Ottomans' first Paris mission lives on in memories

More than 200 years on, there is little physical indication that Paris' L'Hôtel de Monaco once served as the Ottoman state's first mission to France, but the memories continue to live on, even if no tangible reminder remains.

"Unfortunately, today there is no sign that the Ottomans used this building in the past. But its memory is still kept," said Polish Consul General to Paris Agnieszka Kucinska. 

Poland now uses the old L'Hôtel de Monaco as its embassy in Paris, and Kucinska recently hosted Turkish Parliament National Palaces guide Osman Nihat Bi?gin, who has researched the related of the historical building, at the site.

"The Ottoman state was the only one that recognized Poland as a country during its division, and was using this building as the embassy at that time. This is really important to us. Even though we don't have an Ottoman artifact here, we still have the traces of our good relations," she said.

The building, which Monaco Princess Marie-Catherine de Brignol had architect Alexandre Brongniart build in 1777, was used by the permanent ambassador, Seyyid Ali Efendi, at the end of the 18th century. 

Bi?gin said it was very important to them that the building was used by Ottoman ambassadors in the past. 

Noting that the 600th anniversary of Turkish-Polish relations were recently celebrated, Kucinska said: "This building symbolizes the centuries-old friendship between Turkey and Poland. This relationship is stronger today." 

Kucinska said that as part of cultural heritage days, the embassy opens its door to the public one day in September every year, hosting 3,000 people last year. 

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