Before Plymouth Rock the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620, in what would become the United States of America there were earlier colonies.
Mavi Boncuk |
I Bet You Did Not Know that the first European settlement in the New World was Santa Elena [1] , South Carolina, established by the Spaniards in 1566. Many of the Santa Elena colonists were Berber Muslims and Sephardic Jews, recruited by the Portuguese Captain Joao Pardo from the heavily Berber Galician Mountains of northern Portugal. The colony thrived for more than twenty years until it was overrun by the English in 1587.
English historian David Beers Quinn [3] postulates that in 1586, after Sir Francis Drake-an English pirate, raided Spanish and Portuguese settlements on the coast of Brazil. Amongst his prisoners were 300 Moorish and Turkish galley slaves, and a smaller number of West African Muslims. When he stopped at Roanoke Island, he found the English colonists of Ralph B Lane had enough of the New World and wanted to go home. To make room for them he took only 100 Turks back to England. Drake left the remainder on the island. These castaways fearing for their safety from the pursuing Spanish or Portuguese they made their way the short distance to the mainland, probably utilizing the small boats left behind by the English. They then steadily moved inland, along the way intermarrying with Native Americans, mostly Powhatan, Pamunkey, Nansemond and Hatters. Within the next decade or so they encountered the remnant of the Santa Elena colony, many of whom shared their Muslim heritage.This is particularly intriguing when one considers that some sixteenth-century Turkish sailors were themselves of central Asian heritage, thus making them literal cousins to the Native Americans they would have encountered, if the purported Bering Strait-migration thesis is to be believed.
[1] Santa Elena was a Spanish colony on Parris Island in what is now South Carolina, established in 1566, the year after the military post of Saint Augustine. It was the capital of Spanish Florida and is one of the earliest established European colonies north of Mexico. Abandoned in 1587, the archaeological site was relocated and excavated beginning in 1979 by Stanley South.
1564: The second French voyage, headed by René de Laudonnière, brings soldiers, artisans and colonists to a settlement on the River May, today's St. Johns. They build Ft. Caroline, and begin exploration and trade upriver four decades before Jamestown and half a century before Plymouth Rock.
1565: On September 8, Pedro Menéndez de Aviles founds St. Augustine . It is today the oldest city in the United States. Menéndez challenges the French fleet, which disperses, only to be lost in a storm. He captures Fort Caroline and kills Jean Ribault and most of his men, who were shipwrecked along the coast. René de Laudonnière and about 25 others escape and return to France. Menéndez establishes a second Spanish town, Santa Elena, on the South Carolina coast where the French had been. When Spain decided to concentrate its colonies at a single defensible position, and San Augustine was chosen, being closer to the main Spanish colonies and supply routes in the Caribbean and Mexico, Santa Elena was evacuated in August 1587. Everything worth salvaging was loaded onto ships and the remainder burned. Santa Elena was never again reoccupied by Spanish colonists.
[3] David Beers Quinn (1909-2002) was an Irish historian who wrote extensively on the voyages of discovery and colonisation of America. Many of his publications appeared as volumes of the Hakluyt Society. He played a major role in assisting the presentation of the historical aspects during the quadricentennial celebrations (1984-1987) of the first establishment a colony at Roanoke Island.
January 09, 2010
Elvis Presley’s “Melungeon” Ancestry
Below is an abstract from the book “The Melungeons: The Resurrection of A Proud People;
An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in America,”by Dr. N. Brent Kennedy.[1]
Mavi Boncuk |
“The Melungeons” second, revised, and corrected edition; page 140. Kennedy writes:
“Yes, Elvis Presley had North Carolina roots; his mother’s family left western North Carolina in the early 1800s, taking with them their legend of a Cherokee and Jewish heritage. His maternal great-great-great grandmother was supposedly “a full blooded Cherokee” from Tennessee named Morning Dove White. However, White is a far more common Lumbee, Melungeon, and Powhatan than Cherokee surname, and Morning Dove is an uncommon Cherokee given name. Also, the man she married, William Mansell, had been something of a renowned Indian fighter, making his choice of a “full-bloodied Cherokee” questionable. Mansell’s family was also native South Carolinian since the 1700s, placing them more in Lumbee than Cherokee territory. In any event, William Mansell and Morning Dove White settled in Alabama around 1820, and had several children, including John Mansell, Elvis’s great-great grandfather. John later abandoned his family to run off with a younger woman named Mandy Bennett (another Lumbee surname).
In 1870, John’s son White Mansell married a woman named Martha Tackett from Tennessee. Martha also possessed a common Melungeon surname and, even more appropriately, claimed to be Jewish. Elaine Dundy’s excellent biography of Elvis provides fascinating genealogical background and unintentionally paints a rather convincing Melungeon heritage for the “King of Rock and Roll.”
[1] Amateur genealogist and professional university administrator, N. Brent Kennedy, has theorized in "The Melungeans: The Resurrection of a Proud People" (1994) that the Melungeans comprise a distinct ethnic group living primarily in the Upper American South in part descended from Portuguese and Turkish adventurers. Some researchers still maintain that the group's origin stems from the intermarriage of freed slaves with European indentured servants to create an Atlantic Creole mix in the 17th and 18th centuries. Indeed, a limited DNA sampling of people who consider themselves Melungeons reveals that they are mostly of European ancestry but that they also possess small percentages of African American and Native American DNA. However, other limited samplings of different self-identified Melungeons contain some Eurasian or Middle Eastern DNA. Dr. Kennedy suggests that Elvis, Ava Gardner, and Abraham Lincoln all had Melungeon roots.
