He has set the bar at the top in terms of education… He has two bachelor’s degrees and two master’s degrees… He is one of the most successful officers of the Turkish Navy… Enough to be the chief of staff of the NATO task group in which the warships of 10 countries participated… He is a complete soldier… Enough to make the ships he commands sail with the Izmir Anthem and Atatürk’s favorite songs. Former military attaché…. Enough to represent Turkey at the highest level. Retired Naval Staff Colonel Cem Hasanoğlu… We meet on the second day of the Bursa Block Fair. Being from Izmir, we immediately hit it off. We listen to his story for a while and take his word to turn it into an interview. And finally, we sit at a table in Izmir, right next to the sea to which he dedicated his life, and press record. Here is Cem Hasanoğlu, the commander of the sea, the soldier of marble…
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Hasan ERCAZİP
Both officer and engineer
We first ask Hasanoğlu about his military career… He takes a deep breath and says, “I graduated from the Naval Academy in 1997 with two diplomas: one as a naval officer and the other as an electrical and electronics engineer. My first goal after school was to command a ship as soon as possible, and so it was. I started with the TCG Kozlu. In the third year of my career, I became Commodore Operations Officer. After 2000, I served as second-in-command on three different ships for eight years. Afterwards, I served as ship commander on the TCG Silifke and TCG Anamur for six years, and then as group commander in the Mine Fleet and chief of staff of the mine fleet…”
Military attaché days in Oslo
Cem Hasanoğlu set sail for another adventure after realizing his dreams one by one when he left the military academy. Between 2018 and 20, he served as the Military Attaché in Oslo, accredited to Iceland and Norway. As an attaché authorized to sign international agreements, he represented the Republic of Turkey at the highest military level. Upon his return to Turkey, he was appointed Commodore of the 1st Search and Scan Fleet, which was his last duty. He commanded the Aydın class minehunting ships, one of the best equipped flotillas in the world.
Stray Mine Hunt in the Bosphorus
It was during this period that he experienced one of his unforgettable memories… Colonel Cem tells the following story: “During my duty as Commodore, we encountered a rare problem in the history of naval warfare in the world. The mines dropped into the Black Sea off the coast of Odessa for the Russian-Ukrainian War broke free from the weight they were fixed on the seabed and became what the media calls ‘loose mines’ and we call ‘drifting mines’. On March 26, 2022, the first mine was seen in the Black Sea, in the waters close to the Bosphorus. The order came while I was having breakfast in the morning. That day, we started our mission by leaving the Bosphorus with the TCG Akçay. There was a great threat. A mine could hit a tanker, cause an environmental disaster, explode on the shore and kill people. As a matter of fact, a mine exploded on the shore in Georgia afterwards. Happily, we managed maritime security in the Black Sea very well together with all institutions of the state and we did not allow a single mine to enter the Bosphorus.”
‘We waltzed with two broken ribs’
“Norway is a cold country. In winter it is covered in ice. During a visit of 15 attachés, I fell and broke two ribs, even though I had spiked soles on my feet. However, the next day there was an attaché ball. This ball is a very important organization where the Republic of Turkey will be represented and Norwegian state and private sector officials will attend. My wife and I were supposed to host a table of 10 people from 4 different countries. 24 hours ago, I attended the ball with 2 broken ribs and even waltzed with my wife. We represented our country with dedication.”
‘On a cruise Seafarer anthems’
“On the ships I commanded, I issued written orders regarding the anthems to be played on board. It gave us strength to sail accompanied by sailor anthems, Izmir Anthem and Atatürk’s favorite songs.”
“I did an internship at the factory!”
Afterwards, a completely different period started in Hasanoğlu’s life… Retirement days… Cem Hasanoğlu describes those days as follows: “On the evening of August 29, 2022, I ceremoniously handed over my commodore regimental standard. My current partner Göktuğ Kalfa used to tell me about the marble world in our conversations before my retirement. But it never crossed my mind that one day I would enter this sector. About 10 days after my retirement, Göktuğ said, ‘Brother, if you want, we can do our business together. Think about it’. I don’t know the sector, I don’t know marble, but I’ve always been a fast learner throughout my life. That’s how Odin Marble was born. I did an internship in a factory for a while. I learned the production process and marketing from the arrival of the stone to the factory to its exit. I devoted myself to this business as a student, both in the quarry, the factory and the reading-based side of the business. And there is a tremendous difference between the point we started and the point I have reached.”
From ore to jewelry
So what does Odin Marble do? Mr. Cem explains these details in the finale as follows: “We opened our office in Bursa and started our work. My partner Göktuğ Kalfa is a business person who has stayed in China for 7 years, has a partnership in the quarry on Marmara Island and has been involved in the sector. His network in the sector and his command of raw materials and my network and ability to do business abroad complemented each other. Natural stone is an ore. And like all ores, it turns into jewelry when processed. The more we process this stone and add value to it, the more we contribute to the inflow of foreign currency into the country and the welfare of the country. Our starting goal is to export marble as processed. To buy it as a block, process it or buy it as a slab and sell it by cutting it to size.”
