And he had, the doctor was waiting impatiently. The sultan lit another cigarette, and began speaking like a grandfather telling his grandchild a fairy tale. “In Paris I’d sensed that something was going on between my uncle and Eugénie, but I didn’t know how far things had gone. A year after our trip, Eugénie came to Istanbul, and she came without her husband. She arrived on the yacht Aigle with her retinue. When my uncle received news that Eugénie was coming, he went all out for her. He had Beylerbeyi Palace readied for the empress. He had new tableware brought from Paris, he ordered hundreds of yards of expensive cloth, he had the palace chefs prepare beef tongue from Bulgaria, veal from Thrace, and tasty Bosphorus fish. The people of Istanbul were infected by the sultan’s excitement, and they decorated the entire city for the empress. It was normal for royal families to visit each other, but this visit became the subject of gossip.

  “The first interesting incident occurred at the reception at Dolmabahçe Palace. According to the traditions of European palaces, my uncle took Eugénie on his arm as they entered the palace. But his mother, Pertevniyal Hanım, separated them, and said, ‘Woman, have you no husband?’ It was a strange incident.

  “Then one day my uncle went to Beylerbeyi Palace secretly, without his entourage, and returned in the morning looking tired and worn out. There are those who swear they saw this with their own eyes, but I don’t know what to say. The people of Istanbul began talking about the sultan’s love affair.”

  The possibility that these rumors were true excited the doctor, because what he knew, and the sultan didn’t, was that Eugénie had visited Istanbul that year, forty-two years after her initial visit, that she’d visited Beylerbeyi Palace to refresh her memories and to meet the late sultan’s son.

  Now the sultan was talking about a meeting that was held after their return from Europe. The grand vizier, the ministers, and the shaykh al-Islam were present; they talked about the trip to Europe, about how much more advanced Europe was, and that the empire needed to pull itself together and follow the European example. After what they’d seen, no one could deny this. They were very impressed that in Europe, men and women worked together. They couldn’t get the illuminated buildings, trains, and factories out of their minds. At one point Ömer Faiz Efendi turned to the shaykh al-Islam and said, “Sir, we’re even going to have to learn about Islam from the Europeans,” then explained that, “They behave in accordance with the proper Islam we were taught, but we’ve become corrupted, we have to start from the beginning again and learn from them.” He’d said this half in jest, but a cloud of melancholy descended on the gathering.

  The doctor sensed that the sultan was telling him this to illustrate the disastrous state of the empire he’d inherited.

  Had he sensed something? Even though he had no contact with the outside world he seemed to know, it was as if he felt he had to hurry to say what he wanted to say because time was running out and he needed to justify himself. The doctor didn’t know if he was angry at the man or if he felt sorry for him, because somehow he couldn’t give him his full attention. Despite this, he was getting the distinct impression that the sultan who’d been known as a Pan-Islamist was in fact an admirer of European civilization. What a strange situation this was. He’d even gone so far as to say that we needed to learn about Islam from Europe.

  After he left the mansion the doctor decided to walk along the shore a bit to clear his mind. The officers and guards in the garden were becoming increasingly uneasy. Small groups of officers were standing about whispering; they stopped talking and saluted when he passed, then continued talking. It was the end of October, the weather was cooler, and there was a stiff breeze from the sea.

  The doctor went out the garden gate and started walking toward the Alatini factory. When he reached the shore he saw a beautiful two-masted white steamer at anchor, it must have been about sixty meters long. It was called the Loreley. It looked German-made. So this must be a German observation ship. What is it doing in Thessaloniki in wartime?

  A surprising order in the middle of the night

  ONLY GOD KNOWS WHY they chose to convey the order from the sultan to the former sultan in the middle of the night. Perhaps it was due to the complicated rules of military bureaucracy, or perhaps it was due to the confusion—stupefaction according to the doctor’s diagnosis—into which the general command had descended. Whatever the reason, officers came to the mansion after everyone was in bed and asked that the former sultan be summoned. The doctor was glad that he had been called as well because he was anxious about his patient.

  The chamberlains summoned the sultan, and he entered the hall in a solemn manner. With the aid of his cane he walked to the middle of the room. He exhibited no panic or fear. The doctor remembered how he’d bragged about his calm in the face of grave danger. This meant that he felt he was once again in danger.

  The high-ranking officers greeted him as “Your Illustrious Highness.” Abdülhamid said, “What’s going on? What emergency brings you here in the middle of the night?”

  At that moment the doctor realized that the old man’s calm was the result of his helplessness in the face of death. After seeing him every day for three and a half years, he knew the sultan well enough to realize that, faced with the certainty of death, and knowing there was nothing to do, he had adopted the calm, dignified manner of an emperor. The doctor paid attention to every detail so as not to miss a second of this historic event.

  The commander of the Vardar Army addressed the sultan in a respectful tone, “Your Illustrious Highness, we have received orders to bring you to Istanbul.”

  The doctor saw that Abdülhamid was shaken by this.

