Toys_Aylin by Tina IICS

T O Y S AYLIN KARAGOZOGLU

TURKISH INVASION OF CYPRUS/ SUMMER 1974/ EXPERIENCES/ HISTORY/ THOUGHTS/ PHOTOS/

SEYIT KARAGOZOGLU’S STORY

TURKISH SOLDIERS ARRIVING IN CYPRUS

CONTENTS PAGE 2 DEDICATION PAGE PAGE 3-8 INTERVIEW ON SEYIT’S EXPERIENCE IN THE 1974 TURKISH INVASION OF CYPRUS PAGE 9-10 A SMALL MOMENT IN SEYIT’S EXPERIENCE IN THE TURKISH INVASION OF CYPRUS PAGE 11 AFTERWORD PAGE 12 BIBLIOGRAPHY PAGE 13 BACK COVER PAGE

THIS PIECE IS DEDICATED TO MY FATHER FOR SHARING HIS STORY WITH ME

2 AN INTERVIEW BETWEEN AYLIN

AKHISAR IN THE 1970’S KARAGOZOGLU AND SEYIT KARAGOZOGLU ON SEYIT’S EXPERIENCE IN THE 1974 TURKISH INVASION OF CYPRUS

THE INTERVIEW AYLIN (INTERVIEWER): WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THE CYPRUS PEACE OPERATION IN 1974? SEYIT (INTERVIEWEE): IN 1974 I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD AND THE FIRST THING THAT I REMEMBER IS ONE DAY MY FATHER CAME HOME, HE SEEMED WORRIED, HE SAID TO MY MOTHER, “TURKEY IS SENDING SOLDIERS TO CYPRUS, PACK IMMEDIATELY, GREEKS MIGHT ATTACK IZMIR, WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF IZMIR.” I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON I WAS PANICKING AS WELL, I DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE IZMIR, THAT WAS MY HOME. ANYHOW, MY FATHER ALLOWED ME TO TAKE FEW BOOKS THAT I LIKED READING. WE GOT IN THE CAR VERY QUICKLY, AND WE DROVE TO AKHISAR, THE ROADS WEREN’T AS GOOD AS NOW, SO IT TOOK US ABOUT THREE HOURS, WE DROVE INLAND, AWAY FROM IZMIR AND STAYED IN A SMALL MOTEL. AND MY FATHER WAS CONSTANTLY ON THE PHONE TRYING TO CALL FROM THE HOTEL TO HIS RELATIVES AND TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS REALLY GOING ON. I THINK WE STAYED THERE FOR TWO DAYS, AND AFTER TWO DAYS I THINK HE REALIZED THE GREEKS WERE NOT ATTACKING TURKEY AND SO WE DROVE BACK TO IZMIR. I THINK BECAUSE THE CITY OF IZMIR IS SO CLOSE TO GREECE, IT IS ON THE AEGEAN COAST, HE THOUGHT ONE OF THE FIRST THE

