laststandonzombieisland

Back after 1919 when the victorious Western Allies carved up the old Ottoman Empire, they allowed the new Turkish republic a small bone. The memorial to Suleyman Shah, grandfather of Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Empire was left in what was then the French territory of Syria. Located near Qal’at Ja’bar, Article 9 of the 1921 Treaty of Ankara  signed between France and Turkey, the site of the tomb is sovereign Turkish territory. A small contingent (less than a platoon) of Turk Army soldiers was allowed to garrison the sacred mausoleum. France held onto Syria for a few decades until it became independent after another World War. Syria allowed the Turks  to stay and they do to this day. When the area where the tomb was located was flooded by Lake Assad, the reservoir of the Tabqa Dam, the tomb was moved to a new location north of Qal’at Ja’bar.

Now the tomb and the small almost forgotten garrison may be a new focal point in the Syrian crisis.