Black Quote by Cory Doctorow

“At the start of World War I, the Ottoman Empire was often described as a dwindling power, mired by administrative corruption, using inferior technology,…

— Charles River Editors

Turks have long admired the sultan, Mehmet II, for his military triumphs, especially his capture of Constantinople, now known as Istanbul, in 1453.

— Stephen Kinzer

Celebrating historic triumphs is a favorite pastime for many Turks. Tales of how Turkic peoples emerged from Central Asia, crossed the steppes to Anatolia,…

— Stephen Kinzer

“The CUP’s genocidal wartime policies towards the Armenians and Kemal’s ruthless expulsion of Christian Ottomans featured prominently in the Nazi imagination.”

— Robert Gerwarth

“For the first time, the Ottoman Empire was forced to recognize the full independence of a nation, not because of a war with a…

— Charles River Editors

“One sultan, Ibrahim the Mad, encased his beard in a network of diamonds and passed his days tossing gold coins to the fish in…

— Robert K. Massie

I wanted to tell a romantic and dark side of Ottoman history that was also slightly political, saying to the previous generation of writers,…

— Orhan Pamuk

Children of the future, watching empires fall. Madness the cup they drink from, self destruction the toll.

— Ozzy Osbourne

“Water splashes and runs in a film across the glass floor suspended above the mosaics. The Hacı Kadın hamam is a typical post-Union fusion…

— Ian McDonald

“Looking at the reforms, technological advances and modernization efforts made by the Ottoman elite between 1826 and the beginning of World War I, one…

— Charles River Editors

“The capital of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople, still carried the name given to it in the year 330, when it became the imperial capital…

— Louis Farshee

“Turkey, fearing attack by Russia, took Germany’s side and declared war against the czar by bombarding the port of Odessa.”

— Joseph E. Persico