Monday, November 24, 2008

Politricks over Politics

...
You know the dead truths, not the living,
The world of things, not the world of loving.
Where does any miracle start?

Cold eye, look in your heart!


-Adam Mickiewicz


*Known for his love of Istanbul and Turks.
*Regarded as a national hero in Poland for his poetry and life struggles.
*Greatest romantic poet since Jan Kochanowski (1530-84) and Mikolaj Sep Szarzynski (1550-81)

Two-years ago I've visited this Polish hero, Freedom Poet Adam Mickiewicz's three-story house in Tarlabasi, neighborhood near Beyoglu that's located on the European side, where he spent the last years of his life until his death in 1855 (below):


His house turned into a Museum in 1955 to commemorate 100th year of his death. Inside the Adam Mickiewicz Museum; the first hall displays the history and traditions of Poland, Mickiewicz's literary works and personal belongings from Poland. The second hall dedicated to his efforts in the Polish national movement and
in particular the documents and photographs of the battle for freedom in Poland. The third hall is about various documents, photographs and engravings from his years in Istanbul (or better saying, during the Ottoman Empire).

His body was first transported to Paris and then returned to Poland. There's a symbolic grave of the poet in the basement of the building (below):


26 researchers and academics from Poland, France, Russia and Turkey meet today for the Adam Mickiewicz Congress at the Topkapi Palace, remarks the 153th year of his death. With the organization of Eminonu district, the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum and Warsaw Literary Museum, the presentations on Mickiewicz's life (Dec 24, 1798 - Nov 26, 1855), his poetry and his thoughts will be discussed during this 3-day Congress.

When I go to opening out historical pages, I see that his devotion to equality, liberty and moral idealism was not limited to the shallow movements of the pen. His public actions in defense of these principles led first to arrest and deportation to Russia in 1824. He never returned to Poland. Af
ter his release, he spent the rest of his life in Turkey where he continued to write his poems. Eventually to his death himself from cholera epidemic in Istanbul, he organized a Polish legion to aid the Turkish army in its fight against Russia during the Crimean war.

I understand that he became a leading poet, but his many interests such as philology, mysticism, especially politics
did not give him peace of mind.

Can you tell politics brings happiness or prosperity?


7 comments:

  1. Politics does not bring happiness, but the ones who practise it for other reasons than prosperity are not usually the type that easily find happiness in simple things, they are tortured minds driven by their perception of justice/injustice.

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  2. Nee ze brengen geen voorspoed en geluk, misschien is de wereld beter af zonder politici.
    Dramatisch verhaal maar daar hou ik wel van.
    Haha, dit is een test Nederlands, doe je best.

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  3. @ Dick: My Dutch is very limited, and I can understand by 50:50. Now let me see. Yes, I'm sharing the same with you, the world could be nicer and improved than today's. Brings neither prosperity nor luck as the history is full of many examples. Glad to see that you liked this dramatic story.
    Did I pass the exam;)

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  4. You need some lessons more, but it's better than most other bloggers. My english is limited too but we do understand each other and that is what is really important!!!!
    I like drama in general, in fact I love it. hahaha.
    Have a great week.

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  5. HI Nihal, thanks for the history lesson. I didn't know any of that information.

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  6. your blog very beautiful and more info ,make me excited. Congratulation!!

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  7. @ Megat: Welcome to Istanbul:) Many thanks for your kind note, so glad to hear from Malaysia:)

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