18. Today in 1920s Turkey: 10 September 1925 (Oldest Man Alive is also Modern)

(Zaro Ağa, Cumhuriyet or “Republic,” 10 September 1925, no. 481, page 1.)

Comments:
Zaro Ağa, a porter and laborer, was a local celebrity in Istanbul in the 1920s. The newspaper Cumhuriyet often featured short news snippets about Zaro Ağa, whose greatest claim to fame was his (alleged) advanced age. Zaro Ağa’s fame transcends his own era as even today he has his own Wikipedia page.

The article sensationalizes this old man’s rejection of the fez and acceptance of the Western-style hat—a topic of heated discussion in the months leading up to the passing of the Hat Reform law of 25 November 1925. After this date wearing fezzes became illegal because they were considered to be symbols of the past and markers of a non-Western “other.” Thus to force the Turkish nation as a whole to “appear” more modern and Western the old headgear was banished by law and fezzes were replaced with new hats. This law was faced with considerable resistance which is why stories like this one are meant to be both humorous and propagandistic as they explore light-hearted venues for promoting the new headdress. Due to his unparalleled advanced age, the example of Zaro Ağa negates any arguments against change that are based on the belief that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. The message is simple: even the oldest man in our society has modernized his appearance so you should too.

The story of Zaro Ağa’s flexible attitude is presented at the expense of Ottoman Sultan Mahmut II (r. 1808-1839). Even though Mahmud II was a reformer he is portrayed here as an irrational, bloodthirsty despot. Many Ottoman sultans of the recent past were treated with an equal amount of disdain in the post-revolutionary, Republican press and it is interesting to see that reformist figures such as Mahmut II were no exception to this trend. In fact, Mahmut II was the very sultan who made wearing the same fez slated to be abolished with Hat Reform law mandatory in the nineteenth century on the grounds that the fez appeared more modern than the turban. Finally, the era of the sultans in once more criticized with the claim that under Mahmut II people could not even wear modern hats (to say nothing of the fact that the type of hat that Zaro Ağa is wearing in the photograph did not exist until the late nineteenth century) without risking decapitation (başını uçurmak or having one’s head blown off: a very uncommon method of execution under the Ottomans who preferred the old-fashioned gallows). Ironically, it was the Republican government that later ended up executing dozens of protesters who opposed the hat law in November and December 1925.

English
A Bit of Fun: Even Zaro Ağa Has Worn a Hat!
There are reasons for Zaro Ağa living one hundred and fifty years. Because finally he, too, during this time in his long life will have worn a hat! Who could have predicted that the [same] Zaro Ağa who was a doorkeeper/custodian/janitor in Tophane during the time of Sultan Mahmut would see the sultans fire cannons and [then] eventually witness the Republican administration and finally [also] wear a hat on his one-hundred-fifty-year-old head.

In order to understand how significant the reform is that we just undertook we must remember that if the Zaro Ağa of today who happily wears a hat tried to wear a hat during the era of Sultan Mahmut—although one need not even go back that far— they would have certainly beheaded him hat and all. We wish much happiness to Zaro Ağa’s hat-wearing head.

Caption (right): Hello gentlemen!
Caption (left): A picture of Zaro Ağa that we acquired yesterday.

Türkçe
Biraz da Şaka: Zaro Ağa da Şapka Giydi!
Zaro Ağa’nın yüz elli sene yaşadığının esbabı varmış. Çünkü nihayet o da, o uzun hayatının bugünlerinde şapka giyecek imiş! Kim derdi ki Sultan Mahmut’un zamanında Tophane’de kapıcılık eden Zaro Ağa padişahlar’ın top attığını görecek ve nihayet Cumhuriyet idaresini idrak edecek ve nihayet yüz elli senelik başına şapka giyecektir.

Ne mühim bir inkilap geçirdiğimizi anlamak için düşünmeli ki bugün memnuniyetle şapka giyen Zaro Ağa eğer Sultan Mahmut devrinde— hoş o kadar uzağa da gitmeğe hacet yok ya— şapka giymiş olsaydı mutlaka başını şapkasıyla beraber uçururlardı. Zaro Ağa’nın şapkalı başı için saadetler temenni ederiz .

Altyazı (sağ): Merhaba Beyler!
Altyazı (sol): Zaro Ağa’nın dün aldırdığımız resmi