Imagining Chios

It's just an island. Or is it? Situated close to Asia Minor, the Greek island of Chios has history, tradition and quality embedded in its culture.

Like the enormous castle that dominates the Chios town (Chora) or the medieval village of Mesta, the whole island resonates a very rich past and a promising future. Although influenced by temporary Italian influences, Chios was a member of the original Ionic League and predominantly Greek throughout the centuries. It is also notable with its huge diaspora dispersed around the world, especially in London, New York and Australia. During summer English can easily become lingua franca in Chios town hotspots.


Chios was also first home of many immigrants from Asia Minor and runaway Greek soldiers from the great catastrophe in the 1920's. These helped form the abundant cultural riches of today's Chios. People of the island come second in hospitality and kindness to none. Mr. Hadzeleni at the harbor's travel agency, or Mr. Spordilis of Hotel Kyma are helping all and every visitor in the best they can, everyday. In my 30 something years of experience I never heard Mr. Hadzeleni say "no" to any request. An islander by birth, Mikis Theodorakis might be considered as an epitome of kindness and grace that represents Chios.

But fame and fashion are not my points in this article. I'd like to present Chios as a mere escape pod. The south full of Masticha trees and unforgettable beaches and the north, although bare, hosting a few of the most unspoiled spots for recreation, Chios is a heaven for many who had enough of the city hustle, let it be in Athens, London, New York or Istanbul. The food, although far from competing with Lesvos, is unique and non-touristic. In Komi, as well as Chios town, you can find authentic tavernas, that will feed you with the care of your grandmother. I would like to mention one: Tasso's in Chios town, 3 minutes walk south of Hotel Chandris (or Hotel Kyma) is the summit of homely cooking in a touristic town.

Last week I was in Chios. Surely that was not my first time there. Living in Smyrna makes it necessary to use Chios as a gateway to Greece or to the rest of the world. However this was special. I wasn't there for a quick day or with a plan. I was there to feel free. And being there to feel free made all the difference. Biking the mountain roads under the sun with a Meltemi breeze, finding hidden treasures, be it food or a village and its blossoming hospitality, were all unique experiences even for a seasoned Greece traveler. I have felt at home in many places in Greece, but Chios felt more home among equals.

I will keep and cherish my memories with my bike and friends there, but I'll share with you this: whenever you feel like you need freedom, forget the crowded streets of Mykonos or Santorini. Chios awaits you with all its charm and sincerity at a short flights range. Say kalimera to all you meet, and they will greet you with unparalleled hospitality, friendship and with their immense culinary riches. And of course best beaches around this neck of the woods are a solid bonus.

Dink Genocide

How many times can you kill a man?

How many times can you dishonor an honorable family? How many times can you deny what was his right by birth? How many times can you dehumanize a humanitarian?

I will not go into details of who Hrant Dink was and what the lawsuit in European Human Rights Dink family started against Turkish Republic in this article. You may read it in detail here. But rather, I will concentrate on the defense of the T.R. in the same court case.

Hrant Dink was killed by a desperado in front of his newspaper in Istanbul. He was warned beforehand in the town canter, in presence of the governor by two dark personalities. He has received countless death threats all his professional life. And the trial of his murderer became a quick farce. After the prosecutor started a case against him, he personally turned to European Human Rights Court against that case. After his death, his family reapplied to the same court against the negligence of Turkish authorities in the events that lead to his murder.

In the official defense statement that the government sent to European Human Rights Court, Turkey claims that Mr. Dink cannot be harmed by the lawsuits against him in Turkey, basically, because he is dead now. They forget the fact that these very lawsuits and the media fanfare around them might be the very reason of his death. Or one might also claim that these lawsuits and the propaganda that came along them were deliberate to ignite the events that lead to the murder of Hrant Dink.

On a humanitarian front though, claiming a person can no longer be harmed of any wrongdoing because the wrongdoings were successful and caused him his life is a pure hypocrisy, and shows the judiciary approach and its fallacies in Turkey in general.

Secondly Turkey claims his writings were endangering social harmony and were dangerous for the community as were the National Socialist propaganda in Europe. We are talking about a person who, in each article he wrote, wrote about the importance of peace and harmony among ethnic groups in Turkey. We are talking about a person who never hurt anyone or in his rare rants, never broke a heart. Comparing his thoughts (because all his actions were basically thoughts and articles) with the ones of Nazis only show the kind of people governing the Turkish state: the same as the ones governing this unfortunate country since 1880's.

One, but only one results could be derived from the events of post-Dink murder era: Turkish Republic is committing the same crime over and over again and should be stopped.

Every time their actions are disturbing the memory and humanity of Hrant Dink and Dink Family, they are killing Hrant over and over again. Every time they defend and sympathize with his murderer and the mentality behind him, every time the judges of so-called Turkish justice system puts down the prosecution of his murderers, every time his name is scorned upon to degrade his people, they are killing him again. They have created a new type of genocide through one person.

As they have destroyed the whole Christian population of Asia Minor during the first half of the last century, they are trying to get rid of other minorities of the area ever since. But one fact eludes these fools: there is no end to minorities in this geography since it is composed of immigrants from all over Middle East, Asia and Balkans; and one day they might end up without a people that they could call citizens.

I don't think that would matter though. What's important is the state. Even if it has no people to live in it.

