//Ed. note: the entirety of this story can be found on Academia.edu//
Eyüb
Sabri (Akgöl) was serving in the Ottoman ‘Defter-i Hakâni’
(office of revenue
registry) in Antep in mid-December 1918, when
the English first arrived there,
a month and a half after the signing
of the ‘Mütareke’ – the armistice ending
World War I for the
Ottoman Empire.
Eyüb
Sabri Bey was arrested by the English, based on accusations
of the local
Armenians and with the facilitation of
the English-
friendly Ottoman governor, and first taken to the American College,
a Protestant missionary school in Antep, whose principal, John E.
Merrill,
allowed the English to use the school as their headquarters
in Antep. (The name
of the city was changed to ‘Gaziantep’ in
February 1921 by the Turkish
Parliament, in honor of the city’s
resistance against the French, who followed
the English as
occupiers.
Coincidentally,
Eyüb Sabri Bey had been arrested by the French in
Thrace and sent to Malta as a
prisoner in 1914, when he was
working in the ‘Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa’, the
intelligence unit of the
ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP). In his book he
noted that he had been in
Antep for five years, which would
seem to indicate that he had spent all of
World War I there
and witnessed the ‘evacuation’ of Armenians to Syria, perhaps
as a ‘Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa’ official. (see
note about Ali Cenani Bey
and Ahmet Faik Erner)
In
1920, after returning from Egypt, he was among the founders
of the ‘Yeşil Ordu’
(Green Army), a sort of hybrid Islamic-
Communist group that first supported
Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk)’s
Kuva-ı Milliye (National Independence Army) but then fell afoul
of him for leaning too
heavily toward pan-Turkism and Bolshevism.
Eyüb Sabri Bey was also indicted in a suspected assassination plot
against
Mustafa Kemal in Izmir in 1926, but acquitted.
He died
in Istanbul in 1950.
After
incarceration in a stable in Aleppo, Eyüb Sabri Bey was taken
by train first to
Damascus and from there by train to Haifa and
Cairo, ending up in an English
prison camp at Zeitoun-Heliopolis,
just northeast of Cairo. He kept a diary of his nine months in
English
captivity by writing notes on cigarette papers.
The result
is his book “Bir Esirin Hatıraları” (A Prisoner’s Memories) first
published in 1922 in Ottoman Turkish and transcribed to modern
Turkish in 1978
by Nejat Sefercioğlu. Herewith, the English
translation of the book, prefaced by the English transcription-
translation of a
review of the book by an Ankara newspaper at
the time of the book’s publication
in 1922.
In its 29 July 1922 issue, the Ankara newspaper Sebilü’r Reşad
reviewed Eyüb Sabri Bey’s
book, as follows:
“A
Prisoner’s Memories”
Recently,
the abovenamed book was published and it contains important
lessons for all
Moslems. We have obtained a copy of the
book, whose
author, Balıkesirli Eyüb Sabri Bey,
is currently working in the Ankara
registry directorate. He was in Gaziantep in 1918.
Eyüb
Sabri Bey has clearly and eloquently described how the English
intrigued to
occupy this beautiful and lovely province of ours; how the
Ottoman governor
there, Celâl Bey, assisted the English;
the cruelty
of the English and the Armenians; the ingratitude of the
American
College Principal Merrill, who availed himself of Antep’s hospitality
for 30 years; the heroes of the Kuva-yı Milliye and their sacrifices.
In the second part of the book, Eyüb Sabri
Bey relates in detail the
torture and degradation that he and others from
various nations and
those taken prisoner on various fronts suffered at the
hands of the
English.
The
pages of this book serve as a serious lesson for Moslems,
documenting the
undeniable English intrigues and atrocities, their
vicious ‘civilization’, and
their appetite for bribes. During his
nine
months and six days in captivity Eyüb Sabrib Bey wrote down all
that he
witnessed on cigarette papers and now his efforts have
resulted in this
book.
Half
of the proceeds from this valuable book will go to the orphans
of
Gaziantep. So, by purchasing this book
for 50 kuruş, our readers
can avail themselves of this important information
and help orphans
at the same time. We
recommend this book to all our readers and
congratulate our brother Eyüb Sabri
Bey on his liberation and his
success.
English occupation of Antep and Eyüb Sabri Bey’s arrest
“Bir Esirin Hatıraları” (A Prisoner’s Memories)
by Eyüb Sabri (Akgöl), Ankara 1922
Beginning
In December 1918, one and a half months after the
‘Mütareke’, the
English came to Antep with a few armored cars and succeeded in
bringing an 80-man Indian cavalry detachment to the city, as well.
