TURN MY HEAD TOWARDS MECCA

Everywhere was burning again. Heads, arms, legs were raining over the valley again. The heavy bullets of the British Navy were killing the Turkish soldiers.

Mehmet, from 64th Regiment 1st Company, saw Recep, his friend and his sister’s husband. Recep was dying near the bushes. Mehmet crept to Recep. Recep’s legs were gone. Mehmet couldn’t resist and he began to cry.

Recep asked with a trembling voice ‘Why are you crying? Kiss my mother’s hand if you survive. Recep’s last words were ‘Turn my head towards Mecca.’

One or two minutes later, Halil, who was from the same village as Mehmet, fell down next to Mehmet. He was quiet for a moment. Then Halil said ‘Mehmet, I think I’m dying. Don’t take my body back to our village. I want to be buried here. Fight just above me. I want to hear the sound of your feet and your screams ‘Allah’’.

Halil died just over there.

One night, they took Mehmet for detection. They were proceeding along the Karayurek Creek. He was thirsty. He plunged his flask into the creek and sipped a little. But the water tasted different. He had some water in his hands and looked at it. It wasn’t water; it was blood. The blood was flowing in the Karayurek Creek.

So many years later, Mehmet, from Ramazanlar Village, came to the valley where he fought once. He pointed a place and said, ‘Here is the place where Halil lies’

Tugba Aygor & Tugce Eren
From 9K Etimesgut Anatolian High School Ankara / TURKEY