An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in America,”by Dr. N. Brent Kennedy.[1]
Mavi Boncuk |
“The Melungeons” second, revised, and corrected edition; page 140. Kennedy writes:
“Yes, Elvis Presley had North Carolina roots; his mother’s family left western North Carolina in the early 1800s, taking with them their legend of a Cherokee and Jewish heritage. His maternal great-great-great grandmother was supposedly “a full blooded Cherokee” from Tennessee named Morning Dove White. However, White is a far more common Lumbee, Melungeon, and Powhatan than Cherokee surname, and Morning Dove is an uncommon Cherokee given name. Also, the man she married, William Mansell, had been something of a renowned Indian fighter, making his choice of a “full-bloodied Cherokee” questionable. Mansell’s family was also native South Carolinian since the 1700s, placing them more in Lumbee than Cherokee territory. In any event, William Mansell and Morning Dove White settled in Alabama around 1820, and had several children, including John Mansell, Elvis’s great-great grandfather. John later abandoned his family to run off with a younger woman named Mandy Bennett (another Lumbee surname).
In 1870, John’s son White Mansell married a woman named Martha Tackett from Tennessee. Martha also possessed a common Melungeon surname and, even more appropriately, claimed to be Jewish. Elaine Dundy’s excellent biography of Elvis provides fascinating genealogical background and unintentionally paints a rather convincing Melungeon heritage for the “King of Rock and Roll.”
[1] Amateur genealogist and professional university administrator, N. Brent Kennedy, has theorized in "The Melungeans: The Resurrection of a Proud People" (1994) that the Melungeans comprise a distinct ethnic group living primarily in the Upper American South in part descended from Portuguese and Turkish adventurers. Some researchers still maintain that the group's origin stems from the intermarriage of freed slaves with European indentured servants to create an Atlantic Creole mix in the 17th and 18th centuries. Indeed, a limited DNA sampling of people who consider themselves Melungeons reveals that they are mostly of European ancestry but that they also possess small percentages of African American and Native American DNA. However, other limited samplings of different self-identified Melungeons contain some Eurasian or Middle Eastern DNA. Dr. Kennedy suggests that Elvis, Ava Gardner, and Abraham Lincoln all had Melungeon roots.
Happy Birthday Elvis from Turkey
Happy Birthday Elvis Aaron (or Arona) Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977)
The Turkish poster was based on the Italian movie poster instead of the American one. Italians used a somewhat translated title (Crazy for the Girl) [1] instead of "Girl Happy" [2] kicking it up a notch and the Turks redefined it accordingly as "Guardian of My Daughter". I guess the Turks were more focused on saving the girl from Elvis.
There is also less technical details in the Italian poster and none in the Turkish version save the names of four actors.
Mavi Boncuk |
Turkish poster for "Girl Happy" called "Kızımın Bekçisi | Guardian of My Daughter" distributed by Akün Film in Turkey.
Turkish Poster Source: Elvis Turk Fan Site
See also: Elvis in Istanbul Fan Club
[1] pazzo IT (m) n. madman, lunatic, crazy.
[2] Directed by Boris Sagal Girl Happy is a 1965 American musical romantic comedy in the beach party film style.
Rusty Wells (Elvis) and his band are just about ready to leave Chicago for their annual spring break trip to Fort Lauderdale. That is, until Big Frank extends their stay at his club. Big Frank's daughter decides to go to Lauderdale with her friends for spring break, so he gets Rusty and his band to look after her and to make sure she stays out of trouble. While he attempts that, Rusty has to contend with a good-time girl, Deena, who has no patience for guys who stand her up or keep her waiting.
The Turkish poster was based on the Italian movie poster instead of the American one. Italians used a somewhat translated title (Crazy for the Girl) [1] instead of "Girl Happy" [2] kicking it up a notch and the Turks redefined it accordingly as "Guardian of My Daughter". I guess the Turks were more focused on saving the girl from Elvis.
There is also less technical details in the Italian poster and none in the Turkish version save the names of four actors.
Mavi Boncuk |
Turkish poster for "Girl Happy" called "Kızımın Bekçisi | Guardian of My Daughter" distributed by Akün Film in Turkey.
Turkish Poster Source: Elvis Turk Fan Site
See also: Elvis in Istanbul Fan Club
[1] pazzo IT (m) n. madman, lunatic, crazy.
[2] Directed by Boris Sagal Girl Happy is a 1965 American musical romantic comedy in the beach party film style.
Rusty Wells (Elvis) and his band are just about ready to leave Chicago for their annual spring break trip to Fort Lauderdale. That is, until Big Frank extends their stay at his club. Big Frank's daughter decides to go to Lauderdale with her friends for spring break, so he gets Rusty and his band to look after her and to make sure she stays out of trouble. While he attempts that, Rusty has to contend with a good-time girl, Deena, who has no patience for guys who stand her up or keep her waiting.