FIRST TARGETS WOULD BE IZMIR, SO THAT IS THE FIRST THING I REMEMBER WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CYPRUS. AYLIN: WHAT DID YOU DO IN AKHISAR? SEYIT: I WAS WORRIED SITTING IN ONE CORNER TRYING TO KEEP BUSY BY READING THE SAME BOOK OVER AND OVER, BECAUSE I HAD NOTHING ELSE, AFTERALL I WAS AN EIGHT YEAR OLD KID. AYLIN: SO DID YOU ASK BABAANNE (SEYIT’S MOTHER) OR NEVZAT (SEYIT’S FATHER) ANY QUESTIONS? SEYIT: I ASKED DURING AND I PRESUME AFTER, BUT FOR ME TO FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON WAS MANY YEARS LATER WHEN I WAS GROWN UP. BUT I DID ASK THEM QUESTIONS THOSE DAYS, YES. AYLIN: DO YOU REMEMBER ANY OF THOSE QUESTIONS? SEYIT: YES I WAS SAYING “BUT WHY ARE WE HERE? WHY MIGHT THE ATTACK US? WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?” THEY ANSWERED ME, BUT DID I FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE ANSWERS WERE, I CANNOT RECALL RIGHT NOW. ANOTHER DETAIL THAT I REMEMBER WHEN WE CAME BACK TO IZMIR THE GOVERNMENT HAD TOLD PEOPLE NOT TO TURN ON THE LIGHTS AT NIGHT, BECAUSE IF THERE WAS AN ATTACK THE PLANES WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SEE ANY LIGHT. SO THE THOUGHT THAT AN ATTACK MIGHT COME WAS STILL THERE, SO WE WERE TOLD NOT TO TURN ON THE LIGHTS AT NIGHT, IF WE DID, WE HAD TO COVER ALL THE WINDOWS WITH A SPECIAL CLOTH SO THAT THE LIGHT WOULD NOT BE SEEN FROM OUTSIDE. AND IF YOU WERE DRIVING AT NIGHT, YOU HAD TO COVER THE LIGHTS, THE FRONT AND THE BACKLIGHTS WITH A SPECIAL DARK BLUE COLOR, I REMEMBER IT VERY WELL, YOU HAD TO COVER ALL THE LIGHTS WITH THAT PAPER SO THAT WHEN YOU DROVE YOUR LIGHTS WOULD NOT BE SEEN, YOU COULD HARDLY SEE, SO YOU DIDN’T WANT TO DRIVE, BUT INCASE YOU HAD TO DRIVE THEY WERE THERE. LET'S SAY IF A PLANE WAS FLYING

ABOVE YOU AND THEY WERE GOING TO ATTACK YOU, THEY WOULDN’T SEE YOUR CAR, SO YOU WOULDN’T BE A TARGET.

AYLIN: DID YOU EVER THINK “WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THEY WERE TO INVADE? WERE YOU SCARED?” SEYIT: AT THAT AGE I DON’T THINK I WAS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, I WASN'T THINKING “WHAT WERE TO HAPPEN IF THEY COME? WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES?” I WAS JUST AFRAID THAT WAR MIGHT COME INTO MY HOME TOWN. AYLIN: AT THE TIME DID YOU REALIZE THAT IT WAS A SERIOUS SITUATION? SEYIT: YES, I MEAN IF WE HAD TO GET IN A CAR AND RUN AWAY FROM HOME, IT MUST HAVE BEEN SERIOUS. AYLIN: DO YOU REMEMBER ANY OF THE THOUGHTS THAT WENT THROUGH YOUR HEAD? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING ABOUT? SEYIT: I MEAN AS A KID MY THOUGHTS WERE THOUGHTS OF A KID, SO I WAS THINKING “WHATEVER THIS IS I HOPE IT'S OVER SOON SO I CAN GO BACK HOME TO MY BOOKS, TO MY TOYS” AYLIN: WERE THERE ANY SPECIFIC MOMENTS THAT YOU REMEMBER? SEYIT: I MEAN, ALL OF THESE WERE QUITE SPECIFIC.

OLD BUILDING IN AKHISAR

AYLIN: POSSIBLY YOU HEARD SOMETHING? SEYIT: I REMEMBER BEING IN THE HOTEL ROOM, MY DAD WAS TRYING TO CALL WHOEVER HE WAS TRYING TO CALL, IN THOSE DAY THEY ALWAYS DIDN’T WORK, WE DIDN’T HAVE MOBILE PHONES, WE DID NOT HAVE SATELLITES, TO MAKE A PHONE CALL FROM ONE CITY TO ANOTHER WAS NOT EASY. SO HE WAS TRYING TO CALL AND CALL, BUT THE PHONES WOULD NOT GO THROUGH, HE WAS GETTING MAD AND UPSET THE HE COULDN’T CALL WHOEVER

