WHERE IS THE RED APPLE?

Once upon a time, the phrase “To the Red Apple!” encouraged the soldier and unraveled the code of victory. But what was the Red Apple, and where was it?

The Red Apple is a symbol that represented the Turkish ideal of world dominion throughout history. The essence of this ideal was the spirit of ghaza (holy war), also known as iʿla-yi kalimatullah (exalting the word of God). This meant ensuring that the religion of Islam was heard everywhere. The Red Apple was an ideal known for centuries by the rulers, the army, and the people alike.

“The Place Where God Has Sent Me”

According to some, the Red Apple is a tangible symbol. Because of the golden ball said to belong to Jesus that was on the Byzantine throne or hanging from the dome of Hagia Sophia, or the golden orb in the hand of the statue of Emperor Justinian standing in front of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul was called the Red Apple. Just before the conquest, the orb had fallen and was never replaced; this was taken as a sign of Byzantium’s fall. Moreover, the emperor’s hand pointed toward the east, the land of the new conquerors.

After the conquest of Istanbul, Rome was considered the Red Apple because of the copper-colored dome of St. Peter’s Basilica belonging to the Papacy or the golden ball on its altar. Because of the hadith (saying of the Prophet Muhammad) about the conquest of Rome, Muslims had made it their goal to conquer Rome. For this reason, the expression Red Apple was used mostly for Rome. Sultan Bayezid I, when receiving congratulations for his accession to the throne, said to the foreigners who came: “I will go as far as Rome and feed my horse in the sanctuary of St. Peter.”

As time passed and conquests increased, the concept of the Red Apple also changed. Evliya Çelebi says that the Red Apple was the target of the ideal of world dominion and consisted of six famous Western Christian cities that were centers of Christianity. These were the cities in the conquest plans: Buda, where the Red Apple Palace was; Esztergom, where the Red Apple Church was; Székesfehérvár; Vienna, because of the St. Stephen’s Church with a golden ball hanging from its bell tower; and Cologne. The first three were Hungarian, while the latter two were the capital cities of the Austrian King. Upon the conquest of Buda, poems were written congratulating the sultan for capturing the Red Apple. 

Before establishing a state at the junction of three continents, the Ottomans had established this in their national conscience and in all their endeavors had moved toward the ever-receding borders of that great ideal. It was as if a map expanding from all sides was drawn around the motherland. All the great centers in different directions on this map in the hearts of people were called the Red Apple. In Ömer Seyfeddin’s story Kızıl Elma written in 1917, Sultan Suleiman I defined the Red Apple as “The place where God has sent me.” Indeed, this sultan would occasionally visit the barracks of the soldiers, drink their sherbet (a sweet drink), then fill their cups with money, and while leaving, say: “We will meet at the Red Apple.” The soldiers would respond: “We fire bullets at the jug, we strike the felt with swords, O my sultan, with you we march as far as the Red Apple.” Turkish poet Yahya Kemal, too, was enraptured by this ideal and said: “Ahmed Pasha set forth to Otranto in full tumult, if there are banners, they must go as far as the Red Apple.”

Red Color is the Color of Desire

The color red and the apple have deep meanings in ancient Turkish tradition. The apple expresses desire (murad). Turkish fairy tales end with “Three apples fell from the sky.” Red is also the color of desire, and in Turkish tradition many things are red. The flag is red. The bridal dress is red. The bed of the woman in childbed is red. Red is the color of the sun, which gives life and hope to the world with its rising each day. At sunrise and sunset it appears as a golden ball. Not only Gypsies, but the entire East is passionate about this color. Old weddings would begin with the flag raised from the groom’s house. A flag topped with a red apple would be erected at the bride’s house throughout the wedding, and then brought back to the groom’s house. The Red Apple also means the golden ball. For kızıl (red) was also used to refer to gold. Thus, by indicating the spoils of war, it aroused excitement and increased courage.

In Greek mythology, too, Atlas’s four daughters (the Hesperides) guarded the golden apple tree. The Golden Apple (sphere), as everywhere else, also expressed world dominion in Turkish mythology. It is also known and spoken of in folk culture.

In the Saltukname a campaign into the interior of Europe is described: “They came to a great city. On the door of a great church stood a golden ball. Then Sarı Saltuk asked: ‘What is this?’ They said: ‘This is called the Red Apple.’ He intended to bring down that great golden ball. Then Khidr came and said: ‘When the caliph of Prophet Muhammad comes, he will bring it down.’”

There is also a German legend: Close to the Day of Judgment, the Turks will reach as far as Cologne’s golden apple (golden Apfel) and tie their horses to the columns of the cathedral; but then they will all perish. This is called the Liechtenstein Prophecy. Even before the Asia Minor Catastrophe, some overzealous Greeks had said: “Let us exile the Turks out of Anatolia, as far as the Red Apple.”

From Dream to Disappointment

With the corruption of the Janissary Corps, the Red Apple turned into a disappointment. In the last period, in the concept of “New Nationalism” pioneered by Ziya Gökalp, the Red Apple now became the symbol of the “Turkish nation’s” world dominion. In his poem written in 1913 he said: “So this was indeed the Turk’s Red Apple / Thus spoke the law of Oghuz Khan.”

Throughout history, Turkish conquests had always been westward, but now the direction was Central Asia. In other words, it was meant: “The Red Apple is Turan.” Rivers that flow east are favorable, but cities always grow toward the west.