Kizil Elma | Red Apple
Kizil Elma(Almıla)|Red Apple [1]. It is interesting to note that Turkish sources referred to Vienna as the "golden apple" and Costantinople as the "red apple" - Turkish myth speaks of "the warrior of the faith who will pluck the red apple." The symbol refers to the Westward motion of the sun and was the war cry of Turkic tribes moving West. Almaty Legend of apple orchard on an island is also repeated in Avalon which also means Apple Island. From time immemorial, the Isle of Avalon [2], has been home to the Goddess. This ancient sacred place is the legendary Western Isle of the Dead where people were called here to die, to be transformed and to be reborn.
The Bulgarian wedding banner consists of a flag attached to a pole that has been ritually cut from a tree. The banner is topped with a red or gold foil-wrapped apple symbolizing the sun and fertility has its roots from their Turkic past. In Norse myth, Idunna was the keeper of the 'apples of immortality' which kept the Gods young. The 'fruit-bearing tree' refered to by Tacitus in his description of Norse runic divination may have been the apple.
The Greek Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaeologus, a national martyr, is the subject of myths by the Greek people. Stories have been told of the Marble Emperor where Constantinos is said to have been rescued by an Angel and that he will sleep until he returns to chase the Turks from Constantinople to the Red Apple Tree "Kokkini Milia" (Κοκκινη μηλια).Kokkinι Milia (Red Apple tree) was a region which the imagination of the Greeks placed in the depths of Asia Minor and beyond. It is there that they hoped to push back the Turks, i.e., where they originally came from. One of the problems identifying apples in religion, mythology and folktales is that the word "apple" was used as a generic term for all (foreign) fruit, other than berries but including nuts, as late as the 17th century. For instance, in Greek mythology, the Greek hero Heracles (a metaphoric sun god, hence red apple), as a part of his Twelve Labours, was required to travel to the Garden of the Hesperides [3] where sun sets and pick the golden apples off the Tree of Life growing at its center.
In Latin, the words for "apple" and for "evil" [4] are similar in the singular (malus—apple, malum—evil) and identical in the plural (mala). This may also have influenced the apple becoming interpreted as the biblical "forbidden fruit".
Mavi Boncuk |
Mustafa Yildizdogan sings Kizil Elma
[1] Malus sieversii is a wild apple native to the mountains of Central Asia in southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Northern Afghanistan and Xinjiang, China. It has recently been shown to be the sole ancestor of most cultivars of the domesticated apple (Malus domestica). It was first described (as Pyrus sieversii) in 1833 by Carl Friedrich von Ledebour, a German naturalist who saw them growing in the Altay Mountains.
[2] King Arthur legend was also transported from Asian Myths. The oldest version is from Daghestan of the Caucasus.
[3] In Greek mythology, the Hesperides (Greek: Ἑσπερίδες) are nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, located near the Atlas mountains in Tanger, Morocco at the edge of the encircling Oceanus, the world-ocean.
Top Five Apple Producers 2008
Country of Production (Tonnes)
People's Republic of China 27 507 000
United States 4 237 730
Iran 2 660 000
Turkey 2 266 437
Russia 2 211 000
[3] Apple (Eng.)/ Pomme (Fr.) / Manzana (Sp.) These words, which all mean the same thing, should be explained one at a time, as they come from different sources. In regard to apple, all European languages other than the Romance languages, ie., the great majority of Indo-European languages, including the Celtic tongues, use a word with a root ap, ab, af or av for apples and apple trees: aballo (Celtic), apple(Eng.), Apfel (Germ.), aeppel (Old Eng.), abhal (Irish Gaelic), epli (Icelandic), afal (Welsh), jabloko (Russian), and jablko (Polish). In regard to pomme, this French term comes from the Latin pomum, which originally referred to all fruit. Before Christianity was adopted as the official religion of the Roman Empire some time in the 4th. Century, the Latin word malum (melon in Greek) meant "apple." After the adoption of Christianity, however, and due to the important symbolism of the apple in the bible (ie, the Garden of Eden), the general term pomum, "fruit," was used to describe the apple as "the fruit of fruits." In regard to manzana, this Spanish term comes from the Iberian pronunciation of matiana, a Gallo-Roman translation of the Latin word matianum, which was a scented, golden apple first raised by and named after Matius, a friend of Caesar's who was also a cookbook author ["Apple" Footnote: The French village of Avallon (in the Yonne area), where there are a lot of apple trees, received its name from the legend of the sacred island of Avalon or Abalon, meaning "Apple Orchard"--incidentally, the "-on" suffix is an "augmentative" and explains the origin of the name of the Pacific shellfish "Abalone"--that is, "big apple."].
The Bulgarian wedding banner consists of a flag attached to a pole that has been ritually cut from a tree. The banner is topped with a red or gold foil-wrapped apple symbolizing the sun and fertility has its roots from their Turkic past. In Norse myth, Idunna was the keeper of the 'apples of immortality' which kept the Gods young. The 'fruit-bearing tree' refered to by Tacitus in his description of Norse runic divination may have been the apple.
