Doğu Rumeli Konferansı, İstanbul. November 1885.
The Conference over Eastern Rumelia, Istanbul.
Yuvarlak masadakiler, en soldan saat yönünde: Osmanlı Hariciye Nazırı Said Paşa, Osmanlı Dâhiliye Nazırı Server Paşa, Büyük Britanya Büyükelçisi Sir W. White, Rusya Büyükelçisi A. Nelidoff, Almanya Büyükelçisi Bay de Radowitz, Fransa Büyükelçisi Marki de Noailles, Avusturya-Macaristan Büyükelçisi Baron Calice, İtalya Büyükelçisi Kont Corti.
Sekreteryada: Naum Efendi (ayakta), oturanlar arkadan öne: N.A. Jarosjinski, G. Hanotaux, Yusuf Franko. Yusuf Franko depicted the bureaucrats and ambassadors who attended the conference.
Clockwise, from the far left: Ottoman Foreign Minister, Said Paşa; Ottoman Minister of Interior Affairs, Server Paşa; British Ambassador, Sir W. White; Russian Ambassador, A. Nelidoff; German Ambassador, Mr. de Radowitz; French Ambassador, Marquis de Noailles; Austro-Hungarian Ambassador, Baron Calice; Italian Ambassador, Count Corti.
In the secretariat: Naum Efendi (standing), clockwise, from rear to front: N.A. Jarosjinski, G. Hanotaux, Yusuf Franko.
The Illustrated London News, 12 Aralık 1885.
Atatürk Kitaplığı. “The War Between Servia and Bulgaria: Diplomatic Conference at Constantinople.”
The Illustrated London News, December 12th 1885.
Atatürk Library.
Aralık 1885.
Rusya Büyükelçisi. A. de Nelidoff
December 1885.
Russian Ambassador.
(Sir William White, 1885)
“Bay de Nelidoff, iri kıyım olmasına karsın pek yakışıklı bir adamdı.”
(Said Naum-Duhanî) “Nelidoff’s ideas about Bulgaria seem to have been shaped by professional rather than emotional considerations: he was said to have confided to a friend that there was a ‘great future’ before him, and that if he could handle the crisis successfully and secure the abdication of the Prince, he might soon leave the Russian Embassy at Constantinople and replace Giers at St. Petersburg.”
(Sir William White, 1885)
“Mister de Nelidoff was quite an attractive man despite his large size.”
(Said Naum-Duhanî)
Mayıs 1886.
Büyük Britanya Büyükelçisi. Sir William White
May 1886.
Ambassador for Great Britain.
Yusuf Bey’in yaratıcı zekâsından yararlanırdı.”
(Said Naum-Duhanî) “Sir White organized entertainment evenings in which quizzes, sketches, and short comedy pieces were staged, and he made ample use of Yusuf Bey’s creative genius in the preparation of these.”
(Said Naum-Duhanî)
Mayıs 1886.
“Diplomatik bir Don Juan.” İtalya Büyükelçisi. Count Corti.
May 1886.
“A Diplomatic Don Juan.” Ambassador for Italy.
Ocak 1886. N. A. Jarosjinski
January 1886.
Ekim 1886.
Almanya Büyükelçisi. Joseph-Maria von Radowitz
October 1886.
German Ambassador.
(Büyük Britanya’nın İtalya Maslahatgüzarı Philipps, 1885) “White has become a red rag to the Ambassadors at
Constantinople simply because he has won the day. I have no doubt that Radowitz and Nelidoff would be very glad to be rid of him.”
(Philipps, Great Britain's Charge d'Affaires in Italy, 1885)
Şubat 1891.
Almanya Büyükelçisi’nin kızı. Nadine von Radowitz.
February 1891.
The German Ambassador’s Daughter.
‘Bulgaristan – ya da Doğu Rumeli – Meselesi’, 19. yüzyılın sonunda uluslararası alanda Osmanlı Devleti’nin başını en çok ağrıtan sorunlardan biriydi. 1878 Berlin Kongresi, ‘Büyük Bulgaristan’ı üç parçaya bölerken geriye birbirine hiç güvenmeyen Avrupa devletleri ve huzursuz halklar bırakmıştı. 1885’te Bulgaristan’da başlayan isyan hızla uluslararası bir krize dönüştü; krizin çözümü için Düvel-i Muazzama’nın İstanbul’da bulunan elçileriyle Osmanlı temsilcilerinin katıldığı bir konferans düzenlenmesine karar verildi. Kasım 1885’te Tophane Kasrı’nda toplanan ‘İstanbul Konferansı,’ İstanbul ve Avrupa basınında kendine geniş yer buldu.
Konferans sekretaryasında ise iki isim göze çarpıyordu: o sırada Hariciye Başkâtibi olan Naum Efendi ve konferansı sadece sekretarya göreviyle değil, sanatıyla da belgeleyen Yusuf Franko.
At the close of the 19th century, ‘the Bulgaria (or Eastern Rumelia) Question’ was one of the biggest headaches the Ottoman State experienced in the international arena. The Berlin Congress of 1878 had divided ‘Great Bulgaria’ into three sections, leaving European states with no trust for each other and populations apprehensive. The uprising that started in Bulgaria in 1885 quickly escalated into an international crisis, and it was decided that a conference would be held with the Istanbul missions of the major global powers to solve the crisis. ‘The Istanbul Conference’ that convened in the Tophane Pavilion in November 1885 was widely covered by the Istanbul and European press.
Two names were noticeable among the conference secretariat: Naum Efendi, who was the Head Scribe at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Yusuf Franko, who documented the Conference not only in his official capacity but also with his art.