‘And the police?’
‘There is no need,’ Brother Constantine said. ‘It is a spiritual matter. We will take care of him.’
‘What do you mean?’
The monk sighed. ‘I mean that when a person does such a thing it shows that his soul is sick. The poor boy is pursued by demons, his mind obsessed by this obscene picture he has copied, his every action dictated by the Devil.’ He shuddered. ‘We live in threatening times, Mr Cohen, and sometimes the way of evil can seem more attractive and less difficult than the way of God.’
‘Do you not think he might need medical attention, Brother Constantine? I mean, as well as your own ministrations.’
‘No. No, it is his spirit that wavers, Mr Cohen, not his mind.’ And then the monk smiled. ‘But I appreciate your concern. I also appreciate that Mrs Cohen’s father is a police officer – but if we could just keep this to ourselves . . .’
Berekiah wasn’t happy with this, but he agreed to keep the monk’s counsel anyway. After all, provided the desecration had come to an end, there was no need to involve İkmen in what sounded like just a very sad story.
And so after a little discussion about the house and its progress Brother Constantine left. However, instead of walking back up towards the house and his family, Berekiah wandered out into the street for a while. It was just getting dark now and soon the sunset call to prayer would ripple across the city like a great wave of devotion, an entreaty to a higher beneficent power. Well, they needed something – Muslim, Christian, Jew – whatever. As the monk had said, they lived in threatening times and if they didn’t appeal to something both good and powerful to come to their aid then what could they do? Descend like that poor acolyte into some sort of twisted perversion that poisoned the mind and frightened all those who came into contact with it? That, surely, had to be the route to chaos and they had enough of that to deal with as it was.
Berekiah looked up at the dome of the great Greek School and then sighed. What would war do to places like that? Would they and other, maybe even more important buildings, be bombed? Would people be gassed or poisoned? What was in the minds of people like Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush? Berekiah’s own brother-in-law Bülent would join the army in the New Year – just as he had done himself once. He shuddered: chances were, he knew, that anything he had experienced in the army would be far worse for Bülent. And Bülent’s sister, his wife? Hulya had told him only yesterday she thought there might be a chance she was pregnant. Very quick, but then she was very young – and excited. If only he felt the same. But Berekiah, in spite of the fact that he didn’t show his wife this, could only feel anxiety and depression. A baby? Into this world? Berekiah looked up and down his silent, trouble-free street and then started to make his way back to his ruined old house. As he walked through the entrance the sunset call to prayer began and he watched as Hulya, beautiful, her eyes full of hope, came out into the garden to listen to it. And so, with a smile on his face at the sight of her, Berekiah went to join Hulya. What better place, after all, and despite everything, was there for him to be?
AUTHOR’S NOTES
THE TURKISH REPUBLIC
The Turkish Republic, which was created by its first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and his supporters, was formally declared on 29 October 1923. A democratic and secular system, the republic replaced the Ottoman Empire, an Islamic theocracy which, at its height, ruled the Middle East and much of Eastern Europe. Although the population of modern Turkey is ninety per cent Muslim, the republic remains secular, is currently a full member of NATO and is also an associate member of the European Union. Turks use the European calendar and take Sunday and sometimes Saturday too, instead of the traditional Friday, as their official weekend. Freedom of worship for all faiths, although enshrined within the constitution, does not extend to the practice of magic, which is still, officially, forbidden under laws designed to prohibit sorcery.
KABBALAH
Kabbalah is the magical system devised and practised by Jewish occultists. Although its actual genesis is lost in the mists of time, two of its key texts, the Sefer Yetzirah and the Zohar, are known to date respectively from the sixth and twelfth centuries AD. Study of Kabbalah was traditionally centred around certain learned men or rebbes, and schools of Kabbalah are known to have existed in Spain, Portugal, Italy and across the Ottoman Empire.
At the most basic level Kabbalah is a system of relationships or correspondences that, theoretically, open up access to the inner reaches of the mind. Based around a diagram called The Tree of Life, Kabbalah teaches that both man and the universe are one and the same and therefore interchangeable. Following the magical adage ‘as above, so below’, it is therefore possible to manipulate or influence the divine by using those corporeal forms (tarot cards, perfumes, colours) that correspond to whichever angel or demon may be asked for assistance in the unseen world. Although Kabbalah is neither strictly ‘white’ nor ‘black’ magic, the ultimate aim, which is union with the god-head, is perceived to be desirable. It is said that all the greatest Kabbalists do indeed eventually dispense with corporeal reality and literally disappear.
GLOSSARY
Ağa Term used in place of ‘Mr’ for local landowner; also used in Ottoman times as a term of respect for eunuchs.
Akmerkez American-style shopping mall in the Etiler district of İstanbul.
Anadolu Anatolia, as in Anadolu Kavaḡı – the Anatolian Fortress.
Bakkal Grocery shop.
Baklava Sweet, pastry and nut dessert.
Bey As in Çetin Bey, an Ottoman title denoting respect, still in use today following a man’s first name.
Caddesi Avenue.
Çay Bahçe Tea garden that serves tea, coffee and soft drinks, usually open-air.
