Surviving members of Ottoman dynasty to establish foundation

An Ottoman “shahzadah” (prince) has announced that the oldest member of the dynasty, Osman Bayezid Osmanoğlu, currently residing in New York, will chair a new foundation to gather the remaining family together and contribute to explaining Turkish history.

Shahzadah Osman Selaheddin Osmanoğlu, grandson of Murad the 5th’s grandchildren said there were 77 members of the family dynasty who could join in the foundation. He said 25 shahzadahs, 16 “sultanas” (princesses), 23 “sultanzades” (sons of sultanas who marry with males outside the dynasty) and 13 “hanımsultans” (daughters of sultanas who marry with the males outside the dynasty) were still alive.

“When my family fell apart, while some headed to the Middle East, others departed to the West. These people know each other, yet we do not have a common language we can communicate in, which is sad. We want to build a foundation uniting us, and connecting Turkish youth with Turkish culture,” said Osmanoğlu.

Narrating the exile experiences of his father, Shahzadah Ali Vasıb Efendi, son of Ahmet Nihat Efendi, descendant of Murad the 5th, from Çırağan Palace in 1903, and his mother Sultan Mukbile, grandchild of Sultan Mehmed Reşad the 5th, Osmanoğlu said his parents were obliged to leave Turkey in 1924. “All of them went to Budapest first, departing from Sirkeci Train Station, and lived there for awhile. They stopped in Vienna and then moved on to Nice where they lived for 11 years. My parents weren’t married then. They got married in 1931 and in 1935 headed to Egypt where they spent their final years,” said Osmanoğlu.

“My father thought they would return in three to five years, but time dragged on,” said Osmanoğlu. “Permission to return was given to the sultan and his children in 1952. Nevertheless, no approval was given for the shahzadahs until 1974. In the meantime, 50 years had passed and my father was in his 70’s. Istanbul had also undergone considerable changes. For the first time when I came as a tourist I was 34 years old,” he said.

Born in cosmopolitan Alexandria, where Arabic, English and Turkish are spoken, Osmanoğlu completed his high school education at a British school and received a degree in finance and accounting in England, where he later worked. “I used to have four children, but one of them passed away. At present, they all reside in England, but they come to Bodrum every summer for vacation. My elder son’s name is Orhand Murad, my younger son’s name is Selim Süleyman and my daughter’s name is Ayşe Gülnev,” said Osmanoğlu.

“During the period that my family lived in Egypt, they were respected by the royal family of the time, given that they were known to have come from Kavalalı Mehmet Ali Paşa’s ancestry,” said Osmanoğlu. Buying a house with a view of Çırağan Palace in Beylerbeyi, Osmanoğlu said he was impressed by the palaces where his ancestors had lived when he visited them for the first time. “I frequently pay a visit to the palaces as I take my friends around. I simply turned into a tour guide,” said Osmanoğlu.

Osmanoğlu considers himself very lucky, as Turkish was spoken in the house in Egypt where he was born and brought up in an Oriental way. He later studied in the West, which has provided him the chance to relate to every segment of the Ottoman family. “Maybe I know more of the family compared with others and have close contacts,” said Osmanoğlu.

Grandson of Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II dies

Osman Nami Osmanoğlu, grandson of Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II, who reigned from 1876 to 1909, died Thursday at the age of 93.

Osmanoğlu died at Istanbul's Dr. Siyami Hersek Cardiovascular Surgery Hospital on Thursday morning. He had been receiving medical treatment in the intensive care unit of the hospital for heart failure since June 10.

He will be laid to rest in Istanbul on Saturday.

Born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1918 as the son of Sultan Abdülhamid's daughter Ayşe Sultan, Osmanoğlu spent 50 years in foreign countries and dealt with art and painting. He returned to Turkey in 1974. Osmanoğlu was the last surviving grandchild of Sultan Abdülhamit II.


/Hurriyet Daily News/