A New Dawn

PRELUDE

By the sun and its brightness. -—Chapter 91 titled, the Sun of the Quran

It was still dark outside, a pre-dawn summer day. There were clouds hanging in the air.  Behind the clouds, the moon was slightly visible, but just slightly. The sky was full of scattered stars, keeping the moon and the clouds company, being a companion to each other.

There was a quiet gentle breeze present, which kept the temperature comfortably cool. Nonetheless, if not for the hushed movements of the leaves and branches created by the breeze, it would have been incredibly quiet presently.

The citizens of this part of the world were in deep sleep, dreaming. They were not eyewitness to the developments occurring in the wooded area between their small un-important, humble town, and beyond, the border, and the neighboring country. The residence of this town had another full day of hard and intense labor in their fields. Therefore, when night came, they settled into their homes; and currently they were all still asleep, at rest.

There was a surveillance post, which was just a short three kilometers away, outside the small town. There were three soldiers undertaking their duty of guarding the area. This surveillance post was close to the border, on a raised plateau, overlooking the area toward the common high metal border fence, and beyond to the neighboring county.

Because of the darkness, and the contrast of the filtered dim light coming from the moon and stars, there were many shadows present, which were moving all about, in the wooded area. The gentle breeze was doing its duty of stirring the leaves and branches, making a gentle, but raucous noise; giving the patrolling young soldiers that restless un-comfortable felling. A feeling of not knowing if there were individuals in the woods.

Were there enemies hiding in the dark, thick, and damp woods, currently? The answer to the question was yes, there were individuals hiding in the forest. Nevertheless, to the three patrolling soldiers, who were currently guarding this outpost, the enemies were not visible.

There were four persons in the woods, hunched low to the ground. They were wearing dark clothes of loose-fitting black-buttoned dress shirts, with the same color baggy pants that fitted tight around their ankles. Even though the soldiers were standing guard on an elevated spot, looking below at the forest, these four individuals were undetected to the patrolling young soldiers. These four individuals entered the county, into this side of the border, by digging a trench, under the walled metal fence, which they squeezed their fit bodies through. They were only 20 meters away from the patrolling soldiers. These individuals were in the woods, hiding, observing, and waiting for the proper moment to proceed past the guarding young soldiers, and advance into the peaceful town.

The four individuals, each were holding an SKS-45 rifle close to their able bodies. The rifles were Russian made semi-automatic killing machines that were designed in 1943, and sold by the plentiful to the troubled third world neighboring nations. The SKS is an abbreviation for, Samozaryadnyj Karabin Simonova, to mean, self-loading rifle of the Simonov system.

While the present situation was unfolding in the surveillance post, just a short few kilometers away, in the small town, the Muezzin was preparing to complete the task of reciting the Islamic Call to Prayer, to call the practicing believers to come to the mosque and join him in prayer. Muezzin was the chosen person at a mosque who led the prayer and completed other similar religious duties and services.

The bearded elderly Muezzin, slowly, climbed-up the narrow, spiraling stairs of the 25-meter-tall thin tower of the only mosque in the town. He was standing on the balcony of the thin tower, which also happened to be the highest structure of the town. He looked at his watch, and noticed it was not the proper time yet, as there were still a few minutes before the actual reciting time for the Call to Prayer. Therefore, the elderly religious man walked unhurriedly around the balcony of the thin tower, to view 360 degrees in all directions. The narrow balcony of the thin tower was structured to allow unobstructed views of the town and the surroundings. He looked below at the houses, shops, trees, and looked further away, to observe the dark forest and just beyond, the mountains.

Finally, he glanced east, as now, the sun was trying to peak from behind the horizon. The twilight period was in full effect currently, as this was the period when the sky began to lighten, but the sun was not yet visible. The dawn of each day was a splendid site, and the present view was magnificent, and the experience of watching this view, never bored the elderly man. Only the small tip of the sun was showing, and glorious array of colors were beaming into the horizon. He was witnessing pure sunlight, which was beaming white, and contained a spectrum of other colors of violet, orange, and red.

The Muezzin was staring at the delicate penetrating colors in the horizon and whispered, I am grateful to be alive and witness this breath-taking scene.  He was excited already today, due to another reason, which will be explained shortly, nonetheless, this awe-inspiring scene made him more eager and anxious. He thought that this Rising light was going to spread new life on earth, and eventually it would wake-up the living, the humans, and creatures that were presently at rest. All these years of witnessing the sun, rise from the eastern sky each day, forced him to still be weary of the concept that although the sun appears to rise from the horizon, it is actually the earth's motion that causes the sun to appear to move. The elderly Muezzin still wanted to believe that the sun was moving around the earth, since this was particularly convincing at the dawn of each day. But, he too knew now and firmly believed and accepted that this notion of the sun moving around the earth was not accurate any longer.

