Farewell bid to most senior member of Ottoman heir

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç (4th R) and the deputy chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Abdülkadir Aksu (5th R) attended the funeral. DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK

The Osmanoğlu family paid their final respects to the most senior member of the dynasty, Neslişah Sultan, yesterday in a funeral service in Istanbul. Fatma Neslişah Osmanoğlu, born when the Ottoman Empire still existed, passed away in Istanbul April 2 at the age of 91.

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç and the deputy chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Abdülkadir Aksu, also attended the funeral. “The last representative of the dynasty has passed away. In the name of our prime minister I expressed my condolences to the Osmanoğlu family and our entire nation,” Arınç said.

Neslişah Sultan’s funeral was held at the Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque, which was built in 1886 by Sultan Abdülhamit II, in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district. She was later buried at Aşiyan Cemetery with many in attendance including politicians, academicians, and the public.

“Neslişah Sultan was the last Ottoman to be registered in dynastic records, and personally witnessed her family’s exile. With her death, official membership in the dynasty has ended, there is no such a statute anymore.” Prof. İlber Ortaylı, the manager of the Topkapı Palace Museum, told the Daily News.
The royal family was forced into exile in 1924, and its female members were only allowed to return in the 1950s. Male members of the Osmanoğlu family remained barred from the country until 1974.

Osman Beyazid, who is living in the United States, became the most senior member of the dynasty after Neslişah Sultan’s death.

Neslişah Osmanoğlu was the grandchild of the last sultan, Vahdettin, and personally witnessed his exile. She was also the granddaughter of the last caliph, Abdülmecit, and the wife of Prince Muhammed Abdülmümim, a former regent for the king of Egypt.