From the Times of Israel, October 1:
Addressing lawmakers in Ankara, Turkish president says the Palestinian people have lived in the capital ‘for thousands of years’
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday implied that Jerusalem belongs to Turkey, referring to the Ottoman Empire’s control over the city for much of the modern era.
“In this city that we had to leave in tears during the First World War, it is still possible to come across traces of the Ottoman resistance. So Jerusalem is our city, a city from us,” he told Turkish lawmakers during a major policy speech in Ankara. “Our first qibla [direction of prayer in Islam] al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem are the symbolic mosques of our faith. In addition, this city is home to the holy places of Christianity and Judaism.”
The Ottoman Empire ruled over Jerusalem from 1516 to 1917. Modern Turkey, its successor state, has long stressed its enduring connection to the holy city, regularly condemning Israel’s alleged efforts to “judaize” it and the US administration’s December 2017 recognition of it as Israel’s capital.
Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel since the country’s founding, and the Jewish people have thousands of years of history in the city, backed up by extensive archaeological finds.
During a lengthy speech at the opening of the Turkish parliament’s new legislative session, Erdoğan spent several minutes lamenting the fate of Jerusalem and the Palestinians’ plight.
“Another crisis that our country and our nation carefully follow is the oppression of Israel against the Palestinians and the indifferent practices that disregard the privacy of Jerusalem,” he said toward the end of his address.
“The issue of Jerusalem is not an ordinary geopolitical problem for us. First of all, the current physical appearance of the Old City, which is the heart of Jerusalem, was built by Suleiman the Magnificent, with its walls, bazaar, and many buildings. Our ancestors showed their respect for centuries by keeping this city in high esteem.”.......MORE
And in other revisionary/revanchist news, from Al-Jazeera, September 30:
Turkey touts past maritime conquests ahead of talks on dispute
‘Blue Homeland’ doctrine challenges Greek, Cypriot claims that confine Turkey to narrow strips of coastal waters.
As Turkey and Greece prepare for talks to calm a bitter maritime dispute, Ankara released a video this week glorifying a 16th-century naval victory that led to the Ottoman Empire taking control of the Mediterranean.
The video, shared on Twitter by the presidential communications department and viewed nearly half a million times, intersperses tales of ancient sea battles with footage of modern Turkish warships, driving home a message that Turkey must defend its interests in offshore waters.
This doctrine, called “Blue Homeland” in the video and accompanying song, has been championed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government as it challenges Greek and Cypriot maritime claims that confine Turkey to narrow strips of Aegean and Mediterranean coastal waters.
The policy, mirroring Turkey’s assertive military interventions on land in Syria and Libya, has come to prominence in the last year – more than 10 years after it first emerged – and is feeding into the east Mediterranean dispute........MUCH MORE'
Whatever you do, DONT MENTION LEPANTO !!!
