Memories and emotions in the footsteps of recent history

During the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, traces of the immortal struggle waged by Anatolian youth in the scorching deserts, impassable mountains, and other strategically important regions within Ottoman borders are uncovered, and the stories of friendship and solidarity that remain from this struggle are told in documentary form. Traces and memories of that period, still alive in countries that broke away from the Ottoman Empire or passed down through family traditions, are brought to the fore, and the historical sources of friendship with Turkey in these countries are brought to light. In this context, 13 fundamental stories from 13 countries are told, focusing on friendship, solidarity, love for Turkey, and historical ties. Most of these stories, documents, memories, and interviews are being presented for the first time and are accompanied by historical information. The documentary series “In the Footsteps of Recent History,” which for the first time chronicles the Ottoman withdrawal from the Middle East country by country, has been widely acclaimed. The documentary texts have been made available to readers in the form of the book “The Ottoman Withdrawal from the Middle East” by Ahmet Özcan, published by Yarın Publications. 13 Chapter x 30 minutes CHAPTER 1: JORDAN: CUFFLINKS As the Ottoman armies withdrew from Palestine, Mustafa Kemal was a guest of a family in Jordan. M. Kemal presented the head of the family who had opened his door to him under those circumstances with a pair of cufflinks as a gift. The head of the family, Mahmud Humud, responded by naming his newborn son Mustafa Kemal after this gift made of Alexandrian stone. Mustafa Kemal Humud continued this tradition and also named his son Kemal and bequeathed the gift to him. This legacy is now held by Mahmud Kemal Humud, who is the deputy chairman of the Jordan Investment Board. Accompanied by this story, the Ottoman traces in Jordan-Palestine are discussed, and the memorial built in the city of Salt, Jordan, for our soldiers who fell as martyrs in the Gaza battles of World War I is also described. CHAPTER 2: EGYPT: MEMORIES FALLING INTO THE NILE Accompanied by the story of the Fişavi coffeehouse, frequented by our poet of independence, Mehmet Akif Ersoy, the book recounts stories of solidarity in Egypt during World War I and the National Struggle, as well as memories and traces preserved by the living descendants of those who fought alongside the Ottomans. Mustafa Kemal's arrival in Alexandria after falling ill during the Tripoli War and his days in the hospital there, the stories of our prisoners who were blinded with medicated water in the Alexandria camp where Ottoman soldiers were held captive, The Ottoman martyrdom sites in Cairo and Alexandria, the echoes of the National Struggle in Cairo, one of the most important intellectual centers of the Ottoman geography, and the impact of the poems by Ahmed Shawqi, the national poet of Egypt, which tell the story of the war of liberation, on the people and intellectuals are examined in light of the archival documents of that day. CHAPTER 3: YEMEN: THOSE WHO LEFT NEVER RETURNED Yemen, famous for its rebellions, came under Ottoman rule in 1910 under the leadership of Imam Yahya. Subsequently, the Ottoman army transported military supplies with great difficulty to Yemen's rugged terrain and tested cannons mounted on camels for the first time in Yemen. The story of the dog tags, memoirs, and personal belongings of soldiers who served in the Ottoman army, which are still preserved in Yemen's military museum and archives. Anadolu, which still lives on in today's Yemen, accompanied by the memoirs entitled “On the Road to Yemen,” which recount the story of Beirut Governor Abdülgani Seni Bey's assignment to Yemen, his illness there, his surgery by Lieutenant Operator İsmail Bey, and his return to Istanbul, spending one month of his three-month change of air leave on the road. The story of Yemen's destiny tied to Anatolia is told. CHAPTER 4: JERUSALEM: MOUNT OF OLIVES The Kamame Church in Jerusalem, which could not be shared between the Orthodox and Catholics during the time of Yavuz Sultan Selim, was entrusted to a Muslim family by Yavuz, and the key to this church has been with this family ever since. This event, which is a guarantee of peace between Christian denominations in the region, illustrates the Ottoman traces in Jerusalem and the stories of friendship during World War I. This section recounts the secret of the Ottoman policy of “interfaith coexistence” based on mutual respect, which the Ottomans maintained for centuries in Jerusalem, the history of the struggle in Zeytindağı during World War I, and the sadness caused by the British occupation of Jerusalem. CHAPTER 5: ALGERIAN HALAY The importance of Algeria to the Ottomans, resistance to French occupation, and the memories of living members of the Emir Abdulkadir and Bin Badis families, who fought on the Ottoman side throughout World War I, are discussed. Accompanied by the story of the Ottoman navy and the Algerian fortress, the Ottoman traces in Algeria and the aspects of the resistance that emerged in this occupied region, which were influenced by the Turkish War of Independence, are examined in light of archival documents from