be very much his own, to do with as he pleases. A far cry
from other POW reports about Turkish POWs in other
Russian camps and those in Greek camps during the
Greek-Turkish war of 1919-1923, both of which TNT
will be presenting in the near future.//
At least until the end of July 1916, Fuad Bey's life in Vetluga
has been about as pleasant as incarceration can be.
25 July 1916 Tuesday
The weather is bad, rainy. Again we
couldn’t go to the river. There’s a
mild coolness in the air. In the evening the Commander came to
the
house and said that Arap Hamid and the other Arab, Cemil, would go
to the
provincial capital (Kostroma). We were glad to hear this. At the
same time they are the enemies
of the Turks. When they heard
yesterday’s news (about Russian and Arab advances) they
displayed
pleasure. In fact, they congratulated one another. Lowdown bastards…
in the
evening I chatted briefly with Kör Mehmet and although he
said that yesterday’s news was
based on rumors I didn’t feel any
better about it. My day today was filled with distress.
26 July 1916 Wednesday
The weather was cloudy, especially in the
morning. There was rain
now and then, too. News: the Russians have retaken Ardahan and
Gümüşhane. May God help the Turks. Today I sewed a nice epaulet
with silver
thread I bought from the market. I got 120 kopeks from
the money that Osman gave for
the needs of the fellows. At night
Zühdü went over to Salah’s bed for a long chat
and Selahaddin
talked about himself and me at length. With his words Salah revealed
the truth about himself and his friend Ethem. What I understood
(based on what
Zühdü said) was that Salah is a chatterbox, a lowlife
who will engage in all kinds of
scandalous activity and who doesn’t
give any thought to his relations with his friends
nor their dignity. At
the same time he’s a dreadful trouble-maker. May God reform
Turks
like him who have no humanity and act dishonorably.
The Turks Have Taken the Chief Russian Army
Commander Prisoner
27 July 1916 Thursday
The weather is nice, sunny and just a few
clouds. Nevertheless, a
coolness from before Remains. According to news that Osman heard
from Germans who are Russian subjects, the Turks have taken the
Chief Russian Army
Commander (in the Caucasus), Nikola
Nikolayeviç, prisoner. May God make this
true. We’re inclined not
to believe it. In the evening Osman gave us a brief conference
about
life and society. I eagerly listen to valuable things like this.
28 July 1916 Friday
The weather is bad, the sky is cloudy
(completely) and there’s a slight
chill in the air. No rain. Today the Russian newspapers are
writing that
Erzincan has fallen and that there’s been a truce signed between the
Turks and
Russians. I didn’t belive yesterday’s news and I don’t
believe today’s either. It’s all
contradictory. Which one should I
believe? May God give us strength. Today again two jerks, on
our
side and the other side, busied themselves with some foolish things.
These fellows
showed just how ignorant and shameless they are,
creating antipathy and disturbance. They
embarrassed us in front of
the Russians. May God give the likes of them some sense. Everyone
is envious of the ever-growing closeness and friendship between
Halis and myself. In
fact, some of them can’t bear it. At night Halis
and I made a joint decision about our future and
we imagined that we
will live quite well thanks to diligence and determination.
29 July 1916 Saturday
The weather is nice. Few clouds. But
because of a slight coolness in
the air we can’t go for a
bath (to the river). Again today, according
to the Russian newspapers,
Erzincan has definitely fallen to the
Russians. But they will
regret this. The Turks are about to surround
the Russians on both sides…I wonder if it’s all true.
Before noon I
went to see Şerif and we talked. When he insisted I ate lunch over
there. Today
Salah wanted to test his strength with sarcasm but his
hopes were dashed. In the evening Halis
gave me some information
about how trees are grafted, both practical and theoretical, and we
talked about quite a few other things relating to agriculture.
30 July 1916 Sunday
The weather is nice and clear. The coldness
in the air was felt more
in the morning. The hot rays of the sun give the weather a nice feel.
I
went to see Şerif in the morning and we spoke a bit. He didn’t like
the letter Hakkı wrote to Zühdü
at all. He was right. In it there’s
neither a statement nor a method of writing. I returned in the
afternoon. Today was depressing, uncomfortable. Halis is quite upset
about the fall of Erzincan
because his family and all his property and
holdings are there. No one’s looking after them. I share
his distress and
I’m upset about not losing the country and the way the Turks are being
jostled
about. I advised him at length not to think about these things
and I was somewhat able to console
him. In the evening I spoke a bit
with Kör Mehmet again.
31 July 1916 Monday
Today is a holiday…one that is passing
sadly, among the biggest
calamities that have befallen me in my lifetime. It’s a holiday filled
with
nightmares but such a sacred day can’t contain a nightmare. Yes, a
revered day is always cherished. But
I’m stuck in, and overwhelmed by,
horrible ugliness and violent grief, my heart and soul are
occupied by a
deep distress. Since I’ve tried to erase all of them from memory this has
isolated my being from
just about everything, to the point where it
makes me forget the difference between ordinary days
and sacred days.
I can’t comprehend whether today is a holiday or whether it’s a special
day
that will refresh all kinds of hands, pierce my heart and crush my
soul because as today has come about I
feel joy within me and yet a
feeling of being crushed under terrible distress. On all days like
this I
will always be crushed because today my beloved grieving parents and
brother aren’t
smiling, they’re moaning in the face of constant pressure.
It hurts to smile while they cry, to feel glad
while they moan. Today ten
people from the majors group came as the result of the invitation we
made yesterday. We celebrated the holiday in a downhearted fashion.
It was lunch time and there was
pilav, meatballs and pudding. Major
Murad greeted us heartily and said that his great wish,
which he
recommended, is that we live with a fierce feeling of revenge toward
the enemy. I got angry at
Salah again in the evening and I hurt his
feelings with some choice words. Today the weather was gloomy.
//END of PART XXXVI//
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