Blue Anatolianism: An Alternative National Identity Vision for Turkey

For decades, the discussion of Turkish national identity has been trapped in a binary straitjacket. On one side lies the secular, Western-looking vision of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, which sees Turkey as a modern bridge to Europe. On the other lies a conservative, Ottoman-Islamic vision, which looks East to the Muslim world for its cultural and political bearings. Caught in this enduring tug-of-war, Turkey's search for its "soul" has often felt like a zero-sum game between tradition and modernity.

But what if there was a third way? What if the roots of Turkish identity were neither in a break from the Ottoman past nor solely in Islamic heritage, but in the very soil of Anatolia itself? This is the provocative and humanistic vision offered by Blue Anatolianism ("Mavi Anadoluculuk"). It is an alternative imagination of national identity that seeks to transcend political polarization by anchoring the nation's spirit in the deep, layered history of the land it inhabits.

This vision, born in the mid-20th century among a small circle of intellectuals, proposes that modern Turkey is not just the heir to the Seljuk and Ottoman empires, but the direct descendant of all the civilizations that have flourished in Anatolia—from the Hittites and Phrygians to the ancient Greeks and Byzantines. It is a radical, inclusive, and deeply cosmopolitan idea that is ripe for rediscovery in today's fractured political climate.

BEYOND EAST AND WEST: BLUE ANATOLIANISM AND THE SEARCH FOR TURKEY'S SOUL

The Crew of the "Blue Voyage": The Founders of a Movement

Blue Anatolianism is not the product of a political party or a state ideology, but rather the brainchild of a small, passionate group of Turkish humanist intellectuals. The movement's core trio consisted of the novelist and ethnographer Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı (known famously as the "Fisherman of Halicarnassus"), the essayist and literary critic Sabahattin Eyüboğlu, and the poet and translator Azra Erhat.

The movement’s genesis is as romantic as its philosophy. It was born not in a university lecture hall, but on the decks of small fishing boats cruising the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts in the years following World War II. Cevat Şakir, who had spent years in exile in Bodrum (the ancient Halicarnassus), fell in love with the region's rugged beauty and its layers of history. He began leading semi-regular sea voyages, inviting friends and fellow intellectuals to join him. These were the first "Blue Voyages" ("Mavi Yolculuklar").

Blue Voyage Adventure in Turkey: From Antalya to Bodrum - Sailing the Turquoise Coast

Aboard these ships, surrounded by the "wine-dark sea" of Homer and the ruins of ancient cities dotting the coastline, a new idea was born. As they swam in the same waters as the ancients and walked the same stones, Kabaağaçlı, Eyüboğlu, and Erhat began to articulate a powerful thesis: this land, Anatolia, was not just a bridge between East and West, but the very cradle of what we call Western civilization . The Blue Voyage was more than a holiday; it was a pilgrimage, a ritual of re-discovery that connected them physically and spiritually to the land's deep past.

The Core Thesis: Claiming the Roots of the West

At its heart, the Blue Anatolianist thesis is a daring act of historical reclamation. The movement's thinkers argued against the dominant European narrative that saw the roots of Western civilization—its philosophy, democracy, and art—as solely the product of ancient Greece and Rome. Instead, they made a radical claim: the seeds of the modern age were laid in Anatolia.

They pointed out that many of the pre-Socratic philosophers, the pioneers of Western thought, were not from mainland Greece, but from Anatolia. Thales, Anaximander, and Heraclitus all lived and worked in Miletus and Ephesus, cities on the Aegean coast of Turkey. Homer, the foundational poet of Western literature, is also widely believed to have lived in Smyrna (modern-day İzmir). For the Blue Anatolianists, these were not "Greek" figures who happened to live in Asia Minor; they were Anatolian figures, products of the unique cultural and geographical synthesis of the peninsula.

This perspective leads to the movement's most provocative claim. By placing the origins of Hellenic and later Western civilization in Anatolia, the Blue Anatolianists argue that the people of modern Turkey are not merely imitators of a foreign Western culture, but its "real owners". This reframes Turkey's relationship with the West. It is no longer a relationship of an apprentice trying to emulate a master, but of an heir seeking to reclaim a lost inheritance. As one analysis puts it, they "creatively include the West in their perception of Turkishness," not by becoming Western, but by proving they were always part of its foundational story.

A Humanism Rooted in the Soil

This historical thesis is built upon a deeper philosophical foundation: a unique form of humanism. The Blue Anatolianists were not interested in creating a new form of ethnic nationalism. On the contrary, they were staunchly opposed to ethnic exclusivity. Instead, they championed the concept of the "people" ("halk"), placing it in a more inclusive position than the "nation" ("millet") or the Islamic "ummah".

