Our Founder, Chuck Maki

American Military in Turkey began with an idea by Chuck Maki, who, in 1957 was a young man in the Air Force. Like most of us stationed in Turkey, his original assignment came as a surprise! Fresh out of military schooling, Chuck found himself headed to Karamursel. His beautifully illustrated, and very detailed story is found here.

Several decades after Chuck completed his Air Force enlistment, the World Wide Web came about and he wanted to be there to see if the Web wouldn't be a way to revive relationships with his friends stationed in Turkey years before. And it worked! He contacted people, asked if he could put their stories on a website, and after a vast amount of work, American Military in Turkey was born. For several years, the website thrived and new and interesting features were added, until the site became a mainstay for former Turkey-ites of all the military services.

Around 2002, though, Chuck found it difficult to maintain consistency in the site due to the unreliability of the web providers who hosted it, and, in frustration, he dropped the site from the Web.

Jan Claire,

The disappearance of the website didn't go unnoticed by those who had come to rely on it for renewing old acquaintances. One of those people who missed it was Jan Claire, a Navy guy stationed in Karamursel, Turkey from 1959 through 1961. Jan had worked at both WUSN and KTUS radio at "Mainsite" and knew many people - some of whom he's been in touch with ever since. Perhaps 300 of the people stationed at Karamursel are still in touch, having annual reunions.

Jan, as it happens, formerly stationed in Turkey in his younger years, was in the Internet provider business and wrote to Chuck asking where the website went. Chuck responded that he had gotten tired of dealing with web server providers and the time consumed in keeping new people coming to the website. So Jan asked if Chuck would like him to take it over. Chuck agreed, and even spent many sleepless nights bringing the website up to date, adding occurrences that had gone on in the interim down-time, and transferring large - no, huge - numbers of web files over to the current "MerhabaTurkey.com" servers. When the job was done, and MerhabaTurkey.com was safely in its new web server home. Many things about the site needed to be brought up to date, so immediately Jan began re-designing the site's 170-plus web pages, purchased the domain Merhabaturkey.com and re-wrote the code underlying each of the stories.. Many of those whose stories appear on the website were contacted to let them know the site was making a return and offering to update their stories with things remembered since they wrote their stories on the site.. And so, in January, 2003 the website reappeared as you view it today. Chuck Maki is still an ardent supporter of not only the nature of our website and his original idea, and furnishes information and updates on a regular basis.

There are future plans for the "AMIT" website. The ongoing process of contacting existing users has proven to be our most time-consuming venture. Email addresses change with the wind, people forget to keep us up to date on their new addresses and if their names are common they become difficult, if not impossible, to find. But their stories remain on the MerhabaTurkey.com website because their memories of their times are still valid. If you have changed email addresses, just click here to update it.

We are always actively soliciting new stories from those stationed at any time in Turkey, no matter which of the American armed forces they were representing. If this includes you, please contact us.

Additionally, we have been contacted now by several American-Turkish organizations, and people in Turkey who have seen, and enjoyed the site which has resulted in our page of links to sources of information. Most of us who came to appreciate the culture, the history, and the friendly people of Turkey, have regretted that we didn't do enough, while there, to create memories. Due to the depth of our contributors' recollections, there are now a large and growing number of students in Turkish high schools and universities visiting the site, contacting us, and making classroom use of the information here. We have been contacted by students and professors of anthropology, history, computer science, development sociology, economics, and even english. Turkey's literate people are legendary and soak up knowledge from thousands of sources. We are proud to be among them.

One constant has run through American Military in Turkey since Chuck Maki first wrote the initial code for the pages: it is really the website of the American Military in Turkey and the individuals who served in one of the most deeply fascinating countries on earth. Where else, in one country, can you study civilization from 6,000 years ago and at the same time visit the most modern facilities anywhere. Turkey gets it. They are committed caretakers to their historical relics while always pushing further and further in scientific and personal achievements.

It is our contributors' stories, observations, photographs and reflections on the time they spent serving your country in what initially was a "strange land" which then quickly morphed into "an incredible land." For many of us, what we learned in Turkey still inhabits our daily lives.

This website belongs to those who have contributed to its archive. We are a museum of comments, tales, documentation and photographs that will live on. We hope, if you were stationed in the U.S. military in Turkey, that you will contribute your story of life in Turkey!