Why was the elderly man already excited and eager to perform the morning call? The author will need to explain this in detail, as this reason has a direct effect to the beginning, and the entirety of the story.

The mandatory recitation of the Call to Prayer or Adhan in the Turkish language, inside the borders of the Republic of Turkey lasted for a very long 18 years, which was from the years 1932 to 1950. The recitation in Turkish was discontinued, as the majority in the parliament voted the call to be recited in Arabic once again.

All the Imams and Muezzins, starting on June 6, 1950, were required by law to recite the call in the language of Arabic, once again. However, the cheerful news of this event had taken considerable amount of time to reach all corners of the republic. Today was Tuesday, June 20, 1950, during dawn at the town of Kaletepe. Therefore, today was going to be the first time the Islamic Call to Prayer was going to be recited in Arabic again, after 18 long years of absence, at this part of eastern Turkey.

Many years prior, exactly 18 years ago, it was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s ruling party of People’s Republic Party, which initiated the call to be performed in Turkish, instead of the traditional Arabic version. Since Arabic was the language of the Quran, the call was recited in Arabic rather than in Turkish for centuries in this part of the world. After the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the ideology of Ataturk inherited by the new Turk Bureaucrats, tried to reform Islam. The goal was to modify Turkish Islam as part of the national project, which was to make all Islamic rituals more Turkish. Secularism in Turkey was marked by the republic's control over religion. The ruling regime of Ataturk and the new bureaucrats, wanted to control religion, but also to promote a national and Sunni Islam rendered more compatible with a modern nation. The bureaucrats adopted Ataturk’s dream of a pure, Turkish Islam that was redefined as a matter of Individual Conscience of each citizen, without forceful interruption from other parties, while living inside the republic.

For 18 long years there were tension in the air, due to the fast-paced changes completed by the bureaucrats. The tension was most evident during each call, as the high percentage of the citizens of the nation despised hearing the call in Turkish, instead of the language of the Quran. The people spoke Turkish to complete their daily transactions between one another, however, when it came to performing their religious obligation, the people wanted to complete this in Arabic, without interference from any rule or law.

The tension of reciting the call in Turkish was going to end now, the language of the Quran was going to be used once again. The majority of the citizens felt that Arabic was the language of Islam, therefore, it should not have ever been altered. That is, the call should not have changed to be recited in Turkish, rather it should have been recited in Arabic, as it was done for over 800 years, in these lands.

During the rule of the Ottoman Empire and the prior Seljuk Dynasty in these parts of Anatolian lands, the call was never altered. Due to the decision to revert back the call to Arabic by the ruling government in the Republic of Turkey, in 1950, the majority of the people were absolutely grateful.

The bearded elderly Muezzin, standing on the balcony of the thin tower, looked at his watch, it was showing the time of 5:18 A.M.; it was time to recite the morning Call to Prayer. The elderly man brought his shaking right hand behind his right ear, and cupped it; he did this to not only hear himself, but it was a tradition to do so while reciting the call. He faced southeast, toward the direction of Kiblah, which was to face the city of Mecca. Then he started to recite, loudly, in Arabic, the below words, translated to English, "God is the greatest. God is the greatest. God is the greatest. God is the greatest. I bear witness that there is no deity except God, I bear witness that there is no deity except God."

He heard echoes of gunfire from outside the town; it was coming from the army surveillance post, a short few kilometers away. He stopped to listen, and further heard a few more shots fired. The Muezzin kept hearing the deathly sound of gunfire. He was in shock, and concerned at the deathly echoes from the distance.

At the meantime, the three soldiers, who were walking and patrolling the border area of the outpost, stopped on their tracks while completing their duty, as they all heard the wonderful voice of the Muezzin. The words were echoing off the landscape. This was the first time, in all of the soldier’s young lives that they were listening to the Call to Prayer, in Arabic, and it sounded splendid to them. It was unexpected, it was unanticipated, nonetheless it was utterly welcomed. They were looking toward the sound of the call, instead of paying attention to their duty of patrolling the surveillance post.

