Going towards Manisa

The Reluctant Warrior

 Chapter 9

Shaban brought a dim kerosene lamp with a broken glass.

The optimism that they felt after eating the delicious soup was wearing off. They were waiting and were bored. It was raining nonstop for hours. They concluded that the men that they were waiting for wouldn’t be able to come because of the rain. They didn’t even know where Halit, the leader of the irregulars, was coming from; when he would arrive; how many men he had. As a wanted man, how was he supposed to enter the town and how was he going to find them?

All four of them were having the same thoughts. They were listening outside, hoping to hear something other than the rain. Selahaddin wiped his sweat off with his wet handkerchief. He changed his clothes twice. He was better now, but still weak. He was sipping water which they had added a drop of brandy too. He had difficulty in swallowing the sulfate. It tasted bitter. He hoped no one saw him when he screwed up his face.

He had perspired a lot because of the fever. The thin mattress was wet as if it had fallen in the water. Shaban was trying to dry the sheets over the stove.

Bekir Sami checked the time once again; he was tired. He was trying hard not to show his desperation. The lines on his face and around his eyes were deeper.

Nizam had sent a messenger in the afternoon and told them that it would be dangerous to leave the building at night time so they were advised to go to the train station right away. The French Captain promised to protect the officers.

Bekir Sami and Jamil didn’t want unnecessary arguments and told the messenger that Selahaddin was sick. They would rather wait in the Military Office.

Jamil remembered how Shaban was crying in pain when they threw stones at him; he couldn’t wipe that image off his mind.

All the events since they came to Akhisar changed the dynamics between the higher and lower ranks of the army. There should have been a more respectful distance but since they were like prisoners in the building, they were feeling more equal. Bekir Sami was bothered by the fact that Lieutenant Farouk was sitting in the same room with him. He looked sad.

Bekir Sami thought they should have continued their journey to Manisa last night instead of getting off the train at Akhisar Station. It was hard to wait. “We didn’t hear from Rasim”. He said this for the third time.

Jamil thought they made a mistake today. “When we were able to use the telegraph we should have given orders to Rasim to mount the artillery weapons; use the war measures act and confiscate all the animals and carriages from the people; to load the carriages with ammunition and weapons and leave the town with all the available infantry and cavalry soldiers. We should have told Rasim to go to Salihli at all costs even if they had to fight.”

Jamil was sorry that they had to wait the whole day at Akhisar and they had to deal with Gavour Efe. They could have called Halit to Salihli. That way they would be in a better position when negotiating. Halit would see them leading a larger group of soldiers. He wondered why the Commander didn’t think that. He was surprised and then Jamil realized for the first time in his life how difficult a Commander’s job was even though he had been a war Officer for so many years.

Jamil tried to analyze the situation. Could it be that the general desperation of all of the people was causing the Commander to make bad decisions? If so, that was not good. Normally, people would have a reflex to run away from danger, but in Akhisar, people were paralyzed, they were not moving. On the other hand, if people started to leave their houses; loading their carriages with their children and belongings, it would cause panic.  Jamil wondered in which case it would be easier to convince the people to resist: In a panic situation or while they are still at their homes in this paralyzed state. There was no way to talk some sense into them. Jamil concluded that this was the reason why the Officers didn’t know how to convince people. Then he remembered that sometimes the soldiers get shell shocked and they don’t obey orders. They refuse to leave their trenches. Jamil looked at the rifles by the wall. He squinted his eyes and concluded that it was not the same thing; because in the fronts those soldiers are waiting for the enemy attack even though they are not the first to attack the enemy with their bayonets. And when the enemy attacks first, the soldiers have to defend themselves until the end. There is no other choice.

However, the situation in Akhisar was different. The people were waiting for the enemy army with the Greek flags; they were almost welcoming them. There was no resistance. That was why the Turkish officers were dumbfounded. Bekir Sami didn’t know what to do when he was faced with a lack of emotion. Bekir Sami normally would know what to do with the shell-shocked soldiers. He would force them to take action using his gun. The people of Akhisar could choose to take all their ammunition and arms and retreat eastward. That way they could wait to fight the enemy in a safer area. Instead, they were just waiting for the enemy to come and get them like prisoners in their homes. They were waiting in fear. They didn’t have any power to resist. ‘They are as good as dead!’ Jamil thought.

Akhisar_ ancient Thyatira

Jamil remembered the faces of Nizam’s friends, as well as Rashad and his men. He compared them with the Ottoman public employees that he saw all over the Empire. He felt like he knew the type, especially familiar was Nizam, the madrasah teacher. Jamil had trained so many novice soldiers and had been with them in the war. He had the opportunity to observe their behavior in dangerous situations. When the younger ones were on the ground lying on their faces, he used to order them to stand up and attack the enemy. And he had to ask the experienced soldiers to do the most difficult tasks; to obey him*. He thought, “Maybe we haven’t analyzed the situation correctly now at Akhisar. We didn’t understand the attitude of the people well; surely the people must have some good qualities. We didn’t know how to search for those qualities. We kept on talking about the things they already knew. Probably we should have talked to them in a more sophisticated manner. We would elevate their fears.  Perhaps we would have made them more fearful and they would have taken action, regardless.”

Selahaddin put his elbows on the table and covered his face. Waiting made him more tired. They heard dogs barking from far away behind the voices of the rain. The barks came from one yard to another approaching them. They heard horses and they all sprang to their feet.

“Two horsemen.”

“No, Commander. Three.”

”You are right, three. Farouk, please, go and see who is coming.”

The horsemen must not be afraid of anyone. They are coming at full throttle, English style.

When Jamil and Farouk opened the door, they saw the horsemen pulling the reins and stopped. Their leader Halit was a member of the Karaosmanoglu clan. He was about 35 years old and a tall handsome man who had dark looks. He had shapely legs and wore English riding pants in a dark grey color. He had riding boots and elaborate headgear. On his belt, there was a dagger in a silver Circassian case as well as a big pistol. He had a deep voice that gave the others confidence.

He saluted Bekir Sami and the Commander seemed to like him. He invited him to sit down. Halit apologized for being late.

“It is all right. We had a lot to do in the afternoon. Before I will explain everything, I want to ask you something, Are you a Unionist?” Bekir Sami said.

“Yes, I am.”

“We heard that the Accord Party, who is in Government, wants to arrest you. Is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I am here on the Defence Ministry’s orders with absolute authority. My job is to head the 17th Army with the help of patriotic individuals like yourself. We are going to stop the enemy and throw them back to the sea that they came from. If you support us then you don’t need to be afraid of Government prosecution anymore. You should know that we are all Unionist supporters as well. After the Truce, the Government changed in Istanbul. However, we still control the Armed Forces. Now that the enemy has landed in Izmir, we should forget our differences with the Accord Party. We have to combine our efforts to save the country. There are still some people who don’t support us. How many men can you bring to fight? Time is important. Instead of bringing five hundred men a month from now, we need you to recruit one hundred men now. Do you understand what I am saying?”

“Yes, certainly, I understand, Commander. Before I came here, I spoke to Rashad. I will recruit a thousand Cavalry and a thousand Infantry soldiers in a couple of days, and provide enough arms and ammunition.”

“Are you sure? A thousand Cavalry and a thousand Infantrymen! That is a big force, very big.”

“Yes, I am sure, Sir. In the triangle of Akhisar, Manisa, and Casaba, all the villages follow our orders.”

“God Bless you, Halit. That’s good news. When do you think you can gather those men?”

“When do you need them?”

“I need them right now. We can’t afford to lose a minute.”  He checked the time and tapped his watch with his finger twice. “How many men can you gather by tomorrow? Three hundred, two hundred, even a hundred would do! The situation is such that we have to go to Manisa right away! We have to get the ammunition and the machine guns as well as the artillery and retreat inland. We sent our men there already. I gave my orders to them in the morning using the telegram. Our men in Manisa are working with all their might now. We have to go there right away and stop the enemy. There are eight cannons, twenty-five machine guns, fifty Mauser guns, and one million bullets. There are also hundreds of artillery shells and a hundred thousand machine gun bullets in Manisa! How many men do you have at the moment?”

“My forces are not ready yet. I have to call them to order.”

“Could you send them a message now?”

“No!” Halit squirted his eyes and thought about something. He said, “We have to send messengers to the villages. The roads are not safe, especially at night. We will go to Kumkuyucak in the morning. I sent men already. The ones who get the message will come to Belence by noon. I think we will get to Manisa by tomorrow evening. What do you think?”

“Sure, that would be fine. Thank you, Halit. Our nation will remember you.” The Commander’s voice was full of emotion. “Our people felt homeless in their own country and started a revolution. We will reclaim our country. We are living in difficult times,* but we have a holy struggle to save our country. On behalf of our nation, thank you.”

 Halit Karaosmanoglu was embarrassed and looked down. The officers respected him.

Jamil remembered his talks with Dr. Munir. He thought, “Munir thinks we don’t have a European style feudal system. He is wrong. Halit is a Gentleman in that sense. He is like a real chevalier.”

“Commander, do you need horses?” Halit asked.

Bekir Sami looked uncomfortable answering the question.  “We had to leave our horses at Balikesir. We didn’t know what to expect when we came here.”

“I understand. The roads are muddy and walking is treacherous. We will give you one of our own horses. My men can walk to Kumkuyucak.” He thought for a while. “Shall we go right away, Sir? We can go to Kumkuyucak and spend the night there.”

Before the Commander could answer Selahaddin said, “Yes, of course. That’s a good idea.”

Halit didn’t know about Captain Selahaddin’s illness, so he didn’t think that anything was out of the ordinary.

Bekir Sami was worried, “No, you shouldn’t be walking!” Then he explained the situation to Halit.  “Selahaddin has malaria. He needs his rest. He shouldn’t walk!”

“Yes, I can walk, Sir. This is not new for me. I have had malaria for a long time now. It is all right.”

Halit didn’t have to think for long, “We will do something else. I will provide an ox-drawn carriage. The Officers will ride on it and we can load your belongings. The carriage will go slowly all night.”

Selahaddin insisted. “No, Sir! I will walk. The carriage will go too slowly. We will be late.”

 “We won’t be late, Selahaddin; we will get another carriage if necessary. You should be comfortable.” Then Halit asked Farouk to call Ali.

Ali came running. He respectfully waited for orders.

“Get on your horse Ali, and go to Rustem; tell him we need an oxen carriage with two strong animals. He has to send a coachman also. It is urgent. Give him my regards.”

Ali left the room respectfully walking backward. He rushed down the stairs.

Halit listened to the horse-hoofs going away, and he smiled. “They will send the carriage right away; you better get prepared!”

Shaban was still in front of the stove trying to dry the mattress.

“Hasn’t that dried yet?” Jamil asked.

“It is almost dry, Sir. It is ready.”

“No, don’t carry it upstairs. Where is your rifle?

“It is here, Sir.”

“Shaban, how many cases of bullets do we have?”

“Five.”

“Good. Take everything; carry them downstairs and put them by the door.”

“Should I bring the rifles?”

“Yes. Get all your belongings as well. Don’t forget your coat. We are not returning here.”

“Are we going now?

“Yes.”

“Good. Are we leaving the food behind?”

“No, bring the food as well.” Jamil scratch his chin. “Bring the tents and the raincoats. It doesn’t matter if they are worn. We need everything.”

“I think we have a tent!”

“Go find it right away. Be quick! Have them by the door in five minutes.”

 Jamil went upstairs. Halit was telling the Commander the latest developments in the region. “Most of the Gendarmerie soldiers have gone back to their home. Some deserters and draft dodgers are hiding in the mountains. They are taking advantage of the situation because no one is looking for them. The Zaybeks are unruly in the Odemish area.”

“What do you mean?”

