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ALIYE F. MATARACI<br />
Region<br />
Location<br />
Ethno-religious<br />
characteristics<br />
Number of<br />
collaborators<br />
Alexandretta Armenian 1<br />
Tunisia Muslim 1<br />
Tripoli Christian-Arab 1<br />
Jaffa Jewish 1<br />
Isparta Muslim 1<br />
Damascus Christian-Arab 1<br />
Aleppo Christian-Arab 1<br />
Baghdad Muslim 2<br />
East Anatolia Gürün Muslim 1<br />
Erzurum Muslim 2<br />
Malatya Muslim 1<br />
Table 3 also shows that beyond their immediate environment, the brothers preferred<br />
to work with a limited number of collaborators; when it came to closer locations, however,<br />
they did not feel the need to limit the number of collaborators, as they knew them<br />
personally and were able to reach them in case of need. The rationale behind this is revealed<br />
in one of the letters where İlyas, the middle brother in Istanbul, advises his<br />
younger brother in Manchester, Cemil, how to establish new business contacts.<br />
…In case a letter is written to a region, it should be written to one or at<br />
most two people. It would be tactless to write to a number. For example, in Erzurum,<br />
only Narmanlızâde is enough, maybe one more person, but there is no need<br />
for more. One should do business with one or at most two people in a region, more<br />
is no good my brother. May it be for the best. Amen. (Letter dated 31 March 1914)<br />
<br />
Based on the analysis above underlining the significance of familiarity, we do not<br />
expect the brothers to reach out to complete strangers, but the motive behind contacting<br />
one or two still requires further explanation. Possible explanations may be<br />
related to control of market information or hidden in the phrase ‘tactless’ which<br />
still requires further investigation.<br />
The immediate business environment of the Mataracızâde brothers<br />
Provincial branch<br />
This section analyzes the ethno-religious distribution by profession in districts<br />
where collaborators of the provincial network were active, using data in the Provinces<br />
de l’Empire Ottoman avec les Divisions Administratives, Populations, Renseignements,<br />
Adresses, etc. (Provinces of the Ottoman Empire with their Administrative Divisions,<br />
Populations, Information, Addresses, etc.) section of Annuaire Oriental dated 1914.<br />
The data consist of various categories of prominent professions and the names of<br />
~ 432 ~
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