PUNISHED TURKISH CITIES

In Western legal history, children and mentally ill individuals were punished for their actions; similarly, the dead, animals, and even inanimate objects were sometimes punished. More bizarrely, when a war was lost, weapons were punished—cannons were chained, and swords were stuffed into trousers. Contributing to the tradition of punishing inanimate objects, we have also participated with the concept of punished cities. If you happen to visit Türkiye, you may hear phrases like “this province is punished” or “that town is punished.” Cities such as Konya, Bursa, Yozgat, Bilecik, Kütahya, Kırşehir, Maraş, Rize, Tunceli, Düzce, Zile, and Menemen are frequently mentioned in this context.

After the French Revolution, cities like Vendée that supported the royalists were blacklisted. Inspired by this, it is commonly believed that the Turkish Republic government also prepared a list of punished cities. Most of these cities were blacklisted due to rebellion or defiance against the central government, their responsible individuals were suppressed through the Independence Tribunals, and the cities themselves were punished by blocking investments. However, much of this information is based on rumors or even urban legends.

 The famous statue in Konya

A Statue Turning Its Back on the City

Due to the Çapanoğlu rebellions (1920), Yozgat caused significant trouble for Ankara and, according to rumors, was blacklisted because its people protested the president Mustafa Kemal during a visit and refused to erect a statue in his honor. Not only were no investments made, but even though it was on a major route, a railway line was not extended through the city. For instance, despite suitable terrain, the Ankara-Sivas railway does not go directly through the city of Yozgat, but instead goes around the city and extends the road to reach Sivas. Even today, Yozgat is seen as a bastion of nationalism.

The Konya rebellions (1919-1920), which broke out twice and were difficult to suppress, allegedly led to Konya being blacklisted. Although Konya is Türkiye’s largest province, it lacks even a civilian airport comparable to much smaller cities. Moreover, state-owned factories in Konya are nearly non-existent, indicating insufficient state support. Even today, all factories in Konya belong to the private sector. Right-wing governments did not invest in Konya, assuming that its people would not vote for anyone else anyway. Consequently, Konya, like Bursa, became wealthy on its own. Additionally, the statue in Konya, with its face toward the station and its back to the city, has been interpreted by some as a sign of Mustafa Kemal’s displeasure with the city.

Due to the Anzavur rebellion (1920), Biga was blacklisted. İsmail Hakkı Sunata writes: “Three days of terrifying rumors until May 2… It is said that in Bandırma and Biga, Kuva-yı Milliye (National Forces) killed locals resisting them, without sparing even women and children, burned down villages, poured gasoline on individuals and set them on fire, and executed the injured in Bandırma. Rumors also include that Biga was completely burned down.” (İstanbulda İşgal Yılları “Years of Occupation in Istanbul”, p. 97). Because of this, people believe that Biga, once a provincial center but later reduced to a district, and its inhabitants were treated as punished for years.

Cities like Rize and Maraş are said to have been blacklisted due to their rebellion against the Hat Law (1925). The Hamidiye battleship even bombarded Rize for this reason. Tunceli and Palu were marked for rebellion, while Genç province was devastated by the Sheikh Said rebellion and demoted to a district. Şemdinli’s Nehri town, the hometown of Seyyid Abdülkadir, was bombarded and erased from the map around the same time. Today, it is merely a small village called Bağlar.

Rebellions were not the only reason. It is said that Kütahya was blacklisted for being the site of a major defeat during the Turco-Greek War and that all investments were redirected to the much smaller Eskişehir. While Kütahya, once a major provincial center, declined, Eskişehir grew multiple times over. Isparta, seen as the center of the Nurism (a movement based on the writings of Said Nursi), was on the blacklist for a long time but managed to break free thanks to the former president, Süleyman Demirel.

Burn Menemen Down

 During the Menemen incident (1930), where a few drug addicts murdered Lieutenant Kubilay, the perceived inaction of the public led to discussions about deporting its residents and even burning down the town. As narrated in the memoirs of Parliament Speaker Kazım Özalp, Mustafa Kemal became very angry over the incident: “How could this happen? Reactionaries can strangle an army officer in the name of religion in the town square. Not a single person out of thousands in Menemen intervened; instead, they encouraged it by chanting takbirs (Islamic exclamation of "God is the Greatest"). Where were these traitors under Greek rule? They must all face the heaviest punishment—not just the treacherous murderers but all of Menemen. This is equivalent to beheading the Republic and us. The entire town is responsible for this. This town deserves to be declared Ville Maudite.”

"Ville Maudite" in French means "accursed city" or "punished city." In France, Vendée, which supported the Royalists, was declared a Ville Maudite. A city declared as such would be evacuated, its people exiled and scattered across the country. The city itself would be set on fire as a warning to all, and a black stone would be erected in its square. This was the punishment Mustafa Kemal deemed appropriate for Menemen. According to the account of Kazım Özalp, the president of the parliament, those around him prolonged the legal proceedings, causing him to forget the order he had given. 

A similar rumor circulates in Eskişehir about Muttalib village, accused of harboring the Greek army (1920). It is said that Mustafa Kemal ordered, “Burn Muttalib down!” The villagers were accused of revealing to the Greeks that the cannons placed on Bozdağ were actually stove pipes and of opening their homes to Greek soldiers. However, since the army headquarters was in this village, dispersed military units were spread across many villages. Moreover, if enemy soldiers wanted to enter a home, who could possibly resist them?

