Osman Şenkul
In the 7th century BC, just as Crete was a centre of civilisation among the two major islands south of the Aegean Sea, Rhodes was the main stronghold of pirates; for centuries, the island struck fear into the hearts of sailors with its pirates. Although piracy was brought somewhat under control after the Knights of Rhodes (later the Knights of Malta) seized the island in the 14th century, significant attacks on merchant ships still occurred from time to time.
There was no major settlement on Rhodes. The large harbour where the modern town of Rhodes stands, and the surrounding area, consisted mainly of shelters for those engaged in shipbuilding and those providing logistical support to the pirates. Behind the harbour, in the island’s interior, there were small villages where pirates and families engaged in agricultural production and livestock farming lived. Although almost everyone knew that the pirates were from Rhodes, the fact that the attacks were carried out far from the island and that it was never used as a refuge ensured that the homeland remained safe at all times.
The Rhodian pirates launched their attacks on merchant fleets not from this vast island, but from bases on smaller, uninhabited islands or in tiny, secluded coves on the mainland; the booty was first accumulated in these remote centres and then transported to Rhodes. Just as the central authorities of the Greeks and Phoenicians established colonies, the pirates too established their own colonies to set up such attack bases; in other words, piracy conducted using a sort of ‘hit-and-run’ tactic required hideouts far from the centre.
Indeed, the founding of the city of Phaselis was the product of such colonisation. Phaselis is an ancient city and archaeological site near present-day Kemer, Antalya, serving as an open-air museum. One of Phaselis’s most notable features is that it is the oldest city to have possessed three harbours. The best-preserved of these was used for military purposes, whilst the largest served commercial purposes. The smallest harbour, meanwhile, served as a shelter for small fishing and transport boats.
Alongside these harbours, which are still standing, the ‘monument’ clearly demonstrating that Hadrian—who had a ‘gate’ named after him erected wherever he went—did not neglect Phaselis also remains standing. Furthermore, Phaselis still boasts a theatre large enough to accommodate virtually every resident and visitor, as well as an agora where needs such as shopping, meetings, walks and conversation were met—both of which remain in use to this day.
The golden age of the pirates lasted until the late Ottoman period, when they plundered Mediterranean trade fleets with ships made from the massive cedar trees of Palestine and Lebanon (the cedar remains the symbol of the Lebanese flag). Following Pericles’ rise to power in Athens, the practice of dispatching one or more warships alongside merchant fleets began, which also spurred the pirates’ colonisation. Once the protection of merchant ships began, the pirates either failed in their endeavours or, even if they managed to plunder the merchant fleets, were captured before reaching the nearest safe haven.
In light of these developments, the pirates began searching for coves in Southern Anatolia that could serve as safe havens. During these searches, they discovered this region comprising three coves, where the city of Phaselis was later founded. Viewed from the open sea, this region certainly did not reveal the ships sheltering in its bays; moreover, due to the forested Western Taurus Mountains behind it, it offered a secure position from land as well. This greatly appealed to the Rhodian pirates, and they immediately decided to settle here and establish a base.
However, when the pirates set foot on land, they realised that the situation was by no means as straightforward as they had imagined. For no sooner had they stepped ashore than an Anatolian shepherd stood in their way. Claiming to be the owner of the entire region, the shepherd declared that he would not permit the pirates to settle there.
Upon assessing the situation, the pirates concluded that they could not resolve the matter by killing the shepherd and seizing the area. Such an action would lead to the local tribes joining forces with their enemies at sea. As this situation was far from ideal for the pirates, who were complete novices in land warfare, they decided to resolve the issue through peaceful means.
Returning to land, the pirate delegation asked the shepherd to sell the area to them. As there was no currency in circulation at the time, the pirates offered the salted fish they had in abundance on their ships—which they used to meet their dietary needs during long voyages—in exchange for the vast forested coves. The shepherd, whose trade was raising goats and sheep, agreed to accept the salted fish; whereupon a fierce haggling began between the shepherd and the pirates, and eventually an agreement was reached on a specific quantity.
