Chapter 8 Constantinople

The Sight of Constantinople

January 23: After waking up in the morning, praying, and having breakfast and so on, we packed our things and got ready. Then we went to stroll the deck and wait for the city to come into view. The city began to come into view around one. It is a large, beautiful city. It is located on the hills, such that its buildings are clearly visible.

Within thirty minutes, the ship had reached close to the city. Even after we came to a stop, none of the passengers went down [from the deck]; they were busy taking in the sight of the city. The mems asked us, “Where will you go, and which hotel will you stay?”

“In the Pera [Palace],” I replied.

“We are staying there as well.”

What a coincidence.

Around 2:30 our ship began to inch almost imperceptibly forward. Nevertheless, the dock grew ever closer until we at last touched solid ground. The Turks were standing in long rows, looking out at the passengers. The hotel touts were all shouting out their hotels’ names. “Pera Palace! Grand Hotel!” Like that. Every passenger also called out the names of the hotel they were to stay at and, summoning their representative, handed over their luggage. We asked the Cook representative to call for the man from the Pera Palace, which he had prebooked. These men are called “dragomen.” Ours was very light-skinned and wore gold rings. He doffed his hat and salaamed us. The luggage was counted and handed to him. The entire process took so long that we were busy arranging all this until six in the evening, by which time the [street] lights had come on. The practice here is to give a tip to the ship staff. We paid everyone a tip and then disembarked. All the mems that we met disembarked with us. We all got into carriages and set off.

In Constantinople

Masha Allah, what a fine city! There are electric lights at every shop in the city. All the stores are very large. The city is lively. We soon reached the hotel. The hotel’s doorway is illuminated by about forty electric lights. The door itself is very strange. It is eight-sided. You enter from one side, and as you go, all the other sides move simultaneously until you reach the interior.1 We went inside, followed by the mems and the angrez. I sat on a chair while Sarkar went to speak with the manager.

“I will check the room to make sure it is suitable. Then I will come for you. Wait here until then.”

When he left, I turned and had a conversation with the memsahib who had just come and taken the seat next to mine.

The stairs here are covered with fine carpets, as are all the landings and entry areas. There is plenty of marble. The walls are all of marble. Sarkar soon returned, having found a room to his liking. He finalized the arrangements, and we took a lift up to the room. I liked it very much. There are two beds, a beautiful carpet, a wardrobe with a mirror, a bench, chairs, a place to wash your face, and a writing desk appointed with all the necessary implements and so on. In short, the room had everything. The lighting was electric. There was also a quilt made of yellow silk and filled with the softest cotton.

We asked for all our things to be sent up, unpacked our clothes, and washed up. Then we changed clothes because it was already 8:30, time for dinner. After getting ready we took the lift downstairs. Our mem friends and the angrez came down at the same time.

Ah! Ah! Ah! The drawing hall just has to be seen. There are electric lights on the ceiling and all four walls. They are beautiful and shaped just like rose bulbs. There is a beautiful wooden floor. They are wooden because this room hosts “balls,” that is, dances. There are little four-cornered tables meant for two diners each. We also went to sit at one of the tables. The practice here is that once you have selected a table, you should sit at that table every day [for the duration of your stay].

We began to eat our meal. All these light-skinned servers wear dinner suits as they serve the meal. Everything here is done perfectly. They began to bring out the food in clean, sparkling vessels. Because today is Sunday, there is a band playing.

After dinner we went to sit in the drawing room. This room is also beautifully appointed, so much so that the walls are lined with a golden satin flower print. The furniture is all upholstered with the same satin fabric. The band was playing just in front of us. Heaters keep the room toasty. Give the dial a little turn, and the heater warms up immediately.

The weather is fantastic. It is cold but not unpleasant. Half of Constantinople is in Europe, and the other half is in Asia. Between them lies the sea, which is spanned by a bridge.2 The European portion is also ruled by the sultan, but this part of the city, Pera, where we are staying, feels just like our Secunderabad area, where the angrez make their homes. In the very same way, this area is largely populated by angrez. The name of this district is Pera.3

At midnight we began to feel very sleepy. Everyone retired. We got up, went upstairs, and fell asleep.

January 24, 1910: Today Sarkar left to meet an angrez friend of his who works as secretary to an [Ottoman] minister.4 I quickly wrote some letters to Hyderabad and to my father in Lucknow. Sarkar came back at noon, and fifteen minutes later we had lunch. Then he then left again, while I went to the drawing room and chatted with my mem friends. They asked, “When will you go out [into the city]?”

“Oh, today I might just go out for some fresh air, but tomorrow I will go to the museum. It is raining today, anyhow.”

“As for us, we will go to see the museum today. Where has your husband gone off to?”

“He has a meeting today with a minister and his secretary. That’s where he’s gone.”

They left at 1:30. I went back to my room. I sat in the room for a bit and then got ready and went back downstairs to the stationery room to look through the newspapers. At 4:30 they came back again and ordered tea. They asked me to join them. When Sarkar came back, he said, “Come, let’s go get some fresh air.” I quickly finished my tea and went out for fresh air. We walked around for an hour before coming back.

There was no band today because it is not Sunday. The band plays twice a week. We had dinner at eight and then went to the drawing room. The angrez and the mem ladies came too. The American man who is married to one of the memsahibas is a very jovial character but also very refined. He says such funny things that you cannot help but laugh. The poor creature comes over to chat with us too. He examined my sari. His wife and sisters were with him. We all chatted for a long while before returning to our respective rooms to sleep.5

January 25, 1910: In the morning Sarkar said, “Come, let’s get you a good cloak and coat made. We will be meeting some of my contacts here.” After getting ready we went to the tearoom and had butter, toast, jelly, and jam. It was all delicious. After having tea we walked to a very impressive store. This is the city’s largest and most famous shop, located in a tall building. It even has a fine marble staircase and beautiful lighted braziers. I went in and sat myself down comfortably. This shop belongs to Greek or French people. The shop owner took Sarkar’s measurements and helped him select a fabric. He said, “I will tell you where to find an excellent shop for women. Go there; you can get anything you like stitched.”

