Strategic Locations for the Occupation: Galata Tower and the Importance of Galata District

Throughout the British occupation, the British deep state was fixated on one notion: Turks have stayed in Europe for centuries, and caused troubles in Europe. Istanbul is not Turkish, it is Greek. Turks must be removed from there. As a matter of fact, the modern-day plans that the British deep state carries out for Turkey are not very different; the policies shaped 100 years ago are still pursued through various methods. Today, with the imposition of the deep states, the US and EU are the implementers of this plan. There are also efforts to make Russia a part of it.

Around 100 years ago, with the occupation of March 16, 1920, the plan reached its peak and the British entered Istanbul with 27,419 soldiers.²⁹⁹ Istanbul coming under Allied occupation delighted the deep circles in London. This delight would soon usher in a policy of violence to maintain the occupation of the city.

The Allied Powers decided that old Istanbul would be controlled by the French, while Beyoğlu and the Straits would be controlled by the British. Italy would maintain control over Kadıkoy and Üsküdar. However, the British soon claimed rights over those areas because they didn't find the Italians reliable enough. In any case, the British High Commissioner was in charge of the control and supervision of the city.

French forces in Istanbul had only one prison, in Kumkapı, whereas the British built a total of 5 prisons; underneath the Galata tower, in Arabian Han, Sansarian Han, Hotel Kroecker and Şahin Pasha Hotel. This area was the center where thousands of people were blacklisted, tortured and where the nationalist movement was spied on. Galata Tower had become the symbol of the British deep state, as it proved highly useful for observational purposes. It was also used both as an intelligence headquarters and a torture center.

During the occupation years, all spots in the Galata district were used like individual British posts. For instance, British forces used the street of the Galata Tower for their constant spying efforts targeting nationalists, while the Galata Tower proved very useful as a watchtower. With a British flag on it, the tower at the time had a shed on its layered roof. British had added this part for intelligence purposes as the British soldiers constantly watched the city. The top of the tower had a wide view that overlooked the Golden Horn and a large part of Istanbul and therefore helped the British spot any suspicious movements.

The building next to the Galata Tower, named the Galata House and built in 1904, was also used as a British post. This building witnessed horrific scenes of torture inflicted by the professional interrogators of the British deep state on the supporters of the Turkish War of Independence. The intelligence brought in by the cowards working for the British occupation forces were assessed here and people in key positions were interrogated and tortured here for information. Many patriots were martyred in the building and buried underneath the tower. Years later, many pits were found deep inside the Galata Tower in addition to human skulls and bones discovered in the canals of the tower. The space in the middle of the tower was used as a dungeon. During the occupation years, thousands of people were blacklisted and subsequently tortured there.

Galata Tower was very central to the operations of the British deep state. It was known both as the center of Mawlawiyah, and the hub of British intelligence and British violence and torture. The region was also used as a British court. In other words, Galata district was used as a base, a torture center, a prison, a court, not to mention as the meeting point of the British spies. Just like Pharaoh did with his watchtower, the British deep state watched the Turkish people from the Galata Tower. The first Mawlawi House of Istanbul in Galata was also used by the British for intelligence purposes.

The second important base that the British used to oppress the Istanbulians during the occupation was Hotel Kroecker (which is currently used as a teachers' local). The rooms in the basement were used as torture chambers and hundreds of nationalists defying the occupation were tortured in there. John Bennett, a British intelligence officer, used Hotel Kroecker as a headquarters, because the hotel enjoyed a very central location in Beyoğlu. With a whip in his hands, Bennett would interrogate people in torture chambers in the dead of the night. Bennett, also a Sufi and Mawlawi, never relinquished his ties with the Ottoman Empire and Islamic world, even after the occupation. As it happens, he opened the first Mawlawi/Sufi house in Britain and became a shaykh himself. Using this new character, he worked to inflict harm on the Turkish people and Muslims using Mawlawiyah as a disguise. As a result, many people failed to see the deception in his rhetoric and instead of Islam, mistakenly adopted Rumi's philosophy, which is actually against Islam. The British deep state's plans to spoil the Islamic world from within, after that point, would continue largely in a Rumi-oriented manner.

Let us note here that the major intelligence sources of the British during the occupation had been the Mawlawi houses. Traitors in the Ottoman Empire, who were fans of Rumi and the British culture, used to frequent the said Mawlawi Houses and gave the message that they could be used as loyal collaborators of the British.

The occupation forces that wanted to keep Istanbul under control didn't refrain from exerting pressure on civilians as well. In addition to the occupation fleet anchored in the Bosphorus, a British submarine was stationed in front of the Galata Tower. The weapons of the fleet were turned towards the city, ready to fire. The occupation troops would march around the city with their tanks and squadrons, as a tour de force. Tanks were placed around strategic points in Taksim Square. Ottoman officers had to salute the soldiers of the Allied forces regardless of their rank yet not expect to be saluted back. The Sultan was forced to enact a decree that endorsed the occupation, in a bid to prevent the rise of any nationalist consciousness in the people, and similar fatwas (authoritative legal opinions on issues pertaining to the Islamic law) were issued by the Shaykh al-Islam (the Grand Mufti) and some other religious scholars. Boxes of alcoholic drinks brought from Britain were filling the taverns of Istanbul, which was another attempt to debilitate people and impair their morality.³⁰⁰

British spies were everywhere in Istanbul. One spy, with the alias RV5, opened a tailor shop in 1921 and managed to be the tailor of the Unionists (usually called 'Young Turks' in the West) and those people close to Mustafa Kemal. He was even able to visit the Turkish Foreign Ministry. He would hand over all the intelligence he gathered to the British. Another spy, with the alias JQ6, was running a coffee shop in Istanbul, which was usually frequented by people close to Mustafa Kemal. His supporters would hold all their meetings in this shop and all the secret information they discussed would be immediately forwarded to the British. In the meantime, Istanbulians had to continue their daily lives under the siege of the British deep state.³⁰¹

Important Note about Mawlawiyah

Rumi is a 13th-century mystic. He wrote Masnavi and although this book contains commendable statements regarding faith and Islam, it also contains serious contradictions with Islam and the Qur'an. Masnavi and the Mawlawiyah culture shaped around it, due to parts of Masnavi that are in contradiction with the Islamic faith, in time turned into a lifestyle promoted by certain circles seeking to inflict damage on Islam in a very sinister manner. In fact, this culture has been widely praised and promoted by atheists, anti-Islamic circles, homosexuals and Darwinists. Most particularly, certain people that wish to spread acts that are banned in the Qur'an, like homosexuality, or unbelieving systems, such as Darwinism, amongst Muslims, have always used Mawlawiyah and Rumi's philosophy to achieve their goals. Unsurprisingly, the British deep state has repeatedly used this dangerous culture as leverage against Muslims. It should be borne in mind that the criticism here is not directed at Rumi, the author of Masnavi, considering how Masnavi could have been significantly altered since the 13th century. It is quite possible that the remarks in question were added to Masnavi only later, in an attempt to hurt the Islamic societies. Therefore, our criticism here is directed not at Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi, but the odd Rumi philosophy developed based on the contents of Masnavi. Following chapters will be dealing with Rumi's philosophy to a greater extent.