"Possessions" of Armenians

On his article in Today's Zaman on August 11th, 2010, Mr. Orhan Kemal Cengiz questions if the real reason why Turkish state denies Armenian genocide is in fact monetary. The fact that the state would have to pay billions for the Armenian property left in Asia Minor after the atrocities of 1915 and later. He concludes that the real reason reaches far beyond that and should be found at the definition of Turkish identity as a people and an ongoing war by the "deep state" to hide the lies told anise the inauguration of the modern Turkish Republic. I cannot agree more.

He writes; "we are now able to hear the allegations of some historians in the mainstream media about the possessions of Armenians". That is where I was stuck. Being a member of what today we call "minorities of Asia Minor", I have strong opposition to this word: possessions. For Armenians, albeit local or a member of a diaspora somewhere, the main possession is their memories. The land, houses, shops and other dwellings are important because they are all parts of that collective memory.


Surely, I am young to understand anyone who has witnessed or direct relative of one who has witnessed 1915, 1922 or even 1950's. But my experience with people who are direct witnesses of these events make me think that no Armenian, or Greek, or Assyrian is after a house, or money or anything tangible. Many Armenian diaspora organizations have collectively stated that, monetary requests are just tools to force the opponents to acceptance.

Here's the deal. Even though an International Court could grant (which I really doubt) any compensation to an Armenian or Greek family, there are many International agreements that resolved these claims in mid and late 20's. It would be awful hard to pass through these unless new facts about the details of the Genocide will be unearthed.

The real claim is about the memories. It is not about the ownership of the land. It is about the memories stolen from generations of people by an ethnic cleansing that started in the late 19th century that goes on even today. It is for the memory of the little children of 1915, from whom, not only the families were stolen, but also their identity. It is for the memory of hundreds of thousand of "Turkish" grandfathers and grandmothers of today who hid their religion, beliefs, traditions even from their own children and grandchildren. It is for the memory of countless Armenians and Greeks, and Assyrians, and Zarathustrans, and Kurds, and others dispersed around the globe and forced to assume different identities.

And in the memory of those under the ground. In Asia Minor or elsewhere, in mass graves or under green grass at a calm pasture in the U.S. It is their memory that has to be replaced; not some house in Caesaria. The houses lost their souls. It is about putting the souls of living and lost in the right perspective.

She had a pink scarf and silvery eyes...

At a cheap restaurant in market district in Izmir, three women sat. Two were elderly, one was a youngster. They ordered the regular fare. And started chatting. The youngster had a dark skin, and very light blue eyes. And an incredible pink scarf. She wore a black top with long sleeves to cover all her visible parts per Islamic rule. She had long skirt that extended to the floor. It was 40 something degrees. And not a drop of sweat at sight.

There was something wrong in her eyes at first. Couldn't point out what and directed my attention back to my own plate. But it was not before long her attitude attracted my attention again. It was obvious that she couldn't focus her state on one subject. Her eyes were moving rapidly horizontally and she was pointing her gaze at different points continuously. She looked so unhappy, so dull, so disoriented, yet so beautiful in all.

She ignored all communications attempts by her party. As their plates arrive, the rest of the table attacked their food. She kept staring. No head movement, no interest in her food. Just her eyes moved as they did before and her unrecognizing gaze kept on staring in my direction.

For the next forty-five minutes this charade continued. She searched for an unknown help somewhere. She looked and looked without a single emotion or motion, save for a few touches to her nose with her fingers. Yes, she was desperate, but why and of what escapes me.

Does it?

A young beautiful girl, all wrapped head to toe with heavy clothes on a fervent summer day, who knows what kind of torture she faces under the yoke of the males of her family everyday? Do I really wonder what became of her? Or she is just sharing a common fate of many Muslim women in this world?

As her party finished their food and paying and doggy-bagging her plate, she jumped to her feet. Started walking to a destination without waiting for anyone.

She had a place to rush to. Or not. Maybe she was just trying to leave herself behind.

To Apple or not to Apple

Confusion abound. As a long time Apple user I'm confused too. Are we going back to the days of 1980's where Apple ruled the world with new toy ideas? Where Jobs ran after one idea after another, ending up creating MacIntosh and ruining Lisa? Or is it still the "new" Jobs and innovation is more disciplined and streamlined?

My problem: OK, iPhone and iPad are creating great revenues and market domination for the company. But Apple still has incredible Macs and an incredible OS to take care of. We haven't seen any major renovation since Snow Leopard on the latter. And while cutting edge renovations are being introduced on every iPhone generation, our Macs are unibodies still. Yet, we still pay a huge premium for them.

I accept that Windows and PC's still have a long way to go to even get closer. But I'd like to know if Apple is becoming a gadget corporation. Look at an Apple Store and if you scratch the gloss on top, you'll see what I mean.

Where is the tablet Mac that my daughter is waiting for since she was in middle school? iPad? No way, she became a graphics guru on a MBP and there is no way she'll be satisfied with a gadget that cannot run Photoshop or Illustrator. She needs a tablet Mac like so many other professionals.

As I write these words on my MBP, I feel uneasy. I'm so used to be sitting at the cutting edge of technology thanks to Apple for so many years, I'm uneasy about the near future of my computing habits.

If Apple ignores us Mac aficionados, there will be an Android that would come up and destroy our comfort, and I'd hate Apple for it if that day comes. Jobs needs to reinvent himself again?