The Greek Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaeologus, a national martyr, is the subject of myths by the Greek people. Stories have been told of the Marble Emperor where Constantinos is said to have been rescued by an Angel and that he will sleep until he returns to chase the Turks from Constantinople to the Red Apple Tree "Kokkini Milia" (Κοκκινη μηλια).Kokkinι Milia (Red Apple tree) was a region which the imagination of the Greeks placed in the depths of Asia Minor and beyond. It is there that they hoped to push back the Turks, i.e., where they originally came from. One of the problems identifying apples in religion, mythology and folktales is that the word "apple" was used as a generic term for all (foreign) fruit, other than berries but including nuts, as late as the 17th century. For instance, in Greek mythology, the Greek hero Heracles (a metaphoric sun god, hence red apple), as a part of his Twelve Labours, was required to travel to the Garden of the Hesperides [3] where sun sets and pick the golden apples off the Tree of Life growing at its center.
In Latin, the words for "apple" and for "evil" [4] are similar in the singular (malus—apple, malum—evil) and identical in the plural (mala). This may also have influenced the apple becoming interpreted as the biblical "forbidden fruit".
Mavi Boncuk |
Mustafa Yildizdogan sings Kizil Elma
[1] Malus sieversii is a wild apple native to the mountains of Central Asia in southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Northern Afghanistan and Xinjiang, China. It has recently been shown to be the sole ancestor of most cultivars of the domesticated apple (Malus domestica). It was first described (as Pyrus sieversii) in 1833 by Carl Friedrich von Ledebour, a German naturalist who saw them growing in the Altay Mountains.
[2] King Arthur legend was also transported from Asian Myths. The oldest version is from Daghestan of the Caucasus.
[3] In Greek mythology, the Hesperides (Greek: Ἑσπερίδες) are nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, located near the Atlas mountains in Tanger, Morocco at the edge of the encircling Oceanus, the world-ocean.
Top Five Apple Producers 2008
Country of Production (Tonnes)
People's Republic of China 27 507 000
United States 4 237 730
Iran 2 660 000
Turkey 2 266 437
Russia 2 211 000
[3] Apple (Eng.)/ Pomme (Fr.) / Manzana (Sp.) These words, which all mean the same thing, should be explained one at a time, as they come from different sources. In regard to apple, all European languages other than the Romance languages, ie., the great majority of Indo-European languages, including the Celtic tongues, use a word with a root ap, ab, af or av for apples and apple trees: aballo (Celtic), apple(Eng.), Apfel (Germ.), aeppel (Old Eng.), abhal (Irish Gaelic), epli (Icelandic), afal (Welsh), jabloko (Russian), and jablko (Polish). In regard to pomme, this French term comes from the Latin pomum, which originally referred to all fruit. Before Christianity was adopted as the official religion of the Roman Empire some time in the 4th. Century, the Latin word malum (melon in Greek) meant "apple." After the adoption of Christianity, however, and due to the important symbolism of the apple in the bible (ie, the Garden of Eden), the general term pomum, "fruit," was used to describe the apple as "the fruit of fruits." In regard to manzana, this Spanish term comes from the Iberian pronunciation of matiana, a Gallo-Roman translation of the Latin word matianum, which was a scented, golden apple first raised by and named after Matius, a friend of Caesar's who was also a cookbook author ["Apple" Footnote: The French village of Avallon (in the Yonne area), where there are a lot of apple trees, received its name from the legend of the sacred island of Avalon or Abalon, meaning "Apple Orchard"--incidentally, the "-on" suffix is an "augmentative" and explains the origin of the name of the Pacific shellfish "Abalone"--that is, "big apple."].
January 08, 2010
Turkey's government bond rating goes to Ba2 from Ba3
Recent upgrade news were good . Moody's upgrade helps Turkey catch Armenia, but not Egypt (Ba1) or bankrupt governements like Ireland( Aa1) or Greece (A2). The only reason so far was to create loans with higher interest rates to Turkey and more of it. This large economy can pay her depts and what is wrong with some unashamed profit taking. Same old same old.
Mavi Boncuk
London, 08 January 2010 -- Moody's Investors Service has today upgraded Turkey's government bond rating to Ba2 from Ba3, reflecting Moody's growing confidence in the government's financial shock-absorption capacity. The outlook was changed to stable from positive.
"Although Turkish growth has contracted very sharply - even more sharply than was seen in its 2001 financial crisis - the resilience of the public finances relative to past such crises has been notable," said Sarah Carlson, the lead analyst for Turkey in Moody's Sovereign Risk Group. "The ability of the government and the country more generally to regroup when faced with a very significant economic and financial challenge indicates that Turkey has reached a higher level of resiliency - which is what our ratings ultimately reflect."
Carlson said that the Turkish economy's ability to rebound from shocks, whether external or domestic, is the product of a significant improvement in the policy credibility over the last decade. She called the recent financial crisis a kind of 'stress test' for these policy reforms.
Looking ahead, the economy is now starting to recover and capital inflows have resumed. The Turkish government has proven access to foreign capital, as was demonstrated by its new US$2 billion 30-year Eurobond issue. This was the largest-ever emerging market sovereign transaction of that maturity.
"Moreover, the government's fiscal exit strategy has begun with the passage of the 2010 budget," said Carlson. "The budget was in line with the Medium-term Expenditure Plan, announced in September 2009, and represents a first step in a three-year plan towards reining in the budget deficit and returning the budget to a primary surplus position, barring election-related spending setbacks."