“When an ‘Efe’ takes to the mountains with his ‘Zaybeks’ he is responsible for the security of the region. When he is running away from the law enforcement, he also has to make sure the other gangs don’t enter his territory. He has to claim that territory and protect it from the other Efe’s and other gangs. The Efe’s are more concerned about each other. They are not so worried about the Gendarmerie. Yoruk Ali is intimidated by Mehmet the Ironsmith. The Aegean region leaders have a feud with the Circassians over the death of Chakici Efe. Not only that; there are groups from the Balkans as well. The Albanians are acting independently. Now that the situation has changed; even the Greek Captains are coming from the islands to plunder our villages. Even in the daytime!”

“Can we gather some of the men on our side?”

“Yes, some of them might agree to join us. But the problem is they don’t trust one another.”

“Who are they?”

“The ones who are feuding?”

“No, I am asking in general, I am asking about all the people who are on the mountains.”

There is the Wrestler, Yoruk Ali, Mehmet the Ironsmith, Hussein, Mestan, Jafeaki from Crete, Mehmet, Molla Ibrahim Gang and others.”

“That many?”

“Yes, there are a lot of people in the mountains.”

“How many men do the Efe’s have?”

“Ironsmith and Yoruk Ali have the most men; they each have fifteen men that are travelling with them, sometimes more. When there is a need they can recruit more.”

“Do you think they are any good? Can we count on them?”

Halit thought for a while. “You never know. Well, some of them may act courageously and charge to the enemy with all their might on the other hand, some might get scared by the slightest movement and run away. It is hard to control the gangs; before the war they were only attaching the villages later on they started to raid bigger towns.  Ethem’s gang kidnapped the Governor of Izmir, Rahmi’s son, for ransom. You might have heard that. Some other gangs have followed his example and the rich had to pay protection money to them in every town. Yes, they might raid the enemy headquarters and cause damage, but they are not like a regular army, so they won’t be reliable. They don’t like the military officers because most of them are draft evaders; they are scared of the Officers and that’s why we can’t trust them totally. They can backstab us.

“I see. What about the regular army troops in this region?”

“The troops in Izmir have been dismantled and the former soldiers who came to this region are discouraging young men here. Some soldiers tried to go back to their homes and some took their weapons with them. There are some officers who dislike Unionists. They were against our party from the beginning. They think we shouldn’t have organized a counter-attack on the enemy in Izmir. They think if there wasn’t any resistance there wouldn’t be any problems. They are telling people that if no one opened fire on the enemy, there would be peace and everyone would have continued on with their business, as usual and they blame the Unionists for the current troubles. Did you hear what happened in Tire?”

“No!”

“Ten Officers and thirty soldiers came to Tire as they were retreating from Izmir. The local Military Commander, Captain Mehmet, didn’t want them there and he had sent a cable to the Aydin Division Commander. He said they were able to maintain order in town; however, the military Officers who came from Izmir were trying to start a revolt there. He said the people wanted them to leave Tire immediately otherwise, there would be disorder. The next day the town Mayor sent a telegram: “Major Aziz is commanding twenty five Officers and fifty men and they are trying to start an uprising in our town. The people of Tire, both Muslims and Christians, are about to revolt. It is certain that there will be some bloodshed. Please advice as soon as possible.” Because of this situation the troops are losing their men. The biggest regiments here, are at the most four hundred men. The 135^th Regiment in Soke has only 46 soldiers.”

“Yes, that’s correct. They have 46 men with rifles and the 75th Regiment has 85 riflemen. The 6th Division in Saraykoy has twenty men.”

“That’s why the people around here are so discouraged.”

“Yes. When the Greek Army landed in Izmir suddenly this entire region instantly became a war zone. Everyone is tired of war since the Balkan wars. They have neither livestock nor crops anymore. Their lives and livelihoods are in danger. The gangs descend on the towns and rob them. Then the Security Forces rob them! There is no one to take care of the orchards and the vineyards. The women and children are too weak to work in the fields. The trade has stopped. They have a reason to be discouraged, Sir.”

“Yes, they have a reason but we are in a situation where we don’t have any other choice but to defend ourselves...”

“Some of their supporters say if we don’t take action then we could go back to our work, as usual. They claim the enemy will give us those rights. I don’t understand how they can talk like that. They are stupid to believe that. You have to wonder why they are talking like that. I think they are just hoping that they can spare themselves and don’t care about what happens to the others. It is May already and it is almost time for the barley harvest. It would be the first harvest after all those years of war. The commissioners for figs, grapes, tobacco and licorice will buy the produce to export to foreign markets. When the farmers make money then all the store owners will be back in business! Before, there were shortages of sugar and coffee. Now they are starting to bring them to the market. Nobody wants any more disturbances, neither the village people nor the city folk. It is the same with the Istanbul Government. They want to keep quiet. Who is left to resist the enemy? No one except the Unionists. The Unionists are in this fight because they don’t want to be prosecuted for their past crimes.”

“What did the Unionists do? What crimes are you talking about? The Christian minorities here are happy with Governor Rahmi.”

“That’s right, Governor Rahmi took good care of the minorities here; but our boys wanted to take advantage of the situation and tried to take the trade away from them. They intimidated the Christian merchants who have been running the family business for generations. Now they are afraid they would be accountable for this. The Accord Party members are enemies of the Unionists. That’s why they were collaborating with the Christians during the war. Now they are even closer.”

“If the situation is this grave, how will you persuade people to join us?” the Commander asked.

“When Halit Karaosmanoglu calls them the people here come to join his forces. It has always been this way. They will fight against the enemy and even against the Ottoman Sultan. Their loyalty is with the Karaosmanoglu clan.”

“Jamil was thinking about the thousand infantry and another thousand horsemen that Halit Pasha was supposed to gather. If there will not be enough food for the army, then two thousand warriors will be hard to control. The country has been at war for seven consecutive years. Jamil wondered, “Who will supply food for all those men and the horses? How are we supposed to keep all the irregulars in line? If they steal or rape women what court will handle their cases? What authority can the Commander exercise among the warlords?”

Halit lit the Commander’s cigarette as if he was giving an answer to Jamil. He was very respectful. Jamil was hopeful and he wanted to catch Selahaddin’s gaze.

Captain Selahaddin had other thoughts. He seemed preoccupied as well.

Lieutenant Farouk was happy and was anxious to go. He asked Halit, “How long will it take to go to Kuyucak?”

“It will take five or six hours.”

“How many homes are there in that village?”

“Around seventy.”

“How many horsemen can they provide?”

“We will send messengers to all the surrounding villages. I think we will have four hundred horsemen in a couple of hours.”

“That means we can arrive in Manisa tomorrow evening!”

“That’s what I think, if we don’t get killed on the way.”

All four Officers thought about that sentence. It was still raining heavily outside and Shaban was busy downstairs with the preparations. Farouk walked to the window. He looked outside. The street looked as dark as a river in the night.

 Shaban and two others loaded the carriage with forty rifles and six cases of ammunition. They stretched the mattress on the empty space that was left. They put the tent up and tightened it.

Even though Jamil told Farouk to get on the carriage, Farouk preferred to walk along with Ali. The Commander was riding Ali’s horse. The coachman was a bearded immigrant. Farouk was carrying his Mauser over his shoulder with the barrel pointing to the ground.

Two in the carriage, four on foot, and three riding their horses; altogether they were nine. They were walking slowly.  The oxen were big and they had curved horns. It was midnight and the town was dark.

After they left the town the road changed from hard paved road to wet and soft ground which was easy to walk on.

It was already very dark outside and Jamil and Selahaddin were in the covered carriage which was tightly closed and therefore even darker. The visibility was very poor.

Jamil lit his second cigarette and offered one to Selahaddin. When he lit the match he raised it in order to see his friend’s face. “How are you?”

“I am getting better. Just tired. Did you ever have malaria fever?”

“Many times.”

“Then you should know! It is good to change the location. When you go to the higher elevation you feel better. He listened outside. It was still raining. “I hope the Commander has a good raincoat. I don’t want him to get all wet.”

“I think he has a good raincoat. He put the hood on as well.”

“Good thing he is a Circassian; He is used to mountain roads and this kind of weather.”

“I worry about Farouk for he is very slim. He will get his feet wet and he might get sick.”

“He could have joined us here in the carriage.”

“I asked him but he declined.”

“Let him walk. If he gets tired he could always come in. He is slim but he is strong as well. He is a good marksman. He was competing against the best marksman and he won.  Halil Pasha rewarded him with the Nagant revolver that he is carrying.”

“Is that right? Which Halil Pasha? Uncle Halil?”

“Yes.”
“Where were you with him, in Iraq or in Caucasia?”

“I was with him from the start. Farouk came later to the 5^th Caucasia Division. The Commander was Major Nazim who was the Chief of Staff of the Islam Army. Do you know him?”

“Who is that?”

“Ottoman Balkan Forces Commander, Major Nazim.”

“Yes, I know him. Nazim Kayseri.”

“Yes! Initially he didn’t think Farouk was any good. Now, when he thinks back on that, he is embarrassed. He said; ‘I thought I knew people well. I was mistaken’. While saying that, he slaps his knees. He sent Farouk to the 28th Battalion of 10th Caucasian Regiment. The troops were supposed to make an initial attack the next morning. The grass was as tall as human height. They were walking in secure positions. They were ambushed from all sides. The troops were about to dismantle. They went to the road. Then they noticed that some were fighting back, so they got encouraged. The rear defense was retreating while still under fire. It was 45 degrees Celsius; it was boiling hot. You felt like you were in a hot oven. We were under fire and thirsty. And worst of all, the enemy didn’t take prisoners. If they captured you, they killed you. Don’t forget the Battalion was dismantled. The enemy claimed the mountain artillery. We had only two anyway. We lost 19 men. Our animals were gone.”

“What happened to the Battalion?”

“Two officers dead and two wounded. When the 30th Battalion came to help they saw that Lieutenant Farouk was still holding strong with a couple of men. Then the experienced soldiers told us that when they saw young Farouk fighting with all his might they were not able to leave the battlefield and decided to continue fighting.”

Selahaddin’s face was lit up by the cigarette momentarily. “This happened in Gokchay which is located between Baku and Gence in Caucasia. Just a small town. I was thinking about this at the hotel. Farouk fought there like that. However, the people here refuse to fight. Why are they so discouraged? Is Farouk so courageous? Or is he mad? Is he so competitive like the athletes? Is he the only one who loves his country? What about the others? Why are people here not as patriotic as he is? They were born here. It is their land.”

“It is not that. Farouk was born in Istanbul. If it had something to do with birthplace he would have stayed and defended Istanbul.”

“That’s right!”

Selahaddin opened the tent door to throw out his cigarette butt. It was not raining anymore. There was no one behind. They must be walking in front of the oxen. The animal’s feet were smashing the mud.

Selahaddin inhaled the fresh air. “So what is it then? Why would people fight like madmen? Without any fear? Is it because they are angry? Is it because they are stubborn?”

“Halil Pasha and Dr. Munir talked about this for a long time.”

“What did they conclude?”

“Dr. Munir talked about the uprising of March 31st. He accused the Unionists of not having revolutionary forces.”

“And?”

“They wanted the Hunter Troops to leave Istanbul before March 31^st and journalist Hussein Jahid said that ‘they were the forces of the revolution. They should not be allowed to leave Istanbul. This was fifteen days before  March 31^st. Dr. Munir said that we had taken those Hunter Troops right out of Abdulhamid’s army instead of forming our own troops to guard the revolution. If they hadn’t come from Monastir we would have used some other troops from some other location. Even after the revolution, we didn’t train them for their new duties. So how did Hussein Yalcin conclude that these were the troops to guard the revolution? He didn’t know about the new revolutionary cadres or he simply had chosen to look like he didn’t know about this. I think some of our leaders had profited from March 31^st.”

