"Having entered World Warl alongside Germany the Ottoman Empire was stuck between Edirne in the West Anatolia in the East, and Hejaz in the South." "Under pressure from Germany, the 3rd Army consisting of 123,000 personnel embarked on an offensive against Russia on the Eastern front in midwinter without sufficient military preparation." "The battle, which went down in history as "Operation Sarikamis" left 90,000 soldiers dead." "THE LONG WAY HOME" "Come on!" "Come on boy, hang on!" "Come on boy!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Come on boy!" "Try a little harder!" "Come on!" "Come on boy!" "A bit harder!" "Come on, my boy!" "Well done, boy!" "Come on..." "We'll need to walk the rest of the way..." "Nihan!" "Come on!" "Come on, dear!" "Here, hold my hand!" "Mum, let's stop!" "You're too sweaty." "If we stop, the sweat on your back will freeze." "Follow my footsteps." "Mum, it hurts!" "Come here, I'll carry you." "Do you think they are aware of our situation?" "Definitely." "Your husband Sýtký Bey has contacted the Russian officials in person." "He's been assured of the immediate transport of you and your family to Ýstanbul." "So they know that we're on our way." "They only know that we're on our way, Saci Bey..." "Do they know where we are as well?" "Don't worry, Gül haným." "You've been entrusted to me." "We have to set off before dark." "Let's go." "Come on." "We need to find a safe place to stay the night." "Come in, it's safe here." "I'lllight a fire." "Nihan?" " Nihan!" " I'm here." "Come here." " Stay by my side, alright?" " I will." "How is Nihan?" "She's just fallen asleep." "Do you know where we are?" "I don't know precisely." "It might be an Armenian village." "Is it not on the map?" "It's too small;" "It's only normal that it isn't." "But we should wait here for a few days." "We can't keep going under these conditions." "Are you from this village?" "No, sir, I'm from the village of Bardýz;" "On the other side of the mountain." "What is your name?" "I'm Ali, the shepherd." "And this is Zeynep, from ourvillage." "What happened here?" "Well, sir..." "We were afraid when we heard of what the Russians did in Ardahan." "We abandoned the village two days ago, with twenty families." "The snowstorm broke while we were on the mountain." "We lost sight of each other." "What was left of us barely made it to this Armenian village." "The infidels have abandoned this place when the war broke." "As we entered the village, we saw the Ottoman soldiers." "They were miserable, I swear." "They said they were coming from Sarikamis." "And then last night, the Russians raided in." "The fighting went on until morning." "It took quite a while." "Then, the Russians set the village on fire..." "And we took shelter in the cellar, as they might still be here." "Do you know the name of the soldier?" "I don't, sir." "But I know he's an officer." "The soldiers hid him in the cellar when he got wounded." "What if the Russians come back?" "Is it right for us to stay here?" "This place isn't even on the map!" "We don't even know where we are." "Gül haným, the Russians must still be around." "We might encounter them on the way." "Let's wait a day or two." "Come on, take a rest;" "We'll take a look around tomorrow in daylight." "Sir, we haven't eaten a single bite in two days." "Do you have something to eat?" "We don't." "We need to make do until the army arrives." "Thank you, dear." "Saci bey..." "What will we do?" "Sir..." "I know a hidden path." "In summer, I take the cattle up to the plateau on that path." "It's barely a man-wide." "No army can pass through it." "Neither the Russians, nor our troops know about it." "We can reach the road to Erzurum if we go down that path." "Can you find it in this weather?" "What if it's blocked?" "Don't worry sir, I can." "That's too dangerous." "I think we should wait another day or two." "As you wish, sir." "But surely I can find it." "Nobody knows this area better than I do, sir." "What is that?" "You've been stealing from us all!" "What can I do?" "I need to have the strength." "I do work." " Who is going to do it;" "The lady?" "The sir?" " Does the sir or the lady not do work?" "Do I not?" "You should be ashamed!" "Don't start bragging just because the lady gave you a pair of gloves." "If you want to get out of here alive, here, eat it." "Get some strength." "Serve a purpose." "Otherwise they won't have mercy on us." "It's been five days, and nobody came." "They should've arrived by now." "It will take them a week to get here under this weather." " They'll arrive any day now." " What if they don't come?" "They definitely will." "We are in war in Ottoman territory." "What if they believe we're dead?" "Even if they think we're dead, they'll come to make sure." "How is his situation?" "It's a miracle that he's still alive." "They're here, sir!" "Two people are coming down the hill, sir!" "All this white..." "It burns the eyes..." "Are you with the 3rd Army?" "9th Corps, 28th Division." "Corporal Sami." "And this is Private Mahmut." "Where are the others?" "They're dead." "We're in Russian territory now." "Sir, let's leave right now." "If you listen to me, we'll be in Erzurum in less than 3 or4 days." "Ali is right." "Nobody is going to come." "We're on our own." "Keep calm." "If we set off in this weather we'll freeze to death." "And what are we to eat on the way?" "We have to think." "We need to make a plan." " We can't go without preparation." " Prepare with what?" " You know how little we have in our hands." " Not this way!" "Maybe it will be faster if we take Ali's path." " And Nihan can make it too." " I know the way." "It will take 3 or4 days at most." "Saci bey, make up your mind." "Gül haným, do you not understand?" "We can't just leave." "We