WharE does Eurola Gnd?

fuDtTH HERRINBir Bizans Tarihgisi G<iztiyle Bugtiniin TrirkiyesiA Byzantine Historian's yiew of Turkey Today

Bugiin Tiirkiye 'ye gclen Avrupah turistleri,ziyaret ettikleri tarihi yerlcr arasrnda enderinden etkileyenler, belki de Ephosos gibiyrkrlmrg klasik kentlerdir. Burada. kamuyaprlanmn tasanmlm ve <izellikle de birzamanlar geligen Yunan kenderinin planrnrAtina ve Roma gibi giiniimtiziin srkrgrkmodern bagkentlerine g<ire 9ok daha iyi birbigimde de$erlendirme olanaSt vardrr. Bunack olarak, aym turisdcr, golgu kez AzizPaul'rin ayak izlerinin tizcrindcnyiiriidiikle rinin farkrna vanrlar; Aziz paul'iinRoma eyalctlcri ve Ktigrik Asya'dakiyolculuklannda izledigi yol birgok turistikge zinin programrna ahnmrytrr. B6yleceziyaretgiler, Tiirkiye 'yi iki temel agrdan, hemklasik Greko-Romen hem de ilkel Hristiyankiilttrlerinin begiSi olarak <)$renip tanrrlar.Ve bu iki kadim gelenek Avrupa uygarh$rnrnolugumunun 6zgiin 6seleri olarak kabuledildigine gcire, konuklar kendilerinihayadannda ilk kez, kiiltiirlerinin kcikenineboylesine yakrn hissederler.Biitrin bunlar, yanhg bir bigimde de olsa, kentya$amlntn ytikseligi, kamu g<irevleri,yurttaglJ< ve antik Yunan demokrasisi:felsefenin geliEmcsi, teorik ve uygulamah bilimle r ve estetik; Roma hukuku ve Imparatorlukidari bilimleri; ve belirli bir dinle , Hrristiyankk,la iligkile ndirilir. Rcine sanstan bu yana bukonulann incelenmesi zaman igerisinde en gok Kuzey Avrupa,da kdklegti, bilindigi gibi, II.Diinya savagr'run sonuna kadar Latince ve yunanca yriksek <i$renimin temelini olugturdu."Kasikler" yalnrzca bir bilim dah olarak geligmekle kalmadr, diirry".rrn mirasrm sahiplenerekGriney Avrupayr, uzak Kuzey'in be lirledifi <ilgtitleri tutturamayan ..fakir akraba. konumunadiiqiirdii.Eski Akdenizin Avrupa ki.iltiirlerine ve siyasal olugumlanna nasrl bir katkrda bulundu$u

To European tourlsts visitlng Turk ef todaf, themost impressive of the many historic sit€s theyvisit are probably those of ruined classical citiessuch as Ephesos. Here they can appreciate thedeslgn of public buildings and especially thelayout ofonce llourishing Greek cities, farbett€r than in the cluttered modern capitals ofAthens and Rorne. In addition, they frequentlyfind themselves walking in the footsteps of St.Paul, whose journeys through the Romanprovince of Asia Minor are replicated in many atourist itinerary. Thus in two key respects theycome to know Turkey as home to both classicalGreco-Roman and primitive Christian cultures.And since these ancient tr.ditions are regularlyheld to con3titute signllicant elements in themaking of European civilization, sqch visicor€feel they have come closer than ever before toth€ ?oots of their own culture.The3e are es3ociated, however incorrectly, withthe rise of city lifc, civic duties, citizenship andancicnt Greek dcmocracy; with thedevelopment of philosophy, theoretical andapplied sciences, and aesthetics; witft Romanimperlal administration and law; and with aparticular religion, Christianlty. Since theRenaissance, the 3tudy of these topics hasbecome most deeply implanted in northerrEurope, indeed until the Second World WarLatin and Greek formed the basis of highereducation. The "classics" not only flourished asa tield of 3tudy, lt also approprlated the heritageof the ancient world and condemned southernEurop€ to thc status of a ..poor relation",unable to attarr the standards set in the distantnorth.With these often mud.lled nations of what theancicnt ltlediternnean has contributed toEuropean cultures and political fo?matiohs,touri3tr ar?iving in Turk€y today wltness acont€mporary setting in marked contrast totheir own assumptions. For the local inhabitants3peak a strente language, observe the lslamic

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When docs Eutolc entl

Awapo Ncredc Bitiyor?

