I should have guessed we had to walk a kilometer once I heard an attendant repeat every five seconds, “The rally venue is 100 metres ahead, on the left”. You would think we were re-conquering the city, as we walked on and on but felt like we were in the same place. In the meantime, I observed the middle-aged men, whose commercial acumen I greatly admired, selling scarves, caps, sandwiches, bottled water, flags and plaques.
On this beautiful Saturday I was off work I naturally headed to the mag-ni-fi-cent event at which the AK Party would ‘celebrate’ the anniversary of the Conquest of Istanbul. At a meeting I was not present, the senior authorities of the newspaper had issued the order for my exile.
I didn’t have a choice, so I got on the underground and arrived at the site. Before I left home, though, in order to fit in with the setting, I first removed my earrings and then put on my beloved orange ‘Istanbul’ t-shirt and stepped out. As I was walking, I for some reason recalled the words of Nazlı Ilıcak* [*A veteran right-wing columnist] which I couldn’t seem to get out of my head: “I am a member of the elite who lives amidst the people.” Perhaps thanks to the courage brought on by these words, I felt strangely excited. I wonder how they are? This was the first time I would be together with this many AK Party supporters. This was, in a sense, akin to those who for years rant and rave about Armenians going to an Armenian rally.
The long and short of it, God knows they were right in what they say in their election slogan: “Others speak, AK Party produces results”, because 20 minutes laters I found myself in Yenikapı where the rally was being held. I hope you realized, I don’t say AKP, but AK Party. That’s what a political rally does to you. Anyhow, once I got out of the underground station, I began seeing arrow signs saying, ‘This way for rally venue’ and progressed in the designated direction for a reason I still had not fully comprehended. Thanks to the crowd from Edirne to Ardahan, and Sarıyer to Bağcılar, the place of the rally immediately revealed itself. I was met by a handout for an ‘Arabic language course’ the moment I entered the rally venue. Although I love languages, I thought this is not the right place and time, took the handout without asking for details, and continued on my path with firm steps. We were progressing, ‘Stronger together’, towards the venue. I was surrounded in all corners with people carrying Erdoğan banners. I have never before felt so helpless. Just as that thought passed through my mind, I learned that there was, in fact, worse. I saw two youngsters carry a banner proclaiming, ‘You be Fatih* [*Memed II, the sultan who conquered Istanbul], and I’m ready to be Ulubatlı* [*The legendary soldier who during the conquest is believed to have been the first to place the Ottoman flag on the walls of the city]’ and letting out a ‘la havle vela kuvvete*’ [*‘Power and Might come only from God’] did my best to retain my calm and persistently walked on.
Plaques featuring Erdoğan’s signature
I should have guessed we had to walk a kilometer once I heard an attendant repeat every five seconds, “The rally venue is 100 metres ahead, on the left”. You would think we were re-conquering the city, as we walked on and on but felt like we were in the same place. In the meantime, I observed the middle-aged men, whose commercial acumen I greatly admired, selling scarves, caps, sandwiches, bottled water, flags and plaques. And yes, there were plaques featuring Erdoğan’s signature for sale. And finally, we are at the entrance. When I saw the x-ray scanners I did indeed ask myself, “Why didn’t the Byzantines defend the city this well?” ‘Men from the left, women from the right,’ ordered the attendant. Before even entering, I asked another attendant, “Where is the exit?” As if I knew what was coming, I was pointed towards a vague direction with the response: “I think they’re going to leave from somewhere over there, but I can’t tell you when they will allow it…” Of course, this response triggered in me the paranoid question, “What if I can’t make it out of there?” and I took the decision to observe the “rally” without venturing too far ahead. I leave it to my boss’s conscience to deal with the fact that I was busy gathering “impressions” from an AK Party rally while my friends were dancing the halay a little further down the road in Kazlıçeşme* [*where an HDP rally was being held around the same time]. (Laughs…)
Chatting at the entrance
As I killed time at the rally, I also eavesdropped on the highly significant sociopolitical discussions, assessments and proposalas of AK Party supporters. It was within the scope of the AK Party’s Conquest celebrations that I learned that America, Europe, Israel, Germany and England are our most ferocious enemies. Well, after all, what do they say, not knowing is not the fault, but not learning is. Some were eating sunflower seeds while they offered, “He can cope with the lot of them, remember Davos…” on the topic of Israel; while others had more modest consolations such as, “See how the Underground works, we came here so fast. You have to give it to those who built it”.
