They themselves mostly never returned, but their grandchildren, born and educated in Germany, are returning. The “return immigration” of educated Turks to Turkey is not a situation to which Germany pays much heed. But these days, it is not just the “Germanified Turks” who are flocking to Turkey, but also Germans themselves. Claudia Hahn-Raabe, the director of İstanbul’s Goethe Institute, explains: “You would not believe how many requests I get from Germany. All of the artists in Germany seem to want to come to Turkey, to İstanbul in particular. The issue at hand used to be immigration from Turkey to Germany. But these days, it is reciprocal. Germans now want to come here.”

In fact, Germans have even formed an artists’ academy in Tarabaya for these purposes. As Hahn-Raabe sees it, it is nowadays difficult to really do anything new in places like Rome or Paris, as everything that can be done has already been done there, and everyone already knows what all the galleries and museums have to offer. By contrast, everything in İstanbul is still in the developing phase, and new ideas are hidden everywhere. This is a situation that quite naturally draws people like artists, writers and academics to the city.

Turkey has a powerful pull

Germany’s Center for Turkish Studies (TAM) academic Cem Şentürk says: “The growth of the Turkish economy and the sheer draw of İstanbul are attractive not only to Turks, but also to foreigners. For German youth, İstanbul is an alternative much like New York, London or Madrid for living and working.” Şentürk also points to some comments made recently by film director Fatih Akın regarding a similar topic. Akın, complaining that he is having a difficult time finding material for filmmaking in Hamburg these days, said he was considering moving to İstanbul for this reason. Şentürk even asserted that while 34,000 people a year come from Germany to Turkey, annually 31,000 go in the opposite direction, from Turkey to Germany.

German academics eye Turkish universities

Political scientist and Professor Savaş Genç, who was born and grew up in Germany, is one of those who came to İstanbul for work. His goal is to build his career opportunities in İstanbul. He says: “In Europe, the average age of people is quite old. A professor in Germany can head up a course until he or she is 70 years old. As a result, for academics, especially social scientists, there are almost no job openings. And actually, in addition to this, for their work, there are very few changing paradigms in society. So Turkey is really advantageous for social scientists. Someone who has received a quality education can really advance quickly here. All of my grades in Germany were 100 percent. But still, the best job offer I got there was just for two years. When I decided to come to Turkey, I had to choose between three or four different universities for jobs. And if you know a few languages, you start off ahead of everyone. In Germany, even when you are really successful, there is no perspective on the future. For these reasons, not only are Turkish academics coming to Turkey, but so are German academics.”

‘Turkey’s rapid development caught Europe by surprise’

A trend that is seeing a flow of an educated younger generation out of Germany and into Turkey has even been a subject of documentaries on German television. Professor Genç for his part asserts that the developments that are making Turkey so attractive for younger European generations actually caught Europe by surprise. Part of the reason for this is that in Germany, it is still Orientalists who follow Turkey. And as for social scientists, they don’t know how to study a country that experiences a coup every decade. Thus the past 10 years have really been up to the French to follow when it comes to developments in Turkey!

İstanbul, full of adventures and potential careers

Çiğdem Akkaya was born in Germany, and moved to Turkey for her career, which is now doing consulting for Germans planning on moving to Turkey. She says the recent turbulence caused by economic crises, and the drop in prosperity levels for Europeans, has caused many Europeans to look for new and different countries in which to lead their lives. She also notes that it is mainly İstanbul that is drawing in both returning Turks as well as Germans, pointing to the dynamic and youthful nature of a city that stands out in contrast to the calm and non-changing cities in so many places in Europe. She notes that even a factor such as incredible amounts of traffic, which İstanbul experiences, is not dissuading people from coming here. Of course, there are some big problems for Germans that do decide to come to İstanbul to work. There are difficulties obtaining work and residence permits. And, of course, there is the interesting twist in fate which sees today’s Germans in Turkey clamoring for many of the same rights that Turks in Germany have been demanding for years now. g.baki@zaman.com.tr

We want the same rights as Turks in Germany

Christine Şenol, president of the Köprü Derneği (Bridge Foundation): For ethnically Turkish Germans, there are great career opportunities in Turkey. The same goes for Germans. In particular, it is artists and writers, literary people, who want to come to İstanbul. Actually, Fatih Akın´s films and works have played a big role in all this, since they portray Turkey in a very positive light. But, of course, Germans do have problems getting work and residence permits. The same goes for those actually married to Turks. Every five years, residence permits must be re-obtained. In Germany, by contrast, you can become a German citizen after eight years. Actually, there is an agreement by which Europeans living in Turkey should be granted the same rights as those enjoyed by Turks living in Europe. But unfortunately, this agreement is really not applied.

Celebrations for 50th anniversary of Turkish workers’ departure for Germany

These days at İstanbul´s Goethe Institute, there are frantic preparations going on. This is because next fall is the 50th anniversary of the departure of Turkish workers to Germany from Turkey. Within this framework, the institute will be holding quite a few events, supported by the İstanbul municipality. Just one of these activities will be talks by ethnic Turkish writers who have long-term connects to Germany. For example, writer Aras Ören, who was actually born and grew up in Turkey, but now lives in Germany as a part of the first generation will speak, as will third-generation writer Zafer Şenocak, who was born and raised in Germany. There will also be various concerts and exhibitions.