The detachment was commanded by a Major Milis
and first made a
show of force in the central bazar before occupying, as
recommended
by the Ottoman subdivision governor Celâl Bey, the American
College, which had a commanding view of the city. That same day,
Major Milis and an English
colonel visited the governor for an hour.
The English soldiers explained that there was an
excess of soldiers and
animals in Aleppo so Antep was needed for the winter to
accommodate
this excess. The officers
said that this should not be construed as an
occupation of Antep but the fact
that they had come so far belied this
statement of theirs. In any event, there was no resistance shown
toward
the English and, in fact, the accommodating governor pacified the
populace with English propaganda. Soon
the English completely
occupied all of Antep and Kilis districts.
Antep’s officials and intellectuals were less
sanguine about the English
presence than the mollified populace. But the first twenty days passed
quietly,
with the Indian cavalry coming into the center of the city every
few days to
show themselves in the bazars and markets.
Their food was
supplied to them by the municipality. In fact, bread, meat and hay for
their
animals was sent to the English headquarters.
The English were pleased by this somewhat unexpected
warm welcome
from the Antep government, being treated as if they were invited
guests.
The occupation force commander
General McAndrew came to Antep,
stayed at the American College and met with
leaders of Antep,
including Ahmed Hurşit Efendi* and Dr. Hâmit Bey and some
young
intellectuals. The General warned,
rather than advised, that any
untoward incidents should be avoided. He returned to Aleppo and the
following day
the atmosphere in Antep suddently began to change.
The English commandeered the
telegraph office for their own use and
the Ottoman government cipher was
prohibited, with all official and
unofficial communications subject to
censorship.
*Ahmet Hurşit Efendi was well-known and
well-loved as “Dâl Ahmet
Ağa”, a leader in civic affairs in Antep.
He subsequently allied with
the Kuva-yı Milliye (National Independence
Army), for which a portion
of his wealth was lost to him but his faith remained
intact.
So, as of that time, the English dominance of Antep
began, with all
police stations occupied and patrols launched throughout the
city, while
the governor continued to facilitate the English activities. Citizens’
appeals to Istanbul went unanswered
as Antep became English property,
detached from the Ottoman State. Meanwhile, the Armenian committees
in Aleppo
and Antep became more active, ingratiating themselves with
the English
commanders and officers, while stirring up trouble among
the populace to try to
foment English hatred and vindictiveness toward
the Ottoman officials and the
Moslems of the city.
The Moslem population of Antep tried to maintain patience but the
seemingly
inevitable loss of the city demanded action and a call to arms.
Because of the fact that the English had come
to Antep in violation of
the agreements, with no resistance from the Istanbul
government and,
in fact, with the acquiescence of the local Ottoman governor,
meant that
there was no other course of action.
I could have fled Antep. The means were available to me. But this
city,
locacted north of Aleppo and half way from there to Maraş, was a beautiful
place, with good weather and fertile soil.*
Grapes, figs and nuts grew
bountifully.
I had served there for five years and had grown fond of the
city and the
Turkish Antep citizens. I could not leave just to save myself.
About a week later, Generel McAndrew came to Antep
and returned to
Aleppo the next morning.
We didn’t know why he had come and gone
but rumors spread that the
newspaper would be shut down. Sure
enough,
the governor summoned Hüseyin Cemil Bey, the owner of “Antep
Haberleri”
(Antep News) and told him his newspaper would be closed
temporarily. A few days later, French teacher Sedat Bey,
came to
Antep from Maraş and after being forced to remain in Antep for a week,
he was arrested by the English and taken to Aleppo.
Sedat Bey’s arrest and removal had a chilling effect
on everyone, except
for the governor, who was quite pleased with situation and
downplayed
these ‘insignificant’ types of incidents. Yet, they were increasing each
day, as was
the boldness, rudeness and heavy-handedness of the English.
In the face of this, the governor said
nothing and acted like a sycophant.
The
police and Gendarmerie assisted in settling the Armenians and
attending to
their needs. Some low-lifes evicted the
poor Moslem
migrants, who had bought their houses from the government, to
butter-up
the English and even went to the English headquarters in this regard.
Anyone who reacted to this terrible state of affairs
and asked for the
governor to intervene was verily frowned upon by the said
governor.
*Damascus is known to the Arabs as “the
bride of Arabia”. Antep is
known to them
as “the bride of Anatolia” and the place famous for
“Şam fıstığı” (pistachio
nuts).
//END of PART ONE//
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