After Ethem the Circassian suppressed the Yozgat Rebellion

"Would You Make Us a Village?"

It is said that during president Mustafa Kemal’s visit to Kayseri in 1930, when the mufti Kızıklı Kasım Hoca complained about the very low salaries of imams and muezzins, Mustafa Kemal asked him, “Did your prophet lead prayers and receive a salary?” Kasım Hoca responded, “Our prophet administered the state; did he receive a salary?” This caused an uproar, and Kayseri was blacklisted. Four years later, during Mustafa Kemal’s subsequent visit, the people of Kayseri redeemed themselves by erecting a statue that Mustafa Kemal admired greatly and by carrying stones for the Anıtkabir. The city was granted a cloth and airplane factory.

Rıza Nur narrates the blacklisting of Bursa. According to rumors, in 1930, when Mustafa Kemal asked about the large number of cars going towards the Mudanya pier, he was told, “They are going to meet Esad Efendi, a sheikh coming to the thermal baths.” Mustafa Kemal expressed his disappointment, saying, “This many cars didn’t come to meet me.” Esad Hoca and his family paid for their mistake during the Menemen incident the following year, while Bursa was deprived of state investments, particularly in the railway.

But there was another significant reason. In the 1924 by-elections, Nureddin Paşa was elected as an independent deputy from Bursa. The Progressive Republican Party (Terakkiperver Cumhuriyet Fırkası), which opposed the Republican People's Party (CHP), did not officially participate in the elections in Bursa; through this stance, it showed its support for Nureddin Paşa. The opposition organization in Bursa played a significant role in his victory. Emin Özkul, the candidate of the People's Party (Halk Fırkası) and the mayor of Istanbul, was a member of the first Ankara parliament as a deputy from Bursa, and he belonged to one of the old families of Bursa. He was a beloved and respected figure. Nureddin Paşa’s election caused turmoil in the parliament. After leaving the military, he participated in the elections before the required time had passed. For this reason, his election certificate was rejected, and a new election was ordered. The results of this became more than a local issue for Bursa; it turned into a national reaction against the Republican People's Party. Despite all the propaganda efforts, the people of Bursa elected Nurettin Paşa with an even greater majority than in the first election. (Fethi Okyar, Üç Devirde Bir Adam “A Man Through Three Eras”)

Bursa has always been a conservative city. An uprising against the Constitutional Revolution broke out on August 24, 1908. Under the leadership of Mufti Ömer Fevzi Efendi, the people of Bursa sided with Istanbul and generally took an opposing stance against Kuva-yı Milliye. On September 2, 1920, a rally against Kuva-yı Milliye was even organized.

Bilecik, the homeland of the Ottoman dynasty, was completely burned during the Greek occupation (1920). It is said that when the city was being rebuilt, Ankara wanted the new city to be near the station, but the people preferred it to be established on a hillside instead of the fields here, which led to a break in negotiations.

Kiğı and Şebinkarahisar are among the cities that lost their prominence due to earthquakes or fires (1920s). Some cities, which were unable to develop because they were situated between two major cities, attribute their underdevelopment to being "punished."

In the 1954 elections, Kırşehir was made a district because it gave all its votes to Osman Bölükbaşı, the founder of the Nation Party (Millet Partisi) and a local. Moreover, Kırşehir was attached to Nevşehir which was actually a former district of Kırşehir and became a province after this incident. In response, the people of Kırşehir sent a telegram to the ruling Democrat Party, saying, "Even if you make us a village, we will elect Osman as the village headman." Ankara quickly realized its mistake, and in 1957, Kırşehir was reinstated as a province, while Nevşehir benefited from the change.

  Osman Bölükbaşı

“Why This Resentment Toward Istanbul?”

During the Greco-Turkish War, the tense atmosphere between Istanbul and Ankara continued even after the revolution. The decision to make Ankara the capital caused disappointment for some. In fact, the well-known opposition figure, Zeki Bey, the deputy of Gümüşhane, made a speech starting with, "Why this resentment toward Istanbul?" The main reason for Ankara becoming the capital was not so much Istanbul’s opposition or Anatolia’s fear of it, but rather the fact that, with the Lausanne Treaty, Istanbul was, in a way, placed under international administration.

The coldness between the two cities lasted for a while. Istanbul newspapers continued to belittle Ankara. In 1925, with the Sheikh Said incident, the Takrir-i Sükun (censorship) Law was enacted, and these journalists were detained and put in line. The Istanbul press was silenced. From that point on, relations between the two cities improved. So much so, that in city council meetings, even the idea of renaming the city Kemalkent was discussed. Even the president Mustafa Kemal hesitated to go to this city, but he finally visited it in 1927 and did not leave except for official events.

Mustafa Kemal justifiably preferred lively and entertaining Istanbul, where he spent his youth, over the modest Ankara, which lacked social life. He also preferred the Dolmabahçe Palace over the simple villa in Çankaya. Despite this, a well-developed yet cold city, resembling German cities, was built on the steppe, while Istanbul, the former capital, was transformed into a large village with almost no investment.