The shepherd, having received the fish that the pirates had unloaded and handed over, took his animals and abandoned the area to them. The pirates, delighted to have secured the area in exchange for what they considered a small amount of fish, remarked, “We have acquired a ‘salted’ haven—meaning ‘very cheap’.” However, the agreed quantity of salted fish was, in the shepherd’s view, a “good price”. Consequently, the word ‘salty’—which meant ‘very cheap’ to the pirates—represented ‘very expensive’ from the shepherd’s perspective.
For this reason, this phrase spread from the founding of Phaselis to the islands—primarily Rhodes and Crete—as well as first to Southern Anatolia and later to all of Anatolia.
However, as there are two sides to every transaction, relativity naturally came into play here; since the agreed quantity of fish represented “cheap” for the Rhodian pirates, the phrase “came at a high price” came to be used on the islands to indicate the cheapness of something. Meanwhile, the shepherd had spread the word that he had sold his useless sheep to the rest of Anatolia at a very high price. Consequently, on the Anatolian side, the phrase “tuzluya patladı”, which has persisted to this day, came to be used to mean “very expensive”.
Looking at the same region nine centuries later, we see that the landscape has not changed much; in Turkey—where the Anatolian shepherd who believed he had sold Phaselis “at a steep price” now lives, and which is rapidly heading towards the “World Championship in Food Inflation”—as well as for those living in Greece across the water, we see that prices are “quite steep”. At a time when Turkey has reached third place in the world with an annual food inflation rate exceeding 39 per cent—as measured by TÜİK—the annual food inflation rate in Greece, on the other side of the water, stands at 5.20 per cent, as measured by European Union rules:
- On one side, millions who are wondering what to cook for dinner due to exorbitant prices and whose development is stunted due to malnutrition,
- On the other side, the descendants of pirates who can consume their favourite food products without a hitch, despite the “exorbitant” prices.
The two countries on either side of seas where piracy has not been seen for many years are among those closest to the war that has been raging for over a month. Consequently, the fact that the war is taking place in the world’s most critical energy regions concerns these two neighbours as closely as it does many other countries; because fuel prices, which have a significant impact particularly on agriculture, are rising at an unprecedented rate.
In particular, on the Turkish side, diesel prices—which stood at around 55–60 lira before the war—have now reached the 90-lira mark, having risen by approximately 50 per cent despite the application of the escalator mechanism. In particular, diesel price hikes are driving up costs at exorbitant rates during the sowing, harvesting and transport phases, leaving producers in a difficult position; consequently, a contraction in agricultural production, an increase in farmers’ debt burdens and significant rises in food prices are accelerating Turkey’s march towards becoming the world champion in food inflation.
However, looking across the water, the government has launched an incentive scheme called the “Fuel Pass” aimed at citizens with low and middle incomes. Individuals can receive 60 euros in support. Incentive payments are made via a digital card or bank transfer. The support, set at 60 euros for cars, is 40 euros for motorcycles.
Farmers in Greece can also purchase diesel at a reduced rate; when filling up a farm tractor’s tank at a petrol station, a direct discount of 0.51 euros per litre is applied; thus, diesel, which costs 1.50 euros per litre, drops to approximately 0.99 euros with this support.
More importantly, as part of a 300 million euro support package announced by the Greek government to mitigate the impact of rising fuel prices, farmers will see not only fuel subsidies but also a significant reduction in fertiliser costs. Meanwhile, in Spain, another EU member state, the government reduced the Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel from 21 per cent to 10 per cent via a decree that came into force on 22 March. In Poland, VAT on fuel has been reduced from 23 per cent to 8 per cent. In Italy, a tax reduction of 25 cents per litre is being applied to fuel. The French government has also announced that a state subsidy of 20 cents per litre will be provided for workers in the transport, fishing and agriculture sectors. In Ireland, taxes on petrol and diesel have been reduced, whilst Slovenia has introduced daily purchase limits to control fuel demand. In Serbia, price caps have been imposed on fuel, whilst tax cuts have also come into effect.In Turkey, however, the sector-specific support measures being implemented in many countries – and which are particularly prominent in agriculture – are not very evident here; after all, we are on our way to becoming ‘world champions’.