'Saran Wrap II" - This Time For Rape & Torture

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 29 February 2020)

Saran Wrap I click here for the TNT prequel.



                          Stifling working conditions.

In November, at a divers pump production workshop in Izmir's Konak
district, A.H. (18), who is 50 % mentally handicapped, was wrapped in
stretch film by co-workers N.S. and F.K. (!), who then beat him and, a
few days later, forced A.H. to perform oral sex on N.S..  The oral sex
incident was recorded by other workers at the behest of N.S. and
posted on social media (!).

When A.H.'s family saw the images on his cellphone, they had a case
against N.S. and F.K. opened in the serious crimes court.  At the second
hearing of the case, the two suspects, A.H. and his family, lawyer Emine
Şentüfekçi of the Social Services Ministry and social services expert
Murat Dulkadir from the Izmir victims services bureau, all attended.


Looks like pretty normal work chat (!).

At the hearing, when A.H. said that he was scared of N.S. and F.K.,
his statement was taken after the room was cleared.  Subsequently,
A.H. explained that on the day of the incident N.S. hit him with an
iron set-square (used for drawing or in masonry):

"He cursed me and I cried as I tried to defend myself.  A.S. witnessed
this and said to N.S. at the time 'you shouldn't have hit him that hard.'
Then F.K. said 'kiss him and make it all better.' so N.S. came onto me
laughing. I began to back up, thinking he had to be joking.  N.S. kissed
my hand, grabbed my head and pressed it onto his sex organ.  I
struggled desperately but couldn't get away.  Someone hit my head
with an iron bar.  They recorded it on a cellphone.  N.S. did this with
a sexual motive in mind.  He told me that if my wife and mother
didn't see the images and if the police weren't informed, I could keep
on working at the shop."

But A.H.'s  wife saw the video and shared it with her mother-in-law,
prompting them to file a complaint with police and open the case
against N.S. and F.K.  Nevertheless, neither suspect was jailed and,
in fact, the serious crimes court decided to forward the case to the
lower 'asliye' court where 'petty crimes' cases are heard. (!)


                       Konak district (9) is in Izmir city. 

TNT History Mini-Series: A Turk Behind Russian Lines on the Danube Front (1877)/Part III

//Ed. note: Having crossed over to the Russian side near 
Ruschuk to deliver a message to Grand Duke Nicholas,
İzzet Fuat is held at a Russian forward outpost pending
the Grand Duke's permission to proceed to his HQS.  

At the same time, İzzet Fuat knows that the Ottoman Army
intends to launch an attack in the morning and he remains
stuck directly in the line of fire.//


Caption reads: "Turks storing cartridges in a mosque in Ruschuk."

After the Russian general looked over the letter from our commander
(Mehmet Ali Paşa-Ludwig Karl Friedrich Detroit) he said: "Sir, this
letter is quite nice but I must first send a telegram to the Grand Duke.
Until I receive an order from the commander instructing me to send
you forward I must keep you here."  In reply, I said "If you will permit
it, we will return to our army and come back here tomorrow, for sure."

The general, though, said that the matter was in the hands of the Grand
Duke and with a "bonjour" he exited the tent.   I thought that perhaps I
should have been more insistent about leaving but, then again, such a
posture on my part might have given the Russian general reason to
suspect the impending attack from our side tomorrow. 

Consequently, we had no choice but to remain at the Russian outpost.

I can say that at that moment I had the most wondrous feeling of 

excitement I'd ever felt in my life, facing danger head-on.  And yet,

dying at the hands of my own comrades-in-arms, under our own
cannon balls and bullets, was indeed a sobering thought.  

So Hacı and I faced a very restless night ahead.  The constant flow of

Russian officers coming by to visit us, each one of them with a story to 

tell, made the night, fueled by the cups of tea they offered, drag on 

endlessly.  Since Hacı didn't understand French nor Russian, he spent 

his time in continuous prayer, asking God to have our commander 

re-think his attack plan for tomorrow.  

I left the tent a bit after midnight and looked toward our great army's

encampment, which we had left earlier in the day.  The thought of this

parcel of my homeland and the shining bayonets there made me long

to be back.  But now in this place, lit by the sad moonlight and with 

tents all around, I listened to the guards' calls to each other from one

outpost to another, mixed in with the frightening sounds of the night 

birds' chirping.  Who knew what tomorrow would bring to this corner 

of the universe, how many bodies would be strewn about.  Right now, 

both armies and their anonymous heroes were quiet.

