Pressed between history and culture, Germany is underrated

Hofkirche at Dresden on the left.

Dresden Opera building, Semper Oper.

Kunstakademie at Dresden right next to Elbe river.
"The country that does not protect foreigners goes fast under".

It's Pegida up, Pegida down these days in German politics. Given its tragic history and the ongoing trial of the NSU members who managed to kill ten foreigners without being detected for so long, the German edgyness about the subject is understandable. The birth place of Pegida, Dresden, was therefore a must see. Located by the Elbe river ("Florence of the Elbe") and heavily bombed months before the end of the Second World War, how to explain the fact that Dresden started this anti Islam movement with only 2% of its population being Muslim? When one looks at the rebuilding and hope going on in the city and the elegance, manifested by the opera building of the city and the Zwinger Palace, it is incomprehensible. However, when considering that even its landmark Frauenkirche remained in ruins for decades, one is inclined to think that it maybe be an obsession with conservation and purity.

A view from Zwinger Palace, Versailles a la Dresden.
Photo: Esra Turam.

Photo: Esra Turam.

The Semper Oper in Dresden.

The black stones are the remainders from the original
bombed Fraunkirche in Dresden with
Martin Luther statute in front.

Leaving Dresden with these questions, we visited the Buchenwald concentration camp. I was heartened by the fact that it was the 1st of May (Labor Day holiday) and despite that, the place was packed with so many Germans who came to visit with their families. In a room that contained a plan of the camp, our guide explained what building stood where, who lived in villas (the SS) and who died in what condition. Facts about the camp so spoke themselves, the guide did not have to make any conclusions after explaining anything. We were all left thinking how we might have survived in a climate of fear or what we would have done to save our children from politics of destruction or what ideals were worth to die or fight for. 

The entrance of Buchenwald
concentration camp.

The Nazis had an inscription at the entrance of each camp.
At Buchenwald it was: "Everyone to himself".

The barbed wire at Buchenwald once had
380 voltage to prevent people from escaping.

Prisoners of War were brought into this room thinking
they were undergoing medical examination.
Instead, they were shot dead.

We were at times devastated by the cruelty and the deep thinking that went into making people suffer. Similarly, tricks were used to create consent and compliance. For instance, prisoners of war were deceived with the appearance of a medical examination room. When they thought they were being measured, they were shot dead. At the entrance door of the camp, it read: "jedem das seine" (to each his own). A line that in religious thinking was supposed to be positive was turned upside down because every person in the camp was just a number. They were not to be called by their names. In a way, the slogan manifested to their loneliness and god forgottenness. In sum, what is left from the American bombing of Buchenwald is still enough to shake you especially with the crematorium and the ovens inside it. Apparently, once they have arrived in the area, the American army took the people living close to Buchenwald in order to confront them with what was happening there. 

Goethe and Schiller in Weimar.

A blast from the past: the Trabant of DDR.

Having drawn our lessons about political suppression, we then headed to Weimar, located next to the concentration camp. It is probably an irony of history that it was the Weimar constitution that got Germany into all of this to begin with. Walking in the structural birth place of the Nazi disaster, on the other hand, felt very poetic. Amid a flea market and Schiller's poems written in unexpected corners, we saw a statute of Schiller and Göethe and ended up at Frauentor, a very nice cafe and restaurant on Schillerstrasse across Göethehaus. Once we sat down, we realized one more time how pure the people in Eastern Germany really remained. Almost everybody was blonde. Maybe this is what makes them to fear the unknown? But why when your history is full of  things you can be proud of? 

Bach's statute in front of Thomas Kirche in Leipzig
where he composed and belonged.

Bach's graveyard inside Thomas Church in Leipzig.

German bakery at its best in Kandler, Leipzig.

Leipzig is the place of so many German things. Bach and Wagner lived and composed here as well as the Schumann couple and Mendelssohn. Today, at Thomas Kirche, one can visit Bach's grave and listen to an orgue concert during mass. Leipzig was also the birth place of German Reformation. At the same time, in 1989 churches turned out to be the place of refuge against the communist rule. Maybe this is why they are weary of non-Christians? In fact, a grandiose feeling surrounds the city with its buildings and huge train station, attesting to its once central location. The restaurant Auerbachskeller from 16th century that Göethe frequented still offers amazing food which really makes one think that why the German food, cakes and bread are so underrated.

Nikolaikirche in Leipzig, the place where
resistance to communist rule started in 1989, is 850 years old.

