Peace With Russia

A short time later, Turco-Russian War, which broke out on April 27, 1877, gave birth to many problems. In this war, which was publicly called the “Ninety Three War”, the transfer of soldiers from the city to west, the sick coming from the front and the Rumelian countrymen escaping from the war caused lots of troubles. On February 13, 1878 Sultan Abdülhamid closed the Assembly. In March 3, 1878, upon the arrival of Russian armies at Yeşilköy (Ayastefanos), the Ayastefanos agreement was signed and a long peace period began.

The Issue Of Education

During the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II, the issue of education gained importance. Many schools were opened in Istanbul, and at the beginning of 1900, the number of schools was almost 30. Among the schools were; School of State Administration, School of Law, School of Fine Arts, School of Accounting, School of High Medicine, School of Teacher Education, School of Science and Accounting, School of Pharmacy, School of Commerce, Halkalı Advanced Studies of Agriculture, Hamidiye School of Veterinary Medicine, School of Forestry and Mining, School of Marine Trade, School for the Mute and Blind, Men’s and Girl’s Schools of Industry, Universities, high schools and secondary schools. Inspired by these improvements, private schools such as Darülfeyz, Burhan-i Terakki, Numune-i Irfan started their education in this period as well.

Ii. Constitution

Sultan Abdülhamid II declared  the II. Constitution in July 24 1908 and was dethroned after March 31 Incidence and was exiled. Sultan Mehmet Reşad V took up the throne in his place in April 27, 1909.

Balkan War

After this, Istanbul experienced wars and turbulence. In January 19, 1910 Çırağan Palace was burned. This was the first of a series of bad omens to come. In February 6, 1911 a fire broke out in Babıali. In October 18, 1912, the Balkan War started. Once again Istanbul witnessed disastrous scenes like in Ninety Three War.

Babiali Raid

In January 23, 1913, the Babıali Raid broke out. Kıbrıslı Kamil Pasha’s government was forced to resign under threat of a gun. In June 11, 1913 Vizier Mahmut Şevket Pasha was assassinated. The wave of bribery, corruption and theft started to shake the base of state structure. In December 14, 1914, the First World War broke out. In order to fight the famine and poverty brought by the war, hoarding and black market could not be prevented in spite of the efforts of official institutions.