Return of the Hoplites
It couldn't be quieter here in Istanbul right now (by Istanbul standards, which is to say, still pretty noisy). It's about seventy billion degrees out, lots of people are fasting, and no one who's fasting wants to go out in this heat when they're not allowed even take a sip of water. (I suspect the timing of Ramadan this year and the heat wave are going to cause a lot to wonder whether they're really all that pious, though: It's brutal.) The streets are empty, and even the stray dogs have shuffled off to find shade somewhere and take a nap.
But while we all doze away the afternoon here, something weird is shaping up in the eastern city of Trabzon. I just got an e-mail about this from my friend Iason, who's there right now. Apparently, Turkish nationalist fascists (yes, that's the right word, trust me) are getting ready for a showdown with thousands of Pontic Greeks, who are pouring in from Greece, Georgia and Russia to attend a liturgy at the Panayia Sumela monastery--the first to be held there since 1923. They're marching--get this--in phalanx formation to the Black Sea.
Here's some background on this, though I take anything published in Zaman with a grain of salt. (It's basically an AKP mouthpiece.) I can't sufficiently stress how nuts the folks in Trabzon are, though; Zaman's not exaggerating about this. It's legendary in Turkey.
This is going to be interesting. I'll link to Iason's photos when they're published. Here's one of the monastery:
I kind of wish I were there to see this, too, but the heat has basically robbed me of my will to live, and with it of any curiosity beyond the passing and perfunctory. Usually, of course, I'd be very curious.
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Aug '10
Re: Return of the Hoplites
Very interesting indeed. There's nothing like being at the fault line between East and West, savoring the zeitgeist, the sound and fury of colliding cultures and world views.
Re: Return of the Hoplites
Except maybe powering up the air-conditioning full blast and taking a nap.
Re: Return of the Hoplites
By the way, I should stress that the photo above isn't Iason's, it's just a random one I found on the Internet.
Re: Return of the Hoplites
Well, after all, Trabzon is a historically Turkish land. Those filthy Hellenes have no business hanging around town. Oh, wait. Trapezounta was founded by Greeks over seven hundred years before Christ. Never mind.
Re: Return of the Hoplites
Actually, this is all ancient Greece, pretty much.
Jul '10
Re: Return of the Hoplites
Yeah, just ask the Armenians about savoring that ol' zeitgeist.
May '10
Re: Return of the Hoplites
Unlike Supreme Court justices, men in phalanx drift to the right. Unless they're very well-disciplined, which, based on your description, the men of Trebizond are not. If they're actually marching in phalanx the whole way, they could well end up in Armenia.
Jul '10
Re: Return of the Hoplites
Claire, that piece you linked to seems like an extremely clever piece of propaganda. The mesage I get: "The awful secularists are intentionally provoking these poor Christians. If they would just allow people to worship as they wish, we'd all (including the beleaguered, bullied Christians) be better off."
If the agenda of the AKP is the imposition of Sharia, then supporting ostentatious worship by the Orthodox for now is doubly useful: it mitigates the religious chauvanism that is attached (justified or not) to the party, and it reminds pious Muslims that they should be irritated over secular limitations on religious expression. It attempts to expand its base of support, while solidifying its current base.
Of course, any tactic can backfire, current AKP supporters might just get angry at their party for not "taking a stand" against the Greek incursion. Yet, if the "deep state" disappears how likely is it that Christians will worship at all in Trabzon?
Am I reading too much into this? Is the AKP just yelling: "you're bigots" at the secularists?