Ottoman history : from controversy to mutual understanding

Abstract

The art of interviewing people can reserve a number of surprises, one of which is to renew old acquaintances. This was the case when the University of Malta asked me to contact Professor Ilber Ortayli. The name sounded familiar and sure enough, on meeting him, it turned out we knew each other. We had met in Valencia in April 2002 during a pre-summit meeting for the fifth meeting of the European-Mediterranean Process. I was then representing the Mediterranean Institute at the University of Malta. Before that summit, a meeting of civil society representatives was held to discuss issues and formulate papers to be eventually presented to the heads of the EU and Mediterranean countries for evaluation and consideration. I distinctly remember Professor Ortayli taking a very defensive stand on Turkish nationalism and patriotism. While the history of his country may appear on the surface different from Malta's. both states shared the same spaces of the Mediterranean and at some moments their paths crossed.