The Ottomans and Africa

THE EMERGING LINKS BETWEEN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND SOUTH AFRICA

Serhat ORAKÇI
serhatorakci@gmail.com
Published in International Journal of Turkish Studies, Volume 14, Nos. 1-2 Fall (2008) pp. 47-59


Summary

Religious and political attempts of the Ottomans to establish contact with the southern region of Africa during the nineteenth century can be interpreted as part of the Ottoman Empire’s African foreign policy. In these efforts, first a Muslim Scholar, Abu Bakr Effendi, was sent to South Africa as a religious leader, and later official consuls of the Empire established important links between the Ottoman state and South Africa. Up to now, considerable attention has been focused on Abu Bakr Effendi’s life and his literary contributions to Arabic-Afrikaans literature, but, for lack of sources, almost nothing has been written about Mehmet Remzi Bey, the first Turkish diplomat stationed in South Africa, who lived there for two years with his family during the First World War. Nevertheless, interesting records from the South African National Archives shine some light on the diplomat’s tragic life and that of his family and on an exchange program between the Ottoman state and Britain for prisoners of war.

Key Words:

The Ottomans in Africa, The Ottoman Empire Foreign Policy, The Ottoman Africa Relations, Abu Bakr Effendi, Mehmet Remzi Bey

For full version of the article see International Journal of Turkish Studies, Volume 14, Nos. 1-2 Fall (2008) pp. 47-59