Light is sown like seed for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Psalm 97:11
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Turkey’s Chase for the ‘Red Apple - Essay
Read the whole article: https://newlinesmag.com/essays/turkeys-chase-for-the-red-apple/
Over the last five years, Turkish President Erdoğan and his allies have repeatedly used the image of the Red Apple (Kızıl Elma) as a symbol of their ambitions for Turkey
Turkic archers on horseback gallop as they unleash their arrows, Ottoman infantry rush to repel an attack in World War I, and modern Turkey’s army shows off its prowess. “To the Red Apple!” declaims President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a voiceover.
The aim of this striking video merging different eras is clear — to claim continuity throughout 1,000 years of Turkish history, from the exploits of the Turkic tribes who began to win control of Anatolia a millennium ago, to the young Ottoman troops who resisted an Allied invasion in 1915 at the Battle of Gallipoli, to the exploits of modern Turkey under the rule of Erdoğan himself.
But why the reference to a single piece of colored fruit?
Over the last five years, Erdoğan and his allies have repeatedly used the image of the Red Apple (Kızıl Elma) as a symbol of their present and future ambitions for a fast-developing, economically independent Yeni Türkiye (new Turkey).
Above all, the Red Apple is a symbol of a vision and quest for modern Turkey — to wield influence and hegemony well beyond its borders into Muslim-majority lands formerly ruled by the Ottomans in the Balkans, Middle East, and the Caucasus.
“When asked where they were going, they said they were ‘going to the Red Apple,’” Erdoğan said of Turkish troops who in early 2018 took part in one of three major operations Ankara has launched inside Syria in the last few years. “This is the thing. Yes, we have our Red Apple.”