Karlo Irakli Tarinas receives a gift necklace from Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios after retrieving a wooden crucifix from the cold waters of the Golden Horn off Istanbul, during the Epiphany celebrations there yesterday. Posted on 01/07/2005 9:08:28 PM PST by Destro
Turkish nationalists gatecrash Orthodox Bosporus celebration
AFP: 1/6/2005
ISTANBUL, Jan 6 (AFP) - Turkish nationalists chanting slogans and waving the flag of an extreme right-wing party Thursday tried to disrupt a Greek Orthodox religious ceremony here called the benediction of the waters of the Bosporus, eyewitnesses said.
As part of a tradition dating back to Byzantine times, a crucifix is thrown into the waters and young divers plunge in, competing to recover it.
Some 60 nationalists interrupted the proceedings waving flags of the National Action Party (MHP) and chanting: "This is Turkey here, like it or leave it."
Hundreds of members of Istanbul's Greek Orthodox community attended the traditional ceremony held every January 6, the date of the Orthodox Christmas, on the banks of the stretch of water known as the Golden Horn, which cuts into the western side of the Bosporus dividing the city's European and Asian sides. Police held the intruders back, and they later made an equally unsuccessful attempt in fishing boats to invade the section of water where the ceremony took place.
Istanbul has a Greek Orthodox community several thousand strong.
The Istanbul patriarchate is a regular target of demonstrations organised by Turkish nationalist movements. A home-made epxlosive device was thrown into the Patriarchate gardens last October, but caused only minor damage.
01/06/2005 14:48 GMT - AFP
Karlo Irakli Tarinas receives a gift necklace from Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios after retrieving a wooden crucifix from the cold waters of the Golden Horn off Istanbul, during the Epiphany celebrations there yesterday.
REUTERS
ISTANBUL (AFP) - Turkish nationalists chanting slogans and waving the flag of an extreme right-wing party yesterday tried to disrupt a Greek Orthodox religious ceremony here called the benediction of the waters of the Bosporus.
As part of a tradition dating back to Byzantine times, a crucifix is thrown into the waters and young divers plunge in, competing to recover it. Some 60 nationalists interrupted the proceedings waving flags of the National Action Party (MHP) and chanting, “This is Turkey here, like it or leave it.”
Hundreds of members of Istanbul’s Greek Orthodox community attended the ceremony held every January 6 on the banks of the stretch of water known as the Golden Horn, which cuts into the western side of the Bosporus dividing the city’s European and Asian sides. Police held the intruders back, and they later made an equally unsuccessful attempt in fishing boats to invade the section of water where the ceremony took place.
FYI this diving for the cross is to commemorate the baptism of christ. (God comming down in the form of a dove etc.) This is even done in the USA. Notably tarpon springs and saint augustine FL. Both have heavy greek populations and strong greek histories.
Perhaps this shows that the EU is right to hesitate to accept Tukey's admission to the EU.
It was also done in NYC by members of St. Nicholas, the church that was destroyed on 9/11.
They want to let this country into the EU
It'll fit right in with the rest of the Fascists that run the EU.
bump
Interesting! I hadn't heard of this until the local Greek church did this in the harbor in Ventura, CA, outside a popular harborside Greek restaurant. Guess those Turkish nationalists aren't very accepting of "diversity".
It will help them to eradicate the remains of Christianity in Europe. They will use Muslims against the Christians and if needed, Christians against the Muslims.
Islamo-Christian Europe will be easier to secularize. EUrocrats love Ataturk and their objective is to Ataturkise Europe.
The Ottomans were guilty of the first 20th century genocide in the Greek millet. There's no love lost there.
See http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/973115/posts.
The article says sixty nationalsits. That hardly makes up a "country". One can find sixty odd-balls in any country. That's not the reason to keep Turkey out of EU. The reason is culture. Simply put: Turkey is not Europe. End of story.
bttt
I don't quite understand why Turkey is being considered as a member of EU. Just because one tiny piece of country is on the European side of the bosporous doesn't make it european.
The reasons are, of course, political, not geographical. But, ultimately, they are economic.
European racial and ethnic make-up has been intentionally altered to make Europe a geographical rather than a cultural entity through political means.
The aim is to make the whole world one culturally amorphous big happy family -- without borders -- so that capitalism can thrive unimpeded. Now it's Europe, America and Asia are next.
Usury International salviates at the though of a world-wide unimpeded market. Cultural differences create borders and borders impede trade -- and profits.
Cultural differences must therefore be reduced to mere geographic trade marks for exotic packaging. The world is being slowly converted into an amalgam of faceless and mindless consumers.
keep your friends close and your enemies closer?
What genocide? Where do you people come up with such nonsense?
Why not? Don't you have 60 nutcases in your country?
All because, out of 70 million people, of which over 12 million live in Istanbul, 60 (sixty) ultra-nationalists organized a peaceful protest against a ceremony which has been done every single year for centuries?!!!
Could you please state what these major cultural differences are? Forget about Western Europe, what huge difference do you see between an average Greek guy in Athens or Nicosia and a naverage Turkish guy in Ankara or Istanbul?
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Tarpon Springs Welcomes Thousands To 99th Epiphany Celebration Andrew McAdams, a junior at Berkeley Prep, emerges from Spring Bayou with the coveted white cross. After 20 seconds, McAdams broke through the choppy surface, holding aloft the prize that is said to promise him blessings for the year. ``I've never gripped anything so tight,'' said McAdams, 17, of Palm Harbor. ``This is so surreal. This means everything.''