In this issue, we cover the theme of how the Silk Road brought peoples and cultures together. We know that you also have a special interest in this subject. Where does Ethem Sancak’s interest in archeology, culture and history come from?
Ethem Sancak:
It is necessary to be curious about the past in order to predict what the future will be like. You know, we used to say, “Those who don’t have a past can’t have a future!” One of the famous Turkish proverbs is: “the further you pull the arrow back, the further it goes!” When you look at it from various angles, in Eastern philosophy, it is necessary to know the past to know the future. For example, the philosophy of the famous Islamic Thinker Hz. Ali, Prophet, says: “If I am the city of knowledge, Ali is my door.” Ali emphasizes the importance of contemplation: “Contemplation, one moment of contemplation, is equal to the reward of 70 years of prayers”. They ask, “So what is contemplation”? He says: “contemplation is to seek answers to the questions of who am I, where do I come from, and where am I going.”
Being curious about the past must have been a disease that appeared in me during my school years. When I started secondary school, I started to read Shahnameh. Pervari Secondary School was established in 1966. I was
the number 1 student. Since we were a well-known family, we also had a hotel. A math teacher came. A young officer who was expelled from Harbiye due to the 1960 Talat Aydemir coup. They drove them and gave some of them the right to teach. He was from Bursa. He came to the school that opened in Pervari as the first teacher. He’s here, and he’s staying at our hotel. Anyway, Sancak Palas is a 6-room hotel. I was also the manager of the hotel at that age. Each member of the family had a job to do. I was sitting at the reception until morning.
The Ministry of National Education would send 1001 basic works to schools. Since there was no place in the secondary school, they threw them away in our hotel’s warehouse. I’m at the reception and the teacher is sleeping in the room opposite. He made me read a book every night. There is everything in those classical works, from Sholokhov to Gorky, from Ferdowsi to Kutadgu Bilig.
Since such reading began, I have developed a reading habit. I’ve been reading from that day forward. Here we are, 68 years old. I read for 2-3 hours every night. Of course, these readings of mine first started with a curiosity about history. The bottom of history is archeology. History is written, and archeology shows the evidence.
I read an article in a newspaper about you. Probably in 2011. You say: “I will donate half of my inheritance to my 14-year-old daughter if she studies archeology…”
Ethem Sancak:
Knowing archeology is related to knowing the future. Knowing who you are, what is to be a man, you know, Yunus says: “Knowledge is to know, knowledge is to know yourself.” Reading is to know yourself. When you want to know yourself, you will know the history of humanity because every human being is a universe, and every universe is a human being. For a human being to know himself, he must know the whole of humanity. Of course, it is necessary to contemplate where this humanity will go. Where is this humanity going?
So, are you particularly interested in Anatolia or the world in general?
Ethem Sancak:
There is no country in the world that I have not visited yet. And I always wondered about the archeological history of the place I visited. When I go to Rome, I visit the historic places and archaeological sites of Rome, and when I go to Latin America, the Incas and Aztecs. I visit museums and ruins there, but in an interview, I told an archeology magazine that 90 percent of the history of humanity is Anatolia.
Now, Anatolia is such a geography that homo sapiens, who got up from Africa, the womb of humanity, came to Anatolia after starting to walk. You see, the North Sea was frozen, and the human race fleeing from Europe came to Anatolia. Everyone came to Anatolia. It is unprecedented in the world. Therefore, there is no place in Anatolia with a yellow sign that I
have not visited yet. Though now they’re not yellow anymore, they’ve turned brown.
I visited all the ruins in Anatolia with special curiosity. Throughout the years. I caused the discovery of some. For example, I discovered the Antandros Ancient City in Altınoluk. The villagers and the intellectuals there had established an association in Altınoluk, and I sponsored it. And that famous Antandros City appeared. You see, together with Kenan Erim, we aroused curiosity about Aphrodisias. We met with teacher Kenan.