I went back into the tent, having quelled my anxieties, and saw that 

Hacı was fast asleep.  Our stream of visitors had left so I felt I had the

right to get some sleep myself and stretched out on bed of sweet-

smelling grass.  But within an hour I awoke, feeling a crab-like creature 

biting my leg.  Not having an affinity for any animals other than dogs

and horses, and bearing an unnatural fear of vermin, I jumped out of

the tent like a crazy man.  It turned out that it wasn't  a crab or some

such creature but, rather, Hacı's wiry hands! In any case, the air grew

heavy and I could hear sounds like cannon fire from afar.  Apparently,

that's what had awakened me.


Caption reads: "The Cossack Imperial Guard leading the 
advance into Turkey in 1877."

//END of PART III//

TNT Archeology Edition: Luwiya King's Tablet Found in Konya

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 27 February 2020)

KRASP click here for the KRASP web page.

Luvians click here for background.

King Midas click here for his story.


      "The Hittites are coming! The Hittites are coming!"


The discovery of traces of the Luwiya civilization, within the scope of
the Konya Region Archeological Surface Research Project (KRASP),
has generated excitement in the world of archeology.  Remnants found
from between 2000 B.C. and 1000 B.C. are said to belong to the
Luwiya Kingdom.  The site is 7 kilometers south of Konya city.

After a local farmer stumbled upon some stone remains in an irrigation
canal, experts examined the remains and determined that they link to
Luwian King Hartapu who defeated King Midas of Phrygia. Now,
related excavations are being conducted by scholars from the English
Archeological Institute, Oxford and Çukurova University.  Last year,
experts from the University of Chicago participated in the work.

A Turkish expert involved in the effort warned of the likelihood of
treasure hunters flooding the site, "so we don't want to give out too
much information." 


                        Karahöyük mound in Konya.

It is thought that the Luwiya Kingdom was centered in the area of
Konya's Selçuklu district and lasted from 2300 B.C. to 1400 B.C.
Some sources indicate that the Luwi were Anatolia's earliest people.
Helenic place names in the southern Anatolia region came from the
Luwian language, as did most of the names of gods and godesses like
Kibele, Aphrodite, Apollon and Artemis.  There are historical theses,
as well, that say that the people of Troy spoke the Luwi language.

Academician James Osborne of the University of Chicago, who
participated in the KRASP excavation work, reported that the 120-
hectare (one hectare = 2.5 acres) site may ultimately turn out to be
the one of the largest antique cities of the Bronze and Iron Ages.
He explained that "the hieroglyphics are written in the Luwian
language, which is from the oldest branch of the Indo-European
languages."

"The Luwi language can be read either left-to-right or right-to-left. (!)
The writings have been translated by the two world-class experts
in the Luwi language, namely Petro Goedegebuure and Theo PJ
van den Hout.  Research so far indicates that Karahöyük may have
been the capital of the Luwi civilization.  King Hartapu told the story
of capturing the nearby Muska Kingdom.  We think we will uncover
even more important ruins in the region."

'Knife Beauty' Cuts Throat of Reluctant Fiancé

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 26 February 2020)


Emrah bey's expression seems to say "I know what I'm in for."

In Eskişehir, the body of Emrah Öztürk (28) was found in the Kent
Forest the day before yesterday.  Police research revealed that Öztürk
had entered the forest with his fiancé Zehra Aras (22), who left the
forest later by herself. 

Aras was taken into custody at the Eskişehir bus terminal as she
boarded a bus for Antalya.  In her statement to police, Aras explained
that "Emrah said he wanted to break off our engagement.  We went to
the forest and I said to him 'Close your eyes, I have a surprise for you.' 
Then I stabbed him in the stomach and 8 other places.  When he didn't
die, I cut his throat." (!)


Walking down the aisle...but not the one she'd hoped for.

It turned out that Aras had also wounded a previous fiancé  (!). On her
social media account, she had shared video of herself at a 'Caucasus'
wedding, wielding a knife, with the caption "I'm the knife beauty!" (!)


A wedding with lots of knives - not just to cut the cake with.
         