HE WANTED TO, AND THE LINES WOULD GET CUT OFF, SO I REMEMBER SEEING HIM FRUSTRATED. AYLIN: WHEN YOU ALL GOT BACK HOME, WERE THERE ANY CELEBRATIONS ON THE STREET? SEYIT: THERE WERE CELEBRATIONS ON THE STREET, BUT I DON’T REMEMBER SEEING THOSE, I FOUND OUT ABOUT MUCH LATER AS A GROWN UP BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT THIS EVENT. AYLIN: HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN NEVZAT PUT YOU IN THE CAR? SEYIT: SCARED AND UNHAPPY AYLIN: UNHAPPY BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T HAVE YOUR TOYS? SEYIT: EXACTLY, I MEAN I DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE THEM. I DIDN’T WANT TO GO IN A CAR TO SOMEWHERE I DIDN’T KNOW.

AYLIN: DO YOU REMEMBER IF IT WAS NIGHT OR MORNING OR DURING THE DAY? SEYIT: I THINK IT WAS DURING THE DAY.

AYLIN: DO THINK THIS EVENT SHAPED YOU AS A PERSON IN ANY WAY?

SEYIT: I'M SURE, BECAUSE AS I GREW UP I LEARNED. I MADE A POINT THAT I LEARNED ABOUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN CYPRUS AND TODAY I AM QUITE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE AFFAIRS IN CYPRUS. CYPRUS IS AN IMPORTSNT FOR ME IS A SPECIAL PLACE.

AYLIN: HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO CYPRUS? SEYIT: YES, A FEW TIMES, IT’S A BEAUTIFUL ISLAND. AYLIN: DID YOU GO TO LEARN ABOUT THE ISLAND? SEYIT: I WENT IN 1999 IF I RECALL CORRECTLY, AS A TOURIST TO SEE THE ISLAND WITH A FEW FRIENDS, WE WERE FOUR FRIENDS, AND I ALSO WENT LAST YEAR FOR WORK.

AYLIN: DO YOU REMEMBER ANY SMELL, ANY THINGS THAT YOU SAW THAT WERE SHOCKING? DID YOU HEAR ANYTHING, FEEL ANYTHING, TOUCH ANYTHING THAT WAS DIFFERENT, OR THAT YOU REMEMBER?

SEYIT: YES, YOU MIGHT KNOW THIS BUT IF YOU STAY IN A GOOD HOTEL YOU WILL KNOW THAT THE ROOM SMELLS NICE, IF YOU STAY IN A NOT SO GOOD HOTEL, THE ROOMS DON’T SMELL SO GOOD, YOU FEEL YOU'RE IN AN AWKWARD ROOM. AND I REMEMBER THAT ROOM SMELT LIKE THAT, BECAUSE IN THE 1970’S TO FIND A PROPER HOTEL IN AKHISAR WAS PRACTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE. AYLIN: WHAT DO YOU MEEN BY AN AWKWARD SMELL? SEYIT: OLD FURNITURE SMELLS FUNNY, HUMIDY, OLD CURTAINS, YOU KNOW IF THEY KEEP THE SAME CURTAINS IN THE HOTEL FOR 20 YEARS, EVENTUALLY THERE IS A CERTAIN AIR, SOMETHING THAT IS HANGING IN THE ROOM. I REMEMBER THAT.

