Top 10 tweets from Istanbul’s outgoing governor who ‘loved’ Gezi Park

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s Twittersphere is mourning the loss of one of its leading lights, following the reassignment of Istanbul Governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu, who has earned a reputation not only for ruthless police crackdowns but also for his poetic - and sometimes cryptic - tweets.

Mutlu was recalled to the central governor’s office in Ankara early on Sept. 16, replaced in Istanbul by Vasip Şahin, the former governor of Malatya.

The outgoing Istanbul governor has amassed almost one million Twitter followers, who he has regularly baffled with unusual tweets. His most controversial messages came during the police crackdown on the Gezi Park protests in the summer of 2013, but there were also times when he tweeted the lines of love poems or wrote in praise of death.

Here are 10 of Mutlu’s most popular, and baffling, tweets:


1) “Young people, I’ve heard there is a peaceful morning in Gezi Park with birdsong, the smell of linden and the sound of bees buzzing. Is it true? I’d so like to be there with you”


2) “Death is like a homecoming. Why should it fear those who can look into the depths of the land, the sky and the soul? I love you death”


3) “I was a three-year-old boy, playing in the garden. I suddenly wanted to drink milk, so I ran back home. I put on the brakes, I was miffed”


4) “I’ve heard that today is ‘World Star Wars Day.’ I wonder what this means. I salute those who use the Force for goodness”


5) (Replying to a Twitter user who said she wanted pop group One Direction to perform in Turkey) “Who is this One Direksiyon? Doesn’t he know the way to Turkey? We need to let somebody who knows the direction well pick him up”

6) (While commenting on a photo of the flash flood in Istanbul in June, Mutlu imitated the accent of a Laz captain, popularly featured in jokes from the Black Sea region) “It has been learned that Temel Reis is the brave captain who started to sail [through the Bosphorus] with a minibus. Bon voyage!”


7) (After his favorite football team Galatasaray scored a goal) 


8) (Just before a police crackdown during the Gezi protests) “There are provocative rumors that the police will intervene in Gezi Park tonight. Ignore these rumors. Good night”


9) (Again, just before a police intervention during Gezi) “Absolutely, there will not be any intervention against you in Gezi Park or in Taksim. You’re entrusted to our police brothers this morning and later” 


10) “Istanbul is flying! We broke the ground for the world’s largest airport with a capacity of 150 million passengers. Good luck, and good luck to [other cities] that may try to catch [Istanbul]”