  “What? To Istanbul? Why? Whatever you’re going to do to me you can do here.”

  “It is an imperial decree,” said the pasha.

  “What’s the reason for this decree? I’ve been settled in this mansion for three and a half years. My family is here. I have no intention of going to Istanbul.”

  “But it would be dangerous for you to stay here.”

  “How is it dangerous?”

  The officers glanced at each other uneasily.

  “I go calmly about my life surrounded by a division of soldiers. What danger could I possibly be in?”

  Then the doctor understood the situation. They were going to tell the former sultan that the empire had lost the Balkans, that the Greek and Bulgarian armies were marching toward Thessaloniki, that the Bulgarian army had surrounded Edirne, and that the railway line between Thessaloniki and Istanbul had been cut. After living three and a half years in a dream world, unaware of what was going on, this was going to be a heavy blow. The doctor thought about what he would do if the man fainted.

  The old man didn’t faint, but his eyes opened wide in astonishment, his face went white, and his hands were trembling. “What are you saying? How could this be?”

  The pashas said nothing.

  “I worked hard to make the Third Army an elite force. I provided for everything. What happened to our army? Aren’t they fighting the enemy?”

  An elderly pasha with a chest full of medals said, “We’re at war, sir. We’re fighting, but we’re facing more than one army.”

  “You mean you’re losing. Which armies are these? I defeated the Greek army in thirty hours. Why can’t you?”

  “At that time the Balkan states were divided, Your Illustrious Highness.”

  “And they aren’t now?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  “Which armies are headed here?”

  “The Greek and Bulgarian armies. There are the Serbs too, but mostly the first two.”

  “How could this be? When did these countries stop fighting each other? There’s no chance they could agree about anything. Then this is…this is due to inept politics—” He stopped speaking suddenly but everyone knew what he wanted to say. During his long years in power he had always applied the principal of “divide and rule,” he wanted to point out the incompetence of the new government and the brother who had succeeded him, but he preferred to be cautious and remain silent.

  He gripped the handle of his cane with both hands and in the tone of a haughty emperor said, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stay in Thessaloniki.”

  “But the enemy is about to enter the city. We can already hear cannon fire.”

  “From which front?”

  “Karaferye.”

  “Then why can’t I hear it? I don’t hear any cannon fire.”

  The doctor was going to say, “Because you’re hard of hearing,” but he contained himself.

  “Even if that’s so,” said the old man, “I should stay and defend this city that I inherited from my ancestors. Give me a rifle.”

  “Sir, how could we do that?”

  “Just give me a rifle, I say, give me a rifle.” His back seemed to become straighter and his voice deeper, and like a commander trying to sum up the situation he asked, “Pasha, how close are these armies?”

  “A few days away.”

  “Which army is closest?”

  “The Greek army is closest, sir.”

  “Who’s the commander in Thessaloniki at the moment?”

  “Hasan Tahsin Pasha, sir.”

  “Ha, the Albanian. Tell him to come talk to me. Since there are two armies, we should resist the first army, then when the other arrives we can get the Greek and Bulgarian armies to fight each other.”

  The doctor saw the change in the man he knew so well, the gravitas in his stance and his voice, and thought to himself, So this is what an emperor is like. This is a different man. That whining invalid is gone.

  The pashas were overwhelmed by the threat of the approaching enemy, the three main battle groups had lost contact with one another, and they’d lost all confidence. They knew that this man who was talking to them as if he were sultan had many years of experience and that all he wanted was to apply the right military strategy. If the city held out for a few days they could have the two enemy armies facing each other, but it was not within their authority to make this decision. Only the minister of war or Hasan Tahsin Pasha could make this decision, but they were unable to communicate with Istanbul. All communications had been cut. They’d been left to face their destiny alone.

  Meanwhile, the sultan started shouting, “No one should think of saving themselves by surrendering Thessaloniki. If Thessaloniki, falls Istanbul will fall.” He banged his cane on the floor three times. “I’m saying this here. Remember it. If Thessaloniki falls, Istanbul will fall!”

  There was a long silence. The pashas squirmed under Abdülhamid’s piercing gaze. Then they pulled themselves together and realized that the sultan who was rebuking them had no authority. Even if what he said made sense, he was a former sultan, he was under house arrest, and they’d been ordered to send him to Istanbul.

  “Sir,” they said, “our orders are to send you to Istanbul. This is an imperial decree.”

  But no matter how they tried, they could not get past the sultan’s obstinacy. The pashas left, and to his complete surprise, his son-in-law and Abdülaziz’s son-in-law entered the room. Both of them bowed and kissed Sultan Hamid’s hand, and he embraced the unexpected guests.

  “This is a surprise, I wasn’t expecting you,” he said. “If the rail line to Istanbul is cut, how did you get here?”

  “We came by sea, Your Illustrious Highness,” said one of them. “This region is dangerous, as you know, it’s a war zone. We asked Emperor Wilhelm for assistance in getting you safely back to Istanbul. Out of friendship for you he sent the yacht Loreley. We came to get you.”

