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Neslishah

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Born in Istanbul, Neslishah Sultan (1912–2012) was the granddaughter of Sultan Vahiddedin. In 1924, the imperial family was sent into exile. In 1940, on her marriage to Prince Abdel Moneim, the son...
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  • 03 September 2019
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Twice a princess, twice exiled, Neslishah Sultan had an eventful life. When she was born in Istanbul in 1921, cannons were fired in the four corners of the Ottoman Empire, commemorative coins were issued in her name, and her birth was recorded in the official register of the palace. After all, she was an imperial princess and the granddaughter of Sultan Vahiddedin. But she was the last member of the imperial family to be accorded such honors: in 1922 Vahiddedin was deposed and exiled, replaced as caliph—but not as sultan—by his brother (and Neslishah’s other grandfather) Abdülmecid; in 1924 Abdülmecid was also removed from office, and the entire imperial family, including three-year-old Neslishah, was sent into exile. Sixteen years later on her marriage to Prince Abdel Moneim, the son of the last khedive of Egypt, she became a princess of the Egyptian royal family. And when in 1952 her husband was appointed regent for Egypt’s infant king, she took her place at the peak of Egyptian society as the country’s first lady, until the abolition of the monarchy the following year. Exile followed once more, this time from Egypt, after the royal couple faced charges of treason. Eventually Neslishah was allowed to return to the city of her birth, where she died at the age of 91 in 2012. Based on original documents and extensive personal interviews, this account of one woman’s extraordinary life is also the story of the end of two powerful dynasties thirty years apart.
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Price: $24.95
Pages: 336
Publisher: The American University in Cairo Press
Imprint: The American University in Cairo Press
Publication Date: 03 September 2019
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9789774169298
Format: Paperback
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"Neslishah, with her beauty and character, is a woman that you cannot forget."—Lisa Kaaki, Arab News

“Princess Neslishah’s life was post-imperial, but. . . no less a life of dynastic destiny—one filled with the intrigue [and] unexpected twists and dangers of Ottoman history.”—Theo Saunders, Royalty magazine
Contents Turkish Spelling and Pronunciation vii Ottoman Titles ix Neslishah’s Family Tree xi Who’s Who xiii Preface xix Prologue 1 Part One Turkey: A Cold Night in March 3 1. Waiting for Oğuz Osman 5 2. Last Entry in the Register 33 3. The Muddy Roads of Çatalca 53 Part Two Europe: The Difficult Job of a Princess 73 4. Funeral of a Sultan 75 5. The Carpet under the Sacred Sculpture 93 Part Three Egypt: A Bride in the Land of the Pharaohs 149 6. A Forced Engagement, a Marriage by Consent 151 7. Moonlight and Nights of Fear 183 8. A First Lady Arrested 219 9. Looking for a Gentleman to Shake Hands With 231 10. Password: “Unnnnn!” 247 vi Contents Part Four Turkey: Was the Caliph a Muslim? 263 11. The Duke of Windsor’s Conga 265 12. All That Is Beautiful Has Been Made by My Grandfathers 279 Epilogue 287 Notes 293 Index 305