Ottoman Turks

“Prayer in Hagia Sophia is a right conquered by Mehmed the conqueror”, said Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Numan Kurtumlus commenting on the prospect of transforming the historical UNESCO site into an Islamic mosque.

'Crimes of Honor, Drunken Brawls and Murder: Violence in Istanbul under Abdülhamid II' by Roger A. Deal (Libra, 218 pages, 70TL)

A caravanserai that was built by the Ottoman sultan Süleyman the Magnificent for his mother, Ayşe Hafsa Sultan, in the resort district of Marmaris will now turn into a museum amid anger that some parts of the complex are currently used as a bar.

A fire during restoration works has caused serious damage to a historic 15th century Ottoman mosque in Didymoteicho, northeastern Greece, local officials said on March 22.

"For the moment there is no indication that arson was involved," Nathanail Rigas, head fireman of the Thrace region bordering Turkey, told AFP.

A fire badly damaged the Bayezid (Mehmed I) mosque in Didymoteicho, northern Greece, in the early hours of Wednesday, reports say.

Reports say the fire completely destroyed the 14th century building's wooden roof which was undergoing restoration works expected to finish by the end of the year.

Authorities are investigating the incident.

Nilhan Osmanoğlu, the person who has gone extremely public nowadays, claims she is the fifth generation granddaughter of one of the last Ottoman sultans, Abdul Hamid II. She said in a public speech last week that she was fed up with the parliamentarian system. 

We've made the sultan worry, look what've done. 

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmaker Özgür Özel has rebuked Nilhan Osmanoğlu, one of the descendants of Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II, after she showed her support for the presidential system. 

The biggest problem for Turkey is that we have not yet been able to achieve the sociological and sentimental integration to the extent required by the definition of a "nation." For this reason, we become polarized very easily and very sharply. 

It's not every day Turkish comedy fans get to laugh at a descendant of the sultan. "I've got this fancy title but don't have the riches," said Naz Osmanoğlu, a British comedian and member of Turkey's former ruling family, at his first-ever gig in Turkey last week. 

An interesting memorial ceremony was held on Sept. 7 in the Hungarian city of Szigetvar with the participation of Turkish, Hungarian and Croatian officials, as well as thousands of visitors.The Ottomans seized Szigetvar Castle 450 years ago on Sept.