“Your doctor doesn’t know what he is talking about! We were all in danger in the counter-revolution of March 31^st. How could anyone profit from them?”

“I don’t know! That’s what he said. He gave some examples.”

“Like what?”

“He said we killed Hasan Fehmi. We didn’t care about the death of Dervish Vahid! We let the bigots influence the army. We let them form their own association called Ittihad-i Muhammediye. And worse, we let Abdulhamid’s men govern after our victory. Dr. Munir was convinced that we didn’t have any progressive ideas or we were intimidated by the progress. Generally speaking, these things were causing us to profit from old ways and corruption.”

“What did Halil Pasha say about all this?”

“He just smiled under his mustache.”

“No way! Halil Pasha?”

At this moment, the tent door was opened. “How are you, Selahaddin?”

“I am fine, Farouk. How about you? Are you tired?”

“No. Is your fever gone?”

“Yes.  Malaria is gone. If you are tired come sit with us, there is enough space. You must be getting wet.”

“It is not raining anymore and I am not tired yet.”

“Is Shaban with you?”

“Yes, he won’t leave us.  He always finds something funny to say.”

They heard the Coachman’s voice, he had a Balkan accent. “Is he Molla Nasreddin?”

Shaban pretended he was sad. “Better than that. They say when the donkey is hurting he will run faster than the horse. That’s us!  Even Koroglu’s famous white horse wouldn’t be able to keep up with us. Don’t you know? I have my gun now. I wasn’t allowed before. We will beat the gangs. My feet are soaking now. If it gets worse and I still have my courage, then these mountains will see a real warrior!”

“Good for you, son! You are a brave soul.”

“Thank you. Even the Major likes my courage. I am a handy guy; I am sure I will be useful.”

Zaybek Ali said, “What is all this rain, Shaban? Is it the fool’s rain?”

“Right on! That’s the fool’s rain. I know because it is raining on Greeks. When you see the Greeks, it means Victory for us. I am sure about this. The Greek King’s whole job on this earth is to make the Ottomans happy!”

“Don’t you know they have already taken Crete from us?”

“Never mind Crete! It is like I said.”

“What about the Balkans?”

“The Balkan wars were different. The Greek army is invading our country because they are encouraged by our defeat at the Balkan wars. They have come and they are asking for it. We are going to win and forget the miseries of the Great War. I know this for sure. I don’t understand why you guys didn’t finish them in Izmir? What happened to the brave men of Aegean?” He waited for an answer. When there was none he sighed. “It is our Government’s fault. They didn’t install telephone wires all over. That’s why people didn’t learn about the situation in Izmir. Am I right?” He waited for an answer again. Then he added, “I am not blaming the Gavour Efe of Akhisar.  He somehow knew that Izmir was under attack even though there wasn’t a phone connection. That’s why he collected his gang right away and attacked us. He only had pebbles for ammunition. He was attacking the wrong people. He must have acted that way in order to save the honor of his town.”

They were going uphill and it was hard to proceed in the mud.

Jamil let Lieutenant Farouk sit in the carriage. When he came in Farouk opened his bottle and offered them some brandy.

They took a little sip and ate some raisins.

There was a light wind in the morning and it took the clouds away to Salihli. The weather was cool and wet.

When they reached the top of the Karadag they saw the sunrise. Kumkuyucak village was below. There was a stream dividing the village in two. The cows were let out after being milked. The elderly people were gathered at the town squire.

One of the horsemen already went ahead and let them know that Halit was on his way. The Mukhtar’s room was ready for the visitors.

Halit was well respected there, everyone came to greet him.

They noticed that all the villagers here were armed to the teeth like the people they had seen in other towns.

The officers were happy when they realized that Halit was indeed capable of delivering a thousand horsemen and a thousand infantrymen.

Halit knew the villagers by name. He greeted all of them. He had the authority but his actions were not pretentious at all. He was acting normally as if nothing was extraordinary and he was there on a hunting trip with his guests. He asked the Mukhtar his usual questions regarding crops, the animals, and the equipment. He talked to the Mukhtar privately. Then he ordered Ali to supply all the things needed for the village from his own ranch. Then he changed the subject. He inquired about the Greek villages in the area.

The Mukhtar said even though the Greeks were armed, they hadn’t done anything wrong so far. It looked like no one was willing to fight before the harvest. They informed Halit that the Greeks had dug trenches around their villages and had guards on duty day and night. Halit asked, “What about you?”

“It is the same for us. We are on guard.”

“Trenches?”

“We dug some trenches as well. We have secret guard posts. Our guards let us know that you were coming before the morning prayers. They told us how many men you had and that all the men were carrying guns. They weren’t sure what was in the carriage. However, they didn’t recognize you in the dark.”

“That’s OK. You will be informed in time. Did you have any news of the Greek Army?”

“We heard that they were around Menemen. Local Greeks in Menemen plundered the army depot. They distributed the guns to the villages. The Commander even gave them the machine guns.”

“That may be so, but I don’t think they would know how to use a machine gun.”

“You know better than me on this subject, Sir!”

“That’s bad news. Don’t you agree, Commander? I suppose they sent a machine gun operator as well”, Halit remarked.

“I agree. That’s bad news!”

“A Mauser is useless, compared to the machine gun. We need to get a machine gun ourselves. Do you have any men with experience with machine guns?”

The Mukhtar was silent. Everyone looked at a tall blond man who was sitting by the fire; the man was surprised at the attention. He was thinking and then he looked like he was going to stand up. Halit asked him, “Were you a sergeant in the military, Suleiman?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Is there anyone who knows how to use machine guns in this village?”

“The late Haydar had used them, but unfortunately he is no longer with us.”

“Do you think we can find someone from one of the neighboring villages?”

“Yes, we might find someone.”

Seven Churches of Early Christianity

“Mukhtar, please send some messengers to all the villages around here. Tell them that if they have horses they should get here right away. The others can come later. Let’s not lose time by waiting for each other. They have to come here as soon as possible. Tell them that, I will notice the ones who come first. They will be in my good books. Tell them to bring whatever guns they have. If they don’t have rifles tell them to bring their pistols. If they bring horses we will pay for the horses. The foot soldiers will be given horses in time. The ones who came before sunset will have special gifts from the Sultan. OK, boys. Get on your horses. We are waiting for good news.”

The men in the room hurried outside. There were only Mukhtar and some elderly men left in the room. Halit ordered Mukhtar, “We haven’t slept all night. We are hungry as well. We would like to have some soup and rice pilaf with meat. Bring us some hot water; and while we clean up get the meal ready. Prepare the beds as well. As soon as we finish dinner we want to sleep. Don’t let anyone make a noise in the morning. We need our rest. We will have to take care of important business tomorrow afternoon. Get the guards on duty around the village. If there is bad news from Manisa wake me up.”

When they were awoken by the gunshots it was past noon already. They hadn’t changed their clothes for bed so they were able to run out by grabbing their rifles. Shaban came running up to Jamil asking, “Did we get ambushed?”

“No, Sir. “ He was out of breath. “The troops are approaching.”

“Which troops?”

“Ours. The gang is headed by ‘Girl Efe’.”

“Son, you have to stop thinking about ‘Girls’. What do you mean by ‘Girl Efe’?”

“They call her Girl Efe, Sir.”

The sounds of the guns were approaching fast. The gang was firing shots, taking a break and saying a prayer in a loud voice. Halit showed the newcomers to the Commander and explained. “They are coming from Belence, Girl Efe is leading them.”

“Is that right? Is she really a woman or are they calling a man ‘Girl Efe’?”

“Yes, Sir, she is a woman who lost her husband in the war. She got on a horse and started carrying the flag and leading the way. People figured after losing her husband she went mad. People are used to her now, no one cares that she is an Efe now. That’s her! She is carrying the flag and leading the way!”

The flag was half red, half white, and there was Arabic script on it with gold letters.

The flag post had a golden Crescent and star and green ribbons on top. Girl Efe had a big dagger on her belt and a beautifully embroidered scarf on her Fez. She had an embroidered vest and Efe pants as well. She was looking good in that outfit.

Her men had new guns and their cross holsters were full of ammunition. The other men who were on foot were also carrying different types of guns. They looked strong and agile.

The Flag barrier came and stopped by the mosque. The men who came earlier and had been waiting around came by her side. The Officers were happy. After Halit’s call, two hundred men had come to join their forces already.

Bekir Sami looked at them. He was trying to estimate the capability of those irregulars. Halit looked proud with his knitted eyebrows. The Commander asked, “Is that all we have?”

“No, Sir. There are some more horsemen by the river; many arrived at night when we were sleeping.”

There were about 35 horses under the willow trees by the river that were busy eating their food that they brought. Jamil elbowed Selahaddin. “We gathered sixty horsemen already. We should start heading toward Manisa. What do you say?”

“You are right. We should start going. The others can follow us. Let me go talk to the Commander.”

He went to Bekir Sami and whispered. The Commander said, “Yes, that’s what we should do. I will talk to Halit. Farouk should be on his way with these men. There is no need to wait.”

On the signal from Girl Efe, the men started singing a song that was popular during the Crimean War.  Omer Pasha was mentioned in the original. This was changed to Halit Pasha by his men. They were waiting for Halit to give the attack order.

The women started to cry already.

They gave Mausers to the horsemen. Farouk was on his way to Manisa leading 83 cavalrymen. Farouk was ordered to invite others. He ran into on his way to join his forces and try to go to Manisa as soon as he could. Once there he had to load the ammunition and the guns and transport them to safer locations.

Both Bekir Sami and Halit were deceived by the fact that the first group was assembled so easily and up and running already. When all the other horsemen from different villages came and filled the town square the Officers faced some difficulty in forming units and sending them on their way. Nobody wanted to be separated from the people of their own villages. It was the same with the foot soldiers. The situation turned into chaos. The men didn’t obey the orders. They were gathering in one place and going to different places a while later. Everyone was talking. There was so much noise. In spite of the fact that they had all completed their service in the military, they were acting like they hadn’t had any training at all.

Selahaddin was tired and his voice was hoarse from yelling all day. He got his sulfate medicine and went to rest. The Coachman from Akhisar wanted to return home. Jamil distributed the rifles to the men that had proven that they had already finished their military service before. He kept one box of ammunition for their own use and he gave the other boxes to the men. They were happy to be given the free rifles and the ammunition however, their joy didn’t last long. They were hoping for more since the situation was so precarious. Everybody wanted horses. They all claimed to have been in the cavalry units in the past. They said they could be more helpful if they each had horses. Some pessimists among the villagers were warning them that if things were dangerous the horses would run away easily and asking them what would they do without animals. So they were worried. They were happy before because of the new rifles and the ammunition but now they were not willing to go and they wanted to give the rifles back.

Bekir Sami promised them that the horses would be given to them in Manisa, but they didn’t listen. Halit was angry. The villagers were running away and hiding when they saw Halit coming. So he sent the village elders to convince them, but it was hard.

After a while the horsemen dismounted their horses, saying that they were not going anywhere if their friends were not given horses. They reminded the Commander that these men had served the country during the war as cavalrymen.

Jamil thought about getting a stick and yelling at those men but he thought better of it. They might leave. When he asked for sergeants almost all of them ducked. The ones who didn’t hide were not any good either. After getting permission from the Commander, Jamil went in front of the mosque and stood on a bench. He raised his hand and addressed the crowd, “Friends!”

Everybody was quiet.

