The Beginnings of an ‘Enlightened’ Diplomacy

Ottoman diplomatic missions to the Spanish court started anew after the legation was re-established, following an interruption of over twenty years. Hüseyin Sermed Efendi (1832–86), a career diplomat, took over the mission in 1881 and died in Madrid in 1886, while still in post. On 25 February 1883, he visited the Alhambra and left a short inscription in the visitors’ book: ‘Here is the palace of the exemplary kings and sultans of Islam’. Such concision does not allow for much interpretation; nevertheless, it is worth noting that he was the only one on the page to have felt the need to leave more than just a signature behind. The Granadan press, once so excited at the sight of a ‘Turk’ seemed indifferent: ‘After spending a few days at the Alhambra in the magnificent hotel of Siete Suelos, the Turkish ambassador in Madrid has left [Granada] to pursue his journey through Andalusia.’ If we assume that he visited the Alhambra and signed the book immediately upon arrival, on 25 February, it seems that Sermed Efendi spent about a week in Granada, lodged right next to the monument. Should we take this as an indication of a curiosity that the press simply did not see worthy of comment? Not necessarily; nevertheless, it should be noted that visiting Granada and touring Andalusia had become one of the conventional duties of Ottoman ministers in Madrid.

Sermed Efendi's successor, Turhan Hüsnü Bey (1846–1927),5 who filled this post from 1886 to 1894, visited the Alhambra on 1 May 1889. The inscription he left in the visitors’ book suggests that a new stage had finally been reached concerning Ottoman awareness. The text was so rich that a note in Spanish called it ‘a poem written by the ambassador of Turkey’. Actually, it was only prose, but Turhan Bey had undeniably embarked upon a lyricist streak (Figure 4.1):