The Goethe Institute is right across from Galatasaray High School. It has terraced floors that overlook the Bosporus, and it is an institute that offers libraries, language training centers, literary talks and even film screenings. It is the first place that someone who would like to learn German should go, as it even offers family language courses taught by German teachers. The German autobus, something which the institute started up last year, travels to Turkey with the aim to get students to love German as a language. In Anatolian high schools, there is a required second language, and by far the most popular choice for Turkish students is, in fact, German.

Last year, the Goethe Institute also sent a second autobus to travel to Turkey, though this one was a literature bus, designed to help bring Turkish readers in contact with German authors. Claudia Hahn-Raabe notes that there is not much awareness of European writers in Turkey and says part of the goal of the bus project was to break down mistaken preconceptions about these writers. In fact, a documentary about this special literary bus was shown last weekend at the İstanbul Film Festival. On a final note, Hahn-Raabe underscores that the institute always organizes and carries out a wide variety of activities along with a Turkish partner, as they are very interested in making sure their programs actually appeal to Turks.

However, none of these human acts of praise for the Prophet Muhammad have taken a place in people’s hearts and minds as much as the “Mevlid-i Şerif” (The Prophet Muhammad’s Nativity), written by Süleyman Çelebi.

Beginning with the lines “Allah! This name we invoke in the beginning, For this ever due from us, his servants,” the Mevlid has been read for the past 600 years and will continue to be read in mosques, lodges, friendly gatherings and homes. Now this distinguished work will be read once more before the whole world, on the occasion of the passing of 1,400 years since the Quran was passed down to humanity, in a concert to commemorate Kutlu Doğum Haftası, or Sacred Birth Week. At this time, people will be able to listen to the Mevlid as interpreted by a chorus of 320 people, the result of a very special project sponsored by the Presidential Office to honor the Mevlid.

Composed by famous Turkish composer Selman Ada in a cantata format as a symphonic piece, the Mevlid will be sung on April 20 in Istanbul at Sultanahmet Square. The program’s organizer is Ahmet San, and the general program will see the Mevlid presented as poetry in three different languages. The presentation of the Mevlid will be performed by football star Zinedine Zidan, Jermaine Jackson, brother of the late Michael Jackson, and Green Party Co-Chairman Cem Özdemir.

Let it be a gift to all humanity

It was in 2007 that Ada arranged the Mevlid so that it could be read and presented with a tenor, a bass solo, a large chorus and a symphonic orchestra. Ada, noting that up until today there have been many works composed relating to the prophets David, Moses and Jesus, says: “The Mevlid concerns all of humanity and announces the birth of the Islamic Prophet, who brings love, brotherhood, peace and virtue. This wonderful eulogy written by Süleyman Çelebi has been read for centuries by people with beautiful voices according to traditional Turkish music standards and has thus turned into one of our favorite hymns. But since it has never been arranged according to more universal standards, it has never really become known among the rest of the world.” Ada thus notes that this particular composition of the Mevlid ought to be seen as a gift to all of humanity, asserting that he believes that the uniting force of music will ultimately open the doors of love in people’s hearts.

This work will reach all of humanity

The world premiere of the “Mevlid Cantata” will include a 110-person symphonic orchestra from the State Opera and Ballet General Directorate as well as a 320-member chorus on stage. The massive coordination effort of all participants is the responsibility of State Opera and Ballet General Manager Rengim Gökmen. Gökmen says that first and foremost, her excitement is because a new Turkish work is making its world premier. She also believes that the symphonic interpretation of the Mevlid will open the door for future interpretations along the lines of other initiatives in the arts.

Gökmen, who believes that this project will continue for years, says: “We would like to see this piece performed in some of the important capital cities of the world, as it contains universal messages that are aimed not only at the Turkish and Islamic worlds, but are messages that could well be read by people from every race and language. Despite the fact that the Internet and television have the capacity to reach large masses of people, the truth is that nothing can take the place of live performances. This is why the State Opera and Ballet wants to see a long-term project developed with the aim of taking this work throughout Turkey and the rest of the world. I do believe, looking at it from this perspective, that this project will reach all of humanity in the long term.”

The event organizer, Ahmet San, notes that the world premier will mark the start of the “Mevlid Cantata” project, will be followed by performances in 10 cities in Turkey as well as 12 countries throughout the world. He also emphasizes that the project has remained faithful to the original text of the work. He says he believes that this particular arrangement by Selman Ada is vital to seeing the Mevlid cross Turkish borders, with its messages for the rest of humanity.

Ada says: “This year is the 1,400th anniversary of the handing down of the Quran to humanity. This was the occasion for this project. I do believe that the unique dimensions to this important work will attract much attention as it tours the world. For the world premiere, I contacted friends who I knew could easily reach some well-known Muslim names, including some people who became Muslims later in life. Jermaine Jackson, who will read in English, accepted immediately. We will also be recording in three other languages. For German, we went to Green Party Co-chairman Cem Özdemir, and he was happy to help us. For the French version, we will be making the recording in either France or Spain with famous former football player Zinedine Zidane, whose schedule is tricky. At the same time, we have also approached actor Gerard Depardieu for a second version of this project. When we asked him, he said “Why not?” Our meetings with him are still continuing. We are also in talks with another well known figure for the English version, and in fact, we have received at least some initial approval.”

Going on tour in Turkey and the whole world