Welcome to the Journey!

Maps from: Worldbookonline.

The Ottoman Empire emerged from nomadic Turkic tribes living on the Anatolian plain. The name of the Ottoman is from an early leader, Osman Ghazi. As the Byzantine Empire became weaker, the Ottomans assumed greater power, eventually expanding to areas throughout North Africa, the Balkans, Syria, and Asia up to the border of present day Russia. Islam was the religion of power, but the Empire also encompassed Christians and Jews, at times peacefully. The major trade routes connecting East Asia to the Middle East and Europe passed through Ottoman territories, and trade along with agriculture created a strong economy. Iconic architectural accomplishments such as Hagia Sophia are the defining visual legacies of the Ottoman Empire. The domed mosque was an innovation of Ottoman architects which spread throughout the Empire and beyond. During some phases of the Empire there was an unusual and perhaps unprecedented degree of religious tolerance and respect for cultural diversity. However, the Turkish genocide of its Armenian subjects at the end of World War I had deep historical roots in Ottoman history and caused terrible suffering to over a million people.

This blog will recount my experiences and thoughts as a participant in the National Endowment for the Humanities 2013 Summer Institute on the Ottoman Empire, led by Primary Source. Our group will travel to places that are significant in Ottoman history, including Cannakle, Sofranbolu, Iznik, Edirne, and of course Istanbul.

Gallipoli

A string of cemeteries and monuments  commemorate the tragic and politically pivotal battle of Gallipoli. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk led the Turkish forces in one of World War II’s bloodiest fights. Gallipoli is significant in Ottoman history because Ataturk's victory there gave him the legitimacy to re-make the state and society along secular principles, to command the use of Roman letters for writing, and to have non-Turkic words and phrases eliminated from the language, thereby erasing the pre-Ataturk past from public memory. Western dress was required, and Hagia Sophia was converted from a mosque to a museum.

“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours... you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well” -- Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Soldiers from Australia, Great Britain, and Turkey are buried here.

“Our glory shall never fade” is clearly visible on many of the grave markers. On many, the inscriptions have been almost completely erased by the wind.
 

Our guide told us about a high school group he had accompanied to the Gallipoli sites. This group stayed in the area for four days. Each student was assigned to interview a local inhabitant who was related to one of the people buried here.  From these oral histories and the letters and other inherited memorabilia each student constructed a narrative about the person’s life. The project culminated in the creation of a video showing the student laying a black wreath on the grave and talking about that person’s life. This project is one answer to the question of how to teach military history in a way that respects the noble aspirations and personal sacrifices of its soldiers without glorifying war itself.