Moody's said that the foundations for Turkey's long-term growth are also looking robust, although growth is not likely to resume at the pace achieved in the mid-2000s due to both global and local factors. Still, the country has become increasingly open to the global economy and Turkish industry - which was already moving up the value chain - has used the financial crisis to expand into new export markets and therefore reduce their dependence on EU countries. The population dynamics are also its favor.
Mavi Boncuk
London, 08 January 2010 -- Moody's Investors Service has today upgraded Turkey's government bond rating to Ba2 from Ba3, reflecting Moody's growing confidence in the government's financial shock-absorption capacity. The outlook was changed to stable from positive.
"Although Turkish growth has contracted very sharply - even more sharply than was seen in its 2001 financial crisis - the resilience of the public finances relative to past such crises has been notable," said Sarah Carlson, the lead analyst for Turkey in Moody's Sovereign Risk Group. "The ability of the government and the country more generally to regroup when faced with a very significant economic and financial challenge indicates that Turkey has reached a higher level of resiliency - which is what our ratings ultimately reflect."
Carlson said that the Turkish economy's ability to rebound from shocks, whether external or domestic, is the product of a significant improvement in the policy credibility over the last decade. She called the recent financial crisis a kind of 'stress test' for these policy reforms.
Looking ahead, the economy is now starting to recover and capital inflows have resumed. The Turkish government has proven access to foreign capital, as was demonstrated by its new US$2 billion 30-year Eurobond issue. This was the largest-ever emerging market sovereign transaction of that maturity.
"Moreover, the government's fiscal exit strategy has begun with the passage of the 2010 budget," said Carlson. "The budget was in line with the Medium-term Expenditure Plan, announced in September 2009, and represents a first step in a three-year plan towards reining in the budget deficit and returning the budget to a primary surplus position, barring election-related spending setbacks."
Moody's said that the foundations for Turkey's long-term growth are also looking robust, although growth is not likely to resume at the pace achieved in the mid-2000s due to both global and local factors. Still, the country has become increasingly open to the global economy and Turkish industry - which was already moving up the value chain - has used the financial crisis to expand into new export markets and therefore reduce their dependence on EU countries. The population dynamics are also its favor.
January 06, 2010
1909 Albanian Military Revolt in Constantinople
Albanian troops of the Ottoman Army rebelled against the Ottoman government on April 13, 1909. Loyal troops suppressed the rebels after a five-hour battle.
Mavi Boncuk | Albanian Military Revolt in Constantinople (1909)
1909 was an interesting year for the Ottoman Empire. Constantinople recognized Austrian annexation of Bosnia and Herzogovina and Vienna paid the Turks a £2.2 million indemnity, the Russians cancel a £20-million Turkish indemnity in return for Constantinople's recognition of Bulgarian independence.
The 76-year-old grand vizier Kamil is deposed February 13 and replaced by Huseyin Hilmi, 50, and the Baghdad-born general Mahmud Sevket, 51, suppressed a religious uprising against the Young Turk government in what will be remembered as the 31st of March Incident. The 1st Army Corps revolts at Constantinople April 13; composed chiefly of Albanians, forcing Hilmi to resign. A 25,000-man army of liberation arrives from Macedonia April 24, a 5-hour battle ensues, and leaders of the April 13 revolt are executed. The sultan Abdul Hamid II favors a return to absolutism and is imprisoned in his palace, his 4,000-man Albanian guard surrenders to the Young Turks April 25 and gives up its arms, and the sultan is deposed April 26 at age 66 after a 33-year reign by unanimous vote of the Ottoman parliament. His helpless 64-year-old brother will reign until 1918 as Mohammed V, and Gen. Sevket is promoted to inspector general of the first three army corps and minister of war
See Also: Mediterranean Quarterly
Volume 17, Number 3, Summer 2006 | E-ISSN: 1527-1935 Print ISSN: 1047-4552
Mediterranean Quarterly - Volume 17, Number 3, Summer 2006, pp. 26-42
Psilos, Christophoros.
Albanian Nationalism and Unionist Ottomanization 1908 to 1912
In the second half of the nineteenth century, more than three-quarters of a million Albanians lived in the Ottoman Empire. Residing in Albania proper, in the western departments of the Macedonian provinces (vilayets) of Monastir, Kosovo, and Epirus, the Albanian people were divided into Christian Orthodox, Catholics, and Muslims, the last forming the majority. Tribal fragmentation, religious divisions, and geographical barriers in conjunction with the lack of an independent church and separate language had precluded Albanian attempts at the construction of a national identity and statehood. Unlike their neighboring Balkan states, the Albanians were devoid of both statehood and Great Power protection. Notwithstanding these shortcomings, this isolated Balkan people had preserved its customary way of living based on a horizontal, clan-dominated societal system. In their campaign for ethnic assertiveness and self-determination, the Albanians were not without means. For centuries, the Ottoman government had been deploying Albanian paramilitary units in the southern Balkans to police, curb, and often oppress its recalcitrant Slav and Greek subjects.
Mavi Boncuk | Albanian Military Revolt in Constantinople (1909)
1909 was an interesting year for the Ottoman Empire. Constantinople recognized Austrian annexation of Bosnia and Herzogovina and Vienna paid the Turks a £2.2 million indemnity, the Russians cancel a £20-million Turkish indemnity in return for Constantinople's recognition of Bulgarian independence.