need to prepare." " What shall we do, then?" " We'll stay alive." "No matter what, we'll stay alive." "I hope you haven't misunderstood me." "It's not myself that I'm worried about..." "But she's just a little girl." "She can't survive the conditions." "What will happen when we run out of food?" "Every minute we spend here is to her detriment." "I understand you very well, Gül haným." "In the war against Russians in '77, I was a young lieutenant." "I was very ambitious;" "I wanted to be a hero." "The only thing I feared was that the war might be over before I arrived in the front." "In a time of harsh weatherlike this I put a battalion of soldiers on the road without proper preparations." "Most of them froze to death on the way." "But even at times one can't foresee the consequences of one's decisions one always pays the price." "Believe me;" "It's you I'm worried about." "How did it happen?" "The bullet went in through his left cheek." "It ripped off half of his tongue." "It went out through the other side, piercing his cheekbone." "It was pitch black in the night." "Our commander tried to stitch him up by the light of a lantern." "But in the frigid frost.." "...the scissors and the scalpel stuck to his hands." "The skin of his fingers was lifting as he operated on him." "Alright, dear..." "You're doing wrong." "Don't waste the food on him." "The soldier will be dead in a few days." "What should we do?" "Leave him to die?" "Give it to the girl instead." "Maybe she'll have a chance to live." "We need to bury him properly." "I can't, sir." "I've lost all strength." "We'll do it." "They ran away." "We too should've left when we had the strength..." "Where did you find it?" "We found a frozen horse right outside the village." "Sir, the weather is fine." "We can get on the way." "Not yet." "Why not?" "We've put everything together as you said." "It's been a week!" "It's not done yet." "Only a few little things are missing." " Let's leave, now that the weather is good." " He's right, Saci bey." "We have enough food for a day or two." "We can consume it on the way." "Let's wait one more day." "Let's make sure we have all we need." "Nihan!" "Saci bey!" "Ali!" "It's over, dear..." "Mahmut..." "I saw Mahmut by the door." "I went in, and her hands and feet were tied up." "You rapist dog!" "Let him go!" "I said let him go!" "I'll shoot you if you don't!" "Let him go." "How could you do this to the little girl, you bastard!" "It's not like you think." "Put that gun down!" "I'll have you court-martialed!" "You'll be hung!" "You're a coward of a man..." "You can't get out of here alive." "You're doing wrong..." "My dear..." "What happened?" "That house down there..." "That house down there..." "That house down there..." "We're leaving!" "Get going..." "Get going!" "The bandits!" "The bandits!" "Run!" "Run!" "Come on!" "Quick!" "Run, run!" "Run away!" "Run!" "Faster!" "Run away!" "Run!" "Sir!" "Sir!" "Where are the others?" "We found a cave up ahead." "We were hiding there." "Come on!" "Watch out, sir..." "Mum..." "I'm so cold..." "Hang on..." "We're almost in Erzurum." "You're a strong girl." "We need to leave;" "No time to lose." "I'll go and get the sledge and the supplies." "What about the bandits?" " They must have left." " Are you sure?" "What if they're waiting there?" "We can't find our way without the map." "And without a tent, we'll freeze to death in the cold." "I'm coming with you, sir." "No, you stay here." "How will you drag it on your own?" " We'd be back in half an hour." " Don't be stubborn, Saci bey." "You'll be back sooner if you go together." "Stop!" "The map isn't here!" "You get the sledge and go back." "I'll go after them." "Sir, let them go, for God's sake..." "Come on!" "Ali!" "Ali!" "Ali!" "Don't be afraid..." "Don't be afraid..." "Zeynep..." "Zeynep?" "We're going..." "Nihan..." "Nihan..." "Get up, dear." "Zeynep!" "Zeynep!" "Sister..." "Don't leave me by myself in here, sister..." "The child..." "Is she alive?" "I want to get back home..." "I just want to get back home..." "Kemal..." "If it's cold, I'll heat it up for you..." "Let me bring you something else, if you like?" "I'm not hungry." "Kemal..." "You don't play with food." "Come on, let me put you to bed..." "Kemal..." "Sit down, son..." "Look, son..." "You've grown up to be a man." "If one day I'm not here, take good care of your mother..." "Dad, are you going somewhere?" "I'm going to town to work, for you." "You'll be staying with your uncle untill get back." "Don't worry." "Never disobey your uncle." "And don't upset your mother." "When will you come back, dad?" "Soon." "Don't you disappoint me, my son..." "Come on, go to bed..." "What's the matter, Sami?" "I've been drafted." "I'm going to the front tomorrow." "I talked to my brother..." "Untill'm back, you and Kemal will be staying with him." "The headman owes me five akçe from the last crop." "You can get by on it untill'm back." "I told Kemal that I'm going to town to work." "Let him know it that way." "Don't cry..." "Don't cry..." "I'll come back." "I promise you;" "No matter what, I'll come back." "Brother, give us some water..." "Can I sit down?" "Where do you come from?" "Gökova." "I come from Keþan." "Are you married, brother?" "You have kids?" "I have a son." "You?" "No." "But surely they'll marry me to a girl when I get back!" "What's your name?" " Sami." " I'm Mahmut." "No, I don't smoke." "It gets stuck sometimes..." "So what about this?" "That's all that my fatherleft me." "If one day I have a son after the war, I'll give it to him." " Where are we going, brother?" " Sarikamis, they say..." "Where is that?" "Some place in the East..." "I just want to get back home..." "IN MEMORY OF BURHANETTÝN EÞELÝ-1893-1937" "THE LONG WAY HOME SARIKAMIÞ 1915"