“Friends! Where are we? We are in the Efe’s land. Your fathers were brave Efes as well. Your men are lions and your women are lionesses. Girl Efe has come to join us. She wants to fight in the name of God. We had difficulty in persuading her to go back home. Some of you are asking for horses. They want that because they want to attack the enemy sooner. Halit and the Commander appreciate your courage. But you have to understand something; we are not fighting the enemy today. You are going to Manisa to guard the artillery. It is possible that our friends have already got the artillery pieces out of Manisa. I think the horsemen should start going to Manisa right now and the foot soldiers should follow them. The platoon that left earlier has orders to provide horses when you go and join them to guard the artillery. You all served before. You know that the artillery guns are very important for any army. They are the pride of the army. We cannot let the enemy confiscate our guns. You should be on your way. We are not starting to fight right away. Do you understand?” He waited a while then asked again, “Is that understood?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good! I wish the best to the ones who decide to go. And the others, if you stay, keep quiet!”

Somebody asked timidly, “Are you sure we will be given horses if we go there?”

Jamil knitted his eyebrows. “I can see that you are not willing to go. I can understand that from your voice. We have 500 good horses in Manisa. Of course, we are going to give you horses.”

Jamil made his fist and ordered. “Get on your horses! Toward Manisa!”

There was a sudden commotion in the town square. Men got on their horses. Soon, they were on their way proudly. Foot soldiers were following them, first running then walking.

Some of the men who were not ready to go went back to their homes or vanished in the shadows of the trees. Some had a change of heart and left their friends and returned to the village.

The town square was bright with the afternoon sun. There was no one to be seen. Everywhere was silent.

Jamil got down from the bench where he addressed the soldiers. He was walking with the sun in his eyes. He was surprised by his own ability to deliver a good speech. The fact was, he was always good at that. He always wondered how he came up with the speeches. He even questioned his own sincerity. “Sir, those cowards who declined to go with the troops still have our rifles. Should we go and get the rifles back?” Shaban asked.

“Why do we need to take the rifles back?”

“We gave them the rifles and then they didn’t go.”

“Shaban let them have the rifles. Don’t worry about them. You go watch our ammunition boxes.”

Selahaddin was feeling better. He didn’t have another malaria attack. He just had a fever then he was all right.

Jamil added some brandy to his tea. He asked his friend Selahaddin. “How did you like my speech?”

“You are good at this, brother. You will be elected to the Parliament one day, and then you will have plenty of opportunities to deliver speeches.”

“Oh! Please. Actually, I know how to handle those kinds of people.”

“What would you have done?”

“We should have conscripted them by force and whipped the ones that didn’t obey the orders…”

“You are just like ‘Hasan Pasha the Seven- Eight!’ ”

“No, I am not like him. We should have used the War Measures Act. We gave them the rifles and the ammunition. They wanted horses and we promised them. But they still didn’t want to go. They were almost going to ask the Sultan to issue a Firman giving them what they want. It is hard. They are not willing. I know what to wish on them but I can’t.”

“What?”
“If the enemy attacks their villages only then would they understand how serious the situation is. I don’t want that to happen.”

“Never mind them. We haven’t heard from Farouk yet.”

“Yes.  It is on my mind also. I have been worrying about him. If he had some trouble he would have sent a messenger to us. Don’t you think?”

Selahaddin was pensive. He was pulling the buttons on his coat.

The wind coming from Akhisar was cool. There were black clouds gathering in the sky and Manisa Trail looked foggy.

Jamil was drinking his tea. He was depressed on this cloudy spring evening.

Soon after the men left there was no happy sound in the village. There was quiet. The animals returned from the fields and were wondering around. They were occasionally being beaten by the unhappy village women for no reason.

“Do you think they can carry the guns out of Manisa?”

“I trust Farouk to get them out of Manisa if he is not running into trouble that we don’t know about.”

“Yes, I think he can do it. What kind of trouble are you talking about?”

They were both quiet and thinking. They were both watching the empty road.

“It is getting cold! Let’s go in. I don’t want you to catch cold.”

“I am not cold. I was thinking. If they were indeed able to save the guns it is not enough. What would we do if there is no man to operate them?”

“First, we should be concerned about guns. Once we get them we will think about the next step.

“I think it is hard, regardless.”

“If we can gather a large army, we will find artillery men!”

It was getting dark. There was no light on the houses other than the mosque and Mukhtar’s room.  Halit was there with the Commander.

“Look at this weather! It is almost June and we haven’t had nice spring weather yet!”

Jamil didn’t answer. He was still watching the road. “Who is there? Is that you, Shaban?”

“Yes, Major. It is me.”

Jamil laughed at this. He said, “What do you say to that, Selahaddin? Jamal Pasha didn’t promote me because of my fight with a German Officer; however, Shaban here promoted me to the rank of Major.”

“Shaban is not concerned with politics. That’s why he calls you, Major”.  Jamil asked, “What is it Shaban?”

“A group of soldiers are approaching, Sir.”

“Who are they?”

“The Irregulars.”

“Are you talking about the irregular soldiers that have just left or is this another group?”

“I asked them but didn’t get an answer. They are only interested in seeing the Mukhtar.”

Jamil and Selahaddin sprang to their feet. “Were they carrying something?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Do they have rifles?”

“Some do, some don’t.”

The Officers ran down from the hill. It was dark in the village. Mukhtar was talking to a couple of people when he noticed them. Suddenly he was quiet. Selahaddin asked, “Has anyone returned from Manisa yet?”

“No, Sir. These men are from neighboring villages.”

“Why are they here?”

“They were just asking after their friends…”

As they were climbing the stairs they heard horses approaching.

There were five horsemen coming. They were coming from Manisa at full throttle and didn’t even stop by the village.

Officers tried to listen. “There are some more men coming. Who are they?”

“I don’t know. I will go tell Halit.”

Jamil whispered to Shaban, “Go walk around among them and try to learn something.”

Halit and the Commander were smoking and they were looking pensive when he entered the room. “Commander, there are some men approaching the village, some just passed by without stopping. Some are walking. Following them. We asked the Mukhtar but he didn’t answer”

Halit stood up. “Where is Mukhtar?”

“He is in the front yard.”

Halit didn’t even take his rifle with him and went downstairs checking his dagger and pistol in his belt. Bekir Sami stood up as well. He adjusted his holster and his colpack. They all stood in the hallway and listened to the night to hear whether or not there were gunshots. There was a commotion in the village. Bekir Sami was depressed. “I hope Farouk is safe. I hope they have not been ambushed. He is able to protect himself. What do you think, Selahaddin?

“I hope so. I don’t think they have been ambushed. We would have heard the women screaming if something bad happened.”

“What do you think it is then?”

Before he could answer, Halit came back. He was in shock. He had a funny expression on his face. Not only his face, but his whole body was changed. He looked like a proud warrior before, but now he looked like a child who had just been scolded. He rubbed his face and said, “We are finished, Commander!”

Manisa

“What is wrong?”

“It is a disaster! Manisa fell!”

“When?”

“Today.”

“What time?”

“I didn’t ask. It is over. We are in trouble.”

“Don’t get discouraged. Why are you talking like that? Get a hold of yourself! Did the troops fight in Manisa?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”

“Were they able to retrieve the artillery? What happened to the soldiers? Did you hear from Farouk? Where are the horsemen that we sent?”

“They didn’t go as far as Manisa. They got separated on the way.”

“Farouk?”

“I don’t know. It is over, Commander! I am sorry.” He scratched his face again. “I am going now.” He went to grab his rifle. “You do as you wish.”

“Wait a minute! Have you lost your mind? Is the enemy coming towards us?”

“No. But they sent us word from Papazli.”

“Who are you talking about? Where is Papazli?”

“It is a Greek village adjacent to our farm.”

“Yes? What are they saying?”

“Papazli residents know why we are here. They have been spying on us since this morning. The Greek Priest sent a messenger to Mukhtar saying that; ‘we know the villagers are helping the Unionist Officers. We know that Halit is leading the irregular troops.’ He warned us, ‘You are doing wrong. Manisa has already fallen. We are expecting the Greek army. Send the Unionist soldiers away and surrender the weapons. Or else the Greek Army will burn your village.”

“Tell Mukhtar not to tell the bad news to the villagers,” The Commander interrupted.

“The villagers heard this before Mukhtar; everyone is talking; people are angry.”  He went into the room and took his rifle. “I am leaving now, Sir. With your permission.”

“No. Don’t leave yet! Wait a little while. I am surprised to see you so discouraged. You are acting on a village priest’s words. Put down your rifle and listen to me.”

“We have discussed enough. You see Manisa had all the ammunition and the artillery and they had troops there as well yet they surrendered without firing a single shot! What can we do with these irregulars? My advice to you is just to leave. Mukhtar also said the same thing; he wants you to leave. The villagers are gathering around here and Mukhtar is worried about your safety. I can’t control them. Take your men and go. The people here are saying that they won’t let the enemy burn the village; they won’t risk it for a couple of Unionists. They are determined not to let any Officers come to the villages. They also said that they won’t lead the way either. Some are mad. They’ve even thought about kidnapping you and giving you to the Greeks. They are afraid for the women’s honour in the village; they want to protect them from the Greeks. The Mukhtar says he is sorry. The enemy is hanging the Officers as soon as they locate them. He is begging you to leave.”

“Don’t worry. We will leave. I think you are safe here. You don’t need to hurry. Let’s wait for our men to return from Manisa. We can’t leave them and go in the middle of the night. Tell them that we are going to leave soon. We are just waiting for a friend here.”

“I will let them know.” He was quiet for a moment. He was in despair. “I don’t have time to spend here. I am in danger. This is the first time in my life that the villagers are not listening to me. The Greek priest sent me a messenger to warn me because we are neighbors. The Greek notables in Izmir are offering a prize for my head. They will give thousands of gold Liras. The Priest said that we were old friends. We had good and bad days. He is not after revenge. He wants me to leave here as soon as possible for my own safety. He also warned me not to go to the ranch for the roads are not safe. There are men ready to ambush me.”

“If you are not able to return to your Ranch, why don’t you join us?”

“I can’t, Commander.”

“Maybe we can travel together. Where are you going?”

“I don’t know? Where can I go?” His lips were quivering. “Where? I have family in Istanbul! Yes, I should go to Istanbul! He was talking to himself. “I have no choice. I have to go to Istanbul. They won’t let me stay here. I am a big deal. They warned me before. They told me to stay away from politics. They said, ‘you are rich, enjoy your good fortune.’ I didn’t listen to them. Why did I ever join the Unionists? The Government in Istanbul wants me. The Greek notables in Izmir want me. If the villagers are no longer supporting me, I am in trouble. I am a landowner, an Aga here. I should have good relations with the Government and the villagers. At least one or the other. If you are in trouble with one side you should be safe with the other. I am not safe. I don’t have any future.” He went to the stairs. “I am sorry, Commander. Everyone knows that I am no coward. But…”

“I know that. I know you are not a coward. Listen to me; your men also went with Farouk. They will return soon. You take two armed men so you will be safer on your way to Istanbul. We will travel together until we reach the Istanbul junction. I will give you a message to be given to the Minister of War in Istanbul to help you. They will protect you in Istanbul.”

“I don’t want any paper. I don’t want anything to do with the Government. Even if they asked me to be the Prime Minister, I won’t accept it. With your permission, Sir.”

“What about your men?”

“I don’t think they will come back. Servants are only loyal to us when we have power. Even if they come back, I can’t take them with me. I will be afraid of them. They will kill me to get my silver dagger. I know how they are.”

He started to walk. Bekir Sami said, “Wait a minute. Please find us some men to accompany us to Salihli. I will pay for them.”

“No, Commander! I can’t find anyone to help. Even Mukhtar won’t listen to me anymore. Nobody will listen to my orders. We are not worried about money now. It is our lives that are on the line.”

As he was descending the stairs, Jamil held his arm, “Wait for a minute Halit.”

Halit was surprised. He knitted his eyebrows and he was about to be his old self again as an Irregular Leader, but he gave in to despair and answered, “Yes, Jamil?”

“Go over there. I said go over there. I will get angry. Don’t be a coward. You should see yourself in the mirror. You are in no shape to go anywhere in the middle of the night. You are scared. You shouldn’t travel alone.”