luDrrH l|ERRrr

konusunda bu genelliklc bulanrklagmrgkavram-larla beslenen turisder bugiinTiirkiye'ye geldiklerinde, kendivarsayrmlanna belirgin bir bigimde kargrt,ga$dag bir rnanzarayla karErlaErrlar. Buramnsakinleri, yabancr bir dil konugmakta,camilere gidip Islam inancrm uygulamakta veBau Avrupah olarak bilinen hayat tarzrm pekfazla haurlatmayan, daha gok YakrnDo$u'nun Semitik halklanna yakrn gdriinenbir hayat tarzr siirdtirmektedirler. Her geyingciriinriEii, duyumu, kokusu, farkhdrr. Onun ,igin ziyaretgilcrin, ktiltiirel kimlitlerinin bclylbhig tamdrk olmayan dini, sosyal, siyasalonctilleri kargrsrnda gagkmlt$a diigmcleri vebu konudaki temcl varqayrmrn bu yabancralanlardan baglayrp baglamadr$r soruqunusormalan anlaglhr bir geydir. Qa$dag \ahgkanhklar, cski Akdenizi Avrupa tarihincbaflayan geleneklerinin kavranmasrm go$uzaman enge lle mektcdir.Bunun nedenleri arasrnda, Tiirkiye'ninOsman.h lmparatorlu$unun yrkrntrlanndanyaratrlan gok geng bir devlct oldu$ugosterilebilir. Osmanh lmparatorlu$u kendid6ncmindc, Avrupa siyasetinde bir Ti.irkkorkusu yaratmrgtr ve kargrh$rnda kahve ileayg<ire$inin bilgisini ya da Mozart'n allnTurcn margnda kullamlan zil, tig kcigeli vedalul gibi bugiin Avrupah olmamn simgesisayrlan geyleri getirmigtir.Osmanh Tiirklerine iligkin cdilgin birbigimde benimscnmig diigi.inccler pek makbuldc$ildir - Yunan demokrasisi, Roma hukukuve Hrristiyan inancr yerinc do$u despotizminin igc yaramaz safsatalan ve yasal olarak gegerlikabul edilen gok cali evlilik gibi konular agrr basar. Ttirkiye'nin, Kuzeyli ziyaretgilcrin kendi"Avrupa" tammlanna hi9 uymayan,'Avrupa-drgr' ydnlcri bu kanrlan iyice pekigtirmig olur.Oysa, Osmanh-<incesi tarihini izlcrlerse , b<ilgcnin 1453'c kadar Bizans lmparatorlu$unun birparfasmr olugturdu$unu, bunun da, klasit dtinyanrn Roma ve Hellenist YunanImparatorluklanmn ycrinc gegtifini, ii$rcncceklerdir. Bu imparatorluklar ise, kendi miraslanmberekedi Mezopotamya hilalinde 'uygarh$rn gafa$rna'na kadar geri g<itiirebilen Perslerin,Hitiderin, Ugariderin kadim kiilti.irlerinin iizerine oturmu$nr. Bu karmaErk ve iist iiste binmig

feith in mosques, and lead a life-style thatapp€aE closer to the Semitic peoples of theNeer E.st than anything recognizably westernEuropean. Everything looks, feels and smellsdlfrerenL So it is understandable that theyerp?cas bewild€rment and ask if the basic.ssumptions about cultural identity must b.8infrom unfamiliar premises - religious, social andpolitical. The modern overlay of contemporarypracticc often hinderc appreciation of ancientJ'ledlterranean tradltions more readilyassociated with European history.For Turkey is a very young state, created in theruins of th€ Ottoman Empire, which In turn hadbroutht into European politics a fear of theTurk, es well as knowledge of cofree andc?oi3sants, or the cymbal, drum and trlangleemployed in ]tlozart's marches offa furco,among things now considered quintess€ntiallyEuropean. Received opinion about the OttomanTurks l3 not fayourable - in place of Greekdemocracy, Roman law and Christian faith,hop€lessly in.dequate stereotypes of orientald$poti3m and aufhorized poltgamy tend topr€dominate, AnC these are confirmed by the"non-European'r aspects of Turkey, as definedby northern visipors in accordance with theirown version of l'Europe".Yct if they pur{ue the pre-Ottoman historT ofthe region, thei lind that until 1.153 it hadform€d part of the Byzantine Empire, itself asucceisor to the Roman and Hellenistic GreekEmpires of the classical world. In turn, thesehad overlaid the ancient cultures of thePer:lans, the Hiftltes and the Ugaritlcs, whotraced thelr inhF itance back to "the dawn ofcivilization" in tie Fertile Crescent oflrl€3opotamia. I-tlaking sense of this complex andmulti-layered genealogy may be diflicult for latetwcntioth c€Iturt visitorc, yet in it lie clues asto the develitpment of their own familiarEurope. iThis is in