Then, with Rahmi Koç, we became the vice president of the Geyre Foundation, which uncovered the Ancient City of Aphrodisias. We still are. We sponsored it. I sponsored Ephesus. Ian Hodder, who excavated Çatalhöyük, is my friend from Stanford. I took care of there, sponsored there, and worked with the British Institute of Archeology there. I reached Nemrut. I am one of those who caused the emergence of Zeugma. Zeugma would be flooded, and money had to be found. There was no money in the state. I found Cemal Kafadar, Head of the Harvard History Department. He was my friend. The owner of Hewlett-Packard (HP) is an archaeologist. He took over the company after his father died. We got a commitment of 50 million dollars from the man, and he sent the first 10 million dollars. Then ours couldn’t fulfil the procedure. They couldn’t get the rest of the money. Otherwise, he had a $50 million commitment.
Göbeklitepe: Where it all began Moreover, for example, when Göbeklitepe was first discovered, I paid for the tent that was built on it. Carl Schmitt was my friend. Even though they detained him for historical artifact smuggling, I saved him. His wife is also from Urfa, and she is a young, highly qualified associate professor. I convinced Ferit Şahenk. “It is a treasure for you, be a sponsor for there. The whole world will know you. Because at the end of the day, the whole world will show interest in it,” I said.
I took care of and supported Urartu in Van. The World Archeology Congress was held there 4-5 days ago. I sponsored it. Mehmet Özdoğan is my very close friend, the father of archeology. On the other day, there was a very nice statement of his in the newspapers. “Gobeklitepe is where it all began,” he said. Göbeklitepe is the beginning of the state, classification. When the North was covered with glaciers, humanity fled from there 30-40 thousand years ago. They came to Harran then. There they discovered the surplus value. Along with irrigation in the “Fertile Crescent”. Surplus value gave rise to classes and the state. Because if there is no surplus value, there will be neither any state nor any classification. A correct thesis, he says it has no proof, but that’s what I also think.
In other words, I displayed interest in archeology all over Turkey and still do. Whenever possible, I still meet famous teachers, Cengiz Işık, Harun Sağlamtimur, Aegean’s famous archaeologist. So, after Beşiktaş, my number one hobby is archeology. Still, when I go to Bodrum, I meet all the excavation heads as they are my friends. For example, Abuzer Kızıl is an amazing man. For example, I pass by
those ancient cities in Yatağan. I visit there. I spend the 2-hour time that I separate from swimming on archeology.
Back in the day, one day, I went to a conference of Ekrem Akurgal. I was a young university student. He wrote a valuable book called Aegean Civilization. It describes the Aegean civilization on the map but only shows the findings in the Aegean. There is nothing beyond the Aegean. “You are a racist; you support westernization with a Tanzimat mindset.” I said to him that time. I said: “Is there nothing on the other side of Anatolia?” He said, “Then you write that.” So, he provoked me and increased my interest in archeology.
Archeology is the cornerstone of the future and wealth of a country. Now humanity is becoming conscious of it. Peasantry is coming to a close. The rate of urbanization in Turkey has been rising to 80%. What does city mean? In Arabic, it means Medina. Medina means civilization. Hz. Mohammed founded it and turned it into a city. They called it Medina. But the prophet founded the most democratic primitive state in history there. The most democratic.
In other words, the basis of democracy is not the
Athenian democracy in Ancient Greece. In Athenian democracy, one out of every 30 people is free. Slaves have no right to vote. Or Magna Carta; It is the nobility limiting the powers of the king. There are no peasants there, no Celtic peasants. Or the French Revolution. In the French Revolution, opportunities were provided to the bourgeoise but the proletariat was not given opportunities. That‘s why the Paris Commune was born. That’s why the Paris uprising happened.
Everyone looking for their past will come to Anatolia. Humanity will search for its past and will come to Anatolia.
But in the Medina City Document, every citizen whose age is over 11 attends the Friday meetings. Friday means to gather. Regardless of their religion, every citizen, male or female, comes, and a discussion takes place in front of the imam in the city’s presence. Then the discussion ends, and the worship of Allah begins. That’s why Allah reduces the noon prayer from four rak’ahs to two, so you can discuss your problems. The noon prayer is two rak’ahs on Friday. This is God’s message to us, saying that you discuss your problems. And the most democratic document is the Medina City Document. Civilization is the city.