WRITTEN BY AYLIN KARAGOZOGLU

SEYIT’S EXPERIENCE I

WONDER IF MY TOYS ARE OKAY? I THOUGHT. I SAT ON THE EDGE OF OF THE BED, IN A MOTEL IN AKHISAR, MOM IS IN THE

BATHROOM AND DAD IS SITTING BY THE DARK WOODEN DESK NEAR THE PHONE TRYING TO CALL RELATIVES. I CONTINUED READING THE SAME BOOK I HAVE BEEN READING FOR THE PAST FEW DAYS, THE ONLY ONE DAD ALLOWED ME TO TAKE. ONCE I GOT BORED I STARTED STARING AT MY SMALL EIGHT YEAR OLD LEGS IN THE BACKGROUND, THE WORDS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK WENT BLURRY. HIS LOUD RASPY VOICE TALKING TO THE GUY ON THE LINE FROM THE NATIONAL POST AND TELEGRAPH DIRECTORATE (PTT) DISTRACTED ME FROM THE STORY. THE SMELL OF THE OLD CURTAINS FILLED THE ROOM, IT NEVER LEFT THE TIP OF MY NOSE. DAD WAS GETTING A BIT RED, HE STARTED TALKING LOUDER, NOW I COULD ONLY HEAR THE MUMBLES OF THE MAN ON THE LINE. HE CLOSED THE PHONE TO WAIT FOR THEM TO CALL BACK, HE PUT HIS HANDS ON HIS HEAD AND LOOKED DOWN. MOM STOMPED IN FROM THE BATHROOM SLAMMING THE DOOR BEHIND HER TO CATCH DAD'S ATTENTION. “WHY DID YOU TAKE US HERE?” SHE ASKED. “I DON’T KNOW” HE SHOUTED NERVOUSLY. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T KNOW?” SHE EXCLAIMED. “I AM TRYING MY BEST.” HE SAID. I’M WATCHING THEM, EVERY MOVE, HOPING TO COLLECT CLUES TO UNDERSTAND WHY WE WERE HERE. MY DAD CAUGHT MY EYE, I STARED BACK DOWN AT MY BOOK, BUT I WASN’T READING, I WAS LISTENING IN HOPES OF CATCHING ANY NEWS.

DAD CALLED PTT AGAIN, HE KNEW HE WAS NOT GOING TO GET A HOLD OF ANY RELATIVES, BUT HE TRIED AGAIN. MY FATHER STARTED TALKING WITH THE MAN ON THE LINE, AT LEAST I THOUGHT IT WAS, HE PUT DOWN THE PHONE. I WISH SOMEONE WOULD TELL ME WHAT WAS GOING ON, BUT I DON’T THINK ANYONE KNOWS, SO WE JUST WAITED IN SILENCE. I HOPE THIS THING IS OVER SOON SO I CAN GO BACK TO MY

HOUSE AND MY TOYS AND BOOKS. DAD TURNED ON THE RADIO, I LISTENED TO EACH WORD THE MAN SAID BUT PRETENDED TO BE READING. WOULD THERE BE WAR? WOULD OUR HOUSE BE BOMBED? AM I GOING TO SPEND MY SUMMER VACATION LIKE THIS? WILL I SEE MY FRIENDS AND RELATIVES AGAIN? WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO IZMIR? ARE THERE GOING TO BE SOLDIERS IN IZMIR? ARE MY TOYS AND BOOKS GOING TO BE OK IF OUR HOUSE IS BOMBED? WILL THERE BE WAR? ARE MY FRIENDS AND RELATIVES OKAY?

WE ARE ALL SITTING IN A TRIANGULAR SHAPE, I WAS STILL ON THE BED, DAD WAS STILL SITTING NEAR THE DESK, AND MOM WAS SITTING ON A WOODEN STOOL. THEY WERE WHISPERING, I COULD HEAR MOST WORDS, BUT NOT ALL. THEY ARE WORRIED, I CAN TELL FROM THEIR MOVEMENTS AND TONE, EACH WORD IS QUITE, SHAKY, SLOW. I CAN TELL EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE TRYING THEIR BEST FOR ME NOT TO UNDERSTAND, TO NOT BE SCARED, BUT I AM. WHY ARE THE WINDOWS

COVERED? THEY ARE COVERED IN DARK BLUE PAPER, I WANT TO GO TOUCH IT, BUT I WON’T. I STARED DOWN AT THE BOOK SO MY PARENTS WOULDN’T THINK I WAS SCARED OR ANXIOUS OR NERVOUS. I LAYED UP ON THE HEADBOARD OF THE BED AND SAT THERE, I STARTED READING,

“I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS DAY, I NOW KNOW A LOT ABOUT THIS EVENT AND FEEL QUITE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT IT. IT IS A PART OF MY LIFE AND I FELT REQUIRED TO LEARN ABOUT IT, CYPRUS IS AN IMPORTANT PACE FOR ME NOW.”