Spinnerei in Plagwitz, Leipzig.

Stolpersteine on the ground in Leipzig commemorate the Holocaust
survivors just like in other parts of the country.

In addition, Leipzig has an up and coming artsy neighborhood like Plagwitz with places like the Spinnerei, the cotton spinning mill turned into cultural center or restaurants such as Chinabrenner. Given all this heritage, it must have been such a destitute feeling for Germans until 1989 that all their cultural riches were left on the wrong side of the border. Those in the East, on the other hand, must have been left to take pride with cultural treasures that did not feed them. Maybe this explains their reluctance to embrace foreign "things". A desire to hold on to what they have for the future may be uncertain. A pity, when in their humble civility Germans have found so much courage to make good for the past.

The past is not past in Budapest

The Chain Bridge in Budapest, the most famous bridge
that connects Buda and Pest. 

I never understood the craze about Budapest. For me it was a dull and gray place with terrible flight connections that I annually had to go for business. Add to this Hungarian cry babyism -never ending how they lost their territory in the first world war, how the whole world is against them etc- and recently Orbanism that can only be compared to authoritarianism of my native Turkey, Budapest never grow on me. In fact, Hannah Arendt in "Eichmann in Jerusalem" brilliantly put my frustration: "It was (...)  unsolved social questions and general backwardness that gave Budapest society its specific flavor, as though Hungarians were a group of illusionists who had fed so long on self-deception that they had lost any sense of incongruity". 

Budapest Castle district as viewed from the Pest side.

The interior of the Hungarian Parliament
building is as pretty as its exteriors.

Ofcourse Arendt was writing about Hungarian society before the world war in the context of the Holocaust. Its Antisemitism and strong fascist moverments notwithstanding, surely, everything must have gone for the better after the fall of communism? Otherwise why the hype about Budapest? The legendary Sziget Festival? The Central European University and all sorts of human rights NGOs established by Mr. Soros? There had to be a fertile ground. Finally, on my fifth or sixth visit, I found the answer. It turns out I should have visited it in the summer. Indeed, in May 2014, it seemed almost like a Mediterranean coastal city with a lot of light and with many people on the streets. It did make a difference: now Budapest was alive and kicking.

View towards the Parliament from the Castle district.

Austro-Hungarian policeman statute in Budapest's Zrinyi Ut.

Nice use of public space in with London inspired
Budapest Eye in the back.

In addition to our love for authoritarianism, Turks and Hungarians seem to share two additional things: coffee and baths. Indeed, Hungarians' favorite pastime item -coffee- was brought over by Turks when the country was ruled by the Ottomans. Even the Hungarian word is very similar to the Turkish one: kave in Hungarian-kahve in Turkish. While the old legendary caffees of Budapest may seem a little dull today, try to indulge in most recently established ones that are spread all over the city. The same goes for the Turkish baths that are still preserved. 

And a tribute to Franz Liszt, the Hungarian composer.

St. Stephan Basilica in Budapest.

In addition to visits to kavehaz (coffee houses) and baths, river boating during the day or night with dinner without dinner is another typical touristic attraction in Budapest. As is known, Danube river divides the city to Pest and Buda and there are various pretty bridges connecting the two sides. If you are going to do the touristy thing, visit the famous St. Stephan Basilica on the Pest side and after a coffee in the bustling surroundings, walk by the statute of the Austro-Hungarian policeman which offers a funny photo opportunity. Then go to the banks of the river and cross over to the Buda side on foot over the pretty Chain Bridge. This walk would allow you to then take the funicular to the Castle District. You can spend a day there and enjoy the good views.  

Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest.

The traveller should also note that Hungary/Budapest is also a place of great suffering. And I am not only talking about the 1956 Hungarian Uprising against the Soviets which was bloodily crushed. During the World War II, Hungary was allied with the Nazis and while this alliance helped it to get back a lot of "lost" territory, it also meant death for its large Jewish minority. Indeed, Antisemitism runs deep in Hungary and it was one of the first countries to produce anti Jewish legislation even before the War. Its enthusiastic deportation of Jews in less than 2 months led to 640.000 of them being killed, mostly in Auschwitz. And this was as late as 1944. In fact, the mass deportations were so publicized that Vatican and even President Roosevelt and neutral countries put a lot of pressure on Hungary to stop the deportations or else face the consequences, a point they emphasized with a heavy air raid on Budapest in 1944. Today, there are many sites that commemorate the death of the Jews and Budapest is also home to a very heartbreaking but simple Holocaust Memorial on the bank of Danube. 

