A historical map depicting the 1920 \u201cNational Pact\u201d is displayed in a public passageway in Istanbul, showing Cyprus, Western Thrace and Rhodes alongside areas of present-day Syria, Iraq and Georgia.<\/h3>\n
Cyprus, Western Thrace and Rhodes appear within the same red territory as Turkey on a map displayed in the Karak\u00f6y underground passageway in Istanbul.<\/p>\n
Featuring a large crescent and star at its centre, the map depicts a geography extending well beyond Turkey\u2019s present-day borders and recalls nationalist aspirations from an earlier period.<\/p>\n
A Turkish flag dominates the centre of the installation, while the words \u201cAhd-i Mill\u00ee\u201d appear above the map. The term also refers to the historical Misak-\u0131 Mill\u00ee, or \u201cNational Pact\u201d, adopted in 1920.<\/p>\n
The map draws attention both to the names of the territories and to the way they appear. They share the same red colour and form part of a visually unified territorial space.<\/p>\n
In the west, the map identifies Western Thrace as \u201cBat\u0131 Trakya\u201d, while further south it clearly marks Rhodes as \u201cRodos.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cyprus appears under its Turkish name, \u201cK\u0131br\u0131s\u201d, while further east and southeast the map identifies Batumi, Mosul, Kirkuk, Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor.<\/p>\n
The image displayed in the public space in Istanbul therefore extends beyond Cyprus. It also directly touches on present-day Greek territory, with Western Thrace and Rhodes appearing on the same historical map.<\/p>\n
What is Ahd-i Mill\u00ee?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Ahd-i Mill\u00ee, or Misak-\u0131 Mill\u00ee, refers to the declaration approved by the final Ottoman Parliament on 28 January 1920and made public the following month.<\/p>\n It established the political framework for the minimum demands of the Turkish national movement during the period following the First World War and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.<\/p>\n The declaration also included a specific reference to Western Thrace, stating that its status should be determined according to the free vote of its inhabitants.<\/p>\n The map on display presents an even broader geographical vision. Cyprus, Western Thrace, Rhodes, Batumi, Mosul, Kirkuk, Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor all appear within the same geographical space beneath the title \u201cAhd-i Mill\u00ee\u201d.<\/p>\n More than a century later, displaying the image in a public space symbolically revives the idea of a \u201cGreater Turkey\u201dwhose territorial extent belongs to the sphere of nationalist aspirations and differs markedly from the region\u2019s present-day map.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/74a7af42a3ee68b1eb9b880b91e3e713144e269e50db87b04a35501c8e1351f8?s=164&r=g\")