What happened at the Vatican on the anniversary of the Conquest of Istanbul?

Greek Chief of General Staff Dimitrios Houpis, who came to our country to attend the 18th Conference of Balkan Countries' Chiefs of General Staff hosted by Chief of General Staff General Metin Gürak one day before the 572nd anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul, engaged in some notable actions (!) outside of this meeting.

For example; he called Istanbul "Constantinople"...

He used the title "Ecumenical" for the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew, who received him...

And he presented Bartholomew with a Hellenic map drawn in 1585, which shows Istanbul and Thrace outside of Turkey's borders...

Then he went and attended the Balkan Countries' Chiefs of General Staff Conference.

Following the conference, our Chief of General Staff General Gürak took his guests on a tour of the BAYKAR National Technology Center.

But the Greek Chief of General Staff was not among them. Because he had to return to Greece to attend the ceremonies held in memory of those who "fell as martyrs" during the conquest of Istanbul and Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI, alongside Defense Minister Nikos Dendias.

In those ceremonies, Greek Defense Minister Dendias stated that "the fall of Constantinople was tragic not only for the Orthodox but for all of Christianity," and then brought up the subject of Turkey's participation in the European Defence Fund, saying, "European defense cannot be a subject of experimentation." He also claimed that Turkey was conspiring against and threatening them, and set the condition for the removal of the decision taken by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) in 1995, which considers Greece's extension of its territorial waters to 12 miles a "casus belli-cause for war."

While those in Ankara see and hear none of these disgraces, a columnist for the pro-government media declared Greek Chief of General Staff Houpis, who gifted that map to Bartholomew, a "provocateur bureaucrat" and once again brought up the "softening and normalization" process in relations between the two countries, noting the following:

"Prime Minister Mitsotakis, the decision-maker of the Greek Government, does not have a surreal dream of Istanbul becoming Greek territory again, but his bureaucrats can cause arguments out of nowhere. As one of those striving for the Aegean to be a sea of peace, I will not fall into their trap. They want the Turkish media to talk about a war that might break out between the two countries, to talk about the power of the Turkish Armed Forces. No, we cannot reach peace by hurting the honor of the person across from us. Prime Minister Mitsotakis must definitely teach this truth to the provocateurs of the Greek bureaucracy."

So, Greek Defense Minister Dendias and Chief of General Staff Houpis are bad, but Mitsotakis is good, is that it?

If you ignore and turn a blind eye to the fact that he is the one personally campaigning against Turkey's participation in the European Defence Fund and setting the condition for the removal of the "casus belli," then of course, Mitsotakis becomes "good"!..

I suppose Dendias and Houpis also carried out the recent exercise that the US-NATO clearly conducted against Turkey near Alexandroupoli, right on our doorstep, without Mitsotakis's knowledge!..

Is it just the map?

It has been 9 days since Greek Chief of General Staff Houpis's actions (!) in Istanbul.

Yesterday, there was the weekly press briefing by Ministry of National Defense Spokesperson Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk. Journalists asked about the map that Houpis gave to Patriarch Bartholomew. Upon this, "MSB (Ministry of National Defense) sources" made the following statement:

"Instrumentalizing the past to send a message is nothing more than a nostalgic consolation. We invite those who try to disrupt the constructive approaches put forward by the leaders of the two countries and to build a political career by sowing discord between the Turkish and Greek peoples to abandon nostalgic consolations and to see, understand, and accept the realities."

As can be seen, unfortunately, our Ministry of National Defense also thinks that what is happening is not a requirement of Greece's state policy, but just the work of the Minister of Defense and the Chief of General Staff.

Another issue; the map was asked about, but why wasn't it asked why the Greek Chief of General Staff said "Constantinople" and used the title "Ecumenical" for Patriarch Bartholomew? Was it unimportant? Even if it wasn't asked; couldn't the MSB sources have said a few words about those delusions on the occasion of the map?

Or are these also considered "nostalgic consolation"?!

The May 19 and May 29 Coincidence in the Vatican

Then let's go to the Vatican.

As is known, a ceremony was held on May 18 on the occasion of the new Pope Leo XIV taking office. Minister of Culture and Tourism Nuri Ersoy represented Turkey at this ceremony, but Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew was also there.

The next day, that is, on May 19, which we celebrate as the Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day, the Pope and Bartholomew held a private meeting. It was reported that during the meeting, Bartholomew invited the Pope, who is also the Head of State of the Vatican, to Turkey for the meeting to be held on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea.

Now let's look at the Pope's official program for May 19. In the program, that meeting was listed as "Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew."

Just 9 days after that meeting, right on the anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul, Bartholomew went to the Vatican again for an award ceremony.

Not on May 29, but on May 30, he met with the Pope once again and discussed the details of his visit to Turkey and other current religious issues.

And this meeting was announced in the Pope's official program again with the phrase "Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew."

It seems that Greece is not the only one in a state of "nostalgic consolation"!..

Who are the "Children of Mount Olympus"?

While the disproportionate, submissive, or ignore-based relations between Ankara and Athens are evident, AKP Deputy Chairman Hüseyin Yayman recently said this:

"We never expect the children of Mount Olympus to understand the customs, religion, national values, and culture of this country. The culture they admire is clear."

Who are these "children of Mount Olympus"; I wish he would explain it by name and identity so we would know!..

Let's end with this recent event.

During a match, abusive chants were made against Turkey by the coach of Panathinaikos, one of Greece's well-established basketball clubs, Ergin Ataman.

Ataman argued with those who were swearing and was ejected from the game. It was even requested that he be arrested.

Upon this, Ataman made the following statement, which was featured in our media with the headline "He stood tall":

"I will not let them swear at my country. You can swear at me, but you cannot swear at Turkey... If it happened again, I would do the same thing."

"You are occupiers in Cyprus... The Aegean islands are ours... Remove the Casus Belli... You committed genocide against the Greeks and Armenians... Constantinople... Ecumenical Patriarch"... Hellenic maps and many more...

I wonder what else needs to be said for those who govern our country to say, like Ergin Ataman, "we will not let them swear at our country"?!

Happy holiday to all our readers.

Müyesser YILDIZ

June 6, 2025