Fine English Paperback. Pbo. Fine+. Roy. 8vo. (24 x 17 cm). In Turkish. Color ills. 162 p. History and biography of a Cypriot bandit. Under Ottoman rule, in 1571 was introduced the "Millet" system in Cyprus: members of different religions were considered a single "Millet" 'nation' and each Millet had its own religious and educational institutions as well as civil law; the result could be considered self-government (Çevikel 1997). When Cyprus became under the British rule in 1878, the Millet system was maintained with some modifications. It was in these circumstances that the events underlying the epic of the Hasanbullis took place (Gürkan NA; Ismailoglu NA): Turkish Cypriot brothers nicknamed Bulli hid in the mountains in 1887-1888 and 1894-1896 as they believed they were unjustly accused and sentenced. During that time they committed several crimes. Despite this, both Turkish and Greek Cypriots regarded the Hasanbulli brothers positively as people fighting against the regime. Ten to fifteen years later, two epics in Turkish and Greek, plus various publications and works of art based on the event were written (see e.g. Kareklas 1938; Machlouzarides 1973; Gelen 1973; Ismailoglu; Islamoglu 1994; Serdar 1986; Yorgancioglu 1980: 100-102; Sayil 1988: 18; Fedai 1993: 1-7; Gökçeoglu 1993; Gürkan NA; Lyssarides 1995: 11; Bozkurt 1996: 59-64; 1998; Cahit 1997; Sadikoglu 1999: 34; 2000: 34). In these works the events were treated differently: Greek Cypriots depict the Hasanbullis as bandits while the Turkish appear to be brave heroes who rose against the British rule. The current article aims to analyse and discuss differences between these two approaches. THE CASE OF HASANBULLIS In May 1887, at a small village in the impoverished region of Paphos, where the Turks and Greeks live in mixed communities, a Turkish youngster Hasan Ahmet Bulli is unjustly accused of theft. False witnesses as well as his own quickness (which lead him to be nicknamed Bulli, 'bird' in Greek) play a role in the accusation. Once Hasan Ahmet Bulli is convicted, he arms himself and takes to the mountains. He wanders about in the mountains for 18 months, committing murders and fighting with the police. He is caught when he is sheltering at a house during a spell of malaria. He is sentenced to death but his punishment is then converted to life imprisonment. Six years later, in 1894, Ahmet Hasan Bulli's brothers Kaymakam and Hüseyin Ahmet Bulli take to the mountains when accused of committing a murder after one Greek Cypriot is killed in a Turkish- Greek fight over a woman. With others joining them, they form a powerful gang and continue their activities at the mountains until 1896. In the meantime, the elder brother Hasan escapes from prison to join his brothers, but he is shot dead. In 1896, one of the brothers, Hüseyin is killed at a confrontation with the police; Mehmet and other members of the gang are captured and executed by hanging. The Hasanbullis case considerably preoccupied the British administration in Cyprus and it eventually became a matter of prestige. It is obvious that both the Turkish and the Greek in Cyprus saw Hasanbullis as people who rose against the British administration: despite the fact that the British Colonial Regime offered rewards for their capture and enacted special legislation for it, and despite the security troops pursuing them and the use of hired informers, the Hasanbullis managed to live at the mountains for a long time. Unquestionably this was possible only thanks to people who protected, hid, supported, fed, and informed them of any danger. Source: Ethnic perspective in epics: The case of Hasan Bulliler., Ismail Bozkurt.
