The Italian village Moena has been living with Turkish customs since a janissary soldier called Balaban Hasan (Hasan the Sturdy) refuged there after the Second Siege of Vienna. This is a war and love story…
As described in the touching song for many Turks; there is a village far away, even if we don’t see it, we know it’s our village; There is really a village far away having many traces of Turkish customs. A small village on the mountainsides of the Italian Alps, Moena has been living for over 320 years based on Turkish culture and traditions. Let's get to know this interesting village...
A war and love story
The introduction of the Turkish culture to Moena, located on the Austrian border of the Italian Alps, is actually based on war and love. Hasan refuged to this moderate Italian village called Moena after days of walking in order not to be imprisoned by the Austrian soldiers after Ottoman Empire’s defeat in the Second Siege of Vienna. Hasan, aka Balaban (Sturdy), served in the intelligence of the Ottoman army, so he spoke Russian, German and Italian very well and this facilitated the cultural interaction between Moena and Balaban.
Balaban, having walked for days, wounded, starving and thirsty, was treated by the locals in Moena. The real story began at this very moment… Resurrected by the locals, Hasan fell in love with an Italian girl from Moena named Mariana! And it wouldn’t last long for Hasan, due to whose courage and curtesy, the locals loved him and called him “El Turco”, and Mariana to decide to get married. Getting married with the blessing of the locals and, so to say, marrying into Moena village, “El Turco” almost became a local.
Revolt started
El Turco, who was referred to as Balaban in the Janissary Strip because he is sturdy and fearless, related to the village and to the locals so much that he initiated a revolt against the high taxes demanded from the villagers from the German feudal lords in the region at that time. “El Turco”, defending the rights of the poor people of Moena against the ruthless lords, also taught them how to become a soldier and to defend their village against the looters. He told them that they need to fight bravely for their freedom, hence turned into a brave folk hero for the people of the village.
After El Turco…
Balaban lived in peace in his home in Moena until he passed away. After his death, the people of Moena grieved for days because their reason and assurance to survival and freedom, their ancestor, “El Turco” no more existed. There was only one thing to be done from that moment: to honor “El Turco” forever by eternizing him in every inch and custom of the village.
Well, one of the best examples of this loyalty is a popular tourist attraction Turkish festival every year in July in Moena village and called “La Turchina”. The festival, where the participants wear janissary uniforms, wave the Turkish flag and hear the janissary anthem all over, is very touching especially for the Turkish visitors in Moena. Also, in the village, there is a street named Türk Sokağı (Turkish Street) and are many busts of “El Turco” to whom the people of Moena owe their freedom.
How to get to Moena?
Although it is very close to the Austrian border, the shortest way to reach Moena is to fly to Zurich, Munich or Venice, then you can reach the village by renting a car from there and passing through pleasant roads. You can also search for tour buses from cities such as Rome and Milan to Moena. You should absolutely visit Moena if you’re interested in seeing all those amiable people referring to their village as “our Turkey” even though they can’t speak Turkish and in seeing the Turkish flag waving in a different territory.
The photos are taken from www.worldbulletin.net and www.lassa.com