After finishing our business with him, we went to the ladies’ shop. This shop was also very large and very good. All the workers and tailors were women. A mem came and showed me samples of many beautiful fabrics. I found one that I liked. I arranged everything and placed the order through Sarkar, who translated from French. “Come back at nine tomorrow for a fitting,” she said. This was just like with Sarkar’s tailor, who had asked him to come at four tomorrow.

We went into more shops after that. I bought a beautiful pair of ladies’ gloves, warm pajamas, an undershirt, a warm sari, and a strong umbrella. By then it was lunch time. We returned to the hotel and ate. I went to the room, but Sarkar went out for more meetings. Once again, I spent half the day relaxing at the hotel. I went downstairs at four, where I met with all my mem friends. They asked me, “Where did you visit today?”

“I went to order a dress because I will be meeting with the sultan.”

“We saw him today when his procession passed by us.”

“How can I meet him in that way? He is a Muslim sultan. I will meet him in the Islamic way.”

“By wearing a niqab?” they asked.

“Yes, I will wear a niqab and salaam him.”

Sarkar soon returned and said, “Well, I went to meet the minister.6 He asked me to come at three. He has promised to present me to the sultan for an audience after the Friday prayers; he has already asked for permission. Today is Tuesday. Our clothes will be stitched by then, but I will wear Medina-style clothing to meet him on a Friday.”

“Yes, of course,” I replied.

Dinner was at eight, but our American mem friends and the sahib had gotten dressed up to go and eat out somewhere. After dinner we went back to the room and had an uneventful night.7

January 26, 1910: We got dressed and went down for breakfast. Two visiting cards came for Sarkar. He held these meetings in the room while I sat in the office room.

“You have two invitations. One is from Safi ud-Din Beg. The other is from Hamid Pasha, the secretary to the prime minister.8 One is a dinner on Friday; the other is on Saturday. Come, let’s check your measurements for the cloak and coat. I’ll have to go somewhere else afterward.” Sarkar took me to the shop to check the measurements, and then we came back to the hotel and ate. Then Sarkar went out again. Before leaving he said, “Today my friend Fitzmaurice will come to collect me at one thirty. I’ll return by then. Once I’ve gotten back from the place that he is taking me to, we can go out.”

“Bismillah, go ahead. I will go out again later,” I said and then went to my room to sew a burqa.

It was around one fifteen or one thirty that a waiter came bearing Fitzmaurice’s card. He said, “A sahib has come and is asking after your sahib.”9 I don’t speak French, and this waiter spoke French but not English. Anyhow, I took the card and said, “Tell the sahib that he has gone out but will be back soon.” However, he left again without understanding anything at all. A short while later there was a knock on the door. As usual, I said, “Come in.” All of a sudden the sahib walks in. I was all alone. I completely forgot that this must be Fitzmaurice. I was frightened. Who could this man be coming into my room! He asked me, “Where is sahib?”

“He is out meeting someone,” I replied. “Please wait, he will be back soon.”

“In how long will he come?”

“He will be going out with Fitzmaurice, who is waiting downstairs. Sahib will be back at precisely 1:30.”

The man took out his watch and said, “It is already 1:30. Actually, it is already ten minutes past that.”

“If you are in a hurry, please leave your card with me, and I will give it to sahib.”

The poor man became confused.

“I am Fitzmaurice, but you are speaking as though I have given my card to someone else, and now you are asking for it again.”

Anyhow, he sat and waited for about ten minutes before leaving. I laughed at myself for getting scared earlier and for speaking to him as I had. I sat there chuckling to myself. Sarkar came back and changed. Then he said, “So you spoke with Fitzmaurice? The waiter had sent him up to the room. Did you offer him a place to sit?”

“I thought that they had sent someone else up. Anyhow, I did speak to him, but I mistakenly told him that Fitzmaurice was waiting downstairs and that he should give me his card so that I could pass it on to you.” Sarkar laughed. I said, “If that really was Fitzmaurice, please ask him to pardon me.”

Sarkar went out again, and I went downstairs at 4:30 to meet with my lady friends. I told them this story. They had a good laugh. Someone held a special dinner for one of their lady friends tonight. There was a special table that was beautifully set for the gathering, which was for about twenty people. Their table was near ours. We ate and then went to sit in the drawing room and watch the group’s antics. All my friends and I gathered, and we began to chat about their dinner party. One of the mems in their party was wearing an enormous hat. We all laughed about it. That group also teased one another plenty too. After all this, I went upstairs to sleep.

January 27, 1910: I woke up, prayed, changed my clothes, and had breakfast. One mem from among our companions left today with her husband. She gave us her card and took our card before going. The American women and the man will leave tomorrow, on Friday. They asked me, “When will you leave?” I told them I would stay here for another few days. “I have dinner invitations for tomorrow and the day after. Then I will make a tour of the city and meet with people.”

“Many people come to visit your husband here every day. Do you have family here?” they asked.

“Just friends,” I answered.

They handed me a newspaper. “Look, he has been published in the newspaper too. They’ve really given him high praise.”

Later Sarkar said, “Let’s go walk around for a while. Then tomorrow or the day after we will go and see some sights.”

“Very well,” I replied, and we both went out for a long stroll before returning for lunch.

The Magnificent Mosques of Constantinople

After lunch Sarkar said, “Come, let’s visit the mosques. We’ll have to cross the bridge over to Constantinople proper, the area they call ‘Istanbul’” (fig. 8.1).10

“As you suggest,” I replied.