THE SOUND OF MYSELF IN MY HEAD COMFORTED ME, I FLIPPED EACH PAGE SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY, BECAUSE IT MIGHT JUST BE THE ONLY BOOK I’LL HAVE LEFT.

AFTERWORD

MAP OF CYPRUS

AFTER A FEW MORE DAYS IN AKHISAR AND AFTER HUNDREDS OF PHONE CALL ATTEMPTS, NEVZAT GOT A HOLD OF A RELATIVE AND LEARNED THAT GREECE WILL NOT INVADE IZMIR. SO BANI (MY GRANDMA), NEVZAT (MY GRANDPA), SEYIT (MY FATHER) AND EROL (THEIR DRIVER) DROVE BACK TO IZMIR SAFELY AND MY FATHER WAS ABLE TO ENJOY HIS TOYS AGAIN. STILL TO THIS DAY TURKEY OCCUPIES A PART OF CYPRUS. CYPRUS IS AN ISLAND IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA, IT LIES RIGHT UNDER TURKEY AND ON THE LOWER RIGHT SIDE OF GREECE. THIS COUNTRY IS SEPARATED BY A LARGE WALL INTO TWO PARTS, THE SOUTHERN GREEK SIDE (REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS) AND THE NORTHERN TURKISH SIDE (NORTHERN CYPRUS). DURING THE SUMMER OF 1974 THE TURKISH MILITARY INVADED CYPRUS AND SAVED THE TURKS THAT LIVED THERE FROM CRUELTY AND OCCUPIED ABOUT ONE THIRD OF THE LAND. TURKEY INVADED CYPRUS BECAUSE AT THE TIME GREECE WAS TRYING TO TAKEOVER CYPRUS AND MAKE IT A PART OF GREECE, BUT IF THE TURKS DID NOT OCCUPY PART OF THE LAND THAN GREECE WOULD BE EXTREMELY CLOSE TO TURKEY AND WOULD BE ABLE TO ATTACK VERY EASILY. SOON THE TURKS LIVING ON THE SOUTHERN SIDE AND THE GREEKS LIVING ON THE NORTHERN SIDE EXCHANGED SO ALL GREEKS WOULD BE ON THE SOUTHERN SIDE AND AND ALL TURKS WOULD BE ON THE NORTHERN SIDE. AKHISAR IS A SMALL TOWN IN MANISA ABOUT 3 HOURS BY CAR (IN 1974) AWAY FROM KONAK, IZMIR, MY FATHER'S HOMETOWN. MAP OF CYPRUS

TURKISH SOLDIERS IN CYPRUS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Information About Cyprus." Cyprus and Divided Societies. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2015. BBC News. BBC, 20 July 1974. Web. 04 Nov. 2015. "Cyprus." : Maps, History, Geography, Government, Culture, Facts, Guide & Travel/Holidays/Cities. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2015. "Cyprus." Map / Geography of / Map of. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2015. Karagozoglu, Seyit. "Interview With Dad." Interview by Aylin Karagozoglu. N.p., n.d. Web. <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qPxF9C4TtHQK0sogw3Xb7xhOiYbQ K92ocvmaJLETEhY/edit>. Interviewed 4 times "1974 Turkish Invasion Against CYPRUS." Christos A. Neophytou BEng. BSc. MSc. MBA PgDL, Barrister-At-Law, n.d. Web.

FLAG OF CYPRUS IN BLACK AND WHITE