Jamil grabbed Halit’s rifle and pushed his shoulder gently. “Go sit down somewhere. Drink some water. We will leave together. We will leave as soon as Farouk comes. You have to go through Akhisar anyway. We will separate in Akhisar, then you will be free to go wherever you wish.” His voice was calmer now. “If you wish to go to Istanbul you should be on good terms with the Commander. How are you going to live there? Forget about the Government. The Unionists will bother you if you cross them.”

“What can I do? You don’t know the situation, Jamil.  The Greeks in Izmir…They are offering so much money for my head.”

“How do you know that? When Mukhtar didn’t listen to you, you became discouraged. You will feel better soon.” Jamil felt sorry for him. That handsome tall man was as scared as a little boy. “Things like this happen. I have been in situations like this before. I know how bad it feels. You weren’t expecting it. You are sad.”

“I am not scared, Jamil! I swear it is not that! You can shoot me. I won’t budge.  The Mukhtar wanted me to leave. That guy told me to leave. How can he talk to me like that? I am an “Aga”. If the villagers don’t respect me, I don’t have anything to do. It is better to die. My family was the landowners here. It is who I am but one has to earn the respect of the villagers himself. If they don’t respect me I can’t do anything. People think all you need is horses, guns, and land to be an Aga, but that’s not true. You need support from the Government and the villagers. We have to be loyal to the Government. Even if we have disagreements it can’t last forever. The villagers also know that. They believe we will come to an agreement with the Government sooner or later. This job is not like being an officer.” He heard some commotion outside and Halit sprang to his feet. “Jamil, you are an honorable man. Don’t prevent me from leaving. Let me go. You see the commotion in the village. In a time like this, we can’t help each other. Those men can easily capture and surrender me to the enemy for money. Let me go, don’t let me die!”

They heard someone climbing the stairs. The Officers ran to the door holding their guns. It was Farouk. He came in and saluted the Commander.

“Oh, Farouk! You are here. Thank God!”

“Thank you, Sir.  I am here but unfortunately, I don’t have good news. We couldn’t reach Manisa in time. The enemy beat us. They entered the town at noon.”

“Do you have any news from Rasim?”

“No. I think he must be in Akhisar by now.”

“Artillery? The troops?”

“I don’t know.”

“When did you learn that Manisa fell?”

“I think we were halfway through when we heard that .We stopped by a fountain. I wasn’t planning on resting. But everyone stopped and got off their horses. I didn’t object. Then I noticed that as we came close to the mountain, some other men joined our little group. They didn’t have uniforms. So I didn’t know who they were. I ordered them to mount their horses. Previously, I divided the troops in small groups and appointed sergeants to supervise them.  However, I didn’t know the sergeants well. The sergeants didn’t obey my orders. I asked them what happened. The one with a grey beard said, ’Manisa fell. And he told me that the men didn’t want to go any further. Then we debated for a long time but no one obeyed my orders. At the same time, some started to protest. They were shouting and saying that we had deceived them. They accused us of pushing them into the line of fire. I thought about shooting a couple of them but it wouldn’t be of any use. As I was thinking about what to do, they attacked me. The bearded sergeant saved me.”

“Did you see people on the road, moving to other cities?”

“No. At least, for now, everybody is waiting in their own villages. If it was our own army coming they wouldn’t wait like that so carelessly. They must be crazy. I am sorry, Sir. In the same circumstances, we all would act crazy. We don’t know what to do anymore.” He looked at Halit and smiled. “One of your servants ran away and left his horse. We brought the horseback. When I had to deal with the others your men didn’t help. I am not bringing this up to complain, but to warn you that you can’t trust these men.”

Halit was already scared. He said, “Did you hear that, Commander? I was right. I know these men. They are not trustworthy.”

Bekir Sami looked disgusted by this kind of talk. He showed his contempt for the first time since Halit became discouraged. The Commander said, “It is time to go!  Farouk, do you think Rasim returned to Akhisar? I think he must have. We have talked about this before. He must be waiting for us at Akhisar. That means we should go there.”

He looked at Halit. “Are you coming with us to Akhisar?”

“I will do as you say, Sir. I will obey your orders, but I would like to travel separately. I will follow you. I should take another road, through Gordes. People don’t know me there.”

Bekir Sami pulled on his mustache and looked at Jamil. He had enough of Halit. Jamil said, “You are coming with us to Akhisar. We are not asking you to come in town with us. You will help us as a nobleman.” As Jamil was saying this he remembered how impressed he was by Halit when they first met. Halit looked to the floor.

Jamil mentioned the guns in Kuschu-Bashi Ranch when he talked privately to the Commander. He explained that he had transported the 7th Army’s guns to Salihli and explained all the specific details of the guns. Bekir Sami thought of going to Salihli first but then he figured without soldiers the guns would be useless. So he decided to go to Akhisar first.

Lieutenant Farouk realized that something was amiss and asked Captain Selahaddin what was wrong. Selahaddin shook his shoulders.

They heard many people going from one house to another, carrying lights. Jamil called, “Shaban!”

“Yes, Major!”

“Come upstairs at once.”

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“Someone might steal the horses. I have to stay here.”

“Which horses?”

Farouk looked out of the window and said to Halit, “I think your remaining man has left as well. He left the horses with Shaban.”

“I hope the Mukhtar will give our horses back. He might want to keep them as payment for our stay. Do you think he will try to keep them?” Jamil wondered.

Bekir Sami stood. “Let’s go, Gentlemen. Selahaddin and I will ride. The others can walk.” He stopped for a minute. “Jamil, you must have a box of spare ammunition. Do you still have it?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“We can’t carry the box. We should get a couple of bags and fill them. Could you get some bags?”

Jamil ordered Mukhtar. “Bring us two good bags right away. If you don’t return with two bags in five minutes I will burn your damn village!”  They loaded the bags with ammunition and Jamil put his clothes on top of them. They had to leave their suitcases and tents in the village. He teased Mukhtar that he would come back one day and ask for them.

For the second time in recent weeks, they were being thrown out of the place they wanted to protect. It was their own country.  As the officers were leaving the village with Irregular Leader Halit riding in the middle as a prisoner; they heard the muezzin’s call for the night prayers.

 “Allahu Akbar.”

THE RELUCTANT  WARRIOR

Chapter 10

“Freeze!  Who are you?”

Jamil and Farouk were leading the way and without trying to figure out where the voice was coming from, they immediately went two steps sideways and hit the ground. Their warrior instincts kicked in and they quickly opened the security button on their rifles.

There was a horse running behind them. The same voice called again from the hiding place.  “Stop! Freeze! We are going to start shooting.”

Jamil looked back and noticed Halit was running away at full throttle. He positioned himself so he was protected in case someone shot him in his back.

Bekir Sami and Selahaddin also got down from their horses and lay on the ground and readied their rifles.

Shaban was coming from the back of the group and he was saying, “He almost got us!”

The people who were hiding asked, “Who are you? Tell us who you are. We have already encircled you.” He had a Circassian accent.

Jamil calculated the situation quickly. The place was not good for ambush since they were in the middle of the maple trees. It was easy for a group of soldiers to spread out in the wood. Jamil and his friends could even encircle the others who were trying to ambush them. He smiled at the thought that Halit so easily ran away yet these men were saying that they had circled them. He coughed and cleared his throat and asked, “Who are you?”

There was no answer to that. Bekir Sami and Selahaddin came closer, still on the ground. Another voice asked, “Who are you?”

“We are travelers, who are you?”

“Where are you coming from? And what is your final destination? How many people are traveling with you? Why did your friend run away?”

Jamil could see that these men were not thugs and were not willing to fight just by the way they were speaking. He teased them, “He went to the village to get some help.”

“Who are you?” the man asked again.

“I told you, we are travelers.”

“Where are you from?”

“From Kumkuyucak.”

“Where are you going?”

“To Akhisar.”

They could hear the men talking. The wind was carrying their whispers.

“Were there any visitors in Kumkuyucak?”

“Who are you asking about?”

“The 17th Army Commander Bekir Sami?”

“Why do you need him?”

They must have been talking amongst themselves because they took their time to answer.

“We need to talk to him!”

“Why?”

“I have come from Manisa. I need to report to the Commander.”

Bekir Sami asked, “Is that you, Rasim?”

“Yes, Sir! Are you the Commander?”

“Yes.  Rasim, please come here without your weapon.”

“Understood!  I am coming. No guns.”

They saw someone jumping to the road from the hill; the man put his hands in the air. They heard his footsteps. He didn’t notice Jamil and Farouk who were still lying on the ground. He saluted the Commander who was standing. “I am sorry to inform you, Commander, that Manisa fell!”

“Guns?”

“I am sorry we couldn’t carry them out of the city.”

“Troops?”

“The troops retreated to Manisa.  About sixty infantrymen and four-division of Mitrailleuse with fifty artillerymen are carrying Mausers. ”

“Who is with you now?”

“Ethem the Circassian with his friends and…”

“Tell them to approach.”

“Yes, Sir!”

Rasim introduced Ethem to the Commander.

Ethem didn’t talk to the Commander much. He hugged Jamil because Jamil was a friend of Ethem’s older brothers, Rashid and Tewfik.

Jamil was trying to get a good look at Ethem’s face. He was tall and slim.

Bekir Sami asked, “Do I know you from the Caucasian front?”

“No, Sir.  I don’t think so.”

“That’s right. We didn’t see each other there. However, your brother Rashid talked about you. How is he doing?”

“He is better now, Sir. Rashid and Tewfik send their regards to you. They are trying to gather men. We have a lot of men but we need to find the guns. The men have all different kinds of guns. We need to provide good horses as well. We also need to give money to those who are leaving their families behind to join us. The men have to send money to their families before we leave.”

“How many men do you have with you, right now?”

“Seven. General Rauf ordered us to come right away. That’s why we couldn’t recruit some more soldiers.”

“Who is General Rauf?”

“He is the former Minister of the Navy and the Commander of Hamidiye Battleship.”

“Oh! Where is he now?”

“He is in the Kuschu-Bashi Ranch. That is Eshref’s Ranch.”

“He must be in Salihli then. When did he come to the region?”

Artillery Captain Rasim answered, “He came yesterday, Sir. Lieutenant Shewki was waiting for you at Akhisar to talk to you, and he is here now.”

Shewki took a step forward and saluted the Commander. Bekir Sami asked, “Did you come together from Istanbul?”

“Yes, Commander. Rauf talked to Muhiddin in Balikesir and Rashad in Akhisar. Upon learning that you left with Halit, he decided to go to Salihli. We are all going there now. You should find the troops retreating from Manisa and bring them to the Salihli-Alashehir line. Rauf will talk to you there. Rauf wanted Captain Jamil to come to the ranch with us, with your permission, Sir.”

Bekir Sami asked Jamil, “Have you met General Rauf before?”

“No, Sir.”

“How does he know that you are here?”

“I think Maksood must have informed him.”

Lieutenant Shewki said, “Yes, that’s right. Maksood has informed us.”

“Good. We should be on our way. Is there anyone traveling on foot with you?

“No, Sir.”

“Do you have any spare horses?”

“No, Sir.”

“Then we might need to borrow your horses when our three men get tired. Let’s go.”

Shaban brought the horses to Bekir Sami and Selahaddin. Ethem had his two men dismount their horses so that Lieutenant Shewki wouldn’t have to give his horse to Jamil.

They had 35 kilometers to cover. They would meet the troops retreating from Manisa, around Salihli. Ethem and his men would go to the Ranch first. Therefore, they will be separated half way to Salihli. Bekir Sami and his men expected to meet the troops in five hours. Ethem had three men leading the group and he was traveling behind with two horsemen. Lieutenant Shewki approached Jamil and said, “I have news from your family, Sir. They are alright.  I have a letter for you.”

