HGB Ep. 641 - Haunted Turkiye

This Month in History - Federal Trial of Susan B. Anthony

In the month of June, on the 18th, in 1873, Susan B. Anthony was sentenced to pay $100 and court costs, following her conviction for illegally casting her vote in the November, 1872 Presidential election. The election was held in Rochester, NY, and Anthony along with 14 other women successfully registered and subsequently cast their ballots. She was arrested two weeks later after a federal supervisor filed charges against her. She was arrested by a U.S. Deputy Marshal on a warrant accusing her of voting without having the lawful right to vote. The federal trial took place at the Ontario County Courthouse in Canandaigua, NY. During her trial, federal Judge Ward Hunt strictly directed the jury to return a guilty verdict without allowing the jury to deliberate. Anthony had argued that the newly ratified Fourteenth Amendment's "privileges or immunities" clause granted all citizens, including women the right to vote. After her sentencing, Anthony famously declared, "I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty". Judge Hunt deliberately never took Susan B. Anthony into custody, thus denying her the ability to appeal her case to the Supreme Court. 

Haunted Turkiye (Turkeyay)

The country of Turkiye is a fascinating place as it has such strong connections to many different religions. This is a truly spiritual place with many of the early Christian churches being founded here. All seven of the churches from Revelation were located in Turkiye. Fascinating and mystical places like Gobekli Tepi are here. There are abandoned cities, some of them underground. And there are plenty of legends and ghost stories. Join us for the history and hauntings of Turkiye.

I went on a Mediterranean cruise in 2014 and there was a stop in Turkiye, which I figured would be my least favorite and it turned out to be almost my favorite. The Acropolis in Athens beat it out, but just barely. That really surprised me. I visited the ancient ruins of Ephesus and Mary's House, where tradition holds that the Apostle John brought Jesus' mother to live out the rest of her days. Then I visited the Turkish market where I fell in love with the rugs and glass lights they made there and ended up splurging on a rug. Turkiye has a vast history. Türkiye is often called the "cradle of civilization." There were ancient civilizations like the Anatolians, but even before that were hunter-gatherers who built Gobekli Tepe - at least according to many historians, but please, nobody knows who built these structures. They date back almost 12,000 years. Empires rose up here and fell like Hattians, Hittites, Phrygians, Lydians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantine, Seljuks and the Ottomans. Key moments include Alexander the Great conquering the region and integrating it into the Greek Empire. Emperor Constantine would take the region for Rome and he founded Constantinople in 330 AD that is today Istanbul. Suleiman the Magnificent would rule the Ottoman Empire and expand it across three continents, making it a superpower. That empire would crash during World War I and today, Turkiye is a secular republic, although it does seem to have been moving towards Islamic Authoritarianism in the last few years. So many cultures have come through here, so it isn't surprising that there are strong spiritual connections and ghost stories. Muslims, of course, believe in the Jinn. There are different classes of Jinn. One of these, the Arabs call gul (gool), the Persians call it gul-i biyaban (gool-ee bee-yah-bahn) and the Turkish people call it gulyabani (goo-lee-ah-bahn-ee). This is a demonic figure that lurks in graveyards consuming the dead and shape-shifting. They like to deceive and then eat travelers. Some texts describe the creature as "the manifestation of fear in darkness." I'm sure we don't need to point out that gul became ghoul in the West. The Gulyabani is often depicted as an obstacle or an enemy  that hinders the soul’s spiritual journey. What does this thing look like? It is pale skinned with prominent bones and a terrifying face that has a threatening expression. And it has sharp teeth.

Kayakoy (KAH yah koy)

(Kelly) Kayakoy is a mysterious abandoned village near the town of Fethiye (fee thigh), which is a beautiful port city. Early settlers here included skilled oracles and seers. There are these monumental tombs carved directly into the soft limestone in the 4th century BC. The tombs were carved high above the ground because there was a belief that winged creatures guided the dead in the afterlife and so the tombs needed to be high above the ground to bring the spirits closer to the heavens. 

Kayakoy was known as Livissi, which was a Greek Orthodox town that flourished during the late Ottoman period and grew to a population of 6,000. There were 500 stonehouses in the village, as well as two churches, schools, artisan workshops and several chapels. In the 20th century, there was unrest with the Greco Turkish War that lasted from 1919 to 1922. A treaty at the end forced a population exchange between Greece and Türkiye. When the Greeks left, the Muslims were supposed to move into the homes, but they chose not to. The land started to take back the village and today, the ghost town is an open air museum. Tourists have reported seeing shadow figures on occasion. Legend holds that the Muslims decided not to live in the village because they believed the hills were infested with the ghosts of the Greek inhabitants who were massacred or died in forced labor camps. 

