Expat scholar embraces Turkish diversity

Joseph Sattler is an assistant at the History Faculty of Boğaziçi University who specializes in Ottoman history. He is also a violin player, reggae MC, speaker of many languages and lover of Istanbul.

Joseph Sattler was born in the university city of Heidelberg, Germany to a family of traveling scholars. His mother was a Chinese teacher and his father was a professor of sociology and philosophy. “Ours was a very international family,” he said, pointing out that they traveled often in his youth. However, he had not visited Turkey until 2005. He studied Turkish and Arabic after high school but focused on Middle Eastern history, while continuing his education in Freiburg. His interest in the Middle East stems from his interest in languages: “I learned English and French at school; a little bit of Italian from my family and from travel. So, I wasn’t interested in learning any more European languages. Most of them are similar. I wanted to learn very different languages.” He also speaks some Persian. To study Ottoman history, one definitely needs Turkish and Arabic, which comprise the fundamentals of the Ottoman language. “I can read Ottoman but I need a very big dictionary,” he said.

His second motivation to study the Middle East came from his love of history. “You study history by reflecting on your own history,” said Sattler. “I think of it as a Mediterranean idea. I have been to Greece and Italy before – all those countries in the Mediterranean world of which Turkey is a part – but at the same time, it is very different.” Despite centuries of conflict, Turkey and Europe share a common history that goes back from the Roman Empire to today. Sattler’s other point is that the history and culture of Turkey is not well known in Europe, although there are many Turks in Germany and other European countries. Apart from going on holiday in Antalya, people do not know much about the culture of the country, he said.

Turkey’s beauty is in diversity

Sattler went to Syria in 2004 before his first visit to Turkey, to work on his Arabic and continue studying history. In late 2005, Sattler was an ERASMUS student, part of a European exchange program, at Bosphorus University in Istanbul. After one year, he could not get enough of Istanbul and because he had just begun to learn Turkish, he decided to stay. “There was so much to see, so much to do. I wanted to see into the culture, see what the people were doing,” Sattler said. Having transferred to Boğaziçi full-time, Sattler is now an assistant in the history department and works on various projects, focusing mainly on Ottoman history. He is looking into many subjects: the history of minorities, Istanbul’s history over the last two hundred years and German immigration to Turkey in the 1930’s during World War II. Another is the history of the Levantines, people from the lands bordering the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. “They are almost forgotten and, in terms of history, hardly worked on by scholars. My idea is to bridge the gap between different historical materials,” Sattler said. Sattler looks into European sources and those produced by Europeans in Istanbul, such as at embassies, and brings them together with Ottoman sources. “What really fascinates me is the multilayered history of the city and Turkey, which you do not see in the official, nationalistic history. When you come to Istanbul, you feel that [the country] is diverse. You have so many people from different backgrounds and that can be traced back in history,” Sattler said.

Music from two worlds

Sattler is also a musician. “I have two musical interests that many people would consider very different. On one side, from my upbringing, I love classical music. I have played the violin since I was 5-years old. But the other is reggae. I play various music styles: electronic music, drum and bass, dubstep, dub, reggae and whatever is going on in Taksim.” He can speak with a Jamaican accent from the time he has spent in the country, which he employs both an MC and singer – sometimes at the same time. “The scene in Istanbul for this type of music is really small, but I want to continue. It is kind of a recreational thing for me to do on the weekends. I am the only reggae MC here in the city.” He enjoys watching the tiny audiences get bigger because he offers people something new. Most people in Turkey know nothing about Bob Marley and Jamaican music. However, Sattler also plays the violin and plays whenever he can: “Duos, just with piano, trios, chamber music… There is also a chamber orchestra being formed at Boğaziçi University. It is not a full-time thing though,” said Sattler, adding that he enjoys having the gift and does not want to lose it by getting out of practice. He wants to play the violin for the rest of his life.

Life in Istanbul and Boğaziçi University

Although Sattler is fluent in Turkish now, he had to seek a position at a university whose instructional language is English and he is glad that it was Boğaziçi. Istanbul is, of course, the best place to study Ottoman history. Sattler spends much of his time in the Ottoman archives, which he said are open to researchers, despite what is claimed in some circles: “You have to say on which topic you are working but they are open. You have to fill out a form, but they normally let you in." The archives have improved and gets increasingly organized as time passes, said Sattler. “You can find quite interesting stuff there; the Ottomans kept track of almost everything”.

Sattler lives in Arnavutköy. He loves the Bosphorus and its shores are his favorite locations in the city. Now that he no longer feels like a tourist, he enjoys every side of Istanbul, apart from the obvious attractions.  He has good relations with locals and enjoys daily life. “People are always wondering why I speak Turkish very well. I am always asked whether I am a German Turk,” said Sattler. He does not limit himself to the German community in Istanbul. Most of his social circle consists of Turks, because he does not have run-of-the-mill conversations about Turkey and always wants to jump directly into deeper aspects. He is not sure how long he will stay in Istanbul – maybe a year, maybe longer – but probably not forever. “Whenever happens, Istanbul will be hard to leave, I know,” he said.