“A letter? How nice! God Bless you!” Jamil held Neriman’s letter for a long time. It was as if the paper was warm and alive. “God Bless you.” Then Jamil felt embarrassed after saying this twice. He was very happy to receive a letter from Neriman. He wanted to open the envelope. Then he thought he wouldn’t be able to read it there. He didn’t know what to do with the letter.  His joy turned into a deep longing. The thought of not being able to read the letter for hours made him sad.

“Rasim, Jamil over here!” When Bekir Sami called his name, Jamil put his letter in his pocket. They kicked their horses and approached. The Colonel let them ride on both sides and asked, “Rasim, tell us what happened in Manisa?”

“We couldn’t get the people to support us, Sir. There was a time when they would rise up but we couldn’t take advantage of that moment. We didn’t handle it well. At first, the people of Manisa were not that discouraged and down. They had protested the Greek Army’s invasion of Izmir. They sent telegrams to the Sultan and the Prime Minister. They also let the Parliament and the Foreign Army Commanders in Istanbul know their opposition. Governor Husnu and the British Representative tried to prevent these actions but the people were determined. They had sworn that the enemy wouldn’t leave Izmir and there was no intent to invade Manisa. They said there was no reason to worry. But as the days past, people got more discouraged. They didn’t want to take the matter in their own hands and decided to wait and see. The Liberation Party took advantage of this situation. The Mufti of Manisa was supporting the resistance but he couldn’t do much. There was a man by the name of Bahri who tried to organize the resistance. However, the others were almost going to lynch him. Major Ahmet, the local Commander, didn’t know what to do. When I reached Manisa there was nothing to do. In effect, we were busy trying to dissuade two hundred men from leaving their positions. We didn’t have time to save the ammunition. Today around noon the news arrived suddenly that the Greek Army was on its way. Vasif and I tried to encourage people but it didn’t work. Some people took refuge in their Christian neighbor’s homes and some went to welcome the enemy with huge flags.

 Then we received two more pieces of news; one from Halit that he was on his way with a thousand horsemen and another fifteen hundred men. Second, the enemy was coming from the direction of Menemen and they were almost close enough to be seen from Manisa. I talked to Mufti. We instructed the men who are ready to fight, to take a position in various points of the city. In case Halit reached the town in time we were determined to fight and retreat , however, the time passed and they didn’t arrive and it was clear that the enemy was approaching. We were able to learn from the people who went to welcome the enemy into the city that the enemy was coming. They let us know of all the details like how many men the enemy troops consisted of, their ranks, and even their Commander’s name.”

“How many men did they have?”

“The Greek Commander’s name was Colonel Constantine Chakolos.  He had two infantry regiments and one division of machine guns, as well as a Cavalry unit.  They also had an Artillery Battalion. When the enemy approached the city we retreated. They took their time entering the city.”

“Why is that?”

“I was informed in Akhisar that they were waiting for the people to welcome them to their city.”

“I see. What else do you have?”

Rasim pretended not to hear the question and busied himself with his horse. The animal was sneezing and shaking his head.

“Did you contact Bergama?”

“Yes, Sir! I talked to them; Lieutenant Nuri was in charge in Bergama. He distributed the guns to the people and destroyed the remaining ones.”

“Any news from Ayvalik?”

“The Regiment Commander Ali has sent three cables to you, Sir.”

“Where did he send the telegrams to?”

“To Akhisar. Telegrapher Yusuf gave the telegram to Rashad. I have the telegrams with me.”

“Did you read them?”

“Yes.”

“What do they say?”

“They say that English and Greek Torpedo boats came to Ayvalik were full of troops. The British Commander wanted to talk to the District Governor. He said, ‘There is nothing to worry about. Everyone should attend to their business as usual.’  Then he wanted to talk to Ali. However, Ali refused to go see the British Commander. Then the British insisted and he had to send a Major to talk to them. Ali said in the first telegram that the Major had not returned yet. He was not worried because the British Commander didn’t want any armed battle. He didn’t think that the situation was dangerous.  Then we received the second cable, which stated that the Greek ship turned around and went away with its troops. The Major returned from talking to the British Commander. The British Commander said that the Greek ship came to Ayvalik by mistake. The Greeks didn’t have a right to a military landing at Ayvalik under the Truce Agreement. For this reason, the British asked them to leave. The British Commander said he wanted to talk to Ali because he knew that Ali was a reliable person. He asked for another meeting for the day after.”

“This is all nonsense. They are trying to deceive us!”

“Yes, Sir! Commander Ali said the same thing. He said, ‘they are trying to ambush us, but they can’t. I am ready for anything!’ ”

“What about the third cable?”

“It says there was combat.”

“Thank God!”

“Yes, Sir! The next day the Greeks returned with two ships and informed the Commander that they have orders to invade Ayvalik. Ali thought about retreating to Kozan, if necessary. They had fought until noon. Our troops fought until the end. Then they retreated to the olive groves, and the enemy didn’t pursue them.”

“Long Live Ali! If he was at Manisa, he would have done the same. Any other news?”

“Other news?  A sergeant came to Manisa from Denizli. He gave us good news if we can believe him.”

“What good news?”

“The news about the people of Denizli. When the news of Izmir’s invasion came, people panicked and some of them got ready to leave the city. Upon seeing this, the Mufti got the flag of the Big Mosque. He marched the streets saying ‘Allahu Akbar’. The people gathered in front of the City Hall. He gave an impressive speech. The sergeant said that the Mufti’s speech brought everyone to tears.  He said, “The day for the Muslims to be on duty has come. When Muslim land is invaded; no Muslim can refuse to fight. It is God’s orders to us that we have to defend our country. If you don’t fight you are no longer Muslims. You should fight and the people from other cities who are not under occupation should help the ones that are under occupation. This is my Fatwa and anybody who is not obeying the orders will not be considered Muslim from now on. You will sin if you don’t obey the orders upon hearing them and you will sin if you don’t spread the word! You will end up in Hell. Don’t even mention that you don’t have guns or ammunition. If you don’t have firearms then use your axes, your knives, and your sticks! Even if you are too old to hold a stick you get three stones and throw it to the enemy. If you run away don’t call yourselves Muslims! Remember, God knows all. Be careful. There is no way of escaping the enemy. The only way to get rid of them is to fight. You have to fight like men!’ He talked like this for some time.”

“Look at that, Mufti! Remember Major Ahmet Zeki. What a shame for Ahmet Zeki. Do you know the name of the Mufti?”

“Ahmet Hulusi.”

Lieutenant Sevki and Jamil were riding together. Shevki asked, “Did you hear that, Sir? He is not only a Mufti; he is the sword of the God!”

Jamil remembered the Muderris of Akhisar, he was like a snake.  “You know the Hodja kind; sometimes there are real good strong men among them. Remember AIi Suavi? He used to wear a turban as well.” He offered a cigarette to Sevki. “What is Maksood doing these days?”

“Same old, same old. He is struggling with everything.”

“Have you all thought of something to get Patriot out of Bekiraga Jail?”

“We are planning something. He is going to get out soon.”

“Who is going to help him?”

“The officers at the Bekiraga Guard Unit will help him.  All the Unionists are joining to Karakol Sentinel Association. The Unionists really want to get Halil Pasha, Patriot and Atif out of prison. There are also some other men we would like to help.”

They reached the fork two hours before the break of dawn.

Bekir Sami and three others continued on their way. Jamil and the others went in the direction of Kusch-Bashi Ranch.  The Colonel wanted Lieutenant Farouk to go with Jamil.

Jamil saluted the 17^th Army Commander Bekir Sami with the utmost respect by kissing his hand. Normally, he wouldn’t have done that but he respected the Colonel’s sorrow facing these tremendous difficulties. He also hugged Selahaddin, Rasim, and Shevki.

Ethem was not the talkative type. When Jamil asked him how many men he could gather, he answered, “Enough”. They were riding to the ranch together. He was very polite when he talked and when he acted. There was no pretension at all. He was naturally well behaved.

He gave the orders without yelling, just by simple gestures. He was sure of himself and his orders were obeyed immediately.

When they reached a pass which was the entrance of the Kuschu-Bashi property, two horsemen that were leading the group turned to look at him. Ethem nodded and they picked up speed.

Ethem took his Mauser from his shoulders and placed it on his knees while opening its security. His men did the same without waiting for him to say anything. Lieutenant Farouk whispered, “Good for us, Sir! Our career as brigades just started.”

The pass was getting narrower. There were rocky hills on both sides. In every corner, the hills were getting steeper. Ethem slowed down as if he was waiting for something. When they heard three short and two long whistles he smiled, “The pass is secure, Captain. We can proceed!”

One of Ranch Guards was waiting by the road. Ethem asked in Turkish, “Is Rauf here?”

“Yes!”

The sun was up when they reached the Ranch. Three beautiful young girls welcomed them. They were running towards them; their long scarves were blowing in the wind. They held to the reins of Ethem’s and his guests’ horses. This was a Circassian tradition.

They saw former Minister of Navy Rauf and his friends sitting under a large maple tree. Lieutenant Farouk recognized the Sub governor of Izmir; Sureyya and Jamil saw Captain Osman, whose nickname was ‘Hurricane’.

Ethem greeted Rauf. Rauf looked at him and said, “Bless you! I am happy you arrived in time.” He looked at Jamil. He knew of him. “Are you Captain Jamil?”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Nice to meet you. Please, take a seat. Have you met Captain Osman?”

“Yes, of course. We all know Captain Osman in the military.

Rauf asked Lieutenant Farouk to take a seat as well. However, Ethem preferred to stand. He asked Jamil, “Bekir Sami had some difficulties.  What caused the trouble?”

Jamil said the same things Halit said earlier. He mentioned that the farmers didn’t want any trouble until the end of the harvest. And he added his own thoughts, “I think business people and wealthy people want no trouble and they want to accept the new situation and adapt themselves. You know the workers who live by their earnings don’t like an adventure. But if they are convinced that there is no other solution then we can trust them to be with us. We also have to remember that people have fatigue from the previous war.”

“You are right. What should we do to convince people that this war is necessary so they join us?”

“They should know that we are not bandits. And we are against all the illegal activities. We don’t want to fight just for the sake of war. We should shut the mouths of the dissenters soon.”

“How are we going to do that? Are we going to hang them?”

“We do whatever we have to. We should decide in each situation after considering the facts and the people that are involved. Most important, we should have troops in the regions close to the enemy and we should have a lot of cash for the expenses. We should give them enough money. We need to feed the regular troops and the militia. If we try to get the farmers to give out food without paying them…”

“We can’t do that. You are right. We discussed this matter with the Officers in Balikesir. We can’t behave like bandits. ”He asked Ethem, “I believe you have some money in your possession.”

“Yes!”

Rauf meant the ransom money that Ethem got from Rahmi, the Governor of Izmir when he kidnapped his son and Ethem answered without hesitation, “Yes”.

“Rauf said, “You are all tired. Now go get some rest. You can continue the journey in the evening. I will give you some more money. I mentioned this in my first letter to your brother. You have to pay salaries to the militia men. They need this. We should also pay them money for their expenses when they have to hire help for the harvest. Somebody has to harvest the grapes, figs and such. The enemy troops are far away from one another and they are consisting of small groups. If necessary, you get the food and the materials from those areas already under occupation, you do what you have to do! Try to get the weapons and the ammunition from the enemy. You have enough experience in this. There is a sufficient amount of weapons at this ranch. Jamil brought two machine guns already. Maybe you won’t use them right away. I am sure there will be more men joining you soon.”

