My father Sultan Abdülhamid II

Listening to music and woodworking are major passtimes for me as they are they help relieve my fatigue. Although I was in the swim of things when I was young, today, on the contrary, my life is quite inactive. I have problems sleeping well, so I ask someone to read a book, which sounds like a lullaby to me. I am fast asleep by the first half of the story. I avoid deep, thought-provoking books with the fear that it might stick to my mind, keeping me from sleeping later on," (sic) said Sultan Abdülhamid II. Ayşe Osmanoğlu, the daughter of Sultan Abdülhamid II, wrote these lines in her memoirs titled "My father, Sultan Abdülhamid."

Osmanoğlu was born at the Yıldız Palace in 1887. After 28 years of being homesick in France, she was invited to Turkey by the Turkish government of the time. She passed away in 1960. Her memoirs became one of the most well known bibliographical sources for books on Sultan Abdülhamid II and the era of the sultan. Yet, based on the fact that it is not political, it is kept separate from other related books.

Personally, the significance of this book is the revival of etiquette, protocols and a recollection of the ceremonies held at the palace, which are all unfamiliar to us today. What readers will enjoy most while reading this memoir are the insights to Sultan Abdülhamid II's habits and hobbies. The sultan was known for his determined stand on political issues. His determination and discipline reflected on his daily routines.

He would go to bed early and wake up before sunrise. After taking a bath and putting on his clothes, he would perform "fajr," the morning prayer of the five daily mandatory prayers in the outdoor section of the hammam (Turkish bath). His choice of attire was simple.

He generally preferred to dress in his favorite color, gray. He would use "Jan Mari Farina" cologne. He had a health issue, so he would drink mineral water with some milk immediately after breakfast. Then, it would be time to smoke a cigarette accompanied by a cup of black coffee. Mocha was his favorite. He would consume five to six cups of coffee in addition to the ones he drank after meals.

"We, as his children never drank coffee in front of him. Drinking coffee or smoking were considered inappropriate actions for young people," said Osmanoğlu. Meals were set to be on exact times as per court rules. Lunch time was at 11:00 a.m while dinner was at 5:00 p.m. The sultan had his dinner with Müşfika Kadınefendi,the fourth sultana, mother of Ayşe Osmanoğlu, until the end of his sultanate.

Lunch consisted of a soft-boiled egg or some buttered omlet, grilled cutlet of sheep, whiting or rockling fish, sometimes pastry. Dessert would either be Kadayıf – an oven baked string pastries with pistachio filling in syrup – or Sütlaç – rice pudding. For dinner he would prefer a lighter menu, which was usually soup and fruit such as strawberries, watermelon, rockmelon and peaches.






When the sultan completed his work or if he was not busy, he was either resting in his room or spending time with his family in the harem. "My father used to come to the harem and invite whoever he desired to see. Sometimes he would call us and even let us play the piano. When we made mistakes on the piano, he would correct us. He always wanted us to be involved in music," said Osmanoğlu.

Sultan Abdülhamid II would prefer Alafranga music (European style) to Alaturka music (Turkish style). Osmanoğlu recalls her father to said, "Alaturka is beautiful but always makes one melancholic. Alafranga is different. It brings joy."

He established the Mızıka-ı Hümayun (imperial orchestra). There are several opera pieces composed by him. Morever he hosted the famous performers of Europe at the Opera House at Yıldız Palace. In the evenings he would either go for a walk in the garden with the pashas and governors or work in the library, while at times he would immerse himself in woodwork. If there was nothing else to do, he would go directly to bed.

The sultan was highly skilled in arts and crafts. He used to enjoy drawing landscapes and portraits. In fact, he drew a characoal picture of Osmanoğlu's mother when they first got married and the picture was preserved in his office. Sultan Abdülhamid II had gathered several beautiful paintings in the palace for his exclusive collection. When he was a shahzade (prince), he would take woodwork lessons from Halil Efendi, a well-renowned woordwork master. The sultan's carpentry tools are currently on display at the Yıldız Palace.

Some claim that one of the chairs in the dining table set – also on display at the palace – was made by him, but nobody knows which chair it is. Sultan Abdülhamid's piety was known to all. He would perform the daily prayers with punctuality, recite the Quran on a regular basis and frequent mosques. His tasbih (prayer beads) made of jade would be in his pocket at all times to recount the names of Allah wherever and whenever.

The "Sahih al-Bukhari" – a comprehensive collection of sound traditions from Prophet Muhammad – was published on his order and distrubuted to all mosques and Muslim countries as a gift. At a time when science was frowned upon in the West, the sultan encouraged it and was a firm believer that it did not contradict religion. He was the first sultan to establish an all-girl school besides the universities and the Academy of Fine Arts.

The book was a really impressive read on the sultan, reflecting a rarely known facet of his personal life through the eyes of his daughter. In a nutshell, "My Father Sultan Abdülhamid," is a must-read book that provides an insight to the "family man" side of the sultan, as opposed to the regularly imposed image of him as the ruler of an autocracy since childhood.