The 76-year-old grand vizier Kamil is deposed February 13 and replaced by Huseyin Hilmi, 50, and the Baghdad-born general Mahmud Sevket, 51, suppressed a religious uprising against the Young Turk government in what will be remembered as the 31st of March Incident. The 1st Army Corps revolts at Constantinople April 13; composed chiefly of Albanians, forcing Hilmi to resign. A 25,000-man army of liberation arrives from Macedonia April 24, a 5-hour battle ensues, and leaders of the April 13 revolt are executed. The sultan Abdul Hamid II favors a return to absolutism and is imprisoned in his palace, his 4,000-man Albanian guard surrenders to the Young Turks April 25 and gives up its arms, and the sultan is deposed April 26 at age 66 after a 33-year reign by unanimous vote of the Ottoman parliament. His helpless 64-year-old brother will reign until 1918 as Mohammed V, and Gen. Sevket is promoted to inspector general of the first three army corps and minister of war
See Also: Mediterranean Quarterly
Volume 17, Number 3, Summer 2006 | E-ISSN: 1527-1935 Print ISSN: 1047-4552
Mediterranean Quarterly - Volume 17, Number 3, Summer 2006, pp. 26-42
Psilos, Christophoros.
Albanian Nationalism and Unionist Ottomanization 1908 to 1912
In the second half of the nineteenth century, more than three-quarters of a million Albanians lived in the Ottoman Empire. Residing in Albania proper, in the western departments of the Macedonian provinces (vilayets) of Monastir, Kosovo, and Epirus, the Albanian people were divided into Christian Orthodox, Catholics, and Muslims, the last forming the majority. Tribal fragmentation, religious divisions, and geographical barriers in conjunction with the lack of an independent church and separate language had precluded Albanian attempts at the construction of a national identity and statehood. Unlike their neighboring Balkan states, the Albanians were devoid of both statehood and Great Power protection. Notwithstanding these shortcomings, this isolated Balkan people had preserved its customary way of living based on a horizontal, clan-dominated societal system. In their campaign for ethnic assertiveness and self-determination, the Albanians were not without means. For centuries, the Ottoman government had been deploying Albanian paramilitary units in the southern Balkans to police, curb, and often oppress its recalcitrant Slav and Greek subjects.
January 04, 2010
First Cars in Istanbul
First Cars in IstanbulMavi Boncuk
1895 Basra Deputy Zahirzade Ahmet Paşa [1] drives through Fenerbahçe with the first car in town.
(a 1895 Daimler shown on the left)
In 1912 İstanbul's first vehicular accident happened in Şişli when the Italian Embassy driver hit (of all people) an Albanian. Police managed to apprehend the culprit in Pangalti a few kilometers away.
[1] Zahirzade Ahmet Paşa belonged to a well established Basra family. Zahirzade Yusuf Paşa and his wife donated 6480 kurus to a fund in 1890 established to help the survivors and the families of the sailors who perished at the Turkish Frigate Ertugrul tragedy near Kushimoto, Japan.
1904 Hotchkiss Roi-Des-Belges
[2] Founded by an American, the Hotchkiss cars were made between 1903 and 1955 by Hotchkiss et Cie of Saint-Denis, Paris. The firm initially produced arms for the American Civil War and the governments of Napoleon II and the Third French Republic.
The badge for the marque showed a pair of crossed cannons, evoking the company's earlier history as an arms manufacturer. The first Hotchkiss car, a 17 CV (13 kW) four-cylinder model, appeared in 1903 the 20CV Type C with engine based heavily on the Mercedes Simplex. Six-cylinder models, the Types L and O followed in 1907.
1915 | German Jews Aid Turks
Click imageMavi Boncuk |
ORHAN GAZI (1281 - 1360 CE)
After the conquest of Bursa, in 1326 Orhan Gazi issued a Royal Decree for the building of a synagogue, the "Etz Ha Hayim" synagogue which was in service until 50 years ago. The oppressed Jewish community, thanks to Orhan Gazi could breathe again. When Bursa was declared the capital, Jewish tradesmen were invited to Bursa and thanks to the climate of freedom, Jews came even from Arabia.
MURAD I. HUDAVENDIGAR (1326 - 1389 CE)
Murad I. settled the Jews who fled Hungary in Thrace and Anatolia. When the Ottomans conquered Edirne, the capital was transferred from Bursa to Edirne. The Jewish community of Edirne spoke only Greek. Therefore Jews from Bursa were invited to Edirne to teach Turkish to their kinsman. Learning of the tolerance and liberty the Jewish people enjoyed under the Ottoman crescent, the oppressed Jews from the Balkans came to Edirne.
SULTAN YILDIRIM BAYEZID (1360 - 1403 CE)
In 1394 Sultan Yildirim Bayezid invited the French Jews who were molested by King Charles VI, to the Ottoman Empire. They were settled in Edirne and the Balkans. The French Kings had the habit of inviting the Jews to establish commerce and borrowing money from them. However often, when payment was due, they expelled them; only to reinvite them when they nedded further financing.
CELEBI SULTAN MEHMED I (1389 -1421 CE}
His reign is marked by two important events: The conquest of Izmir and the Seyh Bedreddin revolution; there was a small Jewish community in Manisa that grew after the Ottoman conquest.
