The 'Dolmuş' Version of the Auspicious Incident in Trabzon

Throughout my academic life, I have held quite a few positions.

I have served as Department Chair, Rector's Advisor, Erasmus Coordinator, and Clubs Coordinator.

The longest of these was serving as Vice Department Chair.

It must have lasted about 10-15 years.

In the meantime, I attended faculty board meetings twice when the department chair was absent.

There was a time gap of about 10 years between those two meetings.

The faculty's problems were being discussed again when it was my turn to speak.

I said that since I had attended this meeting ten years ago, I realized the problems were the same and that nothing had been solved,

And that the same issues were still on the table.

I concluded my speech by saying, "Solve the old problems, and I'll tell you about the new ones later."

While writing this piece, that memory came to mind.

I lived in Trabzon until 1994. My life story, which began in Faroz, continued until I finished university.

About 22 years.

I have been living outside of Trabzon for 28 years.

Recently, when I saw a news story on national news channels, I realized that not much has changed in Trabzon over the years.

Minibus drivers (dolmuşçular) beat up the bright students of the Captaincy Department at the Sürmene Faculty of Marine Sciences.

They should be thankful they didn't hang them from a pear tree by their feet.

The issue is the same as it was 30 years ago.

The Uprising of the Minibus Drivers' Guild.

The Auspicious Incident (Vak’a-ı Hayriyye)

The Janissary Corps, which was abolished in 1826 through a demonstration called the "Vak’a-ı Hayriyye"—or "Auspicious Incident"—by the reformist and innovative Sultan Mahmud II, is still resisting in Trabzon two centuries later as the "Dolmuş-u Vak’a-ı Hayriye" (The Minibus Version of the Auspicious Incident).

Why didn't you get on my minibus?

Why did you come to the faculty by private shuttle?

No one but us can collect the tribute here.

The eras are different, but the stories are always the same.

Resistance to "Evolution."

In the nineties, when we were university students, it was a special pleasure for some Trabzon locals to intimidate and beat up students coming from out of town.

Once, during university festivals, while the campus was buzzing with horon (traditional dance) and students were in high spirits—that's how university spring festivals were back then—a few toughs from the Kalkınma neighborhood raided the entire university festival and forced them to turn off the music.

And no one dared to say a word.

I won't even get into the beatings received by those who wore shorts.

Yet, Trabzon was a port city.

It has been a sea port for thousands of years and has had an airport for 67 years.

It has been the center of the east, west, north, and south for thousands of years.

The great rivers of Anatolia flow toward the Black Sea.

The Silk Road meets the sea in Trabzon.

It serves as a checkpoint (supply station) for the Turkestan region.

The first university outside of Istanbul and Ankara was opened in Trabzon in 1955.

At that time, many major European cities didn't even have a university.

While the people of Anatolia didn't even know where Ankara and Istanbul were or how to get there, Trabzon businessmen built their infrastructure and superstructure.

They moderated Turkish football.

And they still do.

And despite all the dirty tricks of FETÖ, Trabzon's Hacıosmanoğlu knew how to pin the people from Pennsylvania to the mat.

With its music and horon, it carried the single-channel TRT.

What happened that it became known for priest murders? Its killers became the subject of news channels.

What happened that illiterate minibus drivers found the power to block and beat the Barbarossas of maritime transport, who would guide the country toward its goals?

This mentality delayed the light rail system in Trabzon by 30 years.

I think the people of Trabzon will wait another thirty years.

Under the guise of a Tram Project, they will be given empty promises.

Staged projects will be the subject of news reports.

With rolled-up sleeves of white shirts and pointers in hand, virtual stations of the line will be shown.

Colorful visuals and desk-prepared videos will be produced.

They will even use images of the tram that Eskişehir put into operation 30 years ago, claiming "A tram is coming to Trabzon."

But the first shovel will not hit the ground until after the third world war.