We called a carriage and got in. We had already done our vuzu. First, we visited the Sophia Mosque.11 It is very famous and very fine. It is made of marble. The doors are inlaid with mother-of-pearl, which is well worth seeing. Costly carpets have been laid down throughout [the mosque]. The area for vuzu is very finely constructed. We prayed two rakats on entering the mosque before looking around. Then we went to the next mosque. I found it to be excellent as well. We joined with the others in praying asr here. We inspected every inch of the mosque. We saw the graves of some kings. We prayed fatihas over them and then went to another mosque. Some mosques were built by Sultan Salim, others by Sultan Mahmud, some by the sultan’s mother, some by a princess, some by Sultan Muhammad. Every king has a mosque, and each is worth seeing. Today we saw fully six mosques, one after the other.12 Each of them is unique in its own way.13 By then it was already 7:30. Sarkar said, “Let’s go to the mosque of Hazrat Ayyub.14 His grave is there. Today is Thursday.15 We will pray a fatiha.”

“But it’s already late,” I objected.

“No, we should definitely go. Hazrat Ayyub was a companion of the Prophet.”

At the mention of [the Prophet’s] name, I immediately assented. “Let’s go.”

This mosque was very far, and it was drizzling, but by God’s grace we arrived. We recited a bismillah and went inside the mosque. It was a very fine mosque. The congregation was ready to pray isha. We had arrived at the perfect moment. I learned there would also be a khatm-e Qur’an today.16 Masha Allah, what a wonderful gathering Allah has brought us to, that the saint has invited us to. After the prayer and the khatm-e Qur’an, Sarkar and the Turks went into the shrine of Hazrat Ayyub. Meanwhile, a Turk led me to the tomb of another saint and said, “Sit here.” I sat and began to read the fatiha. A full thirty minutes later, the Turks emerged again.17 One of the Turks came and said to me, “There is now purdah inside. Please enter the shrine.”18 I went inside; Sarkar was still there. Masha Allah, what a wonderful shrine. It is beautifully decorated with fine carpets and lighted lamps. There are costly and beautiful curtains over the doors. A golden railing surrounds the shrine.

There is a well near the shrine. First, a Turk gave me water from it to drink, after which I read a fatiha. I stayed there for about ten minutes. There is also a footprint of the Prophet, which I kissed. Then I kissed the standards that were used by the army in battles and that were flown by the victors over the forts they took. They have been preserved here since the time of the Great Companions.19 After looking carefully at everything, we returned to our carriage.20 An elderly Turk tried to speak to Sarkar, but upon realizing that he did not know Turkish, he laughed and walked away. Everyone was very polite. We left and returned to the hotel. After dinner we said goodbye to our American friends, went to our room, and slept.

Al-hamdulillah, today, January 28, was well-spent. Because it is Friday, we had a full bath before breakfast. Sakar said, “We’ve been summoned at 3:00 p.m. We will take our own carriage. Please be ready by 3:00. I will be going out; the minister will collect me. You should have lunch. I may be late, so please do not wait.”

“All right,” I replied. “You go ahead.”

He quickly got dressed in an Arab outfit because he is going to the Friday prayers. He will meet the sultan. He left, and I began to prepare my ensemble. My coat and cloak have come. I went to lunch at 1:00 on the dot. I told them that Sarkar “will come to eat any moment now.” Then I went upstairs to do some reading and writing. Sarkar came at two, had lunch, and then came up to the room.21

“I had an excellent meeting with the sultan,” he said. “We spoke for an hour, and he granted me permission to see the Prophet’s mantle.22 He said to his minister, ‘Take him to see the Prophet’s mantle tomorrow or on the day that he specifies. When you do, also show him the armory and the treasury—everything.’ We have dinners to attend today and tomorrow, so we can go and see these places the day after tomorrow. It’s nearly three now. Please get ready. How do you like your new coat?”

“It’s good; it fits well.”

I was ready to go by three. Sarkar also got dressed.

A Meeting with Some Turkish Sisters

The carriage came at four. We boarded it and went to the home of Safi ud-Din Beg.23 His house is located just off a thoroughfare. The door opened, and I stepped inside. Sarkar was taken off in one direction, and two or three extremely beautiful Turkish ladies placed their hands on my arm and led me upstairs. All the houses here are multistoried. There are beautiful carpets on the staircases. When I entered the [visiting] room, I saw that it too was beautifully decorated. There were six or seven ladies there whose hair and dresses were just like those of mems. All these women were Muslim Turks. They are called khanam [lady]; no one knows the word begum [lady].24 I asked all the khanams their names, and they asked me mine. Because I am, in fact, a khanam too, I told them my name was Akhtar Hamid Sultan khanam.25 Their ears perked up at this. “You’re from the Chukza’il family,” they said.26

The conversation thus far was conducted partly through gestures and partly through one lady who knew some Arabic. The rest just stared for they [only] speak Turkish. We continued on in this way for an hour before calling for a translator. They asked me, “What languages do you know?”

“Hindustani and English.”

They then said, “We should find a mem who speaks both English and Turkish.”

One of the ladies went out and called for her husband and asked him to “please call for a translator.” Thirty minutes later a memsahib came. The moment she arrived, she said, “I am very happy to have been called in your honor.”

[I said to her,] “We have called you here to act as a translator. Please explain my words to these women in Turkish.”

She laughed and said, “I’m sorry, but I do not speak Turkish. I speak Arabic, because I am al-Jaish.”27

She did speak English but not well. Now everyone had a good laugh [at the situation]. I gestured toward the lady who spoke Arabic and said, “All right, you can translate into Arabic for her, and she will then translate it into Turkish for the rest. And I will speak to you in English.”