  Just then the doctor saw a brief glint in the former sultan’s eyes. It was only a momentary flash. He knew the man well enough to realize that he suddenly had hope there might be a chance to return to power. He was certain the man thought that his brother might be deposed for his incompetence, and that he might be invited to take back the throne so the government could benefit from his experience. It could happen. Everything depended on God’s discretion.

  Preparations to withdraw from Thessaloniki

  THE DOCTOR’S FRIENDS WERE sitting in the Olympos, the atmosphere was palpably melancholy, they sat slumped forward, calmly sipping their drinks, talking about the bad news in low voices. There were no musicians on the stage, the party was over. All of the taverns, restaurants, shops, and even homes were shrouded in silence and the darkness of mourning. As if a black cloth covered the once cheerful city. The streets, avenues, and squares were empty. People closed themselves in their homes as the cannon fire drew closer. The soldiers and officers didn’t know what to do, they didn’t know how they were going to receive orders from above.

  “I don’t understand,” Major Saffet was saying. “I don’t understand what’s going on. What are we doing here? Why aren’t we with the units that are fighting, why are we sitting on our thumbs here as if we don’t know what’s coming?”

  “Nobody understands,” said Nihat. “I don’t think anything like this has ever happened before.”

  “Hold on. The doctor is going to come from the meeting at the White Tower. He’ll tell us what’s going on.”

  “What’s going on at the White Tower?”

  “The city’s leadership has gathered. The governor and the military commander, Jewish, Greek, and Turkish businessmen, factory and hotel owners. The local elites.”

  “It’s as if they put sleeping medication in the drinking water, or the entire population was bitten by tsetse flies. Everyone seems half asleep.”

  “What can we do, brother? We follow orders. In the army you can’t act on your own initiative.”

  “I wonder if they’ve decided to give Thessaloniki up.”

  “Who could even countenance such treachery?”

  “I don’t know, but this silence is going to drive all of us crazy.”

  “Did you see the Loreley? They say it’s here to get Abdülhamid.”

  “Why is a German ship coming for him? Don’t we have any ships left?”

  “The Greek navy controls the seas, Ottoman ships can’t get through, the Bulgarians have taken Bük Station, which means the main road has been cut. We’re under siege from the land and the sea.”

  “How the hell did it come to this? I can’t even take it all in, sometimes I think I’m dreaming. According to an officer who returned from leave before the road was closed, Istanbul is completely preoccupied with the struggle between the liberals and the committee. It’s as if the committee wants the enemy to win in order to undermine the liberal government. The commander in chief Nazım Pasha has lost contact with some of the armies. There are contradictory reports. There’s a lot of confusion. Both the Eastern Army and the Western Army are retreating in the face of the enemy.”

  “Politics is finishing the empire off. These internal conflicts…If only they hated the enemy as much as they hate each other. You can even see it here, can we agree with all of the officers? The liberal officers are hostile to us.”

  The officers’ conversation was punctuated by deep silences, during which they gazed into the distance or at the tablecloth.

  They were waiting for the news the doctor would bring. He knew what was happening in the mansion, and he’d been at the meeting in the White Tower.

  However, what the doctor told them when he arrived caused them even more distress, indeed it made them lose hope. The unthinkable was happening, they were going to surrender Thessaloniki. Representatives of the Jewish community, which made up more than half of the population, were against the destruction of the city. Naturally the Greek community thought the same thing, and were pressuring the commander to surrender to the Greek army. According to what had been said at the meeting, the Ottoman fleet couldn’t even set sail, the land forces were in a state of confusion, and Edirne was on the point of falling. The officers didn’t even know what to say. Thessaloniki had become a helpless island, besieged on all sides. The Greek army could enter the city at any moment.

  The conversation turned to Abdülhamid. Had the Loreley really come to get him?

  The doctor gave them some more surprising news. He told them about how the former sultan had resisted returning to Istanbul, and how he’d said, “Give me a rifle. It’s my right to defend my ancestral lands, you can’t stop me.” His son-in-law came from the palace to convince him. The commander of the Vardar Army was there as well. They were all very respectful to him, as if he were still sultan. And the man began behaving as if he were a powerful emperor.

  “But the real issue is even more important,” said the doctor. “I still hate his tyranny and his regime of fear, but I have to give him his due. Don’t be angry with me. He’s an old man who’s been isolated in the mansion without any idea of what was going on, when he first heard the news it was a heavy blow, at first he was almost in panic. Indeed he was on the point of collapse. But he pulled himself together within a few minutes, asked about the military situation, then told the pasha the correct military strategy as if he was giving an order. ‘I’m not asking you to resist indefinitely, I want you to hold the Greek army off until the Bulgarians and the Serbs get here. They’ll start fighting over who’s going to take the city, and we can take advantage of this.’ ”

  Saffet said, “By God, that’s right. That’s the only possible plan. That was his tactic for years. Getting the hunters to go after each other prolongs the prey’s life.”