that period. CHAPTER 6: TUNISIA: BROTHERHOOD UNDER THE FLAG This chapter covers Tunisia's importance during the Ottoman period, the resistance that began with the French occupation, the struggle of Tunisian intellectuals, notably Ali Bashamba and Sheikh Salih, on the Ottoman side during World War I, an interview with Sheikh Salih's grandson, and the drama of Tunisia's colonial period after the Ottoman era. CHAPTER 7: LIBYA: THE RESISTANCE OF FIZAN AND TRIPOLI This section covers Libya's importance during the Ottoman period, the Koloğlu families, memories of the 1911 Tripoli War against Italian occupation, and particularly the Ottoman memories of living members of the Sunusi families. Fizan, the place of exile that was the nightmare of the Ottoman bureaucracy. Memories of Anatolia buried in the Fizan deserts, which were the subject of proverbs even in bureaucratic circles during the Republican era. The memories of the Goloğlu family, who ruled the region for many years during the Ottoman Empire and played a major role in the formation of the modern Libyan state, are recounted, along with Libya's request to nominate a candidate for the presidency of the Republic of Turkey after gaining independence. CHAPTER 8: SYRIA: DAMASCUS AND ALEPPO It tells the stories of friendship and solidarity between Turkey and Syria during World War I and the early years of the Republic in the Ottoman province of Syria. The story of our three pilots who were martyred in Damascus at the tomb of Saladin after our first warplanes were shot down in World War I, Ottoman support in the Syrian liberation struggle, and Mustafa Kemal's proposal for a Turkish-Syrian federation after the Republic are examined with historical documents. The most magnificent train station on the Hejaz railway line and the documents on its walls and in its halls, awaiting their own relatives, will be discussed. CHAPTER 9: IRAQ: THE VICTORY OF KUT AL-AMARAH The Iraqi front in World War I, the dramatic suicide of Süleyman Asjkeri, head of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa, following a defeat resulting from his misguided decision, The victory of the Ottoman army under the command of Halil Pasha at Kut al-Amara and the capture of 13,000 British soldiers, the unforgettable support given to the Ottoman army by Sheikh Uceymi Sadun, who was in the Ottoman ranks, at Shueybe, and the life of Uceymi Sadun Pasha as told by his grandchildren living in Urfa. Memories of Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk, and the Tigris, which are as close to us as Erzurum, Sivas, Diyarbakır, and Urfa, and which are so much a part of us that they feature in our folk songs, proverbs, and idioms, are examined as they bear witness to the First World War. CHAPTER 10: IRAN: THE CENGELI SOLIDARITY It tells the story of Turkish-Iranian friendship, focusing on the relations between the Cengeli movement in Iran and the Ottoman forces on the Eastern Front during World War I. The activities of Halil Pasha, Kazım Karabekir Pasha, and members of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa (Special Organization) in Iran throughout the war, the support and relations of the local population, and the traces of these activities in centers such as Tabriz, Rasht, and Urmia that remain to this day are described. The support given by Ottoman officers to Mirza Kucuk Khan's resistance forces and the post-war Caucasian Islamic Army's campaign in Azerbaijan are also covered in this section. CHAPTER 11: LEBANON: BEIRUT BEIRUT The Ottoman traces in Beirut are recounted by living witnesses of World War I and its aftermath. The traces and memories of Beirut, the Paris of Ottoman intellectuals, with its coffee houses and press, await to be brought to the present day in the light of archival documents of that era. The legacy of the late Ottoman intellectual accumulation to Beirut, the capital of today's Arab culture, press, and publishing activities, is discussed. The activities of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa in Lebanon and Lebanon's position in World War I are examined, and the life of the famous Unionist Lebanese intellectual Şekip Aslan is recounted. CHAPTER 12: HICAZ: DEFENSE OF MEDINA During World War I, Mehmet Akif Ersoy's journey to Hijaz with Kuşçubaşı Eşref as part of his Teşkilat -ı Mahsusa, along with Kuşçubaşı Eşref, to keep the Arab tribes on the Ottoman side, as well as the legendary commander Fahrettin Pasha's defense of Medina, where he resisted for months without food or water to prevent the enemy from entering the holy cities despite the Mondros Armistice. This episode, which is the first TV documentary to cover the defense of Medina, also reveals the true nature of Sharif Hussein's rebellion. CHAPTER 13: SUDAN: ZENCİ MUSA It covers Ottoman-Sudan relations before and after World War I, the importance of Sudan during the Ottoman period, and the Sudanese people's support for the Ottoman army throughout the war. This episode tells the story of Zenci Musa, the orderly of Kuşçubaşı Eşref, who volunteered for the Tripoli War and spent his life running from front to front alongside Ottoman officers; the Ali Dinar movement, which resisted imperialist occupation in the Darfur region and remained loyal to the Ottomans until the end; and the black families in Sudan who still identify themselves as Turkish.