Everyone laughed even more, and then we began our proceedings. They asked me, “How is it that your name is Sultan?” I explained my lineage to them, and they were delighted.28 “She is a Turk too!” they said. The mem then said to me, “Until today, I have never seen a khanam before. This is the first time I have been inside the home of a Turk. It is very rare for a Turkish lady to associate with an angrez lady.29 There are many disagreements between us.”30

Our conversation continued during the meal. The food was varied and delicious. There is a practice here of alternating the courses between sweet and salted dishes. That is how we ate here. Although the Turks do not know how to make pulaos [rice-based dishes], they do make salans [gravy-based dishes]. The food here is good, but I didn’t see a single dish that was similar to Indian food.31 The meal continued for a long time and included a lot of fruit. They looked after me very well. After dinner we shifted to the drawing room. Safi ud-Din Beg Khanam called for her young children and asked them to sing in Turkish for me. Their ages are six, seven, five, and four. Their voices were very melodious. Then she herself played the piano, and her sister sang. They put on a bridal outfit to show me what it looks like. “This is what a bride wears here.” They showed me the kind of jewelry that is placed on a bride’s head; this ornament is very beautiful. Then they requested me to “please sing us a Hindustani song, if you know how to.” I sang some of my own Urdu ghazals.32

The fun and games continued on in this way until it was eleven in the evening. Then I said, “I would like to see the old style of clothing worn by Turkish ladies, for you told me that the clothes you are wearing now are ‘modern.”’ The girl went to put on an outfit that was in the old style. While there was a difference between the old and the new style, much of it was very similar. Then I thanked them all and said, “I lament that I do not speak Turkish for, otherwise, on the occasion of this gathering, I should have liked to give each of my Muslim sisters-in-religion a speech.”33

[Earlier in the night,] when I had removed my coat and cloak and given it to the ladies, they had wrapped it up in an elegant satin cloth for safekeeping. When I got up to leave, they brought [the bundle] to me. “What is inside this?” I said confusedly. One of the ladies sprung up, opened the bundle, and then herself helped me to put on the coat before wrapping the cloak around my shoulders. Similarly, all the ladies held my hand as we walked to the carriage. There was an older lady, and even she walked me to the carriage and helped me in. We said goodbye and returned to the hotel, went to our room, and fell asleep.

January 29, 1910: Today is Saturday. I washed up and had breakfast. All our earlier companions, the mems and the sahib, have left now. I’ve heard that there will be a ball tonight. Banners are being put up all over the hotel. They are installing even more beautiful lamps and globes. The dance will be held after dinner.34

An Invitation to the Home of the Secretary of the Prime Minister

Sarkar said, “Today we have an invitation to visit the home of the prime minister’s secretary.35 Please get ready just as you did yesterday.” We left for his home at 4:30. This was just a visit for tea. Hamid Pasha’s wife said, “You did not accept our invitation to dinner; you have only come for tea.”

I replied that [hosting a full dinner] “would be a major inconvenience for you. This is already a dinner.”

There were again six or seven ladies present, but [now] we had no translator. Hamid Pasha’s wife speaks Arabic, though, so we muddled through with what little Arabic I could speak.36 We conversed until 7:30. Their house is very beautiful and well decorated, large, and clean. The “compound” is nice and very large. The floors are all made of marble and overlaid with fine carpets. There are beautiful lamps in the shape of globes. These Turkish ladies are expert hosts. Hamid Pasha’s wife [bibi] is quite old, but she looked after me very attentively all evening. Hamid Pasha’s wife [khanam] even fed me biscuits with jam and such with her own hand.

We left at 7:30 on the same carriage that brought us here, a beautiful landau that belongs to Hamid Pasha. We arrived at the hotel right at mealtime and had dinner. The hotel had been all done up. The ball was supposed to start at ten. I went up to the room while Sarkar did some socializing. He came back at ten and said, “I won’t attend the ball. I’m going to sleep.”

“Shall I go?” I said.

“Yes, go ahead. You can see everything clearly from the upper floor. You can view everything comfortably from there.”

Upon hearing this I quickly got dressed and left the room. After going down one floor, I could see the drawing and dining rooms directly. I took a seat at one of the windows and then noticed that many angrez men and women had gathered around the other windows to watch too; even those who were not participating in the ball had come to see it. A mem came and sat near me, but she spoke French and did not know English.

The music began, and people started to dance. There were one or two Turks participating too.37 There were many types of dances. Another woman came to watch from my window. She did speak English. She asked if I liked the ball. “I like it very much,” I replied and praised the event highly. She was pleased to hear it. I went back up to my room two hours later.

The Armory and the Treasury

January 30, 1910: I woke up and had breakfast and so on. Sarkar said, “Get ready quickly. A man has come from the sultan. He said, ‘Come with me. The armory, the treasury, and the Prophet’s mantle have all been opened so that you may see them.’” We quickly got ready and went to the carriage. The official came with us. At 9:30 we entered a large building.38 The carriage stopped before a large staircase. Royal servants formed a line and salaamed us. We were led into a beautifully adorned room and asked to sit. The room was just by the sea. Next to it there was a beautiful garden decorated with the most beautiful objects. We were served coffee in cups lined with gold and jewels. Cigarettes were presented. Sarkar took one to be polite, though he does not smoke.

Then another room was opened, and we were ushered in. There we saw a royal throne covered in gold and set with diamonds, pearls, emeralds, and rubies.39 We examined it carefully. Then they showed us another room where kings are fitted with their turbans and crowns on the occasion of their coronation. Then they took us to the place where princes are circumcised. This room is also beautifully adorned and filled with priceless objects. Both the garden and the sea were visible from here. The cases in the throne room were filled with metal dishes brimming with jewels. The number and beauty of the vessels and the other silver and gold objects are beyond expression.

Next, we went up and visited another room. This room contained paintings of all the kings of Constantinople, along with their garments. Each king wore a different type of clothing. Their turbans were also unique, but all of them were topped with diamonds and pearls set in gold. There were paintings of twenty-five kings. Each of their names was written on their chests.

Then we saw several rooms in the armory where there were many types of ancient armors and weapons, including chainmail. Many of the weapons and armor were made of gold and gold lining. Then we went to a room containing books of fiqh [Islamic jurisprudence] and hadith written in the hand of Sultan Salim. After that, they took us to the mosque. It is an excellent mosque and very beautiful. One room is designed in the style of Baghdad and contains the entire text of the Qur’an. There are fine carpets, drapes, and sofas. There are balconies facing in every direction and an unobstructed view of the sea. We prayed zuhr with the congregation while we were here. Sarkar tried to give the guardians two pounds, but they refused it. “We are royal servants. We have shown you this place by the sultan’s decree.”

