Today’s Zaman reports: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan greeted Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday in a historic welcome ceremony involving 16 soldiers wearing ceremonial clothes and the “Resurrection Anthem,” a theme song of a TV serial featuring the establishment of the Ottoman Empire.

As Erdoğan walked to greet Aliyev, the presidency’s band played “Resurrection Anthem,” the theme song of the show “Diriliş-Ertuğrul” (Resurrection-Ertuğrul), which is about the establishment of the Ottoman Empire. The song is a slightly altered version of “Dombra,” a Turkish nationalist song that was used by Erdoğan in his campaign for the March 30, 2014, local elections.

Army soldiers stood on one side of the president while 16 soldiers dressed up in ceremonial clothes representing each of the 16 states established by Turkic people throughout history were standing on his other side. [Continue reading…]