He smiled at Farouk. “If I remember correctly the Lieutenant knows about machine guns. I am sure he will have a good machine gun unit. You should be in touch with the 61st Division Commander Colonel Kazim who is in Balikesir. If you need anything you have to call Ankara 20th Army Commander Ali Fuad! He will tell you what to do. Shefik, the Commander of 57 Division is forming a front in the Aydin-0demish line. Kazim will be responsible for the Balikesir-Ayvalik Front. For now, the only place that is undefended against the enemy is here. We should form the Salihli front right away! We should organize the people to resist. We should end the despair. We have twenty horsemen here; they are all strong men. The support position should be right here if it is alright with you. Bekir Sami faced difficulties because he didn’t know the region well. You know people better. You know who is courageous and who is not. You know how they think and why. Remember, the organized army will be behind you. Don’t get mad at people. Don’t be unnecessarily hard on them. You cooperate with Jamil. He is a well-known warrior that we all respect. Like your brother Tewfik, he has been to Macedonia. That’s why he is the master of gang wars. He will be most helpful in regular army war as well as the gang battles. Do you need any more men for your team?”

“No, Sir. We don’t need any more men for now.  Your men should stay here and guard the weapons.”

“Good!” He looked at Jamil, “Make sure the Salihli Front is well organized. Right, Jamil?”

“We will do our best, Sir.”

“Thank you. Protect Ethem, he is young. He is a member of our special organization, TM. He served in the attack division. Remind him that the attack units can only be useful when supported by the organized army. I hope to salute you as an Artillery Commander soon.”

Jamil thanked him. He noticed that General Rauf, former Minister of the Navy said, ‘Our TM’. Jamil wondered if he was the head of Unionists now, since Enver, Jamal and Talat- three leaders of the Unionists- had left the country.

Talat Pasha

They slept well all afternoon. They ate an early supper. Before they left the ranch, Rauf led them to a room. There was a big safe in the room. Currently, Eshref Kuschu-Bashi was a prisoner of war. The British had captured him. Eshref’s younger brother Ahmed, who was sixteen years old, gave Jamil the keys. He counted 30 thousand gold liras. Then he gave the bags of gold to Ethem. Following that he wrote a receipt and put it in the safe. He patted Ahmed’s shoulder and thanked him for keeping the money safe. He said, “Thank you. Your father must be proud of you. Like your father, you are a fine man. I will thank Eshref also when I see him.”

They were eleven men riding their horses. The happiest one was Shaban. He had a haircut and shaved off his beard. He was looking much younger now. When he was riding the horse he looked fit and handsome.

He wasn’t particularly friendly with the Circassians, but they hit it off with the flag carrier ‘Haji Omer’. Omer was from Kayseri. He had a large frame and a big mustache. He looked intimidating. He had a hunter jacket and riding pants on. With his stylish hat and riding boots, it was clear he took pride in his appearance. He had a large revolver and a big Dagistan dagger on his belt. He had layers of holsters and on top of them on his chest there were binoculars.

Shaban asked, “Where were you during the War?” Omer didn’t like this question. He mumbled something about serving at some of the Fronts and mentioned the numbers of the Divisions he served. But it was still unclear how he ended up in Balikesir and how he joined Ethem’s team. It wasn’t easy to determine whether or not he was courageous. Maybe he was smart, maybe he wasn’t.

 Shaban and the Flag bearer Omer were among the first to enter the passage. Shaban asked him, “Were you a flag carrier during the war as well?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, I ask because in my experience the Flag carriers of the regiments stay away from the front line.”

“What do you mean by that? Are you implying that you fought while I was lying in the shadows of the trees?”

“No. I didn’t mean it that way. The flag bearers are leading the troops. If they fall behind, they don’t feel good. Maybe you got depressed because of that. How do you know if a person is depressed? First, your belly grows. Second, your neck becomes thick. It becomes difficult for the horses to carry you. You are no longer as agile as you used to be. You can’t flee from the enemy and you end up being a prisoner. If we ever need to escape, it will be harder for you. If you become suspicious, you better run before the enemy catches on.”

“Look who is talking! If you were that smart why didn’t you get the hell out of Akhisar when Gavour Efe stoned you?”

“Never mind. I am blind. I can’t see things like you do. Sometimes things don’t go well.”

“Did you let Gavour Efe stone you? Just like someone stoning the devil?”

”Yes, just like that.”

“Why did he do that? Did you owe him something?”

“Why should I owe him anything?”

“How would I know? Maybe you visited his place and didn’t pay?

“What? I never heard such a thing. I think customers pay upfront in that kind of business. Isn’t that the same in Kayseri?”

“You never know. If they trust the customer they might let him pay later.”

“They might let him pay later. That’s funny.”

“The owner makes a sign on the wall to keep track of the debt.  The customer pays when he can.”

“Gavour Efe won’t allow that. Perhaps he doesn’t have trustworthy customers like you. Who knows! Perhaps he doesn’t like me because I am not his customer.”

“No. I don’t think so. That kind of man has animal instincts. He knows the world is changing. He understands that better than educated people, better than the Sultan. He does what he does because he can. He knows he can get away with that kind of behavior in this chaos. And he likes it. When he has the opportunity he turns violent and becomes ruthless.”

“He doesn’t have an animal instinct or anything like that. He is a half-witted man.”

“He did this because he knew that you won’t return with your rifle and shoot him there.”

“I was going to do that, but the Major didn’t let me.”

“Why is that?”

“He said it wasn’t time for that.”

“I don’t understand this. It seems to me it was the perfect time to shoot the bastard.”

When he noticed that Jamil was laughing at this, he quickly changed the subject. He said, “Maybe it was not the right thing to do but as you know the conditions change, sometimes quite rapidly. You could have grabbed your rifle after dark or just shot him the next time you saw him.  There is no Government right now to investigate the death of Gavour Efe. No one cares. If you ask me it was the perfect time to kill the bastard. You should have done that.”

Jamil said, “The flag bearer is right!” With that, he remembered another flag bearer, ‘the Girl Efe’. He felt his shirt pocket to touch Neriman’s letter. She had written the letter in a hurry. She wanted Jamil to decide on a name for the baby. If it was a boy, she preferred the name Omer. Jamil tried to calculate the due date.

He was happy to receive the letter, however, he was not overjoyed. He missed her so much. He had been dreaming about her. The dreams were unclear. However, most of the time; the woman in his dreams was somebody else. Sometimes the dream started with Neriman and turned to the women of Damascus or Jerusalem; the Arab girls that he had known.  Sometimes it was a blond Austrian woman. He remembered their voice and smiles. Since Macedonia, he got used to not giving in to his feelings. He didn’t let himself fall in love with someone. He had to leave them anyway. Maybe because of that he wasn’t overjoyed with receiving the letter. He was controlling his feelings again. Nariman's tone was formal as well. Jamil smiled. Neriman knew about long separations because her father was an Army Officer as well. Nariman's father went to Albania first; then Yemen; then to Albania again. He was fighting against the revolts. After that, Neriman had to wait for her husband. She was devastated when her husband died. After Nazmi’s death, she was worrying about Jamil. It has been a long time since 1914. Jamil thought it was not fair for her.

“Why are you smiling, Captain? Did you hear what Omer said?”

“No, Farouk. I was thinking about how I was feeling tired in Istanbul. Like I mentioned before I had constant fatigue. Now we are traveling without resting for so many days. I haven’t slept well for the last three nights. I only take naps during the daytime yet I don’t feel tired. I am not depressed at all. I think we are used to this kind of life.  We are used to suffering. If we didn’t suffer like this, we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves. When I am on the go, I feel better. That’s why I was smiling.”

Ethem also laughed when he heard this.  For the first time, he said something without being asked since they started their journey, “I gather that Halit didn’t want to suffer, Jamil? I thought he was a really tough man. I was surprised to hear what happened.”

“Maybe you are right. He didn’t want to suffer anymore. He was used to a certain type of security. And everything changed all of a sudden. He decided to go to Istanbul even though the police were looking for him there. He is going into the lion’s den.” Jamil remembered something that Rauf said, “I want to ask you something. Rauf was talking about the fighters of Aydin.  Do you think Demirji and Yoruk Ali are any good for our cause?”

“Yes, they are.” He coughed two times. “They are reliable until the enemy troops start their offensive.” He was weighing his words and talking slowly.  “They will guard the mountain passes and the bridges. They will also help encourage people to resist. It is very important to keep the order. It is an Efe rule here that once an Efe takes to the mountains he makes sure there is no crimes committed in his territory. Otherwise, people would blame him for the incidents.”

Ethem was paying attention to the road and he was silent sometimes listening to the surroundings. It was an interesting contradiction to think that bandits are trustworthy. He told Jamil some stories about this. Ethem had the tone of reliability in his voice like people who talk less.

There was no sign from the advance guards. That meant there was nothing suspicious so Ethem suggested picking up speed and Jamil agreed. Ethem’s horse trotted. They went this way for an hour.

When they saw some men in the shadows Ethem said something in Circassian. Two horsemen reacted immediately and started going towards the men.

Jamil asked, “What is going on, Ethem?”

“Nothing. Hafiz was supposed to wait for us at that corner. If they are not there I don’t want to wait and lose time here. I want to go to Akhisar at night time, because there is a wind mill by the town. We should spend the night there.”

“Why are we not going to see Tewfik right away? Do you really need to go to Akhisar?”

“Yes, it is necessary!”

The miller was Greek. He prepared somewhere to sit under the willow trees and in front of the pool. Hafiz ordered the young men to clean the guns. They were not in a hurry to go so they were not tending the horses. Ethem sent the money that he had taken from Rauf to his brother Tewfik just before sunrise. That meant whatever he was planning was dangerous. He ordered the men to separate the horses of the customer from his carriage because he didn’t want anyone to leave without his permission. The customer was there to get his flour. They had biscuits crumbled in fresh milk with some sugar and drank tea.

Lieutenant Farouk also started to clean his Mauser. Ethem wanted to see Jamil’s Parabellum. Jamil held the Revolver by the barrel and passed it to him. Ethem liked the gun and he inspected it thoroughly, “Have you owned this gun for a long time?”

“No, someone gave that to me when I was about to leave Istanbul. He needed a smaller gun so we exchanged.”

“Have you tried it yet?”

“No.”

“Do you have bullets?”

“Yes, I have a lot of bullets.”

“Then let’s see you shoot. My brother Rashid told me a lot about your ability to shoot.”

“Oh, no, that was in the past. I haven’t tried for a long time.”

“That’s alright, I am sure you are still good at it.”

“Jamil looked for a target, then in a laid back fashion shot the little bird on the willow tree.”

“Well, I guess I am still good at it!”

Shaban asked the Flag Bearer Omer, “Did you see that?” He was happy. Circassian youth started to gather around.

When Jamil shot the two eggs at forty feet Shaban elbowed Omer. “Did you see that? The Major is good at shooting. He is the best! He is good at using a Mauser and equally good at using the cannons. He has strong arms and he is courageous.”

Ethem ordered fresh tea. The ice was broken and he was friendlier to Jamil now. He started to talk about old stories. His dad let his older brothers go to the Military School but didn’t want to send his youngest away. Because of his love for him, he kept Ethem close to home. For this reason, he didn’t have a chance to further his education. Ethem laughed. “He didn’t want me to go away but nothing changed. We only saw each other four times since 1912. I joined the army during the Balkan Wars. I was a cavalry sergeant. I went to the Jongri war. The Bulgarians won. We retrieved to Chatalja. Suleiman Askeri and Eshref kept me on their side after the war as well. The let me join the special organization TM. We tried going to Afghanistan at the beginning of the Great War with Rauf. Enver Pasha gave us bags of gold to be used against the British over there. He wanted to start riots. We couldn’t pass the barricades and traps of the British. Do you know Yacoub Jamil?

“Yes. I know him!”

 “Sure, you are close with Patriot Omer! We were together with Yacoub Jamil in Batumi! Then Enver Pasha wanted me to go with him as chief sergeant” He was pensive for a while, “We dug this hole for ourselves.”

