The Mediterranean heats up once again...

The Mediterranean is the world’s biggest and most critical inland sea. It connects to the Atlantic through a narrow waterway like the Strait of Gibraltar. The man-made Suez Canal joins the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean through the Red Sea. The Marmara straits unite it with the Black Sea. We need to accept that some of our regional knowledge and classifications can play tricks on our minds. The Mediterranean itself is an inland sea, but it contains smaller inland seas within itself. The Black Sea is one of these. The Sea of Azov is another of the inland seas within it. The Black Sea is a part of the Mediterranean. 

 The geopolitical and geocultural expansions of this geographical integrity, on the other hand, are different. If we were to refer to the map, we would see that the Mediterranean gives rise to thoughts about a geopolitic that contains historical depth and practices, an East-West differentiation. Present-day Italy, including Sicily and Malta, is where the East Mediterranean begins. The narrow Adriatic Sea connects the Italian land to the Balkans. Present-day French and Spanish coasts, together with islands such as Sardinia and Corsica lie to its west. Algeria and Morocco join the West Mediterranean from the south. The East Mediterranean, on the other hand, meets Africa in the south through Libya, and partly Tunisia. Despite this geographical proximity and shared climate, religious and ethnic ties have harmed relations, and created enemies out of the communities in this region. 

Italy today considers itself ideologically close to Spain, France, and even Portugal on the basis of being Latin and Catholicism. As a matter of fact, this theory fundamentally contrasts with its Roman history. Rome first wiped out from the map and history its rival Carthage, and took action towards the east. Rome does not correspond to the modern West’s cultural identity as told in Western history tales. Yes, Rome does have a western adventure. Minor remains of Rome exist today in France, Spain, and even in Sweden and the British island. These are preserved meticulously, and there are exaggerated comments about them. But there is really no Roman city ruin in Europe – of course, with the exception of Italy. Famous Roman cities are all in the East Mediterranean. We see the first examples in the Balkans, but the most spectacular ones are found in Anatolia, Mesopotamia, around the Levant, and partly in Egypt. Have the Romans left a city in Europe like Pergamon, Zeugma, Palmira, or Petra? The first two are in Türkiye, the third in Syria, and the last one in Jordan. The Roman, pagan history the West takes as its basis aside, it cannot be associated with Rome through Catholicism. Yes, Rome founded the Catholic Church. But when the Italian territory detached as a result of the barbarian invasion, it was left alone. The Church’s connection to political power (caesaropapism) continued as the new center in Istanbul. The Istanbul Church separated from it over time, and restructured on the basis of Orthodoxy. The history of the hostility between these two churches is quite deep-rooted, and as everyone knows, it continues today. The history of Catholicism brewed within feudalism and evolved completely into something else. 

As an ancient formation, Rome’s net history – not gross – corresponds to an East Mediterranean civilization, in brief, an Eastern history. The West’s self-consciousness is based on the interpretation of an East-West differentiation (hostility) based essentially on anti-Orthodox foundations developed by the fictitious Catholic Church, which underwent a feudal evolution. Islam, and being Turkish in particular, which is associated with Islam, were excluded. Modern Italy and Greece, captivated by the European-made, imagined history theory, which centralizes the capitalist experience, stepped out of the circle. This was followed by other ethnic detachments. In brief, artificial geocultures divided the geopolitic, which has a deep rational and tradition. 

Unfortunately, our sovereign history accepts this too. It takes the defense position by accepting that Islam and being Turkic are Eastern. Yet, numerous history resources consider the Ottoman as Rome III – and this is the truth. Including the Balkans, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and the Levant subcontinents, from the Danube to the Euphrates and Tigris, the Ottoman Empire is the revival of Rome, which represents the unity, health and peace of the East Mediterranean. Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror is a magnificent restorer. He carries the title of kaiser with great pride. The Ottomans uplifted Rome within Islamic wealth. Once it collapsed, these regions became devoid of peace. 

Europe is now diminishing. Besides the economic meltdown, the European Union, the Europeanism awareness is also fading away (look at how the fascist Italian leader is fuming at France). As ordained in the Islamic holy book, the Qur’an, “Everything returns to its origin.” This is the reason the bridge between Türkiye and Libya is very important. A line is being drawn. The Ottoman Empire’s grandchildren are on the job. Whether they are aware of this is ambiguous, but we say, “We are in the East Mediterranean too.” Greece’s historic mistake is becoming crystal clear. Surely stating these facts, exposes those saying it to cheap accusations such as neo-Ottomanism, and that’s fine. What’s important is not revivalist desires, but solely the peace of Our Sea (Mare Nostrum).