Holocaust Memorial on the Danube, Budapest.
Photo: Ozan Çağlayan.

Gozsdu Courtyard.
Photo: Andras Zombory
(Dear Andras, I emailed you to use this photo, pls. respond)

Making up for the sad past, today, the 7th District of Budapest, the old Jewish Quarter is quiet hip and full of kosher eateries as well as bars and restaurants. In fact, the Dohany Street synagogue remains the second largest in the world and the largest in Europe. In fact, Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionist movement was born in one of the houses close to the synagogue. Walk along Kiraly and Wesselenyi streets to observe the synagogues and buildings and cafes of the quarter. 

The train ride from Budapest Keleti station
to Bratislava is scenic at times.

Budapest is also famous for "ruin pubs". One can only imagine the creativity behind it: encountering capitalism in a pennyless post Communism setting when beautiful and centrally located but decrepit buildings are empty and in need of expensive renovation. In that sense, Szimpla Kert was the first ruin pub in Budapest but today it appears pretty touristy. Click for top five ruin pubs in Budapest including Szimpla. For me, the run downness of ruin pubs feels almost tacky. I would prefer to have a prosecco and marvel the amazingly restored art nouveau building of the Four Seasons Hotel in its bar. If you want to spare the extravaganza and hang out with more people, you should go to Gozsdu Udvar (Gouba). Located in a renovated court yard, it is full of bars, bistrots and restaurants. And take a daily train to Bratislava with the train and see the countryside. Unfortunately, all of this does not stop a Hungarian and a Turk from having the below chat in a Budapest cafe:

-Do you think about immigration like I do?

-All the time.

The unbearable lightness of history in Berlin

The statute for the killed Jews of Europe in Berlin right on
 Hannah Arendt Street, who luckily escaped their fate.

It was my second time in Berlin and yet, I am not that into the clubby-cool scenes of Berlin. There is a certain melancholy for me here despite the glittering architecture and friendlier than usual Berliners who are a different breed of Germans. Of course, certain traits like thrift remind you that you are in Germany, like the woman selling me a discounted subway card. When I asked what was so good about the card, she replied: “Sie sparen Ein Euro”. “You are saving 1 Euro” but the way she said it made it sound like I am saving a hundred dollars!

Check Point Charlie in Berlin
seems to have turned into a money making attraction.

This sign in Berlin meant once
 life and death for people.

Names of places in Berlin attest to a bygone romance such as Ruheleben; Charlottenburg; Karl Marx Allee; Unter den Linden. Because I speak German and am a little familiar with its history, it seems almost like a fairy tale…At the same time, these places also attest to political history: Check Point Charlie, Luftbrücke Platz, Brandenburger Tor. I feel that the political weight of all this has been carelessly thrown away by turning the city into a commercial show case with shiny buildings. In their willingness to bring “together what belongs together”, Germans seem to have over-done it. In that sense, two places where I could feel the weight of history have been the Jewish and the Stasi Museums. They balanced the cheerful side of Berlin for me as I feel that Berlin should not be so "light". It  should also be a place of remembrance like the moving but unassuming Statute for the Killed Jews of Europe. It’s after all where the decision to kill millions of people have been taken and carried out. Saying this, I am not advocating a Vergangenheitsbewaeltigung but I believe Berlin should be a place that carries the weight of history on its shoulders like Beirut or Sarajevo instead of turning into a theme park.

Let's remember our wall that lived 28 years.

In the Judenmuseum, Jewish history read like German history with Jews settling in various commercial spots as they were allowed to do only few trades. Interestingly, this discrimination was ended couple of times but was always reversed. The museum hosts many personal belongings, pictures, even packages sent or candle holders. The building’s architecture takes you to the Garden of Exile or “the tower” where you are made feel as cold, alone and in darkness as the Jews of the time. In that sense, it is a place that sensitizes you to the extreme suffering of the Jewish people. One of the last books published by a Jewish bookstore as shown in the museum is also telling of the political climate of Germany of the time: how to emigrate. Pictures of warning signs that “Jews enter into this village at their own risk” or detailed instructions as to what they can take with when leaving the country, manifest the intention of the authorities to acquire their belongings and wealth. Which is probably why it led to hefty sums of compensation for the victims. All of this made me think that we have such a long way to go on the Armenian front. Will I live long enough to see such museum in Istanbul?

Notice the camera inside the tree root at
Stasi Museum in Berlin.

