Controlling the Crossroads of the World

Submitted by Michael S. (United States), Jul 3, 2014 at 16:41

Okay, Ludvikus,

I just read Özkan's article, which spoke of past Ottoman greatness and failures, and proposed that Erdoğan focus on an Islamic identity and keep his eyes turned Eastward.

The big supposition of Özkan, is the that Turkey can indeed become great. Turkey is the rump of an Ottoman Empire that straddled Europe, Asia and Africa. The source of its power was Istanbul's (formerly called Constantinople; and before that, Byzantium) dominating a major trade artery -- both a land route, as the westernmost terminus of the caravan routes, and a sea route via the Black and Aegean seas -- between Western Europe and China. When Vasco de Gama reached India by circumnavigating Africa in 1598, the monopoly Istanbul had held over those trade routes was ended. At the same time, the domination of the world from the sea by the European powers began. By the beginning of the 20th century, Ottoman power had diminished to such an extent that it was called the "Sick man of Europe". What's to guarantee, that Turkey will not relapse back into its old illness?

With China rising as a modern power, there is talk of a new "Silk Road" to the West, part of which would go through Turkey. Depending on how well the countries involved behaved themselves, other countries will also be involved on this "road", such as Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt. The pipeline terminus at Ceyhan, Turkey is part of this "Silk Road", providing sea transit via Israel between Kurdistan and East Asia. At the same time, Turkey has become a manufacturing hub.

All these things spell potential greatness for Turkey, possibly surpassing that of the Ottoman times. In order to achieve this greatness, Turkey will have to contend with Iran, as it did in the Ottoman days, for mastery of the Fertile Crescent and Egypt. This means, of course, controlling Israel; which Ezekiel 38-39 assures us they will try to do. This, in turn, will raise eyebrows among the "Merchants of Tarshish" in Europe and America, who would like to retain control of that corridor; and of the Russians, who would like to gain such control. This will not be an easy task; and the Bible assures us that it will fail. Still, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained"; so go to it, Tayyip! Give it your best shot!

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".