Cemil Molla Mansion (Jeh-meel Moh-lah)

Cemil Molla (Jeh-meel Moh-lah) Mansion is in Kuzguncuk (KOOZ-goon-jook) and is a beautiful example of 19th century Ottoman architecture. This was built by the Minister of Justice at the time, Uryanizade (oo-ryah-nee-ZAH-deh) Cemil Molla (Jeh-meel Moh-lah) Effendi, and was completed in 1886. The mansion was built from wood and Cemil Molla worked as both architect and foreman on the house. The ceilings were embellished with gold leaves and the bedroom windows had stained glass. The dining rooms had private cigar and smoking rooms. And, of course, it had a beautiful white marble Turkish bath. People who saw it, jokingly called it the eighth wonder of the world. It even had an underfloor heating system. And even more amazing, Cemil Molla pioneered a first for the area by bringing in a diesel engine generator so he could have electricity and central heating. This was the first house in the region to have a telephone as well. Cemil Molla died in 1941 and his family had to sell the White Castellated Mansion. MESA Holding purchased the mansion in 1986 and it was restored in 2004. 

(Kelly) There were stories that the mansion was cursed and one family that lived in it had accidents and disasters that left them no choice but to sell the property. Another family also suffered bad luck with a father and son having their relationship sour and their business started doing poorly and it only got better when they left the mansion. The renovations in 2004 took longer than expected because workers started to experience paranormal things that scared them enough to put down their tools and flee the mansion. They claimed to have objects go missing, to hear mysterious sounds and to see full-bodied apparitions.

Ciragan Palace 

Ciragan Palace (see ruh guhn) was constructed in the 19th century during the Ottoman Empire for Sultan Abdulaziz. Before the palace was here, this was the Kazancıoğlu (kah-ZAHN-juh-oh-loo) Gardens, which was an imperial garden. Sultan Murad gifted the land to his daughter in the early 1600s and the first imperial structure was built. Several decades later Sultan Ahmed III was ruling the empire and his daughter's husband was Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha. He built the next structure here for his wife and he called it Çırağan (see ruh guhn) Yalısı. Ciragan (see ruh guhn) means torch or emitting light, which was reflective of the torch-lit tulip festivals of that time. These were hosted in the palace gardens. The Sultan was invited often to visit the mansion and he would bring his Imperial Harem with him. Sultan Mahmud II ruled from 1808 to 1839 and ordered the building of the first large palace on the grounds after the other mansion was demolished. This was built in the Classical style out of wood. The Sultan died before it was completed. His son completed the construction and he lived occasionally in the palace, but eventually had it demolished to build an even grander palace. But like his father, he didn't live to see the completion, so his brother Sultan Abdulaziz finished it in 1871. This palace was a masterpiece with doors regarded as exquisite works of art, made from wood and mother-of-pearl. French Empress Eugenie visited in 1869 after the Sultan visited her in 1867. There were rumors that the two might be in love. Sultan Abdulaziz liked animals, especially tigers and lions and he added "deer-house" and "lion-house" to the property. A French sculptor made custom bronze and marble statues and vases. A fire in 1910 damaged the palace. The basic shell of the palace was rebuilt in 1987 and turned into the present day hotel, which opened in 1991. The facade was preserved to appear much as its original form. 

(Kelly) What brings this location to our list are the strange and dark circumstances around the death of Sultan Abdulaziz. No one can agree if it was suicide or an assassination. The Sultan had been discovered on June 4, 1876 in a pool of blood on a chaise with his wrists slashed. 