Another object of life turned into
an object of spying at Stasi Museum.

Would you ever guess James?

My other destination was the Stasi Museum. This building was taken over by the people after the coming down of the Wall in 1990. While undergoing restoration and serving in a temporary building, it was still very interesting for the fact that it revealed how Stasi could turn ordinary items of life into objects of spying such as bags, thrash cans and watering canisters for road side surveillance. Apparently, graveyards were paid special attention because the church was considered a competition to the party’s monopoly on truth. The length of the files at Stasi reached a staggering 80 km of paper and even today, people are still able to make an application and obtain copies of their files. All of this reminded me of the great movie "the lives of others", where the hero is an ex-Stasi agent.

Scent samples of interrogated people
were kept like this at Stasi Museum.

"Freedom for my file" at Stasi Museum.

Closing on a happier note, it is a comfort to have so many Turks in Berlin which even allows you to ask for directions in Turkish right at the airport. Their cheerful ways of selling their stuff just like back home, put a smile on my face. One of them read: “döner macht schöner, einmal essen nie mehr vergessen”. (döner makes prettier, eat it once and you’ll never forget). Now that’s something that even the trio that killed döner makers cannot finish off! Bless y'all!

Döner macht schöner in Berlin, bless you!

Before Constantinople, there was Adrianapolis

The closer it is, the further it becomes. 220 km northwest of Istanbul, barely 2,5 hours drive on a flat highway, I haven’t made it to Edirne until recently. Known as Adrianapolis, this military outpost served as capital of the Ottoman Empire for almost hundred years (1367-1453) before Istanbul. And it showed! We stayed in Taşodalar, the estate where Sultan Mehmet II (the Conqueror of Istanbul) was born.  It carried this name for the last 600 years. Now renovated, it was located right behind the master piece of Architect Sinan’s Selimiye Mosque. And even better, adjacent to it, there was a Turkish bath (Saray Hamamı) where we spoiled ourselves beyond our senses.

The Old Mosque in Edirne is full of calligraphy.
Photo: Zeren Göktan.

"Allah" enscribed with calligraphy over believers at Edirne Old Mosque.
Photo: Zeren Göktan.

Arabic letter "vav" on the wall of the Old Mosque in Edirne.

A view from the serene Old Mosque in Edirne.
Notice the different architecture without
one big dome.

While the Selimiye Mosque is Edirne’s most famous monumental building, the town's early Ottoman period mosques are also considered unique pieces of architecture. They date from a period before the synthesis of Islam and Turkish civilizations came to a completion and while the signs of Seljuk style were still visible. One example is the Eski Camii (Old Mosque) of 1414 described by architect T. Cansever as standing as a sign of permanency.  It is also the first monumental building surviving from the early Ottoman era with its oldest pulpit (minber). Amid the Muhammad and Allah scripts right at the entry gate of the mosque, the Arabic writings on the walls of the mosque dating from the 18^th century were truly mesmerizing. Their calligraphic beauty combined with the effect of the live prayer, turned it into a divine session for me. I was so impressed  with the muezzin’s voice, I couldn’t help to listen to him until the end. Our later discussion led him to show me around the mosque: pomegranate tree symbolizing heaven in Islam, the calligraphic art variety Sulus and my favorite prayer on the wall (la havle). He even introduced me to the governor of Edirne (who was among the praying crowd) to have me repeat the praise I had for his voice. When I confessed him that I was not “so religious”, I was taken by his response: “nowadays, religion is too much associated with appearance”, clearly taking note of me not wearing a headscarf but implying that covering one's head was not the only way to determine one's religiosity.

Inside the Three Balconied Mosque in Edirne.

Three balconies of the minarette in Edirne. 

After questioning what it means to be a faithful person a little more, we then hit the Three Balconied Mosque (Üç Şerefeli Camii). Also dating from the 15^th century (1447), this mosque had four minarets that were all in different length, width and shape, one of which had three balconies, hence the name. This mosque is considered as the beginning of the later emerging Ottoman architecture. Lastly, we went to Selimiye (in İçkale district) which serves as a point of orientation since it is visible when you reach the town from Istanbul or other directions.

Selimiye mosque's famous marble mihrab in Edirne.
Photo: Zeren Göktan.

Selimiye Mosque in Edirne.
Photo: Zeren Göktan.

The dome of Selimiye Mosque in Edirne.

The minber (pulpit) of Selimiye Mosque.