The Seikhh Bedreddin uprising: A man called Seyh Bedreddin with a Jew, Samuel from Manisa, known as Torlak Kemal, organized a revolt. Torlak Kemal at the head of 3000 dervishes started spreading ideas saying that except wives everything belonged to the people. The movement started from Izmir and spread to Thrace. Saruhan Bey fought against him and was beaten. Ali Bey took ovet and had no success. Prince Murad at the head of a new army brought victory and consequently Seikh Bedreddin and Torlak Kemal were executed.
SULTAN MURAD II (1402 - 1451 CE )
In 1421 he accepted to Adrianople and Salonica the German Jews who fled persecutions. In 1444 Sultan Murad abdicated in favour of his son Mehmed II, however, on account of war, upon the latters's request, he came back to power and resumed his reign in 1446. During the reign of Murad II, Ishak Pasa was appointed as chief doctor of the palace and a firman was issued in his family's favour exempting them from all taxes. The Jewish doctor Yakup also served in the palace.
January 03, 2010
Meet me Under the Clock
The famous clock of Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the place to have an appointment to meet during those pre iPhone or any other mobile phone times.Does anyone can provide more pictures or can tell me what happened to it.
Mavi Boncuk |
(Source: Selahattin Giz - Beyoğlu 1930 )
Turkish License Plates
Sometimes it helps to date an old photo by using the change of styles in Turkish License Plates [1].
Mavi Boncuk |
A plates issued 1939-1962 H denotes (Hususi-Privately owned vehicle)
B post 1962 city code 2 letter 3 number series
C beginning early 1980's 1 letter 4 number series (major cities run out of plate combinations)
D post 1985 3 letter 2 number series
[1] The current Turkish license plate is rectangular in shape and made of aluminum. On the left, there is the country code "TR" in a 4x10cm blue bar like in EU countries. The text is in black characters on white background, and for official vehicles white on black. On all vehicles two plates have to be present, being one in front and the other in rear.34 TXX 99: Taxis in İstanbul only
99 T 9999: Taxis in all provinces except in İstanbul.
Belgium in the Ottoman Capital
Mavi Boncuk |
"After independence in 1830, the new Belgian State immediately realised the importance of the Ottoman Empire in international affairs, politically and economically... As early as the 1860s Belgium had become one of the world’s leading industrial nations, heavily relying on sales abroad because of its limited domestic market. Developing the Ottoman industrial economy was a shared interest of boththe Ottomans themselves and industrial European countries like Belgium. It is unsurprising therefore, that around 1870, an engineer in mechanics from Liège, Count Zboinski, came all the way to Constantinople to produce Asia Minor’s very first geological map for coal extraction. In particular from the 1880s onwards, interests seemed to match outstandingly between the Ottoman drive to modernise infrastructure and Belgium’s globally renowned expertise in railway building, tramways, transport equipment in general, electricity grids and other types of public utilities. The Legation committed itself to make these opportunities for trade and investment more widely known in Belgian business circles. In October 1894, for instance, the “Recueil Consulaire” published a very substantial 200 page report from the Legation’s dragoman Marghetich, on financial and commercial perspectives in the Ottoman railway sector.
The director of Cockerill [1], Adolphe Greiner himself travelled on the Orient Express to Constantinople in May 1890, hoping to carry off the Ottoman concession to construct the Samsun-Sivas railway. A Member of Parliament from Huy, and at the same time Board Member at Cockerill, Ferdinand Baron de Macar, threw his weight behind Greiner’s negotiations and also came to lobby in Constantinople, in September of the same year. The efforts of Greiner and Macar proved successful, in spite of tough German and French competition, as in the course of 1891 the Porte conferred to Cockerill the railway concession not only between Samsun and Sivas, but over a much longer stretch, down to Alexandrette (Iskenderun), linking thus the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. The project was grand, but unfortunately never got beyond the drawing board. In the end, Belgian industry had to be content with only the concession for a mere 42 km railway between Mudanya and Bursa, granted to Georges Naegelmackers, a banker from Liège, also in 1891. The hunt for Ottoman railway concessions in the 1890s and its intricate political intrigues, proved to be well beyond the leverage power of Belgian companies, in the face of overwhelming French and German strategic jockeying."
Belgium in the Ottoman Capital, From the Early Steps to 'la Belle Epoque' part 1
See Also: part 2
Rails from Haifa line manufactured by the Cockerill Foundry in 1903.
NOTES
[1] William Cockerill (1759–1832) was a British entrepreneur who settled in France. By using some of British industrial inventions (not covered by patents in France), he built one of the greatest companies in Europe dealing in textiles, steam engines, iron, mining, cannons, bridge materials, locomotives, and more.
He was a Lancashire man who settled in Verviers in 1799. Innovations by Cockerill (and others) made Verviers a leader in the mechanisation of woollen textiles production. Thus Verviers became a city made by the Industrial Revolution. In 1807, Cockerill founded a textile factory near Liège (today's Belgium). At that time, due to the Napoleonic blockade, Europe was deprived of British industrial products. To expand his textile machines, Cockerill moved into iron-making to monopolise this branch of industry. Around 1817, the Cockerill and his sons had built the largest iron-foundry and machine manufactory in Europe at Seraing. William's son John Cockerill (1790–1840) was a leading European iron founder. In 1835, the Cockerills’ works made the rails for the Europe's first continental railway, as well as its locomotive, La Belge. For Cockerill's efforts, Belgium became the second industrialised country in Europe (after Britain).
