In the footseps of those who have won Hungary respect and admiration.Continue reading
In the third and final installment of our journey to Hungarian monuments in Türkiye, we arrive at the large industrial town of Izmit in the Kocaeli region, East of Istanbul. The entire region was a crossroads of civilizations for millennia, and local historians, archeologists have their work cut out to preserve all these layers of history for posterity. As far as the Hungarian sites are concerned, it is a joy to see that they continue to be looked after with care and respect.
Some 100 kilometers from Istanbul lies the town of Izmit, a manufacturing and industrial hub with a beating cultural heart. Taking a stroll around the city one is struck by just how “European” the entire environment feels, offering Central-European travelers an air of familiarity. In the most unexpected place though, between a park and a traffic overpass, Hungarian pilgrims can stumble across a true monument of Turkish-Hungarian coexistence and shared history.
Photo: Hungary Today
Surrounded by a well-kept memorial garden, the Imre Thököly House is a museum to the 17th century Hungarian Prince, who has allied himself with the Ottoman ruler against a common enemy, the House of Habsburg. Located in Seka Park, the house had opened in 2008 as a shared project between the Hungarian and Turkish government.
Photo: Hungary Today
The Turkish and Hungarian flags fly on the square adjacent to the memorial house. The small square was the scene of many Hungarian-related cultural events, state visits or commemorations.
Photo: Hungary Today
Ribbons left over from wreaths laid at the Thököly memorial decorate one of the halls of the museum. Among dignitaries to visit the memorial was President Katalin Novák in March 2023.
In 1676 the nobility of Transylvania had pledged their support to the remnants of the earlier anti-Habsburg uprising, while they also secured a pledge from Louis XIV of France. Imre Thököly had decided to join the anti-Habsburg alliance, and after a significant victory in 1679, the revolutionaries had appointed him their leader. Up until the 1680s he lead the Hungarian revolutionary troops, championing himself as the protector of Protestantism.
Izmit. Photo: Hungary Today
Izmit. Photo: Hungary Today
In 1684 the so-called Holy League was established with the aim of expelling the Ottomans. With this Thököly had found himself between a rock and a hard place: on the one hand, he did not rush to the help of the Turkish ruler who was losing one castle after another to the League, yet at the same time he was also losing his estates to the Imperial troops. Pasha of Várad Ahmed had him arrested in 1685, but he was later released. His wife, Ilona Zrínyi fared somewhat better, the castle of Mukachevo (Munkács, now Ukraine), resisted the imperial army until 1688.
In 1690 Sultan Suleiman II. appointed Thököly Prince of Transylvania, but in 1695, the Hungarian nobleman was summoned to Istanbul. The treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 obliged the defeated Ottoman empire to move Thököly and his soldiers away from the European borders inside the Turkish heartland. The outlaws were moved to the town of Ciprovac (Bulgaria), but Thököly himself was given refuge in Istanbul. Later he was moved to the town of Izmit along with his wife Ilona. He passed away in 1705.
Izmit. Photo: Hungary Today
A memorial was unveiled on the 300th anniversary of the prince’s death in 2005. The plaque also marks the spot of Imre Thököly’s actual former grave. The Hungarian noblemen now rests in Kesmarok in Slovakia, while his wife Ilona Zrínyi had found her final resting place in Kosice (Kassa), also in today’s Slovakia.
Izmit. Photo: Hungary Today
A statue of the mythical Turul bird, just like the one that has been recently removed and destroyed in Mukachevo, Ukraine, proudly stands on the square.
Izmit. Photo: Hungary Today
A few kilometers from Izmit, in Karatepe, a memorial was erected in 2008 by the Turkish-Hungarian Friendship Society. The place is somewhat hard to get to, but locals are well accustomed to seeing Hungarian pilgrims in the tiny village and are very welcoming.
Izmit. Photo: Hungary Today
Izmit. Photo: Hungary Today
Mr. Mustafa. Photo: Hungary Today
Mr. Mustafa came to welcome us in Karatepe. He is one of those looking after the memorial without any financial remuneration, out of respect for Hungarians. Without a better token of gratitude available, we have presented Mr. Mustafa with the Friends of Hungary Foundation (MOBA) pin. MOBA are the publishers of our two news portals, Hungary Today, and Ungarn Heute.
Featured Photo: Hungary Today
