Category: Sunday magazine

Turkey is trying to rebrand itself as a modern, liberal Arab country with aspirations for European Union membership. Much of the country’s reform programmes are concentrated in Istanbul, a city of 17 million people situated both in Asia and Europe. Seun Akioye joined a group of journalists to explore the city and reports

It doesn’t take much to assemble thousands of protesters at Istanbul’s’ Taksim Square and when they gather, trouble brews. That was the situation at 2pm on Tuesday, March 11 when 15-year-old Berkin Elvan died. In 2013 during the Taksim Geri park sit-in protests which started on May 27 and engulfed the whole of Turkey, the boy who has become a symbol for Turkish police brutality was hit by a teargas canister fired by an overzealous policeman. For nine months, he was in a coma at ACIL hospital while the nation prayed for his recovery. It never came. On that fateful Tuesday, he took his last breath.

Within two hours of his death, more than 50,000 angry, weeping and frustrated protesters had gathered at the Taksim Square. The shops hurriedly closed and tourists abandoned their sightseeing and disappeared, back to their hotels. Bonfires appeared and then the coffin of Elvan arrived followed by the angry, stone-throwing crowd.

The police followed hard on the heels of the protesters and when tear gas could not disperse them, hot water cannon and brute force were employed. The protesters responded in kind, throwing stones, sticks and other dangerous instruments. In Taksim Square, chaos reigned, far into the night.

Where the old meets the new

But this is not the Taksim Square Turkey wants the world to see, rather the government wanted visitors to Istanbul to see a tranquil and peaceful square which connects the old civilisation to the new modern city Turkish leaders are trying to build. The square itself is in the northern fringes of Taksim Street which houses thousands of shops and cinemas, food courts and a major tourist attraction in Istanbul.

Istanbul is not the capital of Turkey but it is its most important city with 17 million people compared to the capital Ankara’s four million inhabitants. It is the commercial hub and the capital of three empires namely; Roman, Byzantine and the Ottoman Empires. It was during the Ottoman Empire that Turkey got its not-so-flattering nickname, the sick man of Europe.

But the city regaled itself in its old history which according to findings during the Marmaray excavations suggests it dates back to 8,500 years. Today, the city has successfully preserved its historical legacies in the old city such as the Blue Mosque, historic commercial cities like the Grand Bazaar, the Hagia Sophia, the spice market and the Dikilitas Obelisk of Theodosius created in 390 AD.

The foundation for New Turkey was laid in 1923 following the revolution and the city thereafter was divided into two: The old city and the new city with the amazing golden horn- a natural lake which was formed in a horn shape- running through the new city.

Walking in Istanbul is like walking on thousands of years of history and to fully comprehend the historical legacies, our multi linguist guard, Senem Uygur, carefully took us back into 6000 years of history. There is a marked difference between the old and the new cities. While the new city boasts some modern architecture, it, however, was built on different hills and the houses were built forming a terraced row down the hills. Looking at the new city, it gives an idea of the Brazilian favellas. South of the golden horn is the old city and its many historical sites. On entering the city which is remarked by the ruins of its ancient walls, history beckons for the curious mind.

The walls have been preserved the way the Ottomans left them and in some places the way the Romans left them, thousands of years ago. There has been careful preservation of the historical sites but it also existed side by side with modern infrastructure like the university. But as one walks in the old city, every street smells of history. From the old to the new, Istanbul is a city of endless circle of hills and valley, narrow allies paved with interlocking stones.

Exploring Istanbul’s past

One of the first places to visit is the place of the horses where three historical treasures are situated; the three serpent’s column which was erected in 390 AD, the Hippodrome and the Dikilitas Obelisk. But the most eye-catching monument is the Sultanahmet or the Blue Mosque, erected in the 17th century and reputed to sit 3,000 worshippers.

The Blue Mosque which was named by European tourists because of its blue roof plays host to about 2,000 tourists daily. Usually, there is a long line of people waiting to enter through its narrow and ancient doorways. At the first gallery, visitors are asked to remove their shoes and put them inside a plastic bag. Eagle-eyed security guards ensure the women are totally covered and anyone found exposing a pound of flesh will be given a blue scarf to cover up. Inside the mosque itself, several lights hang down from its multi-coloured roof. There is the gallery where the women worship as they are not allowed to mingle with the men.

Directly opposite the Sultanahmet is the Hagia Sophia which means divine wisdom. Built in the 6th century as a church, it became a mosque when the Turks came to power in the 15th century and in 1930 converted it into a museum. Inside the massive building, there are elements that remind one of those who had previously occupied the edifice. The Virgin Mary occupied the upper corner of the entrance of the entrance with Jesus and Angel Gabriel by her side. Four archangels flew around them whose faces were covered by the Turks.