The Sultan had been a strong ruler and there were members of the court that sought to have him removed. Two of them were the reformist grand vizier Midhat Pasha and the Chief of Staff Huseyin Avni Pasha, and they led a coup against the Sultan a few days before his death. They put the Sultan under guard and replaced him with his nephew, whom they believed they could control. The morning of June 4th, the Sultan prayed and then asked for a pair of scissors so he could trim his beard. His mother, the Queen Mother, sent her embroidery scissors to him. He was found nearly dead later. Now, if he had just been found with slit wrists, we might go with the unaliving himself, but there was something else that had happened here. He had one side of his beard torn, his teeth broken, and a dark bruise marked his chest. Helped was delayed to make sure the Sultan passed. The body was concealed in curtains that had been torn down and wrapped around it and then doctors were found who would declare the death by suicide. The Queen Mother never believed her son committed suicide and the Sultan's daughter claimed she witnessed her father's murder. It is said that a confession claimed, "Fahri Bey...held back his arms. Haji Mehmet and Algerian Mustafa sat on their knees. And I cut his veins in his left arm as deep as I could with a pocketknife. I pierced his right arm in several places with the knife." 

(Kelly) The Sultan was most certainly assassinated and that is why he may be haunting the hotel. Guests claim to see his full-bodied spirit walking the halls. The lights turn on and off by themselves and doors open by themselves. Disembodied footsteps are heard as well.

Derinkuyu (deh-rin-KOO-yoo)

Derinkuyu is an underground city in Cappadocia (ka·puh·dow·shuh) carved into the soft volcanic rock that has 18 levels of tunnels. The bulk of the city is thought to have been built by the Phrygians, who were skilled Iron-age architects. People chose to live in underground areas here for safety and this particular city had 20,000 residents who thrived. They grew food, made wine and raised cattle and children. These were great spots for protection because doors between each of the eighteen levels were blocked with half-ton circular boulders that were only moveable from the inside. The city was accidentally rediscovered in 1963 when a local resident renovating his basement broke through a wall. The former residents ended up fleeing after the Greco-Turkish War. Stories of hauntings were rumored to take place down here for decades. An original team of archaeologists who excavated the city became lost in the passageways of the ancient city and they believed this was caused by something unseen. The entire crew was said to never be the same after this experience. When the site opened to tourists, they began reporting strange shapes and shadows. The air would feel heavy and they felt as though they were being watched. Disembodied voices have been heard.

Hagia Sophia (AH-yee-uh) 

(Kelly) The Hagia (AH-yee-uh) Sophia is a world-renowned architectural and historical landmark located in Istanbul with 1500 years of history behind it. This was first a church built in 360 during the reign of Emperor Constantius II. This church was destroyed during the Nika Riots and so Emperor Justinian I commissioned a new cathedral that was completed and consecrated in 537. 

The style was Byzantine and featured mosaics and marble pillars and tile floors that are really something to see. There was an Imperial Door for the Emperor's exclusive use. This had a grand dome that collapsed several years later during an earthquake, but was replaced. The cathedral was sacked and looted during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The cathedral was converted to Roman Catholic at that time and this lasted until 1261. At the Ottoman Conquest in 1453, the cathedral was converted into a mosque. Minarets were added to it over the next few years. A restoration was performed in 1847 and Byzantine mosaics were uncovered. By 1934, the building had been secularized and opened as a museum, and it ran as that for much of the 20th century. In 2020, this became an active mosque once again, but visitors are invited to explore during non-prayer times. The various bits of history seem to have led to unsettling experiences. The atmosphere seems to change in the evenings. Legends claim that ghostly monks are forever trapped in their Earthly duties. People claim to see these ghosts floating through the galleries and some visitors claim to hear faint chanting and forgotten tongues echoing through the halls. There are crypts beneath Hagia Sophia that feature strange lights flickering in the darkness and cold spots. People believe there are restless spirits down there. 

Basilica Cistern 

Basilica Cistern is a marvel of Byzantine engineering that was built underground in Istanbul. Emperor Justinian I undertook the building of the cistern in the 6th century. He had just finished up leading his troops in killing 30,000 rioters and burning parts of the imperial city. This was called the Nika Revolt. The cisterns were built as part of the rebuilding efforts in the aftermath and were meant to supply water to people living in Istanbul. The cistern is made up of 336 30-foot columns with ancient carvings on them in 12 rows and this held up to 100,000 tons of water. Two of the carvings feature Medusa, one that is sideways and the other is upside down. 

(Kelly) People get an ominous feeling in the cisterns and shadowy figures are seen. Someone posted pictures to Reddit of pictures they took in the Cistern in 2020 and there is an interesting picture of a figure that has no legs. 

