Ethem the Circassian

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 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…”

Ethem the Circassian

“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.

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.”

Esref Kuscubasi

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 big moustache. 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 behaviour in this chaos. And he likes it. When he has the opportunity he turns violent and becomes ruthless.”

“He doesn’t have 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. Neriman’s tone was formal as well. Jamil smiled. Neriman knew about long separations because her father was an Army Officer as well. Neriman’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 how I was feeling tired in Istanbul. Like I mentioned before I had constant fatigue. Now we are travelling 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?”

Yoruk Ali Efe

“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 a 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 in shooting.”

“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 the 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?

Yakup Cemil

“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. At the end everybody polished his boats. 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!”

Akhisar Fortress

“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 an 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 colour. “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?”

“The 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 Chanakkale 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 honour 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.

Sultan Vahidettin

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?”

Akhisar Tyhateira

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 Adams 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 moustache and had Zaybek style clothes on. However, he looked like an old women 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 the 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.

Topkapi Palace Fountain of the Executioner

 The Reluctant Warrior

by Kemal Tahir

Translated by Elif Mat