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| Olde Tyme Religion |
| Ottoman Mania Sweeps Turkey |
| 2009-12-05 |
| ISTANBUL — More than eight decades ago, Ertugrul Osman, an heir to the Ottoman throne, was unceremoniously thrown out of Turkey with his family. He lived to be 97, spending most of his years in a modest Manhattan apartment above a bakery. At his Istanbul funeral this September, some of the mourners even kissed the hands of surviving dynasty members, who appeared shocked at the adulation. Mr. Osman’s send-off was just the latest manifestation of what sociologists call “Ottomania,” a harking back to an era marked by conquest and cultural splendor during which sultans ruled an empire stretching from the Balkans to the Indian Ocean and claimed the spiritual leadership of the Muslim world. Ottomania sometimes manifests in ways that would surely have made a real sultan blanch. During Ramadan, Burger King offered a special sultan menu featuring dishes popular in the Ottoman years. In the television commercial promoting the meal, a turbaned Janissary — a member of an elite group of Ottoman soldiers — exhorts viewers not to “leave any burgers standing.” |
| Posted by:Anguper Hupomosing9418 |
| #8 g(r)om, I know what Jannisaries are. I was referring the Arab tendency to hire contract military personnel. Or it could be me thinking of the running joke during the First Gulf War: Q: What's the Saudis favorite hymm? A: "Onward Christian Soldiers" |
| Posted by: Pappy 2009-12-05 18:04 |
| #7 Turks nostalgic for the greatness of the Ottoman era, are Turks less eager to kiss Arab ass. Nope. Mustafa Kemal loathed the Ottoman era as one where Turks had been giving their lives for the benefit of Islam and Arabs. This is not good at all. |
| Posted by: JFM 2009-12-05 16:03 |
| #6 Nope. They've to conver to Islam, Pappy. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-12-05 15:04 |
| #5 How long, one wonders, until that nostalgia prompts a longing to capture Christian boys to form a new Janissary corps? Or they could just do what the Saudis do - merely 'rent' them. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2009-12-05 15:01 |
| #4 Turks nostalgic for the greatness of the Ottoman era, are Turks less eager to kiss Arab ass. How long, one wonders, until that nostalgia prompts a longing to capture Christian boys to form a new Janissary corps? Of course, towards the end they quite held the Sultans captive until the latter brought in European gunners and re-established the whole army. |
| Posted by: lotp 2009-12-05 14:50 |
| #3 During Ramadan, Burger King offered a special sultan menu featuring dishes popular in the Ottoman years. In the television commercial promoting the meal, a turbaned Janissary — a member of an elite group of Ottoman soldiers — exhorts viewers not to “leave any burgers standing.” |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2009-12-05 13:23 |
| #2 Turks nostalgic for the greatness of the Ottoman era, are Turks less eager to kiss Arab ass. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-12-05 04:43 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: DMFD 2009-12-05 03:18 |