Pilgrimage to the Blessed Mantle of the Prophet

After the prayer the royal servants took us to the room where the mantle is kept. This room was the most beautiful and ornate of all. Qur’anic inscriptions adorned the four walls. There is a green curtain. It is lifted from one side, and you then see that everything inside is very ornate. To one side, there was an enclosure bounded by an elaborate grilling made of gold. It was covered with curtains, which were also inscribed with Qur’anic verses. The Turks quickly lifted the curtains. This enclosure has two doors, but it is not allowed to open the second door. That door is only opened on the day when a new ruler ascends the throne. On that day alone, the new king is blessed to make a pilgrimage here. We looked inside the enclosure. There are thirty standards here that once belonged to the Companions. We prayed a fatiha and duruds for the Prophet. I stood close to the grilling for some time before coming out [from behind the curtain] again.

[The room also contained] a complete footprint of the Prophet. I pressed my eyes to it. As we were leaving, we looked at a paper with verses from the Qur’an written in the Kufic script by Hazrat Umar. It has been very carefully preserved. There are standards kept in the four corners of the room. I went inside [the enclosure] after visiting the footprint. The Blessed Mantle is kept in a silver box. I stood before it for a few minutes before leaving. The attendants would not accept anything from us. Their mastery of proper etiquette is so perfect that even if they must pass before you, they will never allow their backs to be turned to you but walk backward instead.

After visiting these sacred relics, we returned to the hotel. We had spent so long there that it was already 3:30. By the time we reached the Pera Palace, it was already past lunchtime. We just had some fruit and tea; then I went to the room and threw myself down in exhaustion. In the evening, we had dinner and went to bed.

Today is January 31, a Monday. We woke up, got dressed, and went down to breakfast. The mem that we had met at Safi ud-Din’s house came to the hotel. It was 9:30. The mem said, “Come out with me. If you need to buy anything, I can help you.” Sarkar said, “Go ahead, go shopping with her. Buy anything that you need, but return here by one. I will take you to the museum today.” We got into a carriage. First, we went to the memsahib’s house. From here Sarkar went off on his own business.40 I stayed at her house for a bit, and then we went to the bazaar.

This bazaar is very large. This is where Turkish ladies do their buying. There are many men too. I’ve never seen a bazaar like this one. The shops are wonderful and very elegant. There are even jewelers’ shops, lots of them. I bought some things. That mem took so long that I didn’t get back to her house until four. When we arrived, I saw Sarkar’s carriage standing there. I was told that he had waited for me but had finally gone off somewhere again.41 The woman had al-jaish food prepared for me, which I ate. Sarkar returned in the meantime. He gave some cloth to the woman and said, “Have a good coat stitched for her.” She said, “I know how to sew myself. I’ll cut this cloth and come tomorrow to take the measurements.” We entered the carriage and returned to the Pera Palace. In the evening we had dinner and went to bed.

February 1, 1910: I got ready and had breakfast as usual. A letter arrived from the mem. “Please come to my house yourself. I am sewing; I will take your measurements here.” Sarkar said, “I’ll drop you there and then go somewhere else. Then I will come and collect you again.” And so I went to her house again. She is excessively talkative. As she is not English but Egyptian, she speaks Arabic well. When I looked at the coat, I saw that she had completely ruined the cut. The lining she chose was even worse. “I’m sorry,” I said, “but I don’t like this lining very much. It would be fine for you to just remove it.” We went back the bazaar, where I bought a new lining and the velvet that she recommended. I also bought four gold bangles for six pounds because my wrists were empty. We ended up staying out until four again, but this time I had brought food with me from the hotel. I ate it at her house and then took a carriage back to the Pera Palace.

Today Sarkar waited and waited for me before eventually going to see the Bosporus. He returned to the Pera Palace after me. When he came back, he said, “I will take you to see the Bosporus tomorrow. Asia is located on the far side [of the strait]. That side is not very beautiful. I went there today, and it’s a good thing you did not come. I had to walk a long way.42 Tomorrow we will go to visit on the European side. It is much nicer there and makes for a better visit.” I said, “Very well.”

February 2, 1910: I woke up and had breakfast as usual. We boarded a carriage and left the hotel, bringing with us a packed lunch. We first went to the museum. We saw the whole thing. This museum is not very large, but it is nice. Afterward I went to the mem’s place to have my measurements taken, and then I got back in the carriage and we left for the waterside. We boarded a steamboat and spent three hours going from one side to the other.43 On the way we saw many houses and royal palaces (fig. 8.2).44 We continued to see these things on the way back. We had our meal during the trip. We spent three hours going and three hours coming, seeing the Bosporus the whole time. We returned to the Pera Palace at seven. After dinner we went to relax.

A Meeting with the Sultan

February 3, 1910: We woke up in the morning as usual. Sarkar said, “Please prepare your luggage. I’ve called for a servant from the royal palace to come today. He is from Medina. He has asked me for a favor. We will go with him and see the royal palace.” I quickly got ready. We had breakfast, and then at nine we got into the carriage with the royal servant and departed. When we pulled up to the palace, all the royal guards were standing at attention.45

The servant got down from the carriage and went inside himself first. He returned again after having received the royal orders. With him was another royal servant who said, “Please come.” But then, on noticing my presence, he said, “Stop, please. I must take permission for her to enter as well.” He left, then returned, and said again, “Please come.”46 We both entered the palace, along with the servant from Medina. Oh! Oh! Oh! What a wonderful garden this is, what a beautiful courtyard. Before us stood the royal palace. It started to drizzle and because we had not been given permission to carry umbrellas into the palace we scurried quickly to the veranda. We removed our shoes, and Sarkar and I stepped inside. This room is highly decorated. It has a beautiful staircase. There were large vases of cut crystal. When we climbed the staircase, we saw that there were standing on the steps several royal servants and African khwajasaras.47 Using hand gestures, they told us to “go into the second room.” They do not speak. I learned that “their tongues have been cut out.” They are made mute so that no one may learn anything about the royal affairs from them.

We were taken to a beautifully decorated room that looked out over the sea and asked to sit. I cannot find the words to describe how beautiful this room was and how valuable the items in it were. We were again served coffee in cups lined with gold and jewels. Cigarettes were offered. I took three as a sample and tucked them away.

