In the early 19th century, there was a defence alliance between several European countries. England, France; Ireland and Russia were part of an alliance called the Triple Entente. and other side Italy, Austria , Germany and Hungary were allies known as the central power. According to this alliance, if one country went to war with one of these countries, other countries would have to enter the conflict. July 28, 1914 - Austria and Hungary launch a war against Serbia with German support. Germany then invaded Russia on 1 August. And on August 4, 1914, German forces invaded France. The route chosen by the German forces to attack France passed through Belgium. Belgium had declared its neutrality in the battle, and because Britain had guaranteed Belgium neutrality, it went to war with Germany. Thus the two great European alliances entered the war. But it was in November that the Ottoman Empire entered the war in support of the central powers and opened fronts against the Triple Entente in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai Peninsula. It was at this time that Italy seceded from the Central Powers and joined the Triple Entente, and then Japan and some African countries went to war with the support of the Triple Entente. The United States was neutral in the battle until an American merchant ship was shot down by the Germans, and the United States sided with the Triple Entente against the central powers. It was in 1918 that the Triple Entente won and the war ended with an agreement. The alliance of central powers were found guilty and forced to pay lump sums. But there was still the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Empire now saw itself alone against the Allies. On October 30, 1918, Armistice of Mudros was signed on a British ship on the Greek island of Lemnos between the Allies and the representative of the Ottoman Empire. The ceasefire was based on the Allies occupy Constantinople to use the Bosphorus. This ceasefire did not deprive Constantinople of Ottoman ownership. Because in this agreement, a small number of Ottoman soldiers were allowed to be present in Constantinople as a symbol of sovereignty. One month later, on November 13, Allied forces entered the Turkish capital Constantinople. And the Ottoman Empire, which saw much of its territory almost lost, became independent in central Anatolia.

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But in May 1919, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Samsun considered expelling the Allies and forming the Allied Resistance Movement. Thus the Armistice of Mudros was annulled and it did not take long for the Greeks captured Izmir and the surrounding cities. It was in 1920 that ceasefire negotiations began in Lausanne, Switzerland, and finally, on July 24, 1923, an agreement was signed. The Treaty of Lausanne put an end to the war and defined the borders of the modern Republic of Turkey. In this treaty, the Ottoman emperor (Sultan Mehmed) was exiled to Malta. Turkey rejected all claims of ownership of the Ottoman Empire, and instead the allies recognized Turkish sovereignty at the new borders.

Every year we see that Turks celebrate this day, which is the republic day of Turkey. But let's see exactly what they are celebrating. With this agreement, Turkey officially lost the Dodecanese Islands, and ceded the Ada Kaleh Islands on the Danube to Romania. The territories of southern Syria, Iraq and the territories of the Arabian Peninsula, including Yemen, Assyria and parts of the Hejaz, such as Medina, which were part of the Ottoman Empire, were formally expropriated from Turkey under Article 3 of the agreement. Turkey lost its sovereignty over Cyprus, Libya, Egypt and Sudan with the exception of cities located in Syria, such as Urfa, Adana and Gaziantep. According to this agreement, Constantinople which had been occupied by the Allies since November 13, 1918, was given to the Turkish government, but subject to certain conditions. Turkey was committed to supporting the Greek Orthodox Christian minority in Turkey. Turkey was also tasked with turning Hagia Sophia into a church. Although in 1931, Ataturk turned Hagia Sophia into a secular museum. Turkey was required to keep the Mediterranean Sea and the Bosphorus Strait open, for transit without any tolls. If you look closely, you will see that, all the regions that Turkey has lost are the most oil-rich regions in the Middle East. However after a hundred years and at the end of the treaty, and with the early conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, Turkey is likely to consider returning the Ottoman Empire.

A few days ago, Turkey turned the Hagia Sophia Secular Museum into a mosque, which many believe will mark the beginning of a major transformation. The museum was originally built in 537 in Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, as the capital's cathedral. But in 1453, with the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans, this church became a mosque. Until Ataturk turned this mosque into a museum. But to understand this evolution, we must look back at history 98 years ago.

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