Ottoman soldier's belongings to be auctioned

A special collection of 122 pieces, including the personal belongings of Ottoman soldier and politician Enver Pa?a, who was a highly powerful figure in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, will be put on auction April 5 in Istanbul. 

The owner of the Istanbul Müzayede, U?ur Ye?in, said the belongings were provided by Enver Pa?a?s family and would be available for the first time at an auction. 

The auction will offer Enver Pa?a?s photos as well as his uniform, hat, staff officer diploma, cutlery, medals, photos from the Libya and Tripoli fronts, military maps and paintings in addition to his wife Naciye Sultan?s charcoal pencil paintings. 

Ye?in said the pieces were able to shed light on an era, and gave the opening prices for some of the items. ?The certificate of promotion to commander, given by Abülhamit II, is 15,000 Turkish Liras; his uniform is 40,000 liras; hats are 10,000 liras; a special helmet, gifted by German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm during his Turkish visit in 1917 is 85,000 liras; a sword with the statement ?God is with us? on it is 12,000 liras; a gold and silver embroidered sword, gifted by Sultan Re?ad, is 170,000 liras; a Purdey gun dated 1888 is 225,000 liras; a whip is 50,000 liras; a hara-kiri sword gifted by the Japanese emperor is 40,000 liras.?
 
Books written in the Enver alphabet were among the pieces to be auctioned, Ye?in said.

?Here we clearly see that Enver Pa?a worked on a new alphabet long before [Mustafa Kemal] Atatürk did. We also understand from the drawings to be auctioned that he was a very good painter,? he added.

Who is Enver Pasha?

Born in Istanbul on Nov. 23, 1881, ?smail Enver was an Ottoman military officer and a leader of the 1908 Young Turk Revolution. He was...

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