Video - The Sultan's Noble Visit to France

Once upon a time, a radiant-faced Ottoman mother was kneeling in front of the Sultan of the Family of Osman and kissing his skirt. The Sultan lifted him up by holding his hands and complimented him. At that time, the old woman was saying the following: "Şevketmeab! I returned from the pilgrimage this year. I saw in my dream that I was in the presence of your beloved ones. My dream came true. May God protect you, your magnificent state, your blessed property and your beloved nation from evil eyes. Now let these Franks see what the ruler is!.." These words, which made Sultan Abdulaziz cry, were perhaps the most meaningful sentences of his visit to France. Indeed, in that and the following days, Europe saw what a sultan would be like. Although French ladies could not approach the Ottoman sultan, they competed to touch his servants. For two years, Ottoman clothes became fashionable in France and everyone competed in behaving like an Ottoman. This exemplary nobility undoubtedly had the prayers of that old woman and added a spiritual atmosphere to the entire visiting delegation. It is always possible to read how the nobility in the genes of the thirty-seven-year-old sultan was inherited by those around him, from the memories of those who lived in those days and from the books describing this visit.