Eldest member of Ottoman dynasty dies at age 97

[Harke the Boeotarch]

Yesterday Ertuğrul Osman Osmanoğlu, aged 97, died in Istanbul.

Osmanoğlu was born in 1912 in Yıldız Palace in Istanbul, and was sent away at age ten to Vienna for his education. When the caliphate was abolished in 1924, all members of the dynasty were expelled from Turkey, where they remained unwelcome for the next 50 (70?) years.

He was married twice; the second time to a niece of Amanullah Khan, the former king of Afghanistan, who was almost thirty years younger than he.

Osman ended up in New York, living in a flat above a restaurant for more than half a century.

If not for the revolution, he would have been a Sultan.


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[Txgoodoldboy]

Interesting, I did not know any of that.

 

[NickCole]

I'd never heard of him before this thread but his life's an interesting story, including what the last act says about him.

Osmanoğlu came to Turkey in 1992 for the first time following years in exile. Recalling that the Osmanoğlu family was granted amnesty in 1974, Osmanoğlu had said in the interview in 2007, “I was in Venezuela when we were granted amnesty. We had a mine there. A Turkish ambassador sent me the news: ‘Apply us if you want to be citizen. We can give you passport or visa if you want. If you have American passport, let us give you visa, you can go to Turkey then.' I thanked to his offer and said, ‘We do not need amnesty since we have not done anything wrong.'”

Then, in 2004, he got his Turkish citizenship. Replying a question in an interview as to how he was feeling to be a Turkish citizen, he had said, “I appreciate that I am accepted to be a Turkish citizen. It feels different. In fact, it does not matter if I have Turkish passport or not. Only my being a Turkish citizen became official.” ...

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/n...ldest-ottoman-dynasty-member-passes-away.html

He died, as he wanted, in Turkey.

 

[scottish1]

A refreshing relief to read something on CE&P that does not involve American Politics and the trivial pursuit of same.
Thanks for making the effort.

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

Why should we care?

The Ottoman Empire lasted for sixhundred years. It was responsible for the sack of Constantinople, which is a major event in history (signifying the end of the Middle Ages)

controlled Mekka, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Greece, Hungary, Georgia, Armenia, Iraq, Libia, Albania, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordania... etc.

Why do you care?

I went there (Istanbul) on holiday, and saw the treasures at the Topkapi Palace.

 

[timboy]

Why should we care? Why do you care?

He was 97, he lived a long life. Bummer.

I just understand the importance or significance one way or the other.

very sad post

 

[TX-Beau]

A refreshing relief to read something on CE&P that does not involve American Politics and the trivial pursuit of same.
Thanks for making the effort.

He was a Muslim. He was in on the plot to put Obama in the White House.


...ducking...

 

[palemale]

A refreshing relief to read something on CE&P that does not involve American Politics and the trivial pursuit of same.
Thanks for making the effort.

We could talk about how the Scottish Nationalist government fucked things up in letting the Lockerbie bomber go free.

Seriously, I agree we should have some more international issue threads for our non-American friends. Especially since scottish1 is probably stuck inside because of the sand storms.

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

He was a Muslim. He was in on the plot to put Obama in the White House.


...ducking...

He would have been the Shadow Of Allah On Earth.

 

[scottish1]

We could talk about how the Scottish Nationalist government fucked things up in letting the Lockerbie bomber go free.

Seriously, I agree we should have some more international issue threads for our non-American friends. Especially since scottish1 is probably stuck inside because of the sand storms.

Not wishing to detract from the original thread, but we could talk about what truth is contained in the book Day Of Deceit by Robert B.Stinnett and the complicity of F.D.R. in prior knowledge of the attack upon Pearl Harbour by Imperial Japan.
I realise that JUB has a very large number of American members and therefore it is natural that American Politics are discussed more often,but it does give the appearance of excluding anything else happening in the world and Americans of self interest. However JUB does not represent all U.S.A. citizens.
Back on track the Ottoman's are much more interesting.
P.S. I didn't stay at home on the 'Red Dust' day. I was out and about but wearing a face mask and it reminded me in a small way what our military must endure in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

[syntax]

I went there (Istanbul) on holiday, and saw the treasures at the Topkapi Palace.

Awesome, wasn't it? Thanks for the thread, Harke.

I realise that JUB has a very large number of American members and therefore it is natural that American Politics are discussed more often,but it does give the appearance of excluding anything else happening in the world and Americans of self interest. However JUB does not represent all U.S.A. citizens.

I've heard this complaint before, scottish1 and my response is the same: If you want to see more discussion of non-American topics on CE&P, then you should start a thread on something other than American politics.

I'm always interested in threads on non-American politics and would gladly join in. Look forward to your contributions!

 

[Kulindahr]

I love this statement of his:

"We do not need amnesty since we have not done anything wrong."

That's a man with his head on straight.

 

[TongueTied]

Just like the death earlier this year of the last combat veteran of World War I, the death of the Ottoman prince means another living link to the world that existed prior to the Great War has been broken. That leaves Archduke Otto von Hapsburg, the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, the sole remaining public figure from that era left alive. I believe he is 96 and still going strong. There is a video on Youtube showing him as a child marching in Emperor Franz Josef's funeral procession in 1916. To think he is still living and active in public affairs is remarkable.

World War I put an end to almost 100 years of general European peace that had existed since the fall of Napoleon (excepting the Franco-Prussian War). The major empires, though not democratic by today's standards, were remarkably tolerant in many ways, and it is interesting to think that without the war, they might have evolved into modern, democratic societies. There would have been no Russian Revolution, no Bolsheviks, no Nazis or Fascists. The millions killed in the 20th century would have lived. What kind of world would we be living in now? That's why the death of the Ottoman prince is important.

 

[Kulindahr]

^
I read once that as the people who lived it die, the past fades from reality. We see the world based on our own experiences, and when certain experiences are lost, the wisdom we might have gained takes a place in the background, gone from our thoughts.

For some few, that is perhaps less true than for most, but even so, the voice of someone who was there, who saw and lived it, is a special resource the loss of which we should indeed mourn.

Thanks for the perspective, TT!