The four individuals hiding in the forest below the alleviated surveillance post also heard the call. They noticed right away that the young Turkish soldiers were looking toward the sound of the call and not paying attention or care at the duty of patrolling the immediate border area. They realized that this was their opportunity to move past the patrolling soldiers and make their way into the town of Kaletepe. However, that did not happen.

A deathly battle enveloped the area, which would have repercussions of unexpected developments and heartache for both sides; both Turkish and Syrian lives were going to suffer. What could have been avoided had tragically and disastrously occurred this morning, and the story develops from here on end.

The elderly Muezzin, while still standing on the thin tower, could hear gunfire, without seeing anything, due to the distance. This gunfire troubled the elderly man greatly. Since he never stopped reciting the call midway, in his entire 43 years of religious service, he decided to do his job, and continue with the morning call, in Arabic, "I bear witness that Mohammed is the Messenger of God. I bear witness that Mohammed is the Messenger of God. Come to prayer. Come to prayer. Come to success. Come to success."

The Muezzin kept hearing the deathly sound still coming from the outpost. He was worried and bewildered at the thought of why there were gunfire sounds coming, at this time of the day. He wanted to stop reciting the call and investigate the matter of the gunfire, but decided that since there were only a few more verses remaining, he would complete his duty first. He continued reciting with a shaken voice the last few verses, "Get up, prayer is better than sleep. Get up, prayer is better than sleep. God is the greatest. God is the greatest. There is no deity except God."

The bearded Muezzin finished his duty of reciting the call. He put his hand down from behind his ear and grabbed the railing of the thin tower to lean closer to the surveillance post. He listened for a few moments. The gunfire stopped, and there was complete silence in the air now. He kept listening, only gentle sounds of the leaves and branches were heard due to the soft breeze. It was incredibly noiseless now, once-again.

He grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat on his forehead, he realized that he was drenched in perspiration. He was astonished at his state of condition, as he was not expecting to be this emotional, but he was. He had not recited the call in its original language in 18 long years, and it felt absolutely exhilarating for him. Plus, the echoes of gunfire made the matter more stressful, which caused the old religious man further trauma. He did conclude that the proper way to recite the call was in Arabic, however, he was worried about the gunfire noises.

He needed to catch his breath, therefore, instead of going down the winding stairs of the thin tower right away; he sat on the wooden stool on the balcony to rest for a period of time. The old man had to catch his breath and think, prior to heading down to lead the morning prayer.

PART I ~ CHAPTER 1 ~ Intolerable awakening

There is no line of defense, but a territory of defense, and that territory is the whole of the motherland. No inch of the motherland may be abandoned without being soaked in the blood of her sons. -—Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Tuesday, June 20, 1950

Brigadier General Menduh Temiz was sitting at the kitchen table of his small residence at the army garrison. He was fully dressed in his Battle Dress Army Uniform, ready to start a new day. He looked at his wristwatch; it was showing the time as 6:40 A.M. He was looking sharp in the freshly pressed uniform. He had on black army combat boots, camouflaged pattern green trousers, matching buttoned shirt, and a 4-inch dark green belt, and attached to the belt was his shiny black pistol. The semi-automatic pistol of choice for the Brigadier General was a Colt Model, 1903 Pocket Hammerless, 0.32 ACP caliber gun; which was a self-loading piece of killing firearm. These pistols were the most popular firearms for high-ranking officers of the Turkish Armed Forces from early 1940’s to the end of 1950’s.

The Brigadier General’s cotton bucket hat, of the same pattern as his shirt and trousers were folded neatly and placed on his lap. The bright yellow three-star patch, identifying him, was sown on the upper portion of both arms of the buttoned shirt. This patch was visible from many meters away and gave him instant authority over everyone in the 39th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, of the Turkish Armed Forces located in Kirikhan, which was in the northeast part of Hatay Province, and southeast part of Turkey.

This was the highest ranked officer, located in the army’s district capital of Kirikhan, in southeast Turkey. He was sitting impatiently, looking out at nothing in particular with un-focused eyes, and his mind heading in many directions; he was waiting.

The main duty of the 39th Mechanized Infantry Brigade was to the patrol, defend, and secure the province of Hatay. Humans have settled in and around Hatay since the early Bronze Age. After a succession of different empires that ruled this region, a series of Hittites people, namely the Neo-Hittite natives resided in this area of the Mediterranean for hundreds of years, these people were called Hattena. Consequently, the modern name of Hatay was given to this province of Turkey. This province borders the troubled nation of Syria. Also, the Brigade provided multi-disciplined intelligence support for other divisions such as the Air Force and Navy. The secondary duties of this Brigade were responding to earthquakes, emergencies, and other natural clematises in this region.

