in the Greek city of Trikala. Windows on the entrance door of the Kurşunlu Mosque, also known as the Osman Shah Mosque, were broken in the assault, according to local media reports. The mosque was also attacked last month as a “retaliation” for Turkey’s decision to revert Hagia Sophia into a mosque. The Ottoman mosque was designed by the famous Ottoman imperial architect Mimar Sinan. It was the only mosque Sinan designed in Greece. The mosque opened its doors in 1570, and was the principal mosque in Trikala during Ottoman rule. The mosque was commissioned by Osman Shah, also known as Kara Osman Pasha, who was the son of one of Sultan Selim I’s daughters. Osman Shah for a long time dwelt in Trikala as the governor or sanjak of the province.

                      The city lost much of its Ottoman and medieval buildings in the early 20th century, particularly after it was rebuilt to fit a modern urban plan in the 1930s. It is the only mosque still standing in the city of Trikala out of the at least eight mosques that the famous Ottoman explorer Evliya Çelebi reported seeing in his writings. The mosque is no longer used for worship; it now functions as a venue for minor events and is a protected UNESCO site. Turkey last month lambasted statements and actions by Greece against the move to revert Hagia Sophia into a mosque after the first Muslim prayers were held in the Istanbul landmark. Relations between NATO allies Ankara and Athens have been uneasy in recent months but tensions increased over Hagia Sophia and the energy riches in the Eastern Mediterranean. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had joined thousands for the first Islamic prayer at Hagia Sophia after decades as a museum. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said what was happening in Istanbul was "not a show of force, but proof of weakness."

                      The reaction to Hagia Sophia opening for Muslim worship "once again revealed Greece's hostility toward Islam and Turkey," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said. Aksoy "strongly condemned" the burning of the Turkish flag in Thessaloniki and accused the Greek government and parliament of "provoking the public with hostile statements." "The spoiled children of Europe, who cannot accept renewed prostration in Hagia Sophia, are once again delusional," Aksoy added in a statement. The UNESCO World Heritage site was originally the Byzantine Empire's main cathedral before its conversion into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Turkey's highest administrative court on July 10 said Hagia Sophia, which served as a museum for 86 years, was registered in property deeds as a mosque, allowing Ankara to change its status once more.
                      In the name of the blood and the sun, the dagger and the gun, Christ protect this soldier, a lion and a Macedonian.

                      Comment

                      • Amphipolis
                        Banned
                        • Aug 2014
                        • 1328

                        Egypt-Greece maritime deal null and void, Ankara says

                        by DAILY SABAH


                        Turkish Foreign Ministry on Thursday declared a recent agreement signed between Greece and Egypt on the delimitation of maritime jurisdictions in the Eastern Mediterranean null and void.

                        Releasing a statement, the ministry underlined that there is no mutual sea border between Egypt and Greece.

                        “The so-called agreement on the delimitation of maritime areas signed today is considered null and void for Turkey. This understanding will be revealed both on the field and on the table,” the statement said.

                        It said that the exclusive economic zone designated in the deal falls in the area of Turkey's continental shelf. The statement added that the deal also violated Libya's maritime rights.

                        Ankara also said that Turkey will not allow such activities in the area and reiterated the country’s determination to protect both Turkey’s and Turkish Cypriots’ legitimate rights and interests in the Eastern Mediterranean.

                        Later in the day, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also said that the deal violates the rights and continental shelves of Turkey and Libya.

                        Egypt on Thursday announced that it had signed a bilateral agreement with Greece on the "delimitation of maritime jurisdictions" between the two countries.

                        Speaking at a joint press conference in the capital Cairo with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said the deal "opens new horizons for economic cooperation with Greece."

                        Dendias, for his part, said the maritime agreement with Cairo was "legitimate" and "reflects the dimensions of cooperation between the two countries in combating threats in the region."

                        Egypt and Greece are at odds with Turkey, which last year angered the two countries by signing a maritime delimitation agreement with the internationally recognized Libyan government, in a move that escalated disputes over potential offshore gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean.

                        The countries had been on talks for a while after Turkey and Libya signed two separate pacts; one on military cooperation and the other on maritime boundaries of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean on Nov. 27, 2019.

