Conquest Edition: How Quickly They Forget...

//ed. note: no link available. Original text below.//

(HaberTürk Newspaper, 31 May 2015)

//yesterday, 30 May, marked the anniversary of the

conquest of Byzantine Constantinople by Sultan

Mehmed II, Fatih (Conqueror), in 1453, and the 

beginning of the Turkish 'Istanbul' we know today.//

           The Conquest (Fetih) of Istanbul

Fatih Sultan Mehmed, who conquered Istanbul for the Turks

in 1453, died at Hünkâr Çayırı in Maltepe (actually Çayırova,

closer to Gebze) on 3 May 1481.  His body was secretly 

transferred to Topkapı Palace but when news of his death got

out anarchy was the (dis)order of the day in Istanbul. 

Çayırova, the place where Sultan Mehmed II died in 1481.

Soldiers began to pillage the city, thrash some of the statemen

in the streets and, in the meantime, the leaders of the state 

wrestled with each other to see who would take the throne. 

But while all this was going on in the city and the pashas were

gouging out each other's eyes, the embalming of the Sultan's 

body was forgotten. 

In fact, no one even remembered to put a lit candle by the 

body, as custom demanded, and the body began to smell.

Finally, when palace workers began to complain of the stench,

one of the palace guards, "Baltacılar Kethüdâsı Kasım" (Kasım,

the lieutenant colonel of the corps of halberdiers.) had the 

body embalmed.  

The tumult in Istanbul continued until 21 May, when Fatih

Sultan Mehmed's eldest son Bayezid, then governor of 

Amasya, came to Istanbul and assumed the throne. He had

his father's body buried the following day in a grand ceremony

at the mosque Sultan Mehmed had had built.  Baltıcılar 

Kethüdâsı Kasım was promoted and made "kapıcı" of the 

palace (Superintendant of Ushers, the title of the high

functionary of the state who took petitions to the Sultan 

as they were offered in public.)

Kasım wrote a note (above) to Bayezid to inform him that

Sultan Mehmed's body was causing a stench. Years ago 

the great historian İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı found the report,

which reads as follows: "My Exalted Sultan, Please read this

until the end for it concerns the soul of your father. After 

the Sultan's death, for three days and three nights no candle

burned next to him. I came and reported this to the Kapıcılar 

Kethüdâsı who then told İshak Paşa. At the order of the Paşa,

a candle was lit but because of the stench no one went near

the body. I and a master went and embalmed the body. The

Kethüdâ is aware of what I have written to you."

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FATİH'İN CENAZESİNİ SARAYIN BİR ODASINDA 

UNUTUP KOKUTMUŞTUK 

FATİH Sultan Mehmed, hayata 3 Mayıs 1481’de Maltepe

 civarındaki Hünkâr Çayırı’nda veda etti ve cenazesi

Topkapı Sarayı’na gizlice nakledildi.

Vefat haberi duyulunca İstanbul’da tam bir anarşi yaşandı. 

Askerler şehri yağma etti, bazı devlet adamlarını sokak

ortasında parçaladılar ve bu arada devletin büyükleri de

tahta kimin geçeceği konusunda birbirleriyle mücadeleye

girişti.

Şehirde bütün bunlar olup biter ve paşalar iktidar için

birbirlerinin gözünü oyarlarken cenazenin tahnidi unutuldu,

hatta naaşın başında mum yakılması âdeti bile kimsenin 

hatırına gelmedi ve cesed koktu! Devlet, cesedle alâkadar

olunması gerektiğini, saray görevlilerinin etrafı saran ağır

kokuya dayanamaz hâle gelip şikâyete başlamaları üzerine

hatırlayabildi ve tahnid ameliyesi“Baltacılar Kethüdâsı” 

yani saray muhafızlarından olan Kasım tarafından yapıldı.