"After independence in 1830, the new Belgian State immediately realised the importance of the Ottoman Empire in international affairs, politically and economically... As early as the 1860s Belgium had become one of the world’s leading industrial nations, heavily relying on sales abroad because of its limited domestic market. Developing the Ottoman industrial economy was a shared interest of boththe Ottomans themselves and industrial European countries like Belgium. It is unsurprising therefore, that around 1870, an engineer in mechanics from Liège, Count Zboinski, came all the way to Constantinople to produce Asia Minor’s very first geological map for coal extraction. In particular from the 1880s onwards, interests seemed to match outstandingly between the Ottoman drive to modernise infrastructure and Belgium’s globally renowned expertise in railway building, tramways, transport equipment in general, electricity grids and other types of public utilities. The Legation committed itself to make these opportunities for trade and investment more widely known in Belgian business circles. In October 1894, for instance, the “Recueil Consulaire” published a very substantial 200 page report from the Legation’s dragoman Marghetich, on financial and commercial perspectives in the Ottoman railway sector.
The director of Cockerill [1], Adolphe Greiner himself travelled on the Orient Express to Constantinople in May 1890, hoping to carry off the Ottoman concession to construct the Samsun-Sivas railway. A Member of Parliament from Huy, and at the same time Board Member at Cockerill, Ferdinand Baron de Macar, threw his weight behind Greiner’s negotiations and also came to lobby in Constantinople, in September of the same year. The efforts of Greiner and Macar proved successful, in spite of tough German and French competition, as in the course of 1891 the Porte conferred to Cockerill the railway concession not only between Samsun and Sivas, but over a much longer stretch, down to Alexandrette (Iskenderun), linking thus the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. The project was grand, but unfortunately never got beyond the drawing board. In the end, Belgian industry had to be content with only the concession for a mere 42 km railway between Mudanya and Bursa, granted to Georges Naegelmackers, a banker from Liège, also in 1891. The hunt for Ottoman railway concessions in the 1890s and its intricate political intrigues, proved to be well beyond the leverage power of Belgian companies, in the face of overwhelming French and German strategic jockeying."
Belgium in the Ottoman Capital, From the Early Steps to 'la Belle Epoque' part 1
See Also: part 2
Rails from Haifa line manufactured by the Cockerill Foundry in 1903.NOTES
[1] William Cockerill (1759–1832) was a British entrepreneur who settled in France. By using some of British industrial inventions (not covered by patents in France), he built one of the greatest companies in Europe dealing in textiles, steam engines, iron, mining, cannons, bridge materials, locomotives, and more.
He was a Lancashire man who settled in Verviers in 1799. Innovations by Cockerill (and others) made Verviers a leader in the mechanisation of woollen textiles production. Thus Verviers became a city made by the Industrial Revolution. In 1807, Cockerill founded a textile factory near Liège (today's Belgium). At that time, due to the Napoleonic blockade, Europe was deprived of British industrial products. To expand his textile machines, Cockerill moved into iron-making to monopolise this branch of industry. Around 1817, the Cockerill and his sons had built the largest iron-foundry and machine manufactory in Europe at Seraing. William's son John Cockerill (1790–1840) was a leading European iron founder. In 1835, the Cockerills’ works made the rails for the Europe's first continental railway, as well as its locomotive, La Belge. For Cockerill's efforts, Belgium became the second industrialised country in Europe (after Britain).
Haifa Monument for the Sultan
The Jezreel Valley railway, or simply the Valley railway (Hebrew: רכבת העמק, Rakevet HaEmek) refers to a historical railroad in Ottoman and British Palestine, which was part of the larger Hejaz railway and ran along the Jezreel Valley. 
It was built in the beginning of the 20th century and connected Haifa with the rest of the Hejaz railway, its last stop within the Palestine Mandate borders being al-Hamma. After many failed attempts, the final planning and construction lasted 4 years. The line was finally opened with 5 stations in January 1904, between Haifa and Beit She'an.
On October 15, 1905, the entire Haifa–Daraa section opened, with 8 stations within Ottoman Palestine. On the opening ceremony, when the first train left Haifa for Damascus, a monument for Abdul Hamid II was unveiled in Haifa, which stands to this day. The monument was built in Turkey at least two years before this ceremony, and was brought to Palestine by sea.
The railway was inaugurated on October 15, 1905 and operated until the middle of the 20th century.
It was built in the beginning of the 20th century and connected Haifa with the rest of the Hejaz railway, its last stop within the Palestine Mandate borders being al-Hamma. After many failed attempts, the final planning and construction lasted 4 years. The line was finally opened with 5 stations in January 1904, between Haifa and Beit She'an. On October 15, 1905, the entire Haifa–Daraa section opened, with 8 stations within Ottoman Palestine. On the opening ceremony, when the first train left Haifa for Damascus, a monument for Abdul Hamid II was unveiled in Haifa, which stands to this day. The monument was built in Turkey at least two years before this ceremony, and was brought to Palestine by sea.
The railway was inaugurated on October 15, 1905 and operated until the middle of the 20th century.