                        The maritime pact asserted Turkey's rights in the Eastern Mediterranean in the face of unilateral drilling by the Greek Cypriot administration, clarifying that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) also had rights to the resources in the area. The pact went into effect on Dec. 8.

                        Egypt and Greece condemned the deal as "illegal" and a violation of international law.

                        Tensions were already high between Greece and Turkey because of Turkish gas exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean off the coast of Cyprus. The NATO members are also at odds over mineral rights in the Aegean Sea.

                        Last edited by Amphipolis; 08-06-2020, 05:59 PM.

                        Comment

                        • Amphipolis
                          Banned
                          • Aug 2014
                          • 1328

                          An enthusiastic article from Yenisafak

                          Turkey’s Oruç Reis vessel sets sail again! ‘The Century of Defense’ is now over!

                          Turkey re-dispatched its Oruç Reis vessel to the Mediterranean.

                          As a matter of fact, it dispatched it in a way to expand right towards the middle of the absurd map over which Greece and Egypt (Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi) reached an agreement after they drew it according to their whims. Of course, battleships were sent as well. All possibilities were taken into consideration and calculated.

                          Oruç Reis had been sent to the region on July 21 as well. Turkish and Greek fleets were ready to clash with one another. However, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey gave Athens another chance.

                          According to some, the two countries had turned from the brink of war.

                          From Meis to north Aegean, every island will be contested.

                          However, Athens failed to take advantage of the chance and instead struck a deal with Egypt. It established an anti-Turkey front that can never be deterring.

                          It had previously made a similar deal with Italy and confined Albania within the Adriatic Sea. As Athens nears the verge of war with Turkey in the Aegean and the Mediterranean, it is also escalating an extremely critical crisis in the West with Albania.

                          Oruç Reis will move in the entire area determined within the frame of the Turkey-Libya deal. Neither Egypt nor Athens will be able to do anything to counter this.

                          This time around, they are going to find Turkey much more determined. From Meis island to the north of the Aegean, every area may turn into a conflict zone; every island in this zone may be contested. They know this. They know Turkey’s determination.

                          If Oruç Reis is intercepted, if an ’accident’ happens!The ‘Defense century’ is over…

                          It seems that the attempts to drown Turkey at the zero point of the coasts in the Aegean and the Mediterranean are going to receive serious reaction this time. Turkey is never going to respond to the plans to siege it from the East Mediterranean to Libya, from the Mediterranean with just “defense.”

                          This is due to the fact that Turkey remained on the defensive for one whole century. It had to keep quiet as its seas were being plundered. But now:

                          The century of defense is over.

                          If there is any physical interception on Oruç Reis, if there is any physical harassment on Turkey’s operations, if there is any “accident,” the entire zone I mentioned will become a conflict area.

                          Strategic maneuver, geopolitical concern: Power determines everything in the Mediterranean

                          Athens is going to ask for Europe’s support again. It is going to make Germany mediate again. It is going to try and talk Turkey out of it. Thus, there was some activity yesterday in this regard.

                          However, it is impossible to eliminate Turkey’s geopolitical concerns with these strategic maneuvers. Even Germany cannot do it. Because the power showdown in the East Mediterranean, the Mediterranean and the Aegean is a vital issue for Turkey.

                          It is power which will eventually determine everything in the Mediterranean.

                          Closing in from the sea, that map again: This is what Turkey is intercepting.

                          This is what Turkey saw with the July 15, 2016 attack: They are sieging Turkey from both countries (from the north of Iraq with the invasion of Iraq, and from the north of Syria with the Syria war) through the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Daesh.

                          There are map operations ongoing from the Iranian border to the Mediterranean, and this map is entirely based on sieging Turkey. This is what Turkey intercepted and struck heavy blows against the “terror corridor” project.

                          It did not end there. The siege continued in the Mediterranean. Alliances and fronts were established first in the East Mediterranean, then the whole Mediterranean, followed by the Aegean, and they were all targeting Turkey. A multinational coalition was formed to “stop Turkey.”