The Ottoman Bank Archive and Research Center 

The Ottoman Bank Archive and Research Center was founded in 1997 and is housed in the Ottoman Bank Museum, which is the former Ottoman Bank headquarters. There is a violent history connected to this building. On August 26, 1896, 28 Armenian revolutionaries seized the bank because they wanted to draw international attention to the Hamidian massacres. These were a series of mass murders of the Armenian and Assyrian populations in the Ottoman Empire between 1894 and 1896. There were an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 deaths and 50,000 children were left orphaned. A fierce 14-hour shootout took place between the heavily armed revolutionaries and bank guards, resulting in the deaths of several people, including the revolutionary leader, Papken Siuni. 

(Kelly) And then like something out of the movie "V For Vendetta," in 1903, a group of young anarchist revolutionaries tunneled under the bank and detonated explosives. This damaged the building, but didn't kill anyone. People working here say they hear footsteps in empty rooms, as well as disembodied voices. Some visitors claim to have seen figures of old bank workers still doing their jobs.

 The Maidens Tower

(Kelly) The Maiden's Tower is also known as Leander's Tower and is a lighthouse on a small islet in the Bosphorus Strait. This was built in 408 BC and served as a custom station for ships coming through the strait. During the Byzantine era, it was rebuilt and used as a defense tower. Chains were stretched between this and another tower to control boat traffic. In 1453, it was destroyed as the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople. Sultan Mehmed II rebuilt it and it was used as a military base and lighthouse. During a cholera epidemic in the 1830s, a hospital was established on the island to quarantine the sick. It did little good as 30,000 people died from cholera. Today, it is a museum with a pastry shop. 

So why is this called the Maiden's Tower? There is a legend that a Byzantine emperor had a beautiful daughter and he had been told by a seer that a snake would bite his daughter and she would die. This was to happen on her 18th birthday. So he put her in the tower in the middle of water where he assumed no snake would be able to reach her. On her birthday, he brought her a basket full of fruit. He was unaware that a venomous snake was in the basket. As she reached for an apple, she was bitten and she died in her father's arms. There is another story that claims that a nun named Hero lived in the tower. She was forbidden to be with a man. A young Byzantine soldier named Leander saw her at a festival and he fell in love. He talked to her and asked if he could see her again and she invited him to meet at her tower. Leander started coming to the tower every night. Hero would light a fire on top of the tower to guide Leander through the water. No one knew of their love or these visits. Then one night, there was a storm and Leander drowned in the waves and his body washed up on the shore of the island. When Hero saw him, she was overcome with despair and threw herself from the top of the tower. People claim that as night falls the anguished cries of either the nun or the emperor's daughter can be heard. Keepers have reported strange occurrences like lights flickering on and off without explanation. Disembodied whispers are heard and ghostly figures are seen peering from the windows before vanishing.

Perili Kosk (peh-REE-lee KOSH-k)

The Yusuf Ziya Pasha Mansion in Istanbul is referred to as Perili Köşk, (peh-REE-lee KOSH-k) which means "The Haunted Mansion." This is a 9-story red brick mansion that was built in 1911 for Yusuf Ziya Pasha, who was an Ottoman politician and government minister. He also served as the Ottoman ambassador to the United States from 1910 to 1914. Today, the house is the headquarters of Borusan and the Borusan Contemporary Art Museum. He died in 1929. And that's when the ghost stories started. Rumors claimed that Pasha had been a jealous man and that designed the mansion as a type of prison for his young wife. She was kept locked away from the world here. When he died, he asked that his tomb in Egypt be built using some of the red bricks from the house, specifically, the ones used to build the tower he had locked her inside. The building stood as an empty, hollow shell for 80 years. While it stood empty, passersby reported seeing a woman in a window with long hair. The figure would wander the empty building. Security staff and people brought in to work on renovations and such said that they heard piano music echoing through through the walls, particularly at night. There was no piano in the building. Mirrors also revealed a woman. In the 1990s, people inside the house claimed that a woman in period clothing would appear in the mirrors. 

(Kelly) During renovations, three secret floors were discovered hidden deep underground that were not part of any known original plans. The mansion is now a headquarters for a major company, but that hasn't stopped the stories. People still claim to see a woman looking out a window.

Kucuksu (KYOO-CHOOK-SOO) Pavilion

(Kelly) The Kucuksu Pavilion was like a summer cottage or hunting lodge for Ottoman sultans. Of course, it looks nothing like either of these, but this beautiful building was used for short stays while hunting or traveling to the country. 

