To the Editor:

From the Greek TV channels, I saw and heard that the Europeans recognized and approved Turkish advertising on the internet, and not only that, calling for tourism to the Aegean. I will not hide from you that I felt bitterness and great concern, because this is how Skopje also began.

Little by little and in the end we end up sharing. They took the name (Macedonia) and we took History. But History without a name? A priest without a church? At least the Greek proverb vindicates us. (Some have the name, and others have the grace). The Aegean is Greek, and when you use a foreign name to advertise for your own interests, you either have to pay dearly for it, or at least you should ask if you can. Was Aegeus a Turk? Icarus? Homer? Pythagoras? A thousand maybes, and a thousand whys. Why are we silent? Why, when Aghia Sophia, the symbol of Orthodoxy, became a mosque, didn’t the bells from the smallest church to the Metropolis of Athens ring sadly at the same time? Why didn’t we see demonstrations, cries of despair, for the whole world to see and hear us everywhere, why? Why? If we destroyed a mosque in Greece, it would be a disaster in Turkey. I am very afraid that we unjustly buy planes and ships, and plenty of war material that even our great-grandchildren will be in debt for, and in the end war will again be fought with pencil and paper.

Naxiotis Lefteris Tsafos

Long Island, NY