Yesterday's 569th anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople was used by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to re-establish a neo-Ottoman celebration for Turkey's "glorious past", with his thoughts on the future, and especially on the 2023 presidential election.
At the celebration held at Istanbul Atatürk Airport, the Turkish president continued his aggressive rhetoric towards Greece, reaching the point of recalling that in 1453, Sultan Mehmet had "conquered" not only Constantinople, but also the Peloponnese and Athens.
Other festive events were also held yesterday, both in Istanbul and in other major cities.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey even organised a provocative show with lights in Hagia Sophia, which included scenes from the Fall.
A similar show with lights was set up in the Galata tower.
New provocative statements by the Turkish president:
"Do you know that Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror is not only the conqueror of Constantinople but also the conqueror of Serbia, the Peloponnese, Athens, Wallachia, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina," Erdoğan said at Atatürk Airport yesterday.
The Turkish president even referred directly to our country, saying that the goal is for Turkey to become a strong power by 2053, drawing applause and shouts from thousands of his supporters.
"As our ancestors buried Byzantium, let us hope that today, by building our vision for 2053, we also manage to put in the time warp of history the current Byzantines who are plotting against us," he said provocatively.
Teşekkürler İstanbul… 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/QiBvk5Nwt0
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) May 29, 2022
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