After an hour and a half, an African khwajasara came and said in Arabic, “The sultan will soon call for you and your wife. Please prepare yourselves.” As we had only come here to see the palace, we were very surprised. But, well, “the king has ordered us to present ourselves to him, and so that is what we will do.” Soon a Turkish officer came and said, “Please come.” This Turk could speak English.

We presented ourselves to the sultan in a manner in keeping with the most proper etiquette.48 The emperor indicated two chairs and asked us to sit. He then spoke in Turkish while pointing to a man. He said, “This is the translator. You speak to him, and he will explain your words to me in Turkish.” We conversed in this manner for twenty minutes. He said, “I am very happy that you have come with your wife and brought her before me.” The sultan also speaks Persian. The first time they met, he spoke to Sarkar in Persian. Then he said, “Please accept a memento from me.” Then Sarkar spoke in English at great length and with full adherence to proper etiquette, in praise of the sultan. After a long conversation, the sultan stood up.49 As soon as the king arose, the translator, Sarkar, and I also stood up. We bid him farewell with great reverence while walking backward to the door. Then we walked through the entire palace, seeing everything as we made our way to the exit. I am unable to describe the adornments of this palace. It can only be seen.50

We left the palace grounds with the royal servant. I am very happy to have had the honor of meeting the sultan today. We were in very high spirits as we got into the carriage with the royal servant. Another royal servant who carried a tasbih51 in his hand then came up to the carriage but only spoke through gestures. I asked, “Why doesn’t he speak?” Sarkar said, “Didn’t you notice in the palace that all the servants that we saw walking about, including those who served the coffee, were mute? Their tongues were cut out when they were children or something like that so that they cannot speak and thus can never reveal any royal matter. The African man is a khwajasara, and he is permitted to go in and out of the palace.” That’s when I realized.

The palace servants helped us into the carriage and then walked alongside us for quite a distance before giving a salaam and departing. When the carriage got under way, we saw that the sultan was just departing from another gate along with a procession of carriages for women. As a result, it felt like our own carriage had joined the royal procession. Their procession went on and on, one carriage after the other. Traffic [on the main road] was stopped for us too, since we were exiting from the royal palace as well. For this reason, we had quite a bit of fun during the ride. I was laughing the entire time at the idea that we were surrounded by officials, with royal officers in front of and behind us. Our carriage and the sultan’s traveled together for twenty minutes before he went one way and we went another.

The Palace of Abdülhamid Khan52

We then went to into the palace of Abdülhamid Khan to have a look. First, we drove through the entire grounds in the carriage. We visited the museum and saw the bodies of many rare animals, which had been stuffed with dried grass. Then we got down from the carriage and entered the palace, which stretches out for miles and miles. There is no way that I could describe the beauty of its decorations or of its garden. Everything is beset with pearls and gold worth hundreds of thousands of rupees. Every table, every chair, is a wonder unto itself. Thousands of species of valuable animals were being raised in enclosures. Every type of animal is there, from four-legged creatures to winged creatures. There were colorful animals the likes of which I had never seen before. One particularly wonderful thing I saw here was an orange and yellow parrot that I thought very beautiful. It speaks Turkish and is very talkative.

We continued our tour of the palace from two until six, but the place is endless. We finally left because we were tired. This “palace” has been built on the top of a large, lush hill. They have a ticketing system these days. Anyone who wants to see it can buy a ticket and go in. The ticket costs one franc. At six we returned to the hotel with the royal attendant. Sarkar had him dropped off on the way as his home was nearby. Before that, though, he took Sarkar to visit an aged saint. I stayed in the carriage because I was tired. He is a great saint.53 He gave Sarkar a book and granted him an ijazat for the Litany of the Sea.54 This saint is a master of the Litany of the Sea.

After dropping off the Medinan servant, we went to the hotel, washed up, and got ready for dinner. We went downstairs and milled about the drawing room for a while before taking our seats at the table. Then I went to the room. I learned that there is another ball today. I watched the ball and then had a very good night’s rest once again.

A Gift from the Sultan

February 4, 1910:55 Sarkar went to meet with someone after breakfast while I started packing up my things. We leave tomorrow. Sarkar returned for lunch but then went out again, saying, “We’re leaving tomorrow. Please prepare.”56 I spent the afternoon in my room. Sarkar came back at six and said, “The sultan’s man has come. He is calling for us. The sultan has sent us something.” When I heard this, I got up, put on a Turkish burqa, and went downstairs with Sarkar.

The sultan’s man was standing in the drawing room wearing a very fine Turkish coat, holding a bag in his hands. We first asked this royal messenger to sit. He sat down. Everyone in the hotel was watching us. First, he said a prayer for the sultan. Then he opened the bag and placed the blessed gifts in our hands. We both stood and pressed them to our foreheads and eyes. They spoke in French for a few minutes. We returned upstairs after the messenger had left. We each opened our respective gifts, which were wrapped in silk and bound with silk ribbon. I wanted badly to tear it open and see what was inside. Sarkar was given a cigarette box with exquisite metalwork worth two thousand rupees. I was bestowed with a gold watch beset with jewels and hands made of diamond. It must be worth a thousand rupees. Ah, there was also a mouthpiece for a hookah inside the cigarette box. Everyone in the Pera Palace is talking about how we have been honored.

Departure from Constantinople

Today is the fifth of February, a Saturday. After breakfast, we were ready to leave. Sarkar went out on some business but returned at lunchtime. After the meal he said, “Let’s go. Everything has been arranged for our voyage.” We said goodbye to everyone at the hotel, took a carriage to the port, and boarded the ship.

We found the ship in a filthy state. Sarkar was very angry. “The Cook representative tricked us. He said this was a wonderful ship when he sold me the ticket. I should have inspected it first.” We went to our cabin, which was very large but still very dirty. The ship departed at 7:00 p.m. Until then we stayed on deck watching the goings-on and looking out at Constantinople. I was sad to leave this city. I could not forget the sultan’s kindness toward us, nor will I ever.