Selimiye is considered Architect Sinan’s masterpiece although it was built after his other great work of Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, in the name of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Just like the other sultans before him who had all erected mosques in their names, Istanbul was the natural location for Sultan Selim, the son of Süleyman who was patronizing the mosque. However, it was soon realized that there was no place in Istanbul (Old City). Hence, Edirne as the gate to Europe and former capital has become the natural choice to demonstrate Ottoman power to Europe. Selimiye’s dome is indeed impressive not only with its height and width but also the Islamic art on it and its pastel tones.There is also a myth that accompanies the mosque. Apparently Edirne was full of tulips (and tulip gardens) at the time. When Sinan found the spot to build the mosque, its owner, an old woman was not willing to give her land. She would only be convinced if Sinan built something in the mosque that would remind future generations of her. So, in a truly subtle artistic way, Sinan made a tulip on a barely visible part inside the mosque. However, the tulip was put in a reverse fashion to symbolize the trouble she caused himJ.

Views from the streets of Edirne's Old City.

The synagogue of Edirne, due for renovation. 

I don’t think I ever made it to so many mosques in a row at any time in my life and –surprisingly- enjoyed it that much. Maybe religion was indeed not about appearance and about your heart. Maybe it was the diversity of styles, stories and layers in Edirne that gave one this feeling? Edirne is indeed a colorful place, full of students and people. They flock to Edirne’s liver and köfte shops. The town borders both Bulgaria and Greece as evident from the signs in both countries’ languages all over the city. After all, it is located in the Balkans, always first to catch snow coming from there to Turkey. Another natural element to Balkans are the Roma people who live in various Balkan and Central European countries. Their presence adds another color as they ride around the city in horse cars and sing while listening to their hand held stereos. They are also in the business of picture taking amid plastic flowered walls behind Selimiye mosque. Right behind the mosque, Köfteci Osman is excellent place to taste köfte (meat balls) also because the shop uses really good olive oil in its salads. This is truly unusual in Turkey but given the historical oil wrestling in the town, it should probably not be a surprise. 

The pedestrian market zone in Edirne.

Thrace University building in Karaağaç, Edirne.

The town is located by the river Meriç (Maritsa) which was navigable until the end of 17^th century. Today, at the river side one can spot couples, men sipping raki (Turkish ouzo) on grass and restaurants (Hanedan was our favorite). When one crosses the old bridge to reach Karağaç and the campus of Thrace University –itself a magnificent building- one is only kilometers away from Greece. Given the commercial activity associated with the river  as well as its location, Edirne was once home to sizeable minority populations such as Bulgarians and Jews. Unfortunately, the pogrom of 1934 in Thrace all but ended the latter’s presence. Today, the beautiful art nouveau synagogue building is finally being renovated while the Sveti Yorgi church holds mass every Sunday with a crowd of mere 30 people and those coming from Bulgaria. Minorities always pay for the establishment of nation states:-).

Old bridge over Maritsa (Meriç) river.

An illustration of the music therapists of the
Beyazid complex in Edirne.

The Health Museum in Edirne won the
2004 Council of Europe museum prize.

A simple room in the hospital section of the complex in Edirne.

Another place not to miss in Edirne is the Health Museum that won the 2004 Council of Europe Museum prize. Located in the hospital section (Darüşşifa) of the Complex of Sultan Beyazid II (1484-88) beside the Tunca River, this was a place where mentally ill patients were treated with water and music therapy. In fact, a different rhythm was used for each different illness. For more click here. Having served for 400 years as hospital, it later became a hospital for the mentally ill. The complex included a medical school, a guest house and a soup kitchen, as well as a mosque. When the Empire was falling apart after the Balkan War, Edirne was occupied by the Russian Army. As a result, the hospital also fell apart. Patients started to be held in isolation and in chains while the welfare system of the complex all but collapsed. While the building was later used for other governmental purposes, thanks to the renovation it again found a purpose in the form of Health Museum. One of the scenes at the Museum I really liked was the fact that two patients, described as melancholic depressive and lunatic, were housed in the same room. The Turkish translation of melancholic basically refers to someone who is so hopelessly in love, he has lost his mind. Under the circumstances, his roommate cannot be anyone but who has lost it totally, don’t you think?

The melancholic depressive and his roommate the lunatic
at the Health Museum in Edirne.

Prayer beeds inside the Bayazid mosque in Edirne.

The Bayazid complex in Edirne from outside.

Postcard showing Bulgarian machine guns

before Adrianapolis during the Balkan War.

(Courtesy of TT).