Of course, later, the urbanized man became an individual. He ceases to be a slave. He became an individual, and the condition of being an individual is to know himself and to know himself, he must know his past. Everyone looking for their past will come to Anatolia. Humanity will search for its past and will come to Anatolia. And this tourist looking for his past, spends a lot of money as he is wealthy. Not like a tourist who comes to Alanya for the sand-sea-yacht all-inclusive holiday. The archeology tourist spends a lot of money. Because he’s wealthy.
Therefore, there will come a day when 100-150 million tourists will come here, and these will be people looking for their past. Because wherever one lives in the world, whether Russian, Chinese, or Canadian, anyone who seeks his past will come to Anatolia. Therefore, the ruins are our oil wells in the future. Oil will run out in the future anyway. Even if the Ukraine-Russia war hadn’t happened, this fossil fuel would have ended. Europeans have started to turn to fossil fuels compulsorily. But at the end of the day, these are our “oil wells.” This country will make money. It needs to be revived. It is necessary to draw attention to archeology. Those who come here, looking for their past, will have an enlightening experience. Because of this, archeology is very important to knowing our past and building our future.
Turks who could unite 72 tribes on the Silk Road
Anatolia, also known as the center of Eurasia, is the in- tersection point of different continents and peoples. What kind of fusion happened here? What common values did the Silk Road create in this geography along its path?
Ethem Sancak:
The center of gravity of the geography where we have founded four civilizations is Anatolia. The gravity center of the Roman Empire is also Anatolia. The center of gravity of all established states is Anatolia. Here we have a classic Turkish physical appearance, right? Pre-Turk was an almond-eyed Uyghur type. Move some, and there are Kazakhs. Move some more, the Azerbaijanis. Now, when you look at the Turks in Anatolia, they are physiologically unlike any of the Turks we mentioned. And also, the Turks in the seven climates in Anatolia are not alike. Black Sea Turks do not resemble Aegean Turks, Konya Turks or Siirt Turks. Why? Because they have gotten mixed and become multiracial people with local tribes. Because when we discovered Türbe Höyük, we cut a tomb 30 meters vertically together with a university teacher of archaeology. An Assyrian burial was found at the bottom of the same tomb, and an Armenian burial was found just 2-3 meters above it. Just above it were the
burials of the Muslim Kurds currently living there. The same village was Assyrian 3000 years ago. Later it became an Armenian, now a Muslim Kurd.
That is to say, Anatolia has provided this fusion and mixing. Now look, biologically pure races look ugly. Biologically, the hybrid race is beautiful. The more we purify, the uglier we become. It makes one restricted to a certain type of genes. In other words, the movement on this Silk Road makes people physiologically beautiful. Because 72 tribes moved on that Silk Road and the Turks, who were able to unite those 72 tribes, founded 4 empires. When the Turks came to Transoxiana, they were warriors, cruel, and shepherds on horses. They were the most warlike, brutal tribes. Because they were fighting against nature, they were fighting against the surrounding tribes. They came to Transoxiana to conquer, fighting against the Arabs in Talas.
By the way, Samanoğulları and the others chose Islam. The prophet said: “The Turks are the sword of Islam. Islam cannot eliminate Arabism and cannot be universal unless the Turks become Muslims.” The prophet thought so. In fact, the Turks came, and they became the tribe that best interprets Islam. Because they see that Allah says in the Qur’an: “I created you in groups so that you can talk and compromise.” And the prophet of Islam says, “differences are our wealth
and are a blessing from Allah to us”. The Turks understood this very well, and when they did, they united 72 tribes that were not like them.
The Seljuk empire consisted of 72 tribes, but the ruling dynasty was Turkish. The Ayyubid Empire was a Turkish empire. Its subjects were Arabs, its central military structure was Turkish, and the chief khan was Kurdish. But it was a Turkish empire. Mamluk Empire’s inhabitants were Arabs and Nubians, weren’t they? But those who ruled the state were the slave Turks. The slaves brought as Atabeys were brought to protect the caliph’s palace; however, they became prominent with their warrior identities and seized the state. And they founded the Mamluk Empire, which lasted for 400-odd years.