Eight big medallions bearing the most important names in Islam also hung a little distance from the angels. Then there was the royal lodge for the Byzantine kings and the place of coronation taking a prominent place in the middle of the Sophia. Here, civilisation meets religion as one moved through the steps to the upper levels. Built in the distinct Eastern fashion, there are no staircases just solid stones laid on the floor forming a labyrinth with its twists and turns until you get to the upper level. It feels like walking inside a cave filled with the treasures of the East. Currently, there are massive renovation works going on in the Sophia, this according to the guards is to preserve the edifice.

But one thing that is sure to elicit curiosity is the number of mosques in Turkey. About 95 percent of the country is Muslim and there are 60,000 mosques in Turkey with Istanbul accounting for about 20,000.

“Tell Okocha we miss him”

In Istanbul, it is not often you find people who speak English and the sight of black people still elicits curious excitements from passersby. The people cater to you, ask to take pictures with you and when words fail them they just pump your hands, laugh and elicit a warm feeling.

But things are a little different inside the Egyptian Bazaar, christened spice bazaar by European tourists. This is where all the spices in the world can be found and bought, it is also the home of Turkish Delight, a homemade sweet cake which the merchants claim had special nutritional and healing powers. Built in the same Eastern fashion, it has been attracting food tourists for 500 years. Its covered roof made it look like a street market in Israel or Pakistan and it has a permanent aroma of a mix of spices, herbs and tea.

“Where are you from?” Gunter Sadi, a big fellow who was born in Germany, asked in perfect English as he extended his hand. When told Nigeria, he jumped up and screamed in delight. “Oh Okocha, Emenike, Amokachi, good players, I used to go and see Okocha play, he dribbles everybody. Is that how all of you play in Nigeria?” Sadi asked still jumping around and holding his visitor by the hand at the same time.

Indeed, there have been about 15 Nigerian players in Turkey since Uche Okechukwu joined Fenerbache in 1993, Jay Jay Okocha was to follow suit in 1996 while Daniel Amokachi played for Beskistas the same year.

Other people in the market heard the name of Okocha and enquired if we were his brothers and if we see him often. Everybody here seemed to know the names of all the Nigerian players who had played in Turkey. They had kind and favourable words about them too. “We don’t see them often, but we love and miss them. We want them to come back, they are always smiling, tell Okocha we miss him,” Sadi said.

Another person remarked Emenike scored the day before in a match and went into great details describing the goal, of course in Turkish. So excited were the merchants that they brought out their expensive Turkish delights and handed it to the Nigerians.

One country, two continents

How do you feel living in one country and two continents at the same time? This is the delightful dilemma the Turkish have found themselves in. The country has the singular opportunity of being located both in Europe and Asia at the same time and Istanbul has that honour of hosting this natural wonder. The river that divides the two continents is called the Bosphorus and the bridge that links the two continents is called the First Bridge.

Standing on the Golden Horn one could see the Bosphorus dimly in the chilly weather, when one follows the bridge for 30 kilometres it will lead to the black sea and an entirely new continent, a welcome to Europe. The people in Asia feel as Turkish as their counterparts in Europe, but as this phenomenon would excite a tourist; it elicited little sentiment from the average Turkish.

“Yes we live on two continents, Europe and Asia, it’s nice, isn’t it? You are from Nigeria, do you play football?” one man asked and moved on to the subject of football and Okocha.

But Turkey is rebranding itself and Istanbul is playing a big part in it. The city is coming into prominence across the world as a commercial hub where the top world companies are opening for business. It is also a key location for international arts and culture events as it is stands at the juncture of three continents. To bolster its application for membership of the European Union, Turkey is making reforms in its key sectors. It is also developing its infrastructure in a modern way in the new city with its high rise buildings and expanded transportation networks which now include the trams which runs across the roads.

Perhaps playing key role in this new thinking is Turkish Airlines which has its hub at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul. The airline says it flies more than 20 million passengers yearly and has the highest network destination in the world. For many tourists, Turkey will be defined by the philosophy of its flagship carrier, Turkish Airlines. According to Temel Kotil, the Chief Operating Officer (CEO) of the airline, it’s also expanding its activities in Nigeria.

“We are bringing Turkish business to Nigeria and we want to bring more Nigerians to Turkey. We fly two times daily in Lagos and Kano and hopefully we will expand to Abuja. Our network in Africa is growing and Nigeria is in the heart of our African operations,” he said.

Back to Taksim Square on Wednesday when Elvan was buried, more than 100,000 mourners, among them key opposition figures, followed the coffin to its final resting place. Chants of “Elvan is immortal” rent the air. His father, Sami Elvan, said at the melancholy ceremony: “We bid farewell to him. My son is gone but I have millions of sons now.”

After the burial, the crowd made for Taksim Square but met hundreds of riot police who drove them back with teargas. They responded by throwing fireworks and stones but were unable to gain entrance. But Istanbul is a city like no other, despite the chaos going on at Taksim, ten minutes away, there was calm and peace and if one wasn’t listening to the news one may just miss the biggest news of the day.