The towers of 9/11: What God does not kill, does not die

I have died twice in my life.

The first was on September 11, 2001, and the second was on October 11, 2015.

I have written about the second one before.

During the time of the trench incidents, I was sent to Şırnak on a mission, only to be kidnapped by the PKK following a tip-off from FETÖ members who wanted me eliminated.

I was released thanks to the late Prof. Dr. Mehmet Nuri Nas, the rector of Şırnak University, who stood his ground against the PKK.

Ten days after I was released, the whole area turned into a scene of chaos.

Those who want details can look at my article on the subject.

The first one, however, was in America.

At the Stevens Institute of Technology, where I was working on my doctoral thesis, I was both working as an assistant and preparing bids for construction tenders at my advisor's firm.

I had prepared a bid for a port structure for the New York City government on September 10.

The tender was on September 11.

On the morning of September 11, I went to the Wall Street area early.

I had come to New York from New Jersey early to find a parking spot.

I started waiting for the tender time to arrive.

The tender was to be held at the Twin Towers in Manhattan.

The New York City government had an office on the 85th floor of the Twin Towers.

The tender was to be held in that office at 10:00 AM.

I was wearing my sharp suit and walking around looking dapper.

I had bought a coffee and a bagel, which is similar to our simit.

With the black leather bag in my hand, I looked exactly like a New York Yuppie.

The expression "New York Yupi" is actually the Turkish phonetic rendering of the English sociological term "New York Yuppie." The word Yuppie is derived from the initials of the English phrase "Young Urban Professional." This concept, which emerged in major financial centers like New York, gained popularity in the 1980s.

After the "dirty job" gas station experience at the beginning of my American adventure, walking around in a tie as an engineer was a very important threshold in my evolutionary process.

Around 8:30 AM, hundreds of immigrants who looked like me—Indians and Pakistanis in ties—were walking toward the Twin Towers with their coffees, trying to make it to work and enjoying the pleasure of moving up the social ladder.

I still had an hour or two.

The weather was beautiful.

A clear sky gave a blue depth.

With my Ray-Ban sunglasses on, I was checking out the surroundings, sipping my coffee, and enjoying the joy of seeing the dreams I had built come true.

Then, at 8:46 AM, the first plane hit one of the towers.

I heard a thud.

I didn't understand what it was.

Suddenly, the place turned into a battlefield.

A dust cloud settled around us.

Before anyone understood what was happening, 17 minutes after the impact on the North Tower, at 09:03 AM, the second plane (United Airlines 175) dove into the South Tower.

I didn't know what to do, but I was conscious.

There was some dust on my hair.

I started running toward my car two or three streets back.

I didn't want to die for nothing in America, where I had come to make something of myself.

Despite my panic, I had the presence of mind to pass through the Lincoln Tunnel to New Jersey.

Immediately after I passed through the tunnel, all roads were closed.

I met up with friends at the Toros Restaurant in the town of Paterson, where many Turks live.

We were both watching the television and trying to understand the details of the event.

It wasn't yet clear whether it was an accident or a terrorist attack.

When the number of hijacked planes in the air increased, it became clear that it was a terrorist attack.

It was clear, but which terrorist organization had done it was being investigated.

America was paralyzed.

The rumor mill had started working.

The first rumor was that the Japanese had attacked.

It was perceived as Japanese Kamikazes wanting to avenge the atomic bomb and settling scores with America.

Then, the name Bin Laden was identified as the perpetrator.

All the suicide pilots were Arab.

After that, the world order changed.

Because thousands of Americans had died.

The bodies of hundreds could not even be recovered.

American fighter jets had to shoot down their own passenger planes flying toward the Pentagon, along with their passengers.

President Bush had to go into hiding.

America dealt the ultimate blow to the Arabs who had been trying to dictate terms and act tough to America.

We also learned our lesson and saw the damage.