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Paradise Lost: Smyrna 1922

Through Levantine eyes

Giles Milton
Sceptre, 426pp, £20,

Philip Mansel

Wednesday, 7th May 2008

Philip Mansel reviews a pair of books on Turkey

The corniche at Izmir had a magic atmosphere. Lined with cafés and orchestras playing every kind of music — Western, Greek, Turkish, Armenian — it had the reputation for making the gloomiest laugh. Though ‘terribly chee-chee’ (i.e., they spoke with a sing-song accent), the women were famous for their allure. The trade in figs, raisins and opium made the city the richest in the Levant; it had the first cars, first cinemas and first girls’ schools. Nowhere else, it was said, did East and West mingle in so spectacular a manner.

In 1919, as Giles Milton describes in this indictment of nationalism, Izmir Greeks welcomed a Greek army with flowers and an outbreak of looting and killing Turks. Turkish revenge was pitiless. After the entry of Mustafa Kemal’s triumphant Turkish army in September 1922, Izmir became hell on earth. Milton believes ‘the Turkish army deliberately set fire to Smyrna’ (the Greek name for the city, where Greeks, Turks, Armenians, Jews and Western Europeans had lived together for centuries). As the city centre burned behind them, 100,000 refugees or more gathered on the corniche, praying for ships to take them off. They became the target of Turkish ‘irregulars’, looting, raping and killing. All accounts agree that the combination of fire and death, stench and screams was ‘beyond words’.

‘No words can describe the awful effect’ of the wall of flames 100 feet high, remembered an Anglican vicar. ‘Awful, agonising, hopeless shrieks for help’ were heard miles away and remembered years after. The population of the city had trusted in 21 foreign warships moored in the harbour. But they had orders to protect only their own nationals, British, French, Italian or American. In the end the crews obliged their captains to take on board those refugees who did not drown while trying to reach them.

Milton exaggerates the extent of the destruction: some Greek areas and all the Turkish and Jewish districts — perhaps two thirds of Izmir — were spared. He also exaggerates the Europeans’ decline in Izmir — many continued to do business there, living in ‘their own private little Raj’, until the 1970s. Nevertheless Milton has gone where biographers of Ataturk and historians of Turkey, who often want Turkish official support, have feared to tread. He has reproduced accounts by individual Armenian, Greek and foreign eye-witnesses, as well as British sailors’ and consuls’ accounts. It is a much needed corrective to official history.

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Alice Benjamin

May 11th, 2008 1:53pm

I advise everyone not to care these kinds of books just written to show Turkish hatred and enmity.Who burnt Smyrna?Armenians burnt.Recently the sources found out shows clearly Armenians started fire to destroy all Turkish neighbourhoods with the blowing wind to the east in the mornings.But that didnt go as they thought and wind blew to north,north east and the fire burnt all Armenian and particularly Greek and European neighbourhoods.Serbian fire brigade director of smyrna reported this,the US consulate too.and After Turks saved the city back,Ataturk commanded not to disturb any people staying in Smyrna.Of course a few events may be happened between the local people of Smyrna but who will explain the deaths,raped women,tortures on Turkish people during Greek invasion?Who can explain the fake documents of Greece to take this land in the Paris Conference.Please be honest and everyone should see the truth.These are bad,old campaigns to show Turks as barbars.Eye-witnesses already will never tell the trtuh because they got a war and who can think them to be objective?let's leave unnecessary discussions!And how many people know how many fake documents there are just prepared to slander Turks?what a pity!

alkan kizildel

May 22nd, 2008 2:11pm

It is outlandish so say that "Kemal helped destroy its most modern city". What evidence is there for this allegation apart from gossip? In fact Izmir was a city that Kemal loved: it reminded him of Salonika his hometown, cosmopolitan and tolerant... Kemal's first action after reaching Izmir waterfront was to visit a Greek café and to order a glass of duziko..!

mehmet aydin

June 30th, 2008 3:35pm

great book!
unfortunately, destruction still continous in izmir (smyrna) again and again..
there are only 28 greeks in smyrna now (!) maybe 3,4 armenians.
smyrna burnt by my turkish grandfathers and it was one of the most shameful act of meditarenean history. now, there is a big park on old armenian quarter. big "kitsch" buildings across "kai"