A Rather Unusual Week, part 2

 I said in my last post that the past week has been a bit different.

 While we were reflecting on the death of our Queen, the people of Izmir (most of them) were celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the city’s ‘liberation’ from the Greeks by Ataturk. Large parts of the Kordon were taken over for scaffolding towers with lights, speakers and displays screens. For several days we were treated to loud low-flying fighter planes and helicopters – reaching a climax with the main event on Friday evening, which was attended by many thousands. Part of the attraction was a concert by a highly popular singer. And there were large lorries selling merchandise connected with the armed services. The Turkish flag was everywhere, together with many portraits of Ataturk.

 It's an ambivalent event for some residents, and a reminder of how complicated interpreting history is. In the days of the Ottoman Empire, Smyrna was a multi-cultural city, with various European communities, largely composed of business and trades people. These were the Levantines. (It was the British Levantine Society which first provided an English chaplain for the Anglophones – the list in the church porch goes back to 1636) There were also sizeable French and Italian communities, as well as Greek and Armenian Orthodox from within the Ottoman realms. Indeed, Smyrna was often described as an infidel city, because there at least as many Christians as Muslims – and several Jewish synagogues. The different faiths lived fairly harmoniously together.

However, after the Ottoman Empire fell at the end of the Great War, the Greek government sent troops to secure the Western coastal area and hoped to restore Istanbul to its original Byzantine status. This move was supported by the British and French governments. It did not win favour with Kemal Mustapha (Ataturk), who had risen to prominence with his effective leadership of the victorious Turkish army in Gallipoli. His vision was of a unified Turkey, and when the Greek troops started to move eastwards, to gain more ground, he moved against them, to drive them back, and to secure Istanbul. The final victory was at the Battle of Dumlupinar, on August 39^th, 1922 – and that day is celebrated as a public holiday throughout Turkey. On September 9^th his troops reached Smyrna, and enforced the retreat of the remaining Greek troops. A large part of the centre of the city was destroyed by fire – each side blaming the other for the conflagration. Many Orthodox churches were destroyed, and there is today little mention of the Armenian area, much of which is now a large park – Kulturpark, which each September hosts an International Fair.

 St John’s Church, together with the RC Church of St Polycarp (the oldest church in the city), and some others survived the fire, and it is still the case that Izmir – as it was promptly renamed – has probably more Christian churches than other Turkish cities. I have several times mentioned the general atmosphere of tolerance that prevails in the city. One Greek Orthodox church remains in use, and the Greek Consulate-General has been given a face-lift in recent years. But official histories and museums are very reticent about Smyrna’s long existence as a largely Greek city.

 Ataturk was a moderniser, and no great admirer of Islam. Under his firm hand, Turkey became a largely secular state – or more precisely, like France with its concept of laicité, neutral with regard to religion. The army used to see itself as the guardian of this, and at times this produced a hostility to all religions. The government of Recip Tayyip Erdoğan has been assertive of Islamic values and practice – and this is very visible in the reclaiming of Istanbul’s Ayia Sofia as a mosque. But alongside this, some Christian churches have spoken of a greater tolerance at government level. (St John’s has received funding from the local authority for church repairs.)