The building was commissioned by Sultan Abd-ul-Mejid and designed in the neo-baroque style. It was completed in 1857 and had a basement with two-stories above and an interior design like a traditional Turkish house. A central hall was surrounded by four corner rooms. The basement had the kitchen and servant's quarters. The interior also had crystal chandeliers, specially woven carpets and Italian marble. The palace was restored in 1944 and opened as a museum. Visitors report lights flickering and an oppressive chill. The sounds of faint laughter have echoed from empty rooms. There are those who believe that a maid died tragically here and it is her restless spirit wandering the Pavilion at night. 

Topkapi Palace

This was an Ottoman Imperial Palace that served as the main residence and administrative headquarters of the Ottoman sultans. There were opulent pavilions, a jewel-filled Treasury and a sprawling Harem. Mehmet the Conqueror built the first stage of the palace shortly after the Conquest in 1453 in the Baroque style. He made this his main resident and lived there until his death in 1481. Sultans lived here until the 19th century. The Palace includes a First Court, a Second Court with a beautiful park-like setting, the Harem Section with six floors where as many as 300 concubines might live, a Third Court, Imperial Treasury and Fourth Court. There are also smaller buildings. The name Topkapi means "Cannon Gate." Through the years it lost prominence and when the Ottoman Empire ended, the government transformed Topkapi into a museum. Visitors can tour many of the hundreds of rooms. Visitors say they see ghostly figures moving through the long corridors. There have been cold spots and breezes felt. Strange lights are seen and disembodied whispers are heard. A woman in period clothing is sometimes seen. Occasionally people have claimed to feel something brush against them or touch them. A story claims that a sultan was betrayed and poisoned and his ghost is rumored to wander the gardens. 

Bodrum Castle 

The Bodrum Castle is a Gothic castle located on a small rocky peninsula on the west coast of Anatolia. This was built in 1404 by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, also called Knights of St.John, Knights Hospitallers and Knights of Rhodes. Construction workers were guaranteed a reservation in heaven. Green volcanic stone and marble were used in the construction. There were several towers that each had their own style and represented their own language. The knights lived here for almost 120 years until Suleiman I (Suleiman The Magnificent) defeated them in 1522. During the Ottoman Period, the Bodrum Castle was used as a small garrison base and in 1895 it was transformed into a prison. The castle was damaged during the 1st World War, when a French battleship bombed it. Prisoners inside had to evacuated. When the Italians invaded Bodrum, they used the castle as their headquarters. The Turkish War of Independence drove the Italian military forces out in 1921. During World War II, the castle was a military base again. Today, the Bodrum Castle is home to the Museum of Underwater Archaeology and is one of the most significant Underwater Archaeology Museums in the world. The knights had placed hundreds of painted coats of arms and carved reliefs on the walls above the gates and 249 separate designs still remain. The Muslims added a minaret to the chapel and a Turkish bath was also added. 

Visitors claim to hear the sounds of battle, especially swords clashing. Shadowy figures have been seen as well as full-bodied apparitions of knights. Legend has it, a knight betrayed during the Ottoman siege still guards the chapel, forever pacing, his sword drawn. Locals also tell of a veiled woman seen near the old well at dusk—some say she was a prisoner who vanished without a trace.

Gobeckli Tepe

Göbekli Tepe is a Neolithic archaeological site in Upper Mesopotamia. No one knows exactly the purpose of this site, but it was said to have been built over 11,000 years ago and was probably some kind of temple or at least had a spiritual connection. There are these massive stone pillars that are adorned with cryptic carvings of animals and symbols within these circular structures. What makes this really unusual is that history tells us that pottery and writing hadn't been developed yet. And the weird thing about this site is that it was completely buried. Some civilization buried the thing - why? Domestic structures found in the area support that people weren't nomadic here, that they settled. And as is the case with monoliths around the world, historians and archaeologists are left to guess as to how people moved the pillars into place. And most of the structures are very phallic looking - being these giant Ts. The Vulture Stone is the most intricately carved structure.  

(Kelly) People who visit or work on the site say that there is an overwhelming sense of being watched even when standing alone in the desolate expanse. Some claim to feel vibrations beneath their feet as if something stirs in the earth. Strange lights have been reported hovering above the site and then they vanish without a trace. Was some kind of ancient force summoned here? 

Turkiye is a wonderfully unique and fascinating country. This is reflected in its legends. Are these locations in Turkiye haunted? That is for you to decide!