                          When terrorist organizations proved insufficient, they used states

                          There was only one thing left to do: intervene in the siege from the sea. This is what Turkey is doing now. After some time, they may try this through Romania and Bulgaria as well.

                          Greece and Egypt are being thrown in front of Turkey.

                          They did this previously within and in northern Iraq through the PKK. They did it in Syria through Daesh. They did it in Libya through Khalifa Haftar.

                          But organizations are no longer enough. They have now thrown states into the mix as well.

                          Smart, wise moves from Turkey

                          They first used the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a hitman against Turkey. They affiliated the terrorist organizations with it. Then they activated Saudi Arabia against Turkey through Mohammed bin Salman. They established an anti-Turkey front through the Gulf Arabs.

                          The game they started in Iraq was continued in Syria. Then they moved it to the East Mediterranean. This was followed by escalated tensions in the Aegean. They planned one plot after another to exclude Turkey from the entire Mediterranean.

                          Turkey is studying these moves and knows all this. It is taking extremely smart and wise steps.

                          August month of victory. Because we always settled scores with power.

                          Greece was driven to the ground against Turkey in the Aegean, the Sisi administration (Egypt) in the Mediterranean, Armenia in the Caucasus, and the UAE and Saudi Arabia in the whole Arab region.

                          These countries are next after terrorist organizations. What will happen next? Will their bosses also jump into the ring?

                          However, for centuries, we always wrestled against the strongest. We settled scores with them.

                          Let us hope there is no “accident.” It is obvious what will happen if there is.

                          August is the month of victory!

                          Comment

                          • Carlin
                            Senior Member
                            • Dec 2011
                            • 3332

                            Greek and Turkish warships in 'mini collision,' says defense source

                            A Greek and a Turkish warship were involved in a mini-collision on Wednesday during a standoff in the eastern Mediterranean, a Greek defense source said, describing it as an "accident."


                            A Greek and a Turkish warship were involved in a mini-collision on Wednesday during a standoff in the eastern Mediterranean, a Greek defense source said, describing it as an "accident."

                            Tensions have risen this week after Turkey sent a survey vessel to the region, escorted by warships, to map out sea territory for possible oil and gas drilling – an area where Turkey and Greece both claim jurisdiction. EU foreign ministers were due to discuss the issue on Friday.

                            The Turkish Oruc Reis survey ship has been moving between Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete, shadowed by a number of Greek frigates. On Wednesday one of them, the Limnos, was approaching the survey vessel when it came into the path of one of its Turkish naval escorts, the Kemal Reis.

                            Comment

                            • Carlin
                              Senior Member
                              • Dec 2011
                              • 3332

                              Oruç Reis is the name of a number of Turkish vessels.

                              Oruç Reis (Ottoman Turkish: عروج ريس‎; Spanish: Aruj; c. 1474–1518) was an Ottoman seaman, who became bey (governor) of Algiers, beylerbey (chief governor) of the West Mediterranean, and admiral of the Ottoman Empire. The elder brother of the famous Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa, he was born on the Ottoman island of Midilli (Lesbos in present-day Greece) and died in battle against the Spanish at Tlemcen in the Ottoman Eyalet of Algeria.

                              His father, Yakup Ağa, was an Ottoman official of Albanian descent. Yakup Ağa took part in the Ottoman conquest of Lesbos (Midilli) from the Genoese in 1462, and as a reward, was granted the fief of the Bonova village in the island.

                              URLs:

                              Comment

                              • Carlin
                                Senior Member
                                • Dec 2011
                                • 3332

                                Greece extends its territorial waters into Ionian Sea

                                URL:


                                Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that Greece is extending its territorial waters in the Ionian Sea from 6 to 12 nautical miles. Mitsotakis said that the country reserves the right to do so on its much more troubled eastern sea border with Turkey.

                                Mitsotakis insisted that Greece has sovereign right to this move in the Ionian Sea, which may affect Albanian and Italian naval rights.

                                The real fight, though, is in the east, where Turkey is asserting its right for oil and gas drilling in various parts of the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea, including around the divided island of Cyprus.

                                Greece, supported by France, Egypt and Israel, has strongly opposed the Turkish moves.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X