?a?t due to the physlcal position of

Wh.rc dor Eu,epc .n6l

Avr*po Nerede Bitior?

luDrTH HEnnx

gok-kath soya$acrndan bir anlam glkarmakyirminci ytizyrl sonu ziyarctgiler igin giigolabilir. ama onlann 'tamdrklan" kendiAvrupalanmn geligmesinin ipuglan buradasakhdrr.Bu olgu bir dlgiidc Ttirkiye'nin fizikselkonumundan ritiirii briyledir, Yunan veRomahlar bu topraklan, bilinen dtinyanrn<itesine uzanan koca Asya krtasrmn bireklentisi sayarak Kiigiik Asya, 'Asia minor"diye adlandrrmrElardrr. Asya'mn batr ucundadrgan u$ramrg bu ttimsek kayda gegmig biiti.intarih boyunca bir koridor, Uzak DoSu ileAkdeniz diinyasr arasrnda birlegtegtirici birgegit olugturmugtur. Avrupa krtasrndanyakuzca Eok dar bir deniz geridiyle, lstanbulve Qanakkale bogazlannda aynldrg igin, ikikara kiidesi arasrnda da <jnemli bir ba$lanuhalkasrn olu$turmu$tur. (Bcnzer fizikselmesafesedeki baEka iki kara pargasr olanFinlandiya ya da Fas bdyle bir igleve sahipdegildirler). Bazen bir aynm gizgisi gibialgilanan gey gcrgekte bir engel olmaktan gokgegit veren bir kaprydr. Elbette 1966'ya kadarBo$az'da bir k<iprii yoktu vc bu derin vadiyidolduran sulann gtiglii akrntrlan hala eskisikadar tehlikelidir ama 6yle de olsa, birgokeski gezgin bu deniz pargasrnda defalarcayelken aem$ ve $imdi modern Istanbul'unyerinde bulunan eski Yunan kolonisiBizans'rn mevkiini hayranhkla seyretmi$ti.En azrndan Geg Bronz Qagr

'dan (lO. 14.yy) baglayarak, Anadolu platosunda srrasrylaiisdenen Hititler, Hurriler, Traklar,LidyaLlar, yo$un ticaret a$lan olugturdular. Bu genig kiiLlriirel gegig modelleri iqindeAnadolunun, Mezopotamya ile Avrupa arasrnda bir kilit olarak merkezi konumu, insan.lannharcket etmelerini kolaylagurdr ve ticari, kiiltiirel, sanatsal, ba$lan getirdi. Batr loyrsr boyuncaYunan kolonilerinin kurulmasr ve Biiyiik Iskendcrin savaqlan bu yerlegim kahbr iginde, tipik vebelki de 6zgiil, Hellenistik evreyi oluEturdu. B6ylece, Kiigiik Asya'run Yunanca konuganhalklan, Aziz Paul'iin vaazlanndan gok daha 6nce, bdlgenin modern kavramErna bigim vcrcnklasik gevreyi yaratular.Iki bin yrl boyunca Yunanca, bdlgenin, hem Hrristiyan $ehider hem de onlann putperest

Turkey, thet province identified by the Greek3and Romans as little Ad+ Asia Jrlinor, anappendage to the great continent of Asia whichertended beyond the lnown world. Thisprotruberance at the western edge of Asia hasthrough all recorded time constituted acorridor, a connecting pas3age between the FarEast and the ltlediterranean world. And becauseit is separated from the European contin€nt byonly the narrowest strip of sea, at theBosphorus and the Dardanelles, lt has alsoforrned an important link between the two landmasses. (Lands in a similar physical proximity,such as J.lorocco or Finland, do not perform anysuch function.) What is sometimes conceived asa dividing line was le$ a barrier than a gateway.Of course, there was no bridSe over thGBosphorus until 1966, and the cur?ents in thisdeep gorge are still treacherous, but even so,many ancient travellerc sailed repeatedly overthis stretch of sea, admiring the slt[ation of theancient Greek colony of Byzantium, founded onthe site now occupied by modenr lstanbul.From at least the Late Eronze Age onwards(l4th century B.C.), the Hittites, Hlurrians,Thracians and Lydians in turn est blishedintensive trading networks bas€d on theAnatolian plateau. ln these yast patt€ms ofculturel transmi3sion, the central position ofAnatolia as a hinge between ltlesopotamia andEurope facilitated the movement of peoples,which brought in its wake commercial, culturaland .rtistic tiei. The establishment of Greekcolonles along the western seaboard and thecampaigns of Alexander the Great constitut€d attpical, lf specifically Hellenistic phase in thispattern of occupation. Long before thepreaching of St. Paul, therefore, Greek-speakinginhabitants of A3ia l.linor created a classicalenvironment that was to shape modernundeFt nding of the region.For two millennia Greek remained the llnguafranca ofthe reglon, employed by both the

Atrap a Nered.e Bitilor?Whele does Europe end?