At any given time, there were 3,250 personnel stationed at the Kirikhan Garrison, completing active soldier duty. Also, these soldiers were on Stand-Ready duty for the defense of the nation. The commanding officer, Brigadier General Menduh Temiz was sitting at his kitchen table, pre-occupied about the present situation, and how he would need to eventually notify his senior officer stationed in the city of Malatya, which was a city in southeast Turkey, and the capital of the country’s ancient eastern territory.

The Turkish Armed Forces were separated into four sections, these sections were as following:

Supreme rule of army number one was located at the country’s capital of Ankara, and this city’s reign encompassed the areas of west, southwest, and central Anatolian regions.

Supreme rule of army number two was located in the city of Malatya, and this city’s reign encompassed the areas of central-east, east, and southeast Anatolian regions.

Supreme rule of army number three was located in the city of Trabzon, and this city’s reign encompassed the areas of north and northeast Anatolian regions.

Supreme rule of army number four was located at Istanbul, and this city’s reign encompassed the areas of European lands, northwest and north Anatolian regions.

The Brigade in the province of Hatay was under the supreme rule of army number two, with the headquarters in Malatya. The Brigadier General did not want to have the difficult conversation with his senior officer, as eventually, he would need to notify his senior officer with this morning’s gunfire Clash.

A new day was beginning. The sun was rising slowly and giving light and brilliance to the surroundings. It was looking to be another hot day, typical for this part of the dry, parched, and arid eastern Mediterranean region.

He looked at his watch again, and noticed that it had already been an hour since his assistant lieutenant called him, and woke him from his sleep. The Brigadier General advised the assistant lieutenant, his junior officer to pick him from his residence in exactly one hour, however, the general was ready in 50 minutes; 10 minutes to spare. He had received the call from Assistant Lieutenant Ruhi Morgul. He was now sitting at his living-room couch impatiently waiting for his junior officer to come get him.

Earlier in the morning, he was startled by a telephone call as he was in a deep and peaceful sleep. He was sleeping in the army garrison this month since he was the sole commanding officer from June 1 to the June 27, until 18:00 hundred hours. The Brigadier General would be relieved of his duties for a full four days, by his colleague; however, the relieving officer had a lower one-star rank. Therefore, General Temiz was never fully off duty, and would be on-call if anything developed.

General Temiz had been stationed at the same barracks and held the identical title for the past two years, plus, his position was of rotating duty. He worked for 27 days straight in the month, and travelled home for four days, then returned back to complete another month of army-life-ordeal. Consequently, whenever he was completing his duty at the army garrison, he would for some unexplained and strange reason have a deep, peaceful, and concentrated sleep. Unlike trying to sleep in his own home, next to his wife, where he could never get a full-nights rest. He would constantly toss and turn all hours of the darkness. It was not strange in anyway, the reason he slept well in the garrison was that he was accustomed to army-life now.

Earlier, 50 minutes prior, the Assistant Lieutenant Morgul awakened the Brigadier General Temiz, who picked up the phone at the third ring, cleared his throat, and answered dryly, Temiz here.

Umm, good evening, I mean good morning, sir, said Lieutenant Morgul. You know what time it is? This better be important, answered General Temiz. Sir, it is sir, I mean it was, Morgul took a deep breath and finished his sentence, Something happened at one of the outposts. The lieutenant was cut-off by the general, What happened?

Sir, we had combat, said the lieutenant, he was cut off again, When? asked the general. 15 minutes ago, at 5:30 A.M., sir, he was cut off, a third time, Which outpost?

"Sir, the outpost, just outside of the town named Kaletepe, and sir...we have sustained casualties, answered the lieutenant. He was not cut off this time, there was a brief pause, and then the Brigadier General answered in a tone, which was more soft and thoughtful, How many...?"

Two sir, two of our soldiers have deceased, answered the lieutenant. The general recovered quickly and asked the next few questions in an assertive tone, similar to the start of the telephone call, How many injured?

None, sir, answered the lieutenant. Anything else, you want to tell me? asked the general. Sir, there are three other dead bodies, we believe them to be Syrian nationalists.

Are there any prisoners captured? asked the general. None, sir, answered the assistant. Where are the dead bodies? asked the general. Sir, all of the dead bodies are still exactly where we found them, up at the hilltop, at the surveillance post.

Any other details you want to tell me? asked the general. None at the moment, sir, answered the assistant. Another, uncomfortable silence