Their humanism was rooted in what they called the "Dionysiac spirit" of Anatolia—a life-affirming, passionate, and holistic worldview that they believed was native to the land. They saw this spirit as a common thread running through the Phrygian mother goddess Cybele, the worship of Dionysus, the poetry of the troubadours, and even the folk Islam of Anatolian villagers. This synthesis, they believed, created a distinct "Anatolian identity" that transcended differences of religion, language, or race.

Sabahattin Eyüboğlu, the most activist of the trio, sought to put this theory into practice. He believed that a "Turkish-type Renaissance" could be sparked by translating the great classics of Western literature into Turkish, not as foreign works, but as part of Turkey's own cultural heritage. Azra Erhat dedicated her life to this scholarly endeavor, producing translations and academic studies that aimed to weave the threads of Anatolian mythology and history into the fabric of modern Turkish consciousness. Their goal was to foster a modern, free, and self-confident community, rooted in the cultural and historical integrity of its homeland.

A Missed Voyage: Why Blue Anatolianism Remained on the Margins

Despite its intellectual elegance and humanistic appeal, Blue Anatolianism never became a mainstream ideology. It remained confined to a small intellectual circle, failing to take root in the broader society. Why did this promising "third way" fail to capture the national imagination?

The answer lies in the turbulent political history of 20th-century Turkey. The movement's heyday in the 1950s and 60s was quickly overtaken by the intense polarization of the Cold War.

1. The Left-Right Divide In the 1960s and 1970s, Turkish politics became a battleground between leftist and rightist factions. The Blue Anatolianists, with their emphasis on the "people" and a secular, pre-Islamic heritage, were often (somewhat superficially) associated with the left. This immediately made them suspect in the eyes of conservative and nationalist circles.
2. The Rise of the Nationalist-Conservative Synthesis The final blow came after the 1980 military coup. The junta, seeking an ideological antidote to socialism, actively promoted a new synthesis of Turkish nationalism and Islam. This official ideology emphasized the glory of the Seljuk and Ottoman past and the unifying power of Islam, effectively erasing the pre-Turkic, pagan, and Greek-rooted heritage that the Blue Anatolianists held so dear. In this new political climate, their ideas were not just irrelevant, but potentially subversive.

The movement's deeply intellectual and secular humanism simply could not compete with the powerful, identity-based politics of the left-right conflict and the subsequent rise of political Islam and nationalist sentiment.

The Contemporary Promise: A Cure for Polarization?

Today, Turkey is more polarized than ever. The identity debate is no longer just a theoretical exercise; it is a visceral political reality that divides families, communities, and the nation itself. The Justice and Development Party's (AKP) vision, particularly after 2010, has heavily emphasized Islamic culture and the geopolitical space of the Ottoman Empire, explicitly distancing itself from the West as a source of progress and civilization.

It is in this context of deep social and identity-based conflict that revisiting Blue Anatolianism holds immense promise. The movement offers a vision that fundamentally deconstructs the current axes of polarization:

• Against the East-West Binary Blue Anatolianism renders the East-West debate meaningless. If the West's roots are in Anatolia, and Anatolia's heritage is inseparable from the West, then the choice is a false one.
• Inclusive, Not Exclusive It offers an identity based on shared geography and a shared, multi-layered past, rather than on a single ethnicity (Turkish) or religion (Islam). It is a vision that can theoretically include Kurds, Alevis, Christians, and secularists, all as inheritors of the same land.
• Confidence Without Confrontation It allows for a proud, confident national identity that does not define itself in opposition to the West. It is not a "counter-hegemonic" measure, but a claim to co-ownership of a shared civilization.

However, the movement also has its critics. Some have pointed out that in its eagerness to connect with the ancient past, it tends to "skip over" the long Seljuk and Ottoman periods, creating an awkward gap in its historical narrative. Others have challenged its thesis from a nationalist perspective, arguing that its claims about the formation of culture are factually wrong. Furthermore, in seeking to claim the roots of Western civilization, it arguably remains trapped within a civilization-centric discourse, simply trying to shift its center of gravity.

Conclusion: A Sea of Possibilities

Blue Anatolianism is more than a dusty footnote in Turkish intellectual history. It is a testament to a different kind of dream for Turkey—a dream that is cosmopolitan, humanist, and deeply rooted in the physical beauty and layered history of Anatolia. It is the vision of a nation at peace with its past and confident in its place in the world, not as a bridge between civilizations, but as one of their fountainheads.

While it may have missed its moment in the 20th century, its ideas float like driftwood on the contemporary political sea, waiting to be gathered. As Turkey navigates the stormy waters of the 21st century, the Blue Anatolianist vision offers a different kind of compass. It points not towards a future of endless culture wars, but towards a horizon where the people of this ancient land might finally see themselves reflected in the rich, complex, and beautiful mosaic of their shared history. The Blue Voyage, it seems, may not be over yet.