So think about it, when Bosnia and Herzegovina was Turkish, when it was Ottoman, Diyarbakir didn’t belong to the Ottoman Empire. Those places belonged to Mamluks because they became Ottoman with Yavuz after 1517. Anyway, Yavuz destroyed the two Turkish Empires. Arabs and Persians were hostile to Yavuz. However, Arabs and Persians had no connection with the two empires Yavuz destroyed. The Safavids were also Turks, and the Mamluks were Turks as well. By destroying the two Turkish empires, Yavuz expanded the Ottoman Empire.
Therefore, the Turks acquired the culture flowing
through the Silk Road. For example, music. It was developed by Merâgî and Farabi. Polyphonic music came from there and was developed into Western music. Fârâbî is the one who discovered the 16-part note. Fârâbî is also the one who made the instrument suitable for it. Merâgi is the one who developed it. But it went to Andalusia, and from there, it moved to Spain and Europe. That is to say, the source of polyphonic music is not the West. Polyphonic music couldn’t be produced by the West anyway. As the Romans say, they were shepherds and barbarians.
The Romans call everyone “barbarian” except themselves. They ask the Roman poet, what is barbarian, what is civilized? He says, “He who knows how to wash, who knows how to count and who knows how to eat is a civilized person; those who cannot do these are barbarians.” Barbarian peoples were Germans, Celts, and Franks. It is impossible for the Barbarian peoples of Europe to produce polyphonic music. Their most advanced instrument was something similar to the kaval. But where does polyphonic music come from? It was carried to Europe via the Silk Road. Its origin was mainly Chinese; the Chinese were good at music. But it is Fârâbî who created polyphony. Where did he get it from? He got them from the Indian and Chinese instruments.
Great fusion on the Silk Road Through the Silk Road, not only goods were transported, but also knowledge, arts, and cultures were exchanged, and what is more, people got harmonized and united. The universal human character emerged. For example, Babur Khan. If you ask an Indian, he says Babur was an Indian. If you ask an Arab, he says Babur was an Arab. If you ask Persians, they say Babur was a Persian. If you ask Afghans, he says he was an Afghan. Babur was a Turk. Fuzuli, Babur, Yusuf Has Hacib, Mahmud of Ghazni… So why was everyone Turkish? For example, recently, an Arab, who was arguing these issues, said, “Islamic scholars who lived between 800 and 1200 were great scholars, and from one point of view, they were Arabs.” The majority of their works were written in Arabic. But it was because the
universal language was Arabic at those times. But they actually were Turkish. They wrote in Arabic because the language of science was Arabic.
Therefore, the historical Silk Road united humanity. What it united it with, it united it with peace, not war. It united it with wealth and prosperity, not with poverty and destitution. It united the regions by taking the human being as a basis, with love, not greed. These are the universal values that always flow from the East to the West. Today too, the modern Silk Road promises this. The other day, the Chinese Foreign Minister attended the meeting of the Organization of Islamic States and said: “We are after the construction of a new world. The basic values with which we will build the new world exist in your religion of Islam, taking the human being as a basis, seeing the differences as richness, respecting the neighbor, but not wielding power.”
Lying, breaking one’s word, raping, killing people, and usury are five major sins that deserve punishment in Islam. These are the greatest sins, and reasons to experience hell. If you perform prayer less, you don’t deserve hell. This is a deficiency. There may be a lack of worship. But if you lie, you deserve a punishment. The Chinese Foreign Minister said the following. The new world will be built on these values. No one will kill anyone. No one will despotize anyone. No one will lie as the Westerners do, everyone will keep their word, there will be no murder, and there will be peace. These values are already Islamic. So who says this? The Chinese Foreign Minister says. Who does he say to? He says to the Muslim states.
If we cannot build the modern Silk Road, a new international system cannot be established. Atlanticists, money-worshippers, those who deify money, and globalists have already been trying to prevent the construction of the Modern Silk Road as they are aware of this. They will not be able to succeed. History develops independently of human will. History is a river, and the individual cannot prevent it. The intelligent individual senses this and acts accordingly. The foolish individual stands before it and falls. So no power can stop it. This is the flow of history.
