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| comment | | "parent_author":"",<br>"parent_permlink":"revolution",<br>"author":"yasemin-gencer",<br>"permlink":"117-today-in-1920s-turkey-11-october-1923-geographic-vestigial-dismemberment",<br>"title":"117. Today in 1920s Turkey: 11 October 1923 (Geographic Vestigial Dismemberment)",<br>"body":"http:\/\/i349.photobucket.com\/albums\/q396\/Yasemin_Gencer\/no27-%20p1-%2011%20Oct%201923-%20Kelebek-%20BDK_zpsovc3ub76.jpg\n(Cartoon by Ahmet M\u00fcnif,<br> *Kelebek* or \u201cButterfly,<br>\u201d 11 October 1923,<br> no. 27,<br> entire cover page.)\n\n*T\u00fcrk\u00e7e:*\n(\u00dcstte) Cumhuriyet Haritas\u0131: \n(Altta) \u015eimdi ku\u015fa benzedik.\n\n*English:*\n(Above) Map of the Republic:\n(Below) Now we resemble a bird.\n\n**Comments**\nOn Thursday,<br> 11 October 1923 the weekly journal *Kelebek* featured a map of the new state\u2019s borders as its cover-page illustration. The visually unconventional map has passed through the filter of a cartoonist\u2019s hand,<br> as it expresses far more than the mere boundaries of a state. Rather,<br> it represents a very messy process. Through the analogy of a lanky stork transforming into a bird with more standard proportions,<br> the short and not-so-sweet history of the nascent state is superimposed upon the standard map of its once mighty antecessor. \n\nWhile the map\u2019s legend in the lower left corner identifies it as *Memalik-i Osmaniye* or the Ottoman Empire,<br> the title above the cartoon declares that it is a map of the Republic. The contradictory labels serve to communicate the transitional moment when one political entity ceases to exist and another is born. In this way,<br> the new Turkey\u2019s relationship to the old Ottoman Empire is established. \n\nEven more imposing,<br> however,<br> is the visual,<br> surgical transformation taking place before our eyes directly over the former Ottoman territories. Here,<br> a single bird embodies two political entities,<br> one a mutilated version of the other. Additional visual indicators of the image\u2019s cartographic core can be found in the text identifying the various geographic regions located behind and around the bird\u2019s rather imposing body. The stork is a clever choice for a bird that can be manipulated into vaguely Ottoman-terrestrial form. As such,<br> the Ottoman territories that would be lost over the course of the late 19th and early 20th century lie beneath the stork\u2019s most characteristic features,<br> mainly his bulky wings,<br> long beak,<br> and reed legs; while the remaining core areas of the bird\u2019s body correspond to those of those of the new state.\n\nThe four unsettling sets of scissors constitute the method by which the bird\u2019s transformation from a freakishly-spindly stork to a sensibly compact sparrow is completed. The sharp objects symbolize the blunt process by which this mutilation took place: war. International conflict was both the reason behind the loss of territories and the change in state and government. Although some of the territorial losses \u201ccited\u201d on the map had occurred as early as the 19th century,<br> the final blow to Ottoman sovereignty was dealt in the aftermath of WWI whereby the Ottoman territories were partitioned between the Allied victors. The Turkish nationalist War of Independence that combated occupation served to restore some lost core territories to the state while dismantling the resident,<br> defunct Ottoman administration and empire. And this is the sordid narrative behind the stork\u2019s rather extensive surgical procedure. \n\n*Additional Notes:* \nWhen this cartoon was originally published on 11 October 1923 the new Turkish state had not yet been declared a Republic. Indeed,<br> that development would happen just a few weeks later on 29 October 1923. As such,<br> the present cartoon was published in anticipation of a Republican outcome to the question on everyone\u2019s mind: [What Should We Name Our Country? (https:\/\/steemit.com\/research\/@yasemin-gencer\/23-today-in-1920s-turkey-3-october-1923-what-should-we-name-our-country).\n\nFor more examples of the artist Ahmet M\u00fcnif\u2019s work see the following posts from the past:\n\n[#1. Peace Cannons (2 August 1923) (https:\/\/steemit.com\/turkey\/@yasemin-gencer\/1-today-in-1920s-turkey-2-august-1923-peace-cannons)\n\n[#13. Back to School Edition (23 August 1923) (https:\/\/steemit.com\/backtoschool\/@yasemin-gencer\/13-today-in-1920s-turkey-23-august-1923-back-to-school-edition)\n\n[#26. Ankara Becomes Turkey\u2019s New Capital City (18 October 1923) (https:\/\/steemit.com\/research\/@yasemin-gencer\/26-today-in-1920s-turkey-18-october-1923-ankara-becomes-turkey-s-new-capital-city)\n\n[#69. The Young and the Restless (12 March 1925) (https:\/\/steemit.com\/relationships\/@yasemin-gencer\/69-today-in-1920s-turkey-12-march-1925-the-young-and-the-restless)",<br>"json_metadata":" \"tags\":[\"revolution\",<br>\"history\",<br>\"tr\",<br>\"war\",<br>\"cartoon\" ,<br>\"image\":[\"http:\/\/i349.photobucket.com\/albums\/q396\/Yasemin_Gencer\/no27-%20p1-%2011%20Oct%201923-%20Kelebek-%20BDK_zpsovc3ub76.jpg\" ,<br>\"links\":[\"https:\/\/steemit.com\/research\/@yasemin-gencer\/23-today-in-1920s-turkey-3-october-1923-what-should-we-name-our-country\",<br>\"https:\/\/steemit.com\/turkey\/@yasemin-gencer\/1-today-in-1920s-turkey-2-august-1923-peace-cannons\",<br>\"https:\/\/steemit.com\/backtoschool\/@yasemin-gencer\/13-today-in-1920s-turkey-23-august-1923-back-to-school-edition\",<br>\"https:\/\/steemit.com\/research\/@yasemin-gencer\/26-today-in-1920s-turkey-18-october-1923-ankara-becomes-turkey-s-new-capital-city\",<br>\"https:\/\/steemit.com\/relationships\/@yasemin-gencer\/69-today-in-1920s-turkey-12-march-1925-the-young-and-the-restless\" ,<br>\"app\":\"steemit\/0.1\",<br>\"format\":\"markdown\" " | | vote | "voter":"yasemin-gencer",
"author":"yasemin-gencer",
"permlink":"117-today-in-1920s-turkey-11-october-1923-geographic-vestigial-dismemberment",
"weight":10000 |
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