the 'Bursa' and 'İzmir' corvettes, headed from Istanbul to
Basra in Iraq. Along the way, the two ships were carried
by Atlantic storms to Brazil by accident, reaching Rio
de Janeiro in June 1866.
Two crewmembers of the 'Bursa' wrote books about their
voyages, as reported by TNT in mid-June 2018.
Now, TNT has begun working on a short (15-page)
note written by Hasan Rami Paşa to the reestablished
Turkish Parliament in 1908, to defend his career record
after being stripped of his position as Navy Minister
during the turmoil that accompanied the Young Turks'
rise to power in Istanbul that year.
It turns out that early in Hasan Rami Paşa's naval career
he served on the 'Izmir' and participated in the accidental
voyage to Brazil. Herewith his brief account of that
voyage. While lacking in detail, Hasan Rami Paşa's
account of the voyage generally tracks with the much
more thorough chronicle of 'Bursa' crewmember
Engineer Faik. For example, Hasan Rami Paşa
remembered (40 years later) staying in Cadiz for just
1.5 months, whereas Engineer Faik reported that the
Cadiz layover lasted for six months.//
Accidental Turks in Brazil click here for Part I of an 11-
part series published by TNT in mid-June 2018.
Hasan Rami Paşa
After graduating from the naval school, I was assigned as the purser
on the 'Lubnan' corvette, anchored off Beşiktaş in Istanbul.
Subsequently, I served in the Black Sea after the end of the Crimean
War, at a time when only corvette-sized ships could enter that sea.
Around that time, the 'İzmir' and 'Bursa' corvettes, which had been
ordered from England, were ordered to go to Basra to patrol the
shores there. The Baghdad Governor, Namık Paşa, had requested
the ships and their assignment was approved by the Bab-ı âli
(Ottoman government) and the Navy Ministry.
I was assigned to the 'İzmir' corvette. We departed Istanbul and went
via the Malta route to Gibraltar, after which we visited the Spanish
port of Cadiz, where the 'İzmir' was put into dry-dock for repairs.
A month and a half later we headed for the Canary Islands and
subsequently reached Rio de Janeiro in South America, where the
'Bursa' was put into dry-dock for repairs.
The two ships' passage through the Mediterranean Sea was
a lot more eventful than Hasan Rami Paşa's brief mention
would indicate - see the TNT series (link above) for more
details about the entire adventure to Rio and beyond.
After Brazil, we went to the Cape of Good Hope and remained there
for a month. Then, taking advantage of the seasonal trade winds, we
made for the Maritius Islands near Madagascar and from there we
went to Bombai (Mumbai) in India, where we conversed with the local
Moslems. From Bombai we headed for Muscat, where we remained
for a few days to rest. Finally, we entered the Fao Strait (Shatt al Arab),
arriving in Basra 14 months after we had left Istanbul (mid-November
1866).
Upon the invitation of the Baghdad Governor, we went to Baghdad.
Returning to the ship, we began to patrol the Iranian shore. At this
time, the Shah of Iran and his uncle visited our ship for bilateral
discussions, after which we entered Bandar Bushehir.
Subsequently, I was assigned with the 'İzmir' to go to the Red Sea in
order to ferry doctors from Jidda to quarantine points at Karman
Island and Hodeidah, Yemen, where the doctors would check Moslems
coming from India for the Haj. In order to reach Jidda, the 'Izmir' went
via Muscat, Mukalla, Aden and the Bab al Mandab entrance to the Red
Sea. I served there for 3.5 years and then returned to Istanbul via the
newly opened Suez Cana(1869).
Hasan Rami Paşa does not mention that the two corvettes were
separated in storms a number of times along the way to Basra.
For example, the 'İzmir' went to Mumbai, while the 'Bursa'
went to Muscat when they lost contact with each other during
a storm after leaving Maritius.
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder