missmonty:

Just a reminder this is a day of grief by greeks all over the world. The Cultural , social, political and economical impact of the Fall of the City affected greek culture and the course of world history greatly.

Byzantine Emperor Constantinos Palaiologos, lost the City to Mehmet II the Conqueror, then only 21.

Though a conqueror, Mehmet respected a lot of the traditions and culture of the civilization he had taken and established the spread of the Ottoman Empire.

Byzantium, the New Rome or Anatolia, was passage between West and East, It was the bridge that connected the West to Asia on the Silk Road. Constantinoupolis, as the Capital of that EMpire was the most important city and thus a place that a lot of people lusted. It was taken by Franks, Venetians, and Ottomans, whoever had the city, had the Eastern Churchu and whoever had that, could benefit from the economical and military merits being the Bridge between east and west offered.

As a result a huge amount of the byzantine scholars and scientists fled to Italy, firing the birth of the Renaissance and the end of the Middle Ages, that for long had kept the West in the darkness and superstition. (to be honest the west went on fucking things up even further but that’s talk for another day) 

With the passing of Memet’s ruling and the further establishement of the Ottoman Empire, previous inhabitants of Byzantium suffered oppressive, appropriative and life threatening situations for about 400 years, until the Revolution of 1821.

The continuous strive to liberate the lands that were taken didn’t end there. 1922 and the rise in power of Attaturk, marked the begining of Turkish nationalistic movements, highlights of which were the Genoside and exile of millons of people in an effort for “national cleansing” of the Empire. That included the deaths of numerous greeks, armenians, jews etc the holocaust of Ismir (a trade centre at the time) and casting away from their homes of several more people. 

in 1974 turkish troups once again attacked greek territory, in Cyprus, establishing a still unconstitutional and condemned by all world courts and human rights, turkish siege in part of the Island.

On such a day, last year in 2016, mr Erdogan decided to establish May 29 as a National Holiday for Turkey, celebrating the day with thousands of turkish flags songs, dancing, food and PARADES .

After all this, instead of recognising a massacre and genoside, the occupation and “cleansing” of an entire culture and its appropriation, the oppression that was inflicted inthe past and the unconstitutional miliraty movements that have happened  even until recently, he has established a celebration day, validating all of the above as acts worthy of honouring.

just a reminder…for this day…for whoever cares about history and politics.

ps. in Greece, Tuesday is considered unlucky, because on a Tuesday morning it was that the City was taken.