The soldiers finished cleaning their guns and mending their clothes. They polished all the silver on the knives bridles reins and the whips. In the end everybody polished his boats. The platoon was ready for attention.

Ethem was checking his watch frequently. Lieutenant Farouk couldn’t help but ask, “What are you waiting for?”

“I am waiting for the right time to enter Akhisar!”

“When would be the right time?”
“The right time would be when people are at the Mosque for Friday prayers!”

“Then why did we come so early?”

“I didn’t want the lookouts at the Akhisar Fort to see us.”

“We are going to ambush them?”

“Yes!”

“The town has a population of fifteen-twenty thousand people. How are we supposed to ambush them with ten people?”

“Akhisar people know our real strength, Farouk!”

“What are we going to do in Akhisar?’

“We will start our business.”

“Which business is that?”

“Preventing discouragement. We will tell them they can’t do anything if they are disheartened. We won’t let anyone give us excuses. We are fighting for Akhisar so the Akhisar people don’t have any right to back away from the fight!”

Jamil wasn’t really listening but these last words caught his attention. The Army Commander Bekir Sami wasn’t successful at this, but this semi-illiterate guy who was only a sergeant at the army was determined to do the job with ten people! Akhisar’s population included at least five thousand Greeks. Those Greeks may at least have five hundred armed men. Ethem was insane to think he could do something with ten men. It was impossible. Akhisar Christians were on alert for weeks. How can you ambush people who are already on high alert?

Ethem looked confident. He was sure of his plan. He had a relaxed demeanor. He looked like he was a respected guest at a relatives’ wedding party. He didn’t have any doubts. His voice was the same so was the look in his eyes. His hazel eyes didn’t show any hesitation. It was like there was no danger neither for him nor the men who were with him. He didn’t ask anyone’s opinion on this matter. He just took responsibility. Jamil thought, “Is it because he is ignorant? He should have asked. ‘Why is he so sure?”

Ethem smiled as if he anticipated this unspoken question. “How does an army get into towns and villages with a couple of troops after breaking the resistance in enemy territory? They do this because they know that there is a bigger force behind them that will follow them. You will ask me where those troops that we can trust are. The ones that I am talking about are Circassian brothers. Everybody respects my brothers Rashid and Tewfik around here. They are as good as an army.” He looked down as if embarrassed. “Why did we kidnap Rahmi’s son during the time of the defeat? I wanted my name known around the Izmir area. I am not a person who would cause trouble for Governor Rahmi.”  He checked his watch. He motioned the Flag bearer Haji Omer, “Get your hand grenades as well. I will come to inspect the troops soon!”

He winked at Jamil. That winking wasn’t about playing tricks.

When it was time he stood up, agile but not nervous. He invited the Officers to join him and he walked away.

He inspected his seven men who were sitting tall on their horses while holding the reins. He spent more time inspecting Shaban. He ordered the Flag bearer while still keeping eye contact with Shaban, “When we get to Akhisar give Shaban good boots. Give him two hand grenades now. Alright!  Bring the horses for the Gentlemen.”

He waited for Jamil and Farouk to mount their horses and he jumped on his. They came cantering until they were near the first houses of the town. Then he slowed down. He called his brother-in-law over and said something.

Main Street in Akhisar was full of Greek flags. The wind made them fly and the town looked chaotic in that blue color. “Don’t think I am showing off, Jamil. We had to come here before the Greek army. Manisa fell but we might turn the situation to our advantage.”

“What do you mean?”

“Discouraged people will be embarrassed. It will be to our advantage in the future. If the Greeks had beaten us we would not have influenced the people. They would have come to our side.”

“You are optimistic. Is there not any possibility of somebody shooting at us?”

“Yes, there is always a possibility of an insane person doing something like that but fat chance!  The Akhisar people know that if they do anything wrong we will set the town on fire. From Salihli to Bandirma, from Canakkale to Adapazari all the Circassians will come to our aid.”

He called on a chubby Greek man standing in front of a store. “Did you put up a flag as well Seraphim?”

“I did, but not willingly Ethem Bey. You know me.”

“I know you. Now every one of those flags will come down. You better be the first one to take the flag down.”

He smiled and kept on riding. “I sent word to the Metropolitan Bishop. They will take the flags down. We will be at the entrance of the Big Mosque. The coffee house will prepare us our water pipes and by that time Nizam Hodja will be finished leading the prayers.”

“Do you know him?”

“I have no business with the mosque teachers, we never met. Rashad told me what happened earlier. That’s why I will pass formalities in knowing him.”

There were no customers at the coffee house across from the Mosque. They got off their horses and took their seats at the coffee house.

The hunchbacked owner of the place brought their water pipes while people started to come out of the mosque.

Their men took the horses to the shade. No one paid attention to three figures sitting at the coffee house and enjoying their nargiles. But when people began to go towards their shops the armed men stopped them and told them to go and wait at the town square instead. There was panic.

Jamil could see both sides off the main street where he was sitting. The women of the town were taking the flags down.  He said, “You made them afraid. Good for you, Ethem!”

One of the Circassian youth came and said something in Ethem’s ear. Ethem answered in Turkish so the Officers could understand. “Don’t let them throw away their guns. We are going to conduct a search. Where is the District Governor? Was he at the mosque as well?”

“Yes.”

“Tell him we are inviting him over for tea. Tell him to bring Nizam Hodja as well. Where is my brother- in- law?”

“He went to take care of the other business.”

“Good.” He looked at the young men who got their orders and were running towards the mosque now.” The people at the mosque tried to hide away their guns. “A raid is always a guaranteed way to succeed. That saying is always true, Jamil!” He was enjoying his water pipe. Maybe it fails only one time in your lifetime but it won’t matter, because you won’t live to tell the story!”

The people who got out of the mosque started to gather near the walls. The elders and Circassians among the crowd approached and greeted them. The older men took seats at the coffee house and the younger ones stood. Rashad and Kamil were trying to calm down their supporters and reassure them. Dr. Nejati came smiling and shook the hands of Jamil, Ethem, and Farouk. “You ambushed the town, Ethem! It was as if a bomb dropped in the mosque. There is some chaos in there. Why did you come back? Where is Rasim?”

“He went with Bekir Sami to lead the troops. Is the service over?”

“They are not thinking about praying right now! They have all wet themselves and are walking around like dogs with burned feet! They are repenting. They are becoming born again Muslims. Good for you, Ethem!”

Then they saw the Sub-Governor and Nizam approaching. Ethem stood up respectfully. The Sub-Governor came quickly and greeted them as if he was greeting the Sultan. “Welcome! You brought honor to our town. Welcome!”

“Please, take a seat. You too; sit down, Hodja Effendi!”

After Sub- Governor and Hodja left the mosque, everyone, inside the mosque quickly exited the building and 300 people gathered at the town square. The armed men let anybody who wanted to come to the area do so, but they didn’t let anybody leave.

Ethem the Circassian greeted the Greek Metropolitan Bishop with respect and offered him a seat. No one was talking in the town square and there was absolute silence. Ethem started talking with a loud voice so everybody could hear. “The former Minister of the Navy, General Rauf, sent a team to our area yesterday.  They brought the Greetings of our Sultan the Caliph to the people of Akhisar. To everybody, Muslims and Christians…”

Some people yelled, “Long live Sultan” then others joined in, “Long live Sultan” making a loud noise.

Ethem continued his speech; “The Sultan said, ‘we should be strong. These terrible days will pass. People should consider this as trying times before God. Don’t let the evil among us prevail. We should support each other. People should trust the Government. Enemy soldiers will soon leave our land. Be careful so as not to be sorry later’. Did you hear that? Do you understand what it means?”

People answered; “Yes, we understand.  Thanks to our Sultan. Long live Sultan. We also thank those who bring the Sultan’s Greetings to us”

“Thank You. You know the enemy landed at Izmir but this is temporary. There is nothing to justify this in the Cease Fire Agreement that we have signed. The Government is discussing this matter with the British and the French Governments. Soon everything will be back to normal. Akhisar Christians don’t listen to the bad people.  The Ottoman State is not dead and it won’t die. The Sultan will not press the matter for those who displayed foreign flags during this time. However from now on if you don’t behave, you will be in trouble. I am saying this for both Muslims and Christians.” He asked the Greek clergymen, “Is that understood, Metropolit Effendi?”

The Metropolitan Bishop answered quickly. “Yes, Ethem Bey. That’s right.”

The chubby Bishop and the Muderris with a beak nose turned pale. Nizam Hodja had hiccups, his skinny adam's apple was going up and down and his whole body was shaking nervously with the fear of death.

“Hodja Effendi, what does the Quran say? Don’t Muslim’s have to fight back when faced with danger?”

“Yes, son, of course, the Quran says that.”

“Is there such a thing in our religion as being afraid of the enemy?”

“No, God forbid, no”

Then they heard a noise coming from far away. Everyone listened. One person was crying, “Help!”  Then they heard women’s screams. Six people came running and turned the corner. Two of them were women.

The women were in distress, they were yelling. The man who was resisting the Flag bearer Omer was the famous pimp of Akhisar, Gavour Efe.  They had tied his hands. He fell. Omer helped him stand up by grabbing him by the shoulders. He was brought from his house at the other end of the town in this manner. He was covered with dust all over. His nose was bleeding; the blood was running down his chin. When he noticed the crowd he cried, “Allah”. He was yelling with all his might but his voice turned to a low whisper with the fear of death. He sounded like an animal that was being slaughtered. He was surprised at this more than anyone and he stopped saying anything. He touched his face with his hands tied up. He got bayoneted and lost his balance. Then he stood up and raised his hands above his head. Whatever he was thinking, all of a sudden he started to run fast. He didn’t have balance and he was going sideways like a duck. That looked like Shaban trying to run away and take cover from his stones.

Gavour Efe went running to the coffee house. He stopped and checked around. His eyes opened big, he was breathing heavily and he was turning blue. His mouth looked like a dark well because of his missing teeth. He had a long mustache and had Zaybek style clothes on. However, he looked like an old woman who was beaten.

When he noticed Ethem among the seated he quickly came near him; he threw himself to the floor. Then he asked for forgiveness. “Let me live, Sir.” He tried to kiss Ethem’s boots. Ethem pulled his foot away. This time he put his face on the ground and begged. “Efe, please let me live. The others encouraged me.  Nizam Hodja made me do it. I have witnesses.”

Ethem asked the Muderris, “Hodja Effendi, do we let those types of people live in a Muslim neighborhood? What does Sharia Law say?”

Nizam Hodja was shaking then he closed his eyes and he gave his Fatwa so speedy that people were surprised. “No, we can’t let him live in a Muslim neighborhood. He should be killed.”

 Gavour Efe, the pimp, was lying down as if he was dead. Upon hearing this he sprang to action. He was on his knees now. He swore to Nizam and all his ancestors.

Ethem motioned to his men and they came and took Gavour Efe away. At that moment Jamil noticed like everybody else that there was hang rope tied to the maple tree.

The town square was full of people yet there was complete silence. Upon seeing the rope Gavour Efe started yelling and tried to break free. “Let me go. Please, let me go. I will bring women to Ethem. I have young women. Please let me live.”

The flag bearer Omer approached and covered his mouth. He steadied Gavour Efe by pushing his knee to his back and put the rope around his neck. He tied the knot firmly and yelled, “Hayda!”

The other end of the rope was tied on the saddle of a horse. Another young Circassian man with a smaller frame took the horse by the reins and led him away as if he was taking a bride away on the horse. Gently... Slowly Gavour Efe’s feet were up in the air. He was swaying side to side when the wind blew.

There was total silence in the town square. The women were sent away or they were keeping quiet, knowing that crying wouldn’t help.

Jamil was surprised that so thin of a rope was carrying such a heavy person.