İŞTE, KOKUTMA RAPORU 

Kargaşa, Fatih’in Amasya’da valilik eden büyük oğlu 

Bayezid’in 21 Mayıs günü İstanbul’a gelip vaziyete hâkim

olmasına kadar devam etti. Bayezid, cenazeyi gelişinin 

hemen ertesi günü, büyük bir merasimle babasının yaptırmış

olduğu camiye defnettirdi, Baltacılar Kethüdâsı Kasım’ı da

terfi ettirerek sarayın “kapıcı”kadrosuna aldırdı.

Kasım, cenazenin kokmasını daha sonra İkinci Bayezid’e bir

raporla duyuracak ve bundan yıllarca önce büyük tarihçi

İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı’nın bulup yayınladığı raporunda 

“Devletlû sultanım, babanın ruhu için bu yazdıklarımı sonuna

kadar oku. Hünkârın vefatından sonra, üzerinde üç gün üç gece

mum yanmadı. Vardım, Kapıcılar Kethüdâsı’na söyledim, o da 

İshak Paşa’ya söyledi, paşa emredince mum yaktım. Ama koku

yüzünden cenazenin yanına kimseler yaklaşamadı. Ben, usta ile

gidip cenazenin içini boşalttım. Bu anlattıklarımı kethüdâmız

da bilir” diyecekti

Ringing in the New Year With Oktay D.

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 30 May 2015)


             2015: The Year of the Maniac

Oktay D. (39) works as a mineral oil salesman in Antalya.
In December 2014 he picked up hitchhiker G.Ö. (22), a
university student, and gave him a ride from Burdur to
Antalya.  The two chatted along the way and they decided
to spend New Years together. Their plan was to gather at
Oktay D.'s house and to have two hookers brought to the
house.

Prior to New Years, Oktay D. took his wife and two of
their children to their village. Meanwhile, G.Ö. and his
friend H.Y. (23) came to Oktay D.'s house in Antalya with
the two hookers.  Also at the house were Oktay D.'s 16
year-old son  and his shoemaker friend Mehmet Ç. (33).

With regard to the hookers, Oktay D. said "I don't
understand anything." and then he allegedly raped the
university student at gunpoint.  He also sexually harassed
his friend Mehmet Ç.

Oktay D. beat G.Ö.'s friend H.Y. and tortured him with
cold water.  The following day he had the youths sell
their telephones for 500 TL and threatened G.Ö. to "find
me a girl."  In response, G.Ö. lured his 16 year-old
girlfriend to Oktay D.'s house, saying there would be
an audition there for a part for her in a play.

Oktay D. sexurally harassed the young girl and later,
when the girl told her parents what had happened, the
frightful chain of events became known. Oktay D.
and Mehmet Ç. were arrested. In court for a hearing
three days ago, Oktay D. said that he had been slandered
and that "my son has Vitiligo, a skin disease that makes
his skin flake off. I heard that sexual relations are a good
treatment for this disease (!). That's why I let the two
women come to my house. I didn't keep anyone in my
house by force and I didn't hold anyone hostage.


The road from Burdur to Antalya.

Another B-Movie Script Begs Production

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 29 May 2015)


    Oleg Doev, as depicted by Andy Warhol.

Oleg Doev and Oleksandr Dametov committed a murder in
Geogia and fled to Turkey where they used a 'skimmer'
device to copy credit cards at ATM's and commit fraud.
This activity brought the two to the attention of the police
and the killers are now being sought in Turkey, Georgia,
Ukraine and Russia.

It has been determined that the murder suspects and their
victim Baserion Khardziani were previously involved in
such criminal activity and worked in the same crime
organization.  A dispute arose between the three over the
profits from the copied credit card scam and Ukrainian
Doev and Russian Dametov murdered their cohort and
then disappeared.


The suspects entered Turkey through the Sarp border
crossing with Georgia and an "H" code arrest warrant
has been issued for them by Interpol. Security officials
in Georgia, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia are cooperating
to catch the suspects.


Sarp is on the Turkish side, opposite Batumi.