Ambassador Nuh Yılmaz criticizes Republican-era policies

Nuh Yılmaz, Turkey’s Ambassador to Damascus, has criticized certain practices from the Republican era during an interview with Al Jazeera. Yılmaz stated that many shared cultural values and traditions that were lost in Turkey continue to live on in Damascus.

He specifically highlighted the preservation of religious and musical traditions, noting that the style of the call to prayer at the Umayyad Mosque mirrors practices once common in the Ottoman era but diminished in Turkey during the Republican period. Yılmaz also referenced the closure of dervish lodges (tekkes) and zawiyas, noting that traditions such as Mevlevism were forced to move to places like Aleppo after being suppressed in Turkey.

Additionally, Yılmaz discussed the 1971 coup attempt in Turkey led by Cemal Madanoğlu, drawing parallels to Ba'athism. He suggested that Ba'athism, which originated in Syria, found a version of itself in secular Turkish nationalism, but noted that the 1971 movement was ultimately purged from Turkish political life.