this place, Fuad Bey and his companions hope to move
from Sarıkamış but nothing happens. Nevertheless,
life in the camp is relatively pleasant, with Fuad Bey
even having a chance to drink rakı and vodka.//
German and ANZAK Marches Written in Turkish
16 April 1916 Sunday
No one came to our room. We’re enduring the
lack of sugar and
tobacco in the hope that we’ll be moved and be freed from the lousy
management here. In the evening we had the Russian guard, an
Austrian sergeant, write
in German the German and ANZAK marches
that Zühdü had written in Turkish in his
notebook and we had him
correct the mistakes. He wrote this in his own notebook at the house.
Again at night we got together. We talked about moving and our lives
during the move and
with some hope we went to sleep.
17 April 1916 Monday
Thinking that we would be moved we got up
and prepared our things.
We waited until midday but nothing happened. Finally we
understood
that it has been delayed until tomorrow. The wait was annoying for us.
In the
afternoon our friends went to the market three times. At night
we passed the time by saying the
words of our forefathers, which
eased the aggravation we felt about the moving problem somewhat.
18 April 1916 Tuesday
We’re having a painful time waiting to be
moved, time passes so slowly.
It’s three o’clock. Aggravation. The doubts that have accrued
in our
hearts and minds fill us with disappointment. The first (time after time
as we looked
outside we saw groups of two and three people going
toward the station) that will go will be
the other officers, we think.
The second and bigger group of eight that went by won’t be going,
according to rumor. That’s why we’re distraught that the others will
go and we’ll be left
here to live in misery.
In order to figure things out Fahri and I went to where the other officers
are.
We saw that nothing was happening. Same as always. Only Geveze
(chatterbox) Ismail
spoke up and said that their government-issued
things had been taken and there was a
chance that we would go soon so
we should go and wait for this. I stopped by to see Şerif on
the way back
but he didn’t know anything…again bad things…by evening nothing
had happened.
Today’s guards were Cossacks. They behave very crudely, sometimes
showing their fists
at the window and threatening us. They rattle
the room door and make us uncomfortable. I
haven’t seen anyone as
crude and uncouth as them.
Caucasus Front Commander Sanders Paşa
General Liman Von Sanders and Mustafa Kemal in Syria in
1916.
19 April 1916 Wednesday
The sky is overcast. There’s a bitter cold
in the air. Along with a
fierce wind, wet snow is pouring out of the sky. Still no move.
Fortunately, in the afternoon the crude Cossacks left. Rumor has it
that there’s a chance we
may be moved this evening. All lies. We don’t
believe it anymore…destitution is taking a
terrible toll on us. Outside
it’s muddy, impassable. In the evening Aksanti came and we got his
small map of Europe. He
let it slip accidentally that Batumi has been
taken by the Turks.
This we believed because our days for going to the
front are coming. At night I had a bad
dream: Geveze Ismail supposedly
knows the secret that’s causing my misery and he’s going to
let
everyone know. It seems I’ll remain surrounded by misery.
20 April 1916 Thursday
We gave Fahri’s money purse to Mustafa
temporarily in exchange for
two manats. With this we bought a funt ((a bit more than a pound)) of
sugar, four packets of
tobacco and cigarette paper. So our needs
were eased a bit. Three fellows went out
for a stroll. We heard from
somewhere that Liman Sanders Paşa is the commander of the
Caucasus
Front. Our hopes of being moved have henceforth died. We just pass
the time strolling
around outside. Late in the evening two Russian officer
prisoners came. One of them is a teacher.
No religious connection. They
gave us regular cigarettes and we found them soothing. After chatting
a
bit they left.
21 April 1916 Friday
In the morning Zühdü and Kazim went to the
Commander in connection
with the same old requests. They saw no use in making any
applications
since the Commander wasn’t there and the new group hasn’t yet taken
his
place. At midday the duty Georgian
officer and the Cossack captain
we met while he was a prisoner came
to our room. After we talked a bit
they invited me to their room and they offered me a few
glasses of rakı.
I was pleased. It was very welcome in this atmosphere of deprivation.
The
Cossack officer named Aleksander, who is a teacher and who
visited us yesterday, gave me his
photograph and he wanted one from
me in return so I gave him one of my civilian photographs.
Thanks to
the pleasure the rakı supplied today passed happily, without sadness
and thought. At
night Aksenti came again and he taught me the Russian
song ‘Ah Viçer, Viçer Ayet’. We went to
sleep late.
22 April 1916 Saturday
Our days are aggravating. Captivity, we’re
forgotten. Misery…I noticed
in the mirror that my color is quite yellowish and I was somewhat
hopeless about living long. In the afternoon Tahir and Mustafa went to
the market and the two
of us went to the bath but it hadn’t been fired so
we came back. At this point three of our
junior officer friends – Salah,
Temel and Ethem – came and we chatted. Then those who had gone to
the market came and they said that supposedly we’ll be given money
tomorrow. I wonder. At
night the duty officer Nemut came and we
talked using signs. He’s like a socialist and he
hates war.
23 April 1916 Sunday
When we got up there was a buzzing sound
all around. All the bells
of Sarıkamış church and the barracks were ringing. Today is a big
Russian holiday, Easter. They’re all drinking vodka and especially the
soldiers are shameless about
it. They’re falling all over the place and
screaming like donkeys…scandalous…in the morning
Aleksander
called me to his room and gave me some vodka and some appetizers.
I drank.
Aleksander says that he will go to Turkey and become a Turk.
I shook his hand and we exchanged
addresses. Later he came to our
room and we played games. We ate together and kissed. I introduced
Zühdü and Kazim. A bit later I went to sleep. I vomited. Aleksander
was released from captivity in
the evening. Today Lieutenant Osman
came to the room but I wasn’t aware of it. At night we
chatted a bit.
A Russian soldier celebrating Russian Easter in 1916.
//END of PART XXI//
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder