An accessible, carry-along handbook to Turkish history and culture, both ancient and modern, written by a Turkish tour guide and teacher. Abundant color photographs. Contact the publisher via email at [email protected]. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

An exploration of the contemporary influence of the Ottoman Empire on the wider world, as the author uncovers the new Ottoman legacy across Europe and the Middle East. Alev Scott’s odyssey began when she looked beyond Turkey’s borders for contemporary traces of the Ottoman Empire. Their 800 years of rule ended a century ago—and yet, travelling through twelve countries from Kosovo to Greece to Palestine, she uncovers a legacy that’s vital and relevant; where medieval ethnic diversity meets twenty-first century nationalism—and displaced people seek new identities. It's a story of surprises. An acolyte of Erdogan in Christian-majority Serbia confirms the wide-reaching appeal of his authoritarian leadership. A Druze warlord explains the secretive religious faction in the heart of the Middle East. The palimpsest-like streets of Jerusalem's Old Town hint at the Ottoman co-existence of Muslims and Jews. And in Turkish Cyprus, Alev Scott rediscovers a childhood home. In every community, history is present as a dynamic force. Faced by questions of exile, diaspora and collective memory, Alev Scott searches for answers from the cafes of Beirut to the refugee camps of Lesbos. She uncovers in Erdogan's nouveau-Ottoman Turkey a version of the nostalgic utopias sold to disillusioned voters in Europe and America. And yet—as she relates with compassion, insight, and humor—diversity is the enduring, endangered heart of this fascinating region.

A remarkable recounting of a human journey through an inhumane world. What does it mean to be a “refugee”? It is easy for those who live in relative freedom to ignore or even to villainize people who have been forced to flee their homes. After all, it can be hard to identify with others’ experiences when you haven’t been in their shoes. In Hakim’s Odyssey, we see firsthand how war can make anyone a refugee. Hakim, a successful young Syrian who had his whole life ahead of him, tells his story: how war forced him to leave everything behind, including his family, his friends, his home, and his business. After the Syrian uprising in 2011, Hakim was arrested and tortured, his town was bombed, his business was seized by the army, and members of his family were arrested or disappeared. This first leg of his odyssey follows Hakim as he travels from Syria to Lebanon, Lebanon to Jordan, and Jordan to Turkey, where he struggles to earn a living and dreams of one day returning to his home. This graphic novel is necessary reading for our time. Alternately hopeful and heartbreaking, Hakim’s Odyssey is a story about what it means to be human in a world that sometimes fails to be humane.

Turkey’s Neo-Ottomanist Moment, A Eurasianist Odyssey, is the most comprehensive account to date of the transformation of Turkey’s foreign policy related to its regime change. With first-hand knowledge, Cengiz Çandar tells the story of the emergence of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s revisionist Turkey in global affairs. References from almost 90 different names from around 20 countries, he also reflects how the international expertise on Turkey viewed Turkey. “Cengiz Çandar has written a thought provoking and tremendously insightful book on contemporary Turkish foreign policy rooted in a deep understanding of Turkish history and politics. Çandar’s insights are grounded in experiences as a journalist and foreign policy advisor. This book goes a long way to explain Turkey’s strident foreign policy today. It is a wonderfully informative and enjoyable read!” - Lenore G. Martin, Co-Chair of the Study Group on Modern Turkey, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, USA “No one better understands and explains “Neo-Ottomanism” than Cengiz Çandar, who coined the term almost 30 years ago, long before it became a fashionable concept capturing the evolution of Turkish foreign policy. And very few writers can so beautifully weave professional insights, objective analysis and anecdotal flair. By transcending easy clichés and lazy analogies, Çandar has produced a definitive account. If you could only read one book on Turkish foreign policy , this is it.” - Ömer Taşpınar, ProfessorNational War College and The Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), USA “In his new book, Turkey’s Neo-Ottomanist Moment: A Eurasianist Odyssey, Cengiz Çandar, a veteran foreign policy analyst, advances a lucid explanation of his country’s increasingly assertive behavior. His seemingly paradoxical conclusion is aptly encapsulated in the book’s title. Çandar’s book is an intellectual tour de force and a must-read for anyone interested in the intertwined problem of contemporary Turkey’s identity and foreign policy.” - Igor Torbakov, Historian, former research scholar at the Russian Academy of Sciences. CONTENTS Preface A Revisionist Power on the International Stage The World’s Pandemic Year, Turkey’s Year of Belligerence Turkey: The Country to Watch Neo-Ottomanism: A Controversy A Kaleidoscope of Hostility Contestation Nostalgia or Restoring Imperial Glory Neo-Ottomanism: A Metamorphosis (From Özal to Erdoğan via Davutoğlu) Genesis of Neo-Ottomanism The Contours of Özalian Neo-Ottomanism Davutoğlu: Neo-Ottomanist or Not? Turkey-Centred Islamism or Arab Revenge on Turkey Davutoğlu versus Özal: Prelude to Erdoğan From Obscure Islamist Scholar to High-Profile Strategist “Shamgen” versus Schengen Neo-Ottomans versus Neo-Safavids Arab Spring, the Game Changer From Zero Problems with Neighbours to No Neighbours without Problems Sunni-Sectarian and Anti-Kurdish Impulses Turkey in Syria, Eurasianism in Action Erdoğanist Neo-Ottomanism in Play The Eurasianist Diversion: Turkey Marches to Syria Syria: The First Move on the Neo-Ottomanist Chessboard Blue Homeland: Turkish Mare Nostrum (Reaching North Africa, Gunboat Diplomacy in the Eastern Mediterranean) Expanding to Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean Interconnection Turkey and Greece: Dispute on Maritime Delimitation and EEZ’s Greek Resentment, German “Appeasement” Reasonable Propositions for Maritime Delimitation Blue Homeland: Turkish Maritime Claims Larger than Sweden Blue Homeland: “Eurasianism versus the Imperialist Powers of the West and Greece” In Russia’s Backyard: Turkey in the South Caucasus Turkey’s Entry into Russia’s “Near Abroad” Timid Turkey 1992: Assertive Turkey 2020–2021 Dual Corridor or the Road to Central Asia and China Competitive Cooperation or Adverserial Collaboration with Russia Erdoğan and Putin: Observing Realpolitik First Turkish Military Presence in Caucasus in over a Century Neo-Ottomanist Turkey: For How Long? Wars Cost Money Turkey: A “Sick Man” That Never Was Overturning Conventional History The Reckoning Searching for New Geopolitical Axes in a Multipolar World Turkey’s Hostile Dance with the West Differing Views on China and Russia The Old Overlord in the New Middle East Great Power Rivalries of the “Second Cold War” The Black Sea Dilemma The Uyghur Case: Moral Bankruptcy of Turkish Nationalism and Eurasianism CREDITS: Cover design by Nihal Yazgan PRODUCT DETAILS: ISBN: 978-1-80135-044-0 (Print) ISBN: 978-1-80135-049-5 (Digital) Publisher: Transnational Press London Published: 25 August 2021 Language: English Pages: 198 Binding: Paperback Interior Ink: Black & white Weight (approx.): 0.5 kg Dimensions (approx.): 15cm wide x 23cm tall