 

TNT History Mini-Series: A Turk Behind Russian Lines on the Danube Front (1877)/Part II

//Ed. note: Young Ottoman officer İzzet Fuat makes it 
accross to the forward Russian outposts but continuing
on to the main Russian HQS appears problematic -
and with a Turkish attack pending he's more than a bit
anxious.

İzzet Fuat was from the 'Keçecizade' family, the grandson
of a former Ottoman Prime Minister.  After the ''93 Harbi',
as the Turkish-Russian War of 1877-78 is called by the
Turks, based on the year 1293 (1877) of the 'Rumi' calendar, 
İzzet Fuat, found himself exiled to Aleppo in 1899, where
he wrote "Missed Opportunities" in French about the '93
Harbi.  This story of his role as an envoy to the Russians
was an addendum to his book.//



         'Keçecizade' İzzet Fuat Paşa

As we passed the forward outposts, we saw there was a small wooden
bridge over  the steep-banked stream we had to cross.  We entered into
a wooded area which was absolutely silent, frighteningly so.  I ordered
the bugler, who at that point was 50 paces ahead of me, to blow his horn.
This was followed by the sight of a group of Cossack cavalrymen
heading toward us at full gallop.

Evidently, their lookout at a small outpost at the head of the bridge,
whom we hadn't noticed because of the trees, had alerted the cavalry to
our movements.  The Cossack cavalry riders had concealed themselves
so well I had no clue they were there, calling to mind field mice that
appear and disappear in an instant.


                          Russian Cossack cavalrymen.

The spear-carriers were closing in on us. Yet another bad feeling!
Nevertheless, we didn't lose our nerve, although my face went pale. As
they neared us we could see that their intentions were not threatening,
though, and I signaled to a sergeant that I wanted to speak with one of
his officers.  In a couple of minutes, we saw that an officer was riding
toward us at full speed.

He tied blindfolds tightly around mine and Hacı's eyes and we began
to move out.  I'm not lying when I say that this high-speed march was
quite exhausting, with my horse's reins in the hands of one of the
Cossack cavalrymen.  It wasn't just me who was uncomfortable.  My
beloved horse 'Demir' was, as well, being stuck between the cavalryman
on my right and the officer on my left, who was riding very close to me.
Well-bred horses disdain such pressure and close contact.

Consequently, we couldn't proceed smoothly.  The march was like a
ship rocking on the sea in harsh weather!  Nevertheless, I moved as fast
as I could, knowing that time was of the essence based on my
commander's warning about his intended assault.  I remembered, as
well, that if these fellows didn't send us ahead to their main command
forthwith I would have to find some way to return to our side. 


At this point of his story, İzzet Fuat was at Rushchuk and had
crossed to the west across 'no man's land' to the Russian side.

A bit later, we reached a large infantry outpost and were put into a nice
but small 4-cornered tent.  Before long many, many young and older
officers came by to see us and most of them knew French.  They were
quite curious to see Turkish officers.  In one corner of the tent there
was an elegant, shining samovar, operating like a little locomotive.  My
companion Hacı and I drank tasty Russian tea and I gorged myself on
delicious Russian cookies called 'pirog'. 

As we finished our second glasses of tea, we heard the sound of swords
scraping the ground, signalling the approach of  General Prohorov, who
entered our tent.  After official greetings and introductions, the General
asked me for the written message that I'd said I had for him as the
commander of the forward outposts.  I replied that this paper and my
other documents were in a leather pouch attached to my horse's saddle
gear. A youthful mistake! - rather than tying the pouch to my sword
belt, I'd attached it to my saddle!


                                      War truly is hell.

But those whom the General sent to fetch the saddle returned saying
there was no pouch to be found.  Both the Russians and I were
dumbfounded.  Immediately, I asked to see my saddle and they brought
it to me.  There was no pouch.  I was quite embarrassed, afraid of being
seen as either a spy or an incompetent and, consequently, subject to the
firing squad.  The enraged expression on the General's face spoke
volumes and he even began to say some heated words. 

Fortunately, God was looking out for this bewildered young envoy
and I found the presence of mind to say "Look! The hooks that linked
the pouch to the saddle are missing.  While coming here, the rubbing of
the horses on either side of me must have caused the pouch to fall off."
They sent a fellow to search the path we came on and a bit later he
brought the pouch to the tent, allowing me to take a deep sigh of relief.
 

//END of PART II//