JUDTTH HERRTl{

diigmanlarr tarafindan kdhn:'J'an lingua

frnnca'st olarak kabul edildi. Daha sonra bugelene$i, Ortaga$rn en dikkate de$eryaprlannr nesiller boyunca inEa eden BizanshYunanlar, go$u kez freskler, mermer yontularve mozaiklerle bezenmiE, Ortodoks kiliseleribigiminde siirdiirdtiler. Bugiin Tiirkiye'debirgok da$rn tepesine kurulmug olan kalelereoranla daha az korunmug olsa da, kiliseler veG<ireme'de bulunan Kapodokya vadisindekima$ara evleri, Bizans lmparatorlu$undaOrtodokslu$u go$unlu$un dini olarak kabulettirecek olan uzun donemli bir Hristiyanegemenli$inin <inemli tanrklarrdrr. BuHristiyan ktiltiirii, daha sonra Balkanlar, ortaAvrupa ve Rusya'yr kapsayan devasa bir alanayayildr.Bu tiir tarihsel katkrlar, bugiin Tiirkiye'yegelen srradan bir konuk igin pek de gbzlegdriiniir geyler degildir. 450 yrlhk Osmanlrycinetimi, birgok ortaga$ Bizans anrunrsilmigtir. Ne var ki Tiirkler ve Osmanhlarimparatorluk yonetiminin bir gok ydniiniikendi imparatorluklanna almrglar, veHristiyan cemaaderin yagamalarrna, kendidinsel kurallannr, kendi kiliselerindeuygulamalanna, ek bir vergi kargrh$rnda izinvermiElerdir.Ama bugtin Tiirkiye'nin <izgtin Avrupahnitelifi gegmigin klasik ya da Hrristiyanegemenli$inin bu tiir kahntrlarrna baSrmhdegildir. Bu, gok daha belirgin bir bigimde,bugtin Ttirkiye olarak adlandrnlan yerde,Avrupa kiiltiiriine katkr getirenleribenimseyen ve koruyan uygarlagma si.irecinden kaynaklanrr. Tiirkler bu topraklardan fatih yada banggr yerleqmeciler olarak gegtiklerinde topra$r iElediler, kendi amtlanu inga ettiler vebolgeye Akdeniz diinyasrnrn en zengin tarihlerinden birini bahgettiler. Son d<inemdeki Islamkatmamna kargrn, Anadolunun sert fiziksel gevresi, kendinden onceki yerleqmiq insanlannhepsinin hayat becerilerini kendi potasrnda birlegtirdi. Ve klasik gegmiEin antik gehirleri,ortaga$ doneminde Hristiyanh$r kabul etti, kentli uygarhk modelleri sa$ladr, ve bunlar dasrrasr gelince Islamiyeti etkiledi.Tiirkiye'nin karmagrk tarih-<incesi donemini, rengArenk giysileri iginde "barbar" da$

Christian martyrs and their pagan persecutors,and subsequently by generations of ByzantineGreeks who constructed the most notablebuildings of the medieval era in the form oforthodox churches, frequently decorated withfrescoes, sculpted marble and mosaic. Whilethe churches have suwived less well than thecastles that top many a mountain in Turkeytoday, the cappadocian caye dwellints atGoreme sen e a3 a reminder of the long periodof Christian dominance that implantedOrthodoxy as the maiority religion of theByzantine Empire. This Christian culture waseyentually spread over an immense area of theBalkans, central Europe and Russia-Such historic contributions are not visible to thecasual visitor to Turkey today. tl50 yearc ofOttoman rule have efiaced many of themedieval Bfrantine monuments. Yet the Turksand Ottomans incorporated many aspects ofimperial rule into their own empire, andpermitted the suryiyal of Ghristian communitiesas a minority that continued to use its ownliturSy in its own churches for the payment ofan additional tax.8ut the 3pecifically European quality of Turkeytoday is not dependent on these vestiges of pastclassical or Christian dominance. lt derives in amuch more significant way from the civilizingprocesses that have welcomed and shelteredwithin the area called Turkey so manycontributors to European culture. As theypassed throuSh, whether as conquerors orpeaceable settlers, they worked the land,constructed their own monuments, andendowed the region with one ofthe richesthistories of the l.lediterranean world. Despiteits recent lslamic overlay, the harch physicalenvironment of Anatolia has incorporated thecombined living skills of preyious occupants.And the ancient cities of the classical past,adapted for Christian life in the medieyalperiod, provided models of urban civilization

Aerap a N ere d.e Bitiyor ?Whcr€ docs Eur!?e end?

luDrTH HERRII

egkiyalann-r kaydetmekle gegiren ilk Avrupahgezginlerin hemen hemcn biitiiniiyleg<iziinden kagu. Ti.irkleri, Hristiyanlann vahgidtigmanlan ya da Osmanh sarayrm, hadrmlartarafindan Sultanr memnun etmek igine$itilen giizel kole krzlann haremi olarakgocukca tammlamalanmrzr bu aym seyyahlaraborglul'uz. Ama aruk, bu basmakahphklanatrp onlann yerine modern Tiirkiye'nin'yabancrh$r" nrn daha 9<iziimleyici biragrklamasrm koymanrn zamanr goktan geldi.Bir kez bu siireg baglarsa, co$rafi yondenkrtayr kesse bile bu iilkenin Avrupa'mn birpargasr olduSu, gok gabuk anlagrlacaktrr .Avrupa'nrn geligmesine tarihsel katkrlarrarasrnda, Aisopos'un (Ezop) Yunanfabllanndan (Frigya'dan gelditi sdylenir),bugiin hala biitiin diinyadaki ortodokskegiglerin cemaaderini ydnetcn KapadokyahAziz Basil'in kanunlanna kadar, Tiirkiyedenen b<ilge, ga$dag diinyamrza bugiinekadar yagayagelen <i$eler saSladr. Bu, biruygarlaqma srirecinin parEasrydr ve gene aynrsrireg ltalya'da Rcinesansr tegvik etti ve o dasrrasr gelince Batr'yr belirli bir geligmeydntine oturttu. Bu tarihsel d<iniig olmadan,Avrupa bugtin temsil etti$i birime, herhaldehig benzemeyecekti ve srmrlannrn neredebagladrgr tartr$masr bugiin oldugu bigimdeformtile edilmeyecckti. Ama daha uzakgegmige baktrkga, onbeginci yiizyrl Italyasr ileiligkilendirilen bilimin canlanmasr ve ki.iltiir,Anadolu ga$rna kadar izlenebilen belirli katl:rfakt<irleri olmadan, hig gergeklegmeyecekti.Ve g<irece yeni kiiltiirel geligmeler iizerine ytizeysel tezlerin gok daha uzun bir perspektifigeren ciddi analize tabii tutulmasr igte bu nedenle gereklidir. Qiinkii Avrupa'mn kendisiningeligmesi bin yrl siiren bir siirecin ayrlmaz bir pargasrdrr, ki bunun iginde Tiirkiye'nin ana birrol oynadrlr g6sterilebilir.

which in turn influenced lslam.The complicated pre-historT of Turkey almosttotally escaped the first European travellers,who noted the "barbaric" mountain bandits incolourful costumes. To them we owe the naivecharacterization of Turks as savage persecutorsof Christians, of the Ottoman court as theharem of beautiful slave girls trained by eunuchsto please the Sultan. But it is high time thesestereotypes were discarded, in favour of moreanalytic explanations for the "strangeness" ofmodern Turkey. Once this process isundertaken, it rapidly becomes evident that thecountry is firmly a part of Europe, even if

teofaphically in only abuts the continent,Through its historic contributions to Europeandevelopment, from the Greek Fables of Aesop(who is alleged to have come from Lydia) to theRule of St. Basil of Cappadocia, which still

Soverns communities of orthodox monksthroughout the world, the region called Turkeyhas supplied lastint elements of ourcontemporart world. This occured as part of anoverarching ciyilizing process, whichencouraged the Renaissance in ltaly that in turnset the vvest on a particular path ofdevelopmenL Without that historic turn,Europe would probably not resemble the unit itis today and the debate over where its bordersbegin would not be formulated in the way it is.But looking further bach it is clear that therevival of leaming and culture associated withfiftoenth century ltaly would not have takenplace without certain contributort factors thatcan be traced back to the area of Anatolia. Andit is for this reason that superlicial artumentsover relatively recent cultural developmenGshould be subiected to analysis in a much longerperspective. For th€ development of Europeitself is an inteSral part of that millennialproc€ss, in which Turkey can be shown to haveplayed a seminal part,