We and the one or two other passengers had our dinner. At least the food is good. After the meal we went to sleep.

February 6, 1910: In the morning after breakfast, we saw that the ship had stopped at an island. We departed again after an hour. Soon after the departure we encountered “rough” seas.57 I felt nauseous. Sarkar tried to make me feel better. We played draughts. He did everything he could, but the seasickness persisted. I was barely able to have my meal. I lay down until evening and then finally returned to the cabin and got into bed. The seas were so rough today that even Sarkar felt unwell. And then I vomited. Sarkar retired early. I also went to sleep without eating anything. The night passed.

Notes

1. 1.A revolving door.
2. 2.In fact, the first bridge in Istanbul to span the Bosporus (that is, spanning Asia and Europe) was not built until 1973. She is surely referring here to the Galata Bridge, which spans the Golden Horn, a waterway that divides the European side of the city in two.
3. 3.The area is better known today as Beyoğlu. It had a large European population and was significantly more developed than other neighborhoods in Istanbul. Thus does Begum Sarbuland compare it to Secunderabad, which was founded as a British cantonment and housed a significant British population prior to Indian independence.
4. 4.In fact, he first visited the British embassy, where, armed with an introductory letter from Lord Cromer, he went to meet the ambassador.
5. 5.Hamidullah records meeting with several Members of Parliament who were staying at the hotel.
6. 6.He had gone to meet the grand vizier (sadr-e azam), Ibrahim Hakki Pasha (1862–1918).
7. 7.Hamidullah found the evening somewhat more eventful: “In the evening we toured various parts of Pera and were introduced to many important people in the hotel.” H. Khan, Safarnama-e Qustuntuniya, 36.
8. 8.She uses the term madar ul-maham. There was no such position in the Ottoman administration, and Begum Sarbuland seems to borrow the term from Hyderabad’s administrative structure, where madar ul-maham referred to a prime minister. Hamidullah refers to him as the minister of waqfs.
9. 9.This was probably Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice (1861–1924), a civil engineer who had worked in the Ottoman Empire. He is described by Hamidullah as a “subordinate of the ambassador.” Fitzmaurice gave him a tour of the embassy and promised to come introduce him to leading figures in Constantinople. H. Khan, Safarnama-e Qustuntuniya, 34.
10. 10.That is, they crossed the Golden Horn via the Galata Bridge.
11. 11.The Hagia Sophia, or Aya Sophia, mosque was originally a Byzantine church. It became a mosque in 1453 with the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. In 1935 it was converted to a museum and then remade into a mosque again in 2020. When Begum Sarbuland visited, it was a mosque. The famous mosaics in the building were not uncovered until 1930, thus she would not have been able to visit them. Hamidullah calls it the “Abba Sofia.” H. Khan, Safarnama-e Qustuntuniya, 37–42.
12. 12.The mosques they visited are detailed in Hamidullah’s account. H. Khan, Safarnama-e Qustuntuniya, 37–48.
13. 13.Her enthusiasm for visiting numerous mosques contrasts with her entries from Italy, where she quickly tires of visiting touristic sites.
14. 14.The mosque located near the shrine of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, located in the eponymous Eyüp District of modern Istanbul. Ayyub al-Ansari was a close companion of the Prophet. He died while on a military campaign in Constantinople. His shrine is a major pilgrimage site.
15. 15.Shrine visitations are typically performed on Thursday evening. By Islamic reckoning, days begin at sunset. Thus, “Thursday evening” is actually already Friday, the holiest day of the Islamic week.
16. 16.A full reading of the entire Qur’an or the final session of such a reading.
17. 17.The men had perhaps performed a Sufi zikr inside the shrine during this time.
18. 18.The shrine had been vacated of all men barring her husband so that she could enter in a state of purdah.
19. 19.The sahaba, the companions of the Prophet.
20. 20.In his account, Hamidullah does not describe their visit at all but only reviews the history and physical description of the mosque. H. Khan, Safarnama-e Qustuntuniya, 42–43.
21. 21.Hamidullah’s description of the morning is lengthy and exuberant. As it was Friday, the sultan went on procession to his Friday prayers, accompanied by large crowds and great fanfare. Begum Sarbuland seems to have missed out on this spectacle entirely, perhaps because the day’s events were largely limited to male participation. As with his other engagements in Istanbul, his participation in the festivities was coordinated via the British embassy, which appointed him an assistant as a guide. He and the assistant went to the mosque selected for the sultan’s weekly prayers, where they met him. He met and had coffee with the imam and the sultan’s “special assistant” before joining in the prayers. H. Khan, Safarnama-e Qustuntuniya, 49–51.
22. 22.The Sacred Mantle of the Prophet (Urdu: Khirqa Sharif) is a cloak once owned by the Prophet. It was transferred to Istanbul by Selim I in 1595. Hamidullah claims in his travel account to have had an audience with the sultan “for about twenty minutes.” They conversed variously in Persian and via a Turkish translator. He spoke with the sultan’s assistants in French, English, and Persian. H. Khan, Safarnama-e Qustuntuniya, 52–53.
23. 23.They were joined by “Ismail Kemal Bey, member of Parliament, who was also staying at the Pera Palace.” This was likely Ismail Qemali (1844–1919), an Albanian statesman who is regarded as the founder of modern Albania and its first prime minister.
24. 24.Both words have equivalent meanings in Turkish and Urdu. The word begum was itself the female form of an old Turkish word for nobility, beg. The male form endures in contemporary Turkish as bey, but clearly the feminine form was unfamiliar to the Ottomans, who referred to Turkish noblewomen as hanım (spelled khanam in Urdu), from the female form of the word khan.
25. 25.This compound name seems to have been composed of several elements: her first name, Akhtar un-Nisa; Hamid, her husband’s name; Sultan, a title indicating royal descent; and khanam, indicating her status as a noblewoman.