Dede Grandfather; also a respectful term applied to dervishes, as in İbrahim Dede.
Djinn Evil spirits.
Fasıl Urban folk music.
Hamam Traditional Turkish steam bath.
Hanım Lady, woman. Like the male Bey, it is a title denoting respect for an older, usually married woman. It follows the woman’s first name, as in Fatma Hanım.
Haydarpaşa Large railway station on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, the terminus for trains from Ankara and other Anatolian cities.
İmamHatip lisesi Religious (Islamic) high school.
İnşallah ‘God willing’ or ‘If God wills’.
Kapıcı Doorkeeper. Blocks of flats have kapicilar men who act as security, porters etc., for the apartment community.
Kapalı Çarşı The Grand Bazaar.
Kariye Otherwise known as the Kariye Mosque and the Church of St Saviour in Chora, north of Balat, a Byzantine church featuring exquisite Christian mosaics.
Kaymak Clotted cream.
Kısmet Fate.
Kokoreç Grilled sheep’s intestines.
Ladino Language spoken by Turkish (mainly Sephardic) Jews, a mixture of Hebrew and Spanish.
Mısır Çarşı The Spice Bazaar, also known as the Egyptian Bazaar.
MİT Turkish Secret Service.
Pasaj Arcade with shops.
Pastane Cake and pastry shop. Cakes can be bought to take away or eat in, usually with tea or coffee.
Phaeton Horse-drawn carriage.
Pide Unleavened bread, served with toppings of meat, cheese etc., at small restaurants called pideci.
Rakı Aniseed-flavoured alcoholic spirit.
Rumeli European.
Rumi Jelaleddin Rumi, a mystical poet and great Sufi master. Disciples of Rumi are known as Dervishes.
Sahaflar Book bazaar.
Sema Ritual dance of the Sufis (so-called Whirling Dervishes).
Sofa Central downstairs room in a yalı.
Sokak Street, alleyway.
Ümraniye Impoverished district of İstanbul on the Asian side of the Bosphorus.
Üsküdar Asian, working-class district of İstanbul, used to be called ‘Scutari’.
Villa Doluca A brand of local wine.
<
br /> Yalı Ornate Ottoman residence usually on the banks of the Bosphorus or on the Princes’ Islands, generally constructed from wood.
TURKISH ALPABET
The Turkish Alphabet is very similar to its English counterpart with the following exceptions:
The letters q, w and x do not appear.
Some letters behave differently in Turkish compared with English:
C, c Not the c in cat and tractor, but the j in jam and Taj or the g in gentle and courageous.
Ǧ, ğ Always the hard g in great or slug, never the soft g of general and outrage.
J, j As the French pronounce the j in bonjour and the g in gendarme.
The following additional letters appear:
Ç ç The ch in chunk or choke.
G, g ‘Yumuşak ge’ is used to lengthen the vowel that it follows. It is not usually voiced (except as a vague y sound). For instance, it is used in the name Ayşe Farsakoğlu, which is pronounced Far-sak-erlu, and in ögle (noon, midday), pronounced öy-lay (see below for how to pronounce ö).
Ş, ş The sh in ship and shovel.
I, i Without a dot, the sound of the a in probable.
İ, i With a dot, the i in thin or tinny.
Ö, ö Like the ur sound in further.
Ü, ü Like the u in the French tu.
FULL PRONOUNCIATION GUIDE
A, a Usually short, the a in hah! or the u in but, never the medium or long a in nasty and hateful.
B, b As in English.
C, c Not the c in cat and tractor, but the j in jam and Taj or the g in gentle and courageous.
Ç, ç The ch in chunk or choke.
D, d As in English.
E, e Always short, the e in venerable, never the e in Bede (and never silent).
F, f As in English.
G, g Always the hard g in great or slug, never the soft g of general and outrage.
Ǧ, ğ ‘Yumuşak ge’ is used to lengthen the vowel that it follows. It is not usually voiced (except as a vague y sound). For instance, it is used in the name Ayşe Farsakoğlu, which is pronounced Far-sak-erlu, and in ögle (noon, midday), pronounced öy-lay (see below for how to pronounce ö).
H, h As in English (and never silent).
I, i Without a dot, the sound of the a in probable.
İ, i With a dot, the i in thin or tinny.
J, j As the French pronounce the j in bonjour and the g in gendarme.
K, k As in English (and never silent).
L, l As in English.
M, m As in English.
N, n As in English.
O, o Always short, the o in hot and bothered.
Ö, ö Like the ur sound in further.
P, p As in English.
R, r As in English.
S, s As in English.
Ş, ş The sh in ship and shovel.
T, t As in English.
U, u Always medium-length, the u in push and pull, never the u in but.
Ü, ü Like the u in the French tu.
V, v Usually as in English, but sometimes almost a w sound in words such as tavuk (hen).
Y, y As in English. Follows vowels to make diphthongs: ay is the y sound in fly; ey is the ay sound in day; oy is the oy sound in toy; uy is almost the same as the French oui.
Z, z As in English.
Deadly Web Page 33
