A Better Time; A Lost World

Michael Vatikiotis, the son of P.J. Vatikiotis, the distinguished chronicler, commentator and teacher at the beginning of the modern history of the Middle East has written a long overdue history about the Levantines, the remarkable people whose presence defined the Middle East of the 19th and 20th centuries. Sadly, they have almost disappeared. The Levantines dominated society in the Mediterranean Middle East, whether as advisors to monarchs, merchants, civil servants, or as men (and women) of letters and the salon, for the century that began with the building of the Suez Canal and ended with the Anglo-French debacle at Suez in 1956. The Levantines set the tone of what was once described as ‘polite society’ In Cairo, Damascus, Beirut, Jerusalem and, especially, Alexandria - the Queen of Cities. For all intents and purposes, their influential sojourn in the Levant has now become a rapidly fading memory. Michael Vatikiotis has set about memorializing their brief but brilliant appearance on the stage of this most ancient region.

He builds his story on a narrative that describes the journey of P. J. Vatikiotis, whose family has deep roots in the Middle East, through time and memory, reflecting on the region's intricate history and its impact on personal identity and global dynamics.

The tale begins with Vatikiotis' father's pocket watch, an heirloom that becomes a symbol of time's intrusion on the fluid, borderless coexistence that once characterized the Middle East. Vatikiotis admires the Ottoman tradition of allowing diverse communities to measure time in their own ways, reflective of their unique perspectives and lifecycles. This highlights a broader understanding of time as a state of being rather than a strict linear progression.

The narrative delves into Vatikiotis' journey through the ruins of the cosmopolitan world their family inhabited before fleeing. This journey is not just geographical but also temporal, as Vatikiotis navigates the complex history of the Middle East. His reflections and encounters evoke nostalgia for a bygone era, imagining the sounds of trams, old cars, and horse-drawn carriages that once filled the bustling city streets. This nostalgic exploration is anchored by Vatikiotis' father's Ottoman pocket watch, which serves as a tangible link between past and present.

Throughout the story, Vatikiotis contemplates the concept of identity. His diverse heritage—Arab, Italian, Jew, Greek—highlights the multifaceted nature of personal identity. This intricate background prompts Vatikiotis to question where he, and Levantines in general, truly belonged, and to embrace a multidimensional identity that defies singular categorization. His personal and familial experiences of discrimination and ethnic abuse underscore the complexities of belonging. Inextricably woven into this narrative is the theme of identity. The author's lineage encompasses an intricate fusion of Arab, Jewish, and Greek heritage, a complex tapestry of origin that defies easy categorization.

His own description of who he is tells the story best:

“I am neither a proper Jew, nor an observant Eastern Christian. People I know well smell the whiff of the Levant about me: a chronically malleable stance on everything; the way I assess the context of any question before giving an answer – these are classic Levantine characteristics. For the Levantine, outcomes invariably depend on circumstances. We never bet on a single option; we act the insider when we are really outsiders. Out of character, we are a bit lost and adrift. Far from worrying me, these characteristics constitute a lifeline to my heritage. I might have been satisfied with a conventional hyphenated identity – Greek and Italian, with a dash of Welsh. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Neither of my parents knew Greece or Italy until they were adults; my Greek grandparents arrived in Greece as refugees from Palestine! The superstructure of my identity was not just about where I came from but also when, how and why.”

This intricate background propels the author to question the notion of belonging and embrace a multidimensional identity that transcends conventional boundaries. The author candidly shares instances of suffering at the hands of authority, Ottoman, Egyptian, British or otherwise, illuminating the challenges and nuances that define the search for identity.

Vatikiotis notes that the history of his family in the Middle East straddled the spread of European thinking that nation-states and fixed national identities were the most natural expressions of the brotherhood of man. Others (he cites Camus) considered these ideas as laudable, Vatikiotis certainly does not. He sees the rise of nationalism and ethnic identity as a principal cause of the slaughter of the two world wars “that scarred the twentieth century.” He notes that at least for a time, his family benefited from the cosmopolitan ethos the Ottomans employed to govern their empire (no matter the bloody massacres that Ottoman governance so often required); a notion enshrined in the concept that non-Muslims who submitted to Muslim rule were protected and allowed to govern their own affairs as millets. However, by the dawn of the twentieth century, nationalist thinking imported from Europe had pried apart the different ethnic and religious components of the empire and endowed them with nationalist pretensions, thereby reversing the logic of cosmopolitanism that had been passed down from Alexander the Great.

The Middle East emerges as a complex historical and cultural tapestry. The text emphasizes the region's rich history of coexistence, blending cultures, languages, and traditions. Vatikiotis describes the Ottoman Empire's approach to governance as fostering diversity and allowing various communities to thrive. However, he blames the legacy of European imperialism and the rise of puritanical strains of Judaism and Islam for disrupting this equilibrium, leading to contemporary conflicts and displacement. This affection for the supposed cosmopolitan tolerance of the Ottoman Empire will strike a jarring note among the many peoples of the region, Arabs, Jews, Armenians and Greeks, who suffered Ottoman Turkish depredations, massacres and worse. He glosses over the massacres in Damascus in 1866 and the flight of Christians, Greeks, Armenians and Arabs, from Turkey to Syria in 1912.

The narrative does touch on the displacement caused by wars and conflicts in the region. Vatikiotis encounters refugees escaping the devastation of their homes and cities, mirroring the journeys of his own family members who sought refuge in the past. These experiences highlight the cyclical nature of displacement and the enduring impact of conflict on communities. The author's family experienced this transformation, moving from being prosperous Levantine merchants to being refugees displaced by conflict. He reflects on the loss of this complex identity and the scars left by wars and displacement. Despite personal struggles with identity, the journey through family history has provided a sense of connection, highlighting the value of understanding the past to address the challenges of the present. Despite the reviewer’s own misgivings about Ottoman rule, he finds that this dissonant note does not interfere with the vivid imagery, the very good history and the poignant personal stories that populate the book.

The author's inherited pocket watch symbolizes the intrusion of time on a once-fluid, borderless coexistence. The Ottoman tradition of allowing each community to live by its own calendar and measure time according to natural rhythms is admired. The author's journey through the ruins of their family's cosmopolitan past leads them to their mother's cousin, the last Sornaga in Egypt. As they hold her hands, they reflect on the world she grew up in, imagining the sounds of trams, old cars, and horse-drawn carriages. The author's father's Ottoman pocket watch ends the story as it began it, a thread connecting the past to the present.

In conclusion, the text offers a poignant exploration of Vatikiotis’ personal journey, their family's history, and the broader dynamics of the Middle East. The Ottoman pocket watch becomes a powerful symbol connecting different epochs and reflecting the complexities of time, identity, and cultural coexistence. Through memories, encounters, and reflections, Michael Vatikiotis underscores the importance of understanding history as we navigate the challenges of the present, and shape a more inclusive and tolerant future.