26. 26.Chaghtai, presumably. The Mughal family, of which she was a descendent, was in fact Chaghtai Turkish.
27. 27.The reference is unclear, though al-jaish means “army.” As is soon revealed, this “mem” is in fact an Egyptian Christian. She may have belonged to a military family. Remarkably, despite meeting with this woman several times, Begum Sarbuland never gives her name but only refers to her as “the memsahib.”
28. 28.She presumably explained that she was descended from a Turkic line. She was a descendent of the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, who was himself a direct descendent of Babur, and through him, to Amir Timur, a renowned fourteenth-century Chaghtai Turkic chieftain. It was this connection that led the ladies to declare her a Turk.
29. 29.As previously noted, the term angrez has many valences in Begum Sarbuland’s diary. The woman is ultimately revealed to be an Egyptian Christian, though the issue is muddled by Begum Sarbuland’s tendency to see religious affiliation in ethnic and racial terms. According to the quotation in the diary, the lady here referred to herself an “angrez laidi,” which seems unlikely.
30. 30.This conversation is recorded quite differently by Hamidullah, who was, of course, not present: “Begum sahiba was invited to the women’s dinner, and she left. Because Begum sahiba (Mrs. Sarbuland Jung) descends from the [Turkic] Mughal family, the Turkish women considered her one of their own and treated her with the greatest love and affection. . . . The Turkish women chatted with Begum sahiba in Arabic, but one of the guests was a Christian mem sahiba who was able to speak English and Arabic well. But since Begum sahiba already knows Arabic, and also speaks English, the memsahiba was not much help. Everyone got by simply by speaking Arabic.” Her account emphasizes her challenges to communicate with the women; his account emphasizes their easy unity. H. Khan, Safarnama-e Qustuntuniya, 51–52.
31. 31.Recall that Begum Sarbuland almost exclusively took her meals at the European Pera Palace hotel. This was thus probably her first, and perhaps only, dinner in the Turkish style.
32. 32.Begum Sarbuland’s descendants recall that she was an avid poet, though not a remarkable one. In his account of the evening, Hamidullah writes that she recited ghazals that both she and her father had written and that “the Turkish ladies were delighted by hearing the Indian language.” H. Khan, Safarnama-e Qustuntuniya, 52.
33. 33.For an analysis of Begum Sarbuland’s description of this interaction, see Majchrowicz, World in Words, 167–70.
34. 34.Hamidullah remembers the day somewhat differently: “Today we spent the morning touring and seeing the sights.”
35. 35.Begum Sarbuland refers to him as “Hamid Pasha” and the secretary to the prime minister. By contrast, her husband says this was “Hammad Pasha, the minister of charitable trusts [auqaf].” H. Khan, Safarnama-e Qustuntuniya, 54.
36. 36.Hamidullah had more confidence in his wife’s abilities: “The women in the zenana got along by speaking Arabic.” H. Khan, 54.
37. 37.Hamidullah records that this was an Armenian ball. His account suggests that they returned early to watch it and that he himself attended. H. Khan, 54.
38. 38.They went to the Topkapı Palace, which would not become a museum open to the public until 1924. Hamidullah calls it “the old palace,” a reflection of the fact that the Ottoman sultans no longer lived there but in the European-style Dolmabahçe Palace located several miles away. H. Khan, 55.
39. 39.“Here we saw a beautiful throne made of gold and covered with jewels. Selim I took it from Iran after defeating Shah Ismail in battle in 1514.” H. Khan, 56.
40. 40.In his travelogue, Hamidullah writes that on this day “we” went to visit the court and a new university, though as her own diary makes clear, she did not herself attend. His use of the word “we” to refer to both himself and he and his wife thus produces significant ambiguity in his text about his wife’s movements in the city that is only clarified by access to her telling of the events. H. Khan, 64.
41. 41.Oddly, Hamidullah also seems to have spent the afternoon at the bazaar, though they apparently visited it separately. H. Khan, 66.
42. 42.He visited a large number of sites on the Asian side of the city and committed several pages of his travelogue to describing them. He did seem somewhat unimpressed but also likely had little motivation to retrace his steps with her. H. Khan, 66–71.
43. 43.Steamer tours would typically move up the strait in a zigzag pattern, stopping briefly at sites on either side.
44. 44.They made a standard tour of the Bosporus, boarding the ship near the Galata Bridge and heading northward. Begum Sarbuland mercifully elides a description of the sites they saw on this tour, but they are covered in detail in Hamidullah’s account. H. Khan, Safarnama-e Qustuntuniya, 71–78.
45. 45.This was Dolmabahçe Palace, the newer, European-style palace and the primary residence of the sultan.
46. 46.Hamidullah does not mention this momentary delay as permission was sought for his wife’s entry. H. Khan, Safarnama-e Qustuntuniya, 79.
47. 47.Khwajasaras are court eunuchs. For a study of African khwajasaras and their role in the Ottoman court, see Junne, Black Eunuchs.
48. 48.Mehmed V (r. 1909–18), the penultimate sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
49. 49.Hamidullah states that they conversed for twenty minutes but gives no indication of what they discussed. H. Khan, Safarnama-e Qustuntuniya, 80.
50. 50.Hamidullah nevertheless gave it his best shot. H. Khan, 80–81.
51. 51.A kind of Muslim rosary.
52. 52.In Begum Sarbuland’s book, the name is given as Abdülhamid Palace. Located on a hill in Beşiktaş, the Yıldız Palace was a complex of villas and plazas, which had once served as a residence for Sultan Abdülhamid II, who felt that his palace at Dolmabahçe was vulnerable to attack by sea. As Begum Sarbuland describes, it had by then been converted into a park.
53. 53.Hamidullah describes him as belonging to the Shadhili Sufi order and the leader of a hospice.
54. 54.Hizb al-Bahr in Arabic. An ijazat is a certification of mastery. Hamidullah does not mention this particular litany by name.
55. 55.The text reads “January.”
56. 56.He had gone to visit a Mevlavi Sufi hospice, where he was given an ijazat for Rumi’s Masnavi. H. Khan, Safarnama-e Qustuntuniya, 83.
57. 57.“Ruf samundar.”