Ottoman graves in Damascus, Erdogan’s obsession
Turkish leader never misses chance to regain influence in territories once part of the Empire
Behind the Grand Umayyad Mosque in the Old City of Damascus, there are two graves belonging to three Ottoman pilots who crashed in present day Palestine en route to Egypt, in 1914.
Strangely enough, they are well maintained, not by Syrians, but by paid agents of the Turkish embassy. Although downsized drastically since 2011, the embassy still carries out minimal yet important duties — one of which, it seems, is caring for Ottoman graves in Syria.
Part of that interest, no doubt, is due to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s obsession with his country’s Ottoman past. In 2015 he made headlines by dressing up his entourage in Ottoman military uniforms, with feathers and gold helmets, during a dramatic reception welcoming Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Decorating the walls were Ottoman iconography and calligraphy. Erdogan is presently toying with the idea of reinstituting Ottoman Turkish at staterun schools, and has modified the Turkish national anthem, which is now played on brass instruments, making it sound “Ottoman”.
Erdogan knows his Ottoman history. He strongly believes his ancestors were backstabbed both by the Arabs and the Europeans, and he never misses a chance to regain influence in territories once part of the Ottoman Empire. Last December, for example, he got rights to rehabilitate the ex-Ottoman port island of Sukain in northeastern Sudan, and in mid-2016, his troops marched across the border into Syria, occupying cities that were once part of the empire.
Before Syrian-Turkish relations were suspended in mid2011, the Turks sent archivists to Damascus to repair, store and translate Ottoman manuscripts at the Museum of Historical Documents. They were tasked with making sure that the entire Ottoman-era paperload was in good condition, especially pertaining to the last great sultan, Abdul Hamid II.
Abdul Hamid has been a lifelong inspiration for Erdogan. Ten years ago, he helped bankroll a mega-production about his life, starring Syrian actors.
Although he had never visited the city, Abdul Hamid held Damascus in high esteem, which he called “Sham Sharif” (Damascus the Noble). It was the point of departure for one of the two great Haj caravans to Makkah. During its Umayyad past, Damascus had given Islam its first navy, post service, bureaucracy — and hereditary caliphate.
Umayyad legacy
Prominent Ottoman expert Amr Mallah told Gulf News: “In fact, it was Sultan Abdul Hamid who carried out the necessary repair of the Umayyad Mosque, which had been ravaged by fire in 1893. It was re-opened with great fanfare during his era in 1902.”
Seven of Abdul Hamid’s children are buried in Takieh Sulaimaniyeh, a mosque complex in central Damascus, built by Sulaiman the Magnificent, facing the present Four Seasons Hotel. Erdogan tried repeatedly to rent it out — or buy it, before 2011. It is now used to sell Damascene crafts and memorabilia.
Also buried in the Syrian capital are two children of Sultan Abdul Majid I, and three children of Sultan Murad V, in addition to a number of relatives, bringing the number of Ottoman figures to a total of 18.
So important are Ottoman graves for the Turkish president that in early 2015 he sent his troops into Syria, seven months before the Russian military intervention, with orders to exhume the remains of Sulaiman Shah, the grandfather of Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Dynasty. He was buried near the city of Raqqa and his tombstone was built on Sultan Abdul Hamid’s instructions. The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne states that his grave is considered Turkish territory, part of an enclave within Syria’s borders, guarded for the past 100 years by Turkish soldiers. Erdogan snatched it to save it from the clutches of Daesh.
At its apex, the Ottoman Empire included parts of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Crimea and the Caucasus, bestriding three continents with a population of approximately 25 million.
As the empire eroded, it lost Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Cyprus and Egypt.