Saturday, July 19, 2014

Ghosts of the Bosphorus





MEMORIES OF A CITY...



    The Bosphorus, replete with a magical beauty in its water, and the mesmerizing architecture of its houses, pavilions, and splendid palaces along the shorelines. Jason and the Argonauts sped through here, the Golden Fleece stowed, fleeing Phineus, the King of Thrace, resisting the temptation of the Harpies.Where the mouth of the Bosphorus meets the Black Sea was known as the Symplegad, meaning ‘Clashing Rocks,’ which crushed everything that passed between them. Stories of these rocks are numerous, but there is one heart-aching love story, about which rumors continue to this day.

   In the 19th century, Sadullah was paşa (right-hand man) to Sultan Abdülaziz. But Sadullah Paşa and friends supported the claim of would-be sultan Murad V, helping to exile the sitting ruler. Murad, though, found himself unable to deal with the pressures of royal life, losing his mental balance so that his brother, Abdulhamit, became Sultan Abdulhamit II. The new sultan did not trust Sadullah, and exiled both him and his friends. Sadullah lived first in Berlin before moving to Vienna. There, while his wife was waiting for him in Istanbul, he had a forbidden affair with a maid. When the maid announced that she was pregnant, Sadullah, torn, fell into a deep depression and ended up committing suicide. Yet, the story doesn’t end there...


   Sadullah’s wife, Necibe, waited for her husband for more than fourteen years during his exile. Sadullah had told her that pink was ‘her’ color, and when she received news of his death she ignored the truth, continuing to wear only pink and continuing her wait for him. In time, she lost her mind, but still no one could stop her from wearing pink, and only pink, as she waited for her lost husband. Since her death, some say a lady in pink appears in the house at night, walking slowly from one room to another...

    The story of the Sadullah Paşa family is full of sadness. Even today, their yalı (a house next to the sea) is empty as a result of the story and its reputation for bringing bad luck to subsequent owners—all of whom either had accidents or suffered bankruptcy while living in or after leaving this now famous yalı.

   Today the yalı stands aloof in Çengelköy with its rose madder color. And who knows, maybe you will see the lady in pink during your Bosphorus cruise...