This book describes the geography, history, government, economy, and culture of Turkey. All books of the critically-acclaimed Cultures of the World® series ensure an immersive experience by offering vibrant photographs with descriptive nonfiction narratives, and interactive activities such as creating an authentic traditional dish from an easy-to-follow recipe. Copious maps and detailed timelines present the past and present of the country, while exploration of the art and architecture help your readers to understand why diversity is the spice of Life.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Scholars credit the European Renaissance and Enlightenment to the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when Greek scholars in particular were driven from the Byzantine capital, taking with them everything they had learned about their own Greek intellectual heritage and classical philosophical tradition, thanks, in part, to the scholarly enterprise of Islamic scholasticism and a spirit of intellectual cooperation that had existed until that time. The “expulsion of excellence” that followed closely on the heels of Mehmed II’s military victory in 1453 proved problematic for an emergent, modern-Muslim, imperial power, which his capture of the Byzantine capital instigated, although it was a boon to European intellectual life. Five and a half centuries later, on the night of 15 July 2016, a failed coup attempt that took place in the twin Turkish capital cities of Istanbul and Ankara paved the way for another expulsion of excellence, this time the handiwork of the ruling AK Party and its strongman-cum-dictator, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This volume tells the story of an American academic, Clyde R. Forsberg Jr., living and working in the AKP heartland of Turkey. A distinguished Professor in the Department of Western Languages and Literatures at Karabük University at the time, having relocated his entire family to Turkey two years prior, his children becoming fluent in Turkish by this time, and his wife, a native of Kyrgyzstan, slated to enter medical school in just a month’s time, the Forsbergs were forced to flee the country after he was detained by the police and tried for “aiding and abetting a terrorist organization.” Subsequently found innocent of all charges, Forsberg was nonetheless sacked, forced to clear out his office as University cameras rolled, adding insult to injury. Local online newspapers followed suit, publishing false and misleading stories about his arrest, targeting him and thus putting him and his entire family in danger. Other foreign faculty at Karabük University were likewise falsely charged, imprisoned, and, despite being found innocent of all charges, dismissed and forced to leave the country. A professional historian, American Studies scholar, and Open Society Institute alumnus, Forsberg recounts the events leading up to and following his arrest, employing a media studies approach, which asks hard questions of the role of social media in the preservation of democratic freedoms, which, in the wrong hands, became a very effective tool of the Turkish State and its suppression of democratic freedoms. In Forsberg’s case, his imprisonment and subsequent suspension were for the “crime” of posting a poem online that was critical of Karabük University and the country’s ruling AK Party’s so-called “purge” of foreign faculty.