Trimüjgan Sultan

Golden sprinklings of yellow-bright sunshine beams through the thin clouds of a pale sky. Dew that had collected on thin tree-branches trickles off like tiny raindrops. Reddening trees appear purple as delicate blossoms lend softness and life to winter-weary trunks. The lawn on both sides of the path to the palace glitters in the flashes of sunlight, as the mist in the air melts and the light fog lifts into the heavens.

The emerald green of the grass and the warmth of the speckled sunlight is a joyful amalgam of approaching springtime. Tîrimüjgân, is a Caucasian belle, famous across continents for her willowy slim-waisted figure, her honey-coloured eyes, her long auburn hair that falls gracefully on pearly white shoulders, her kindness, her gentle breeding. She is grace incarnate. Her every smile treasured.

Her kindness legendary. She is taking her usual walk in the Ciragan Palace gardens, a flower herself blending in with the purple violets, the primroses, the white carnations, the snow-white gardenias, the plentiful lilacs. She bathes in the intoxicating fragrances. She settles into the red-velvet armchair that she had requested be placed under the young magnolia tree.

Her elegant fingers pluck the delicate strings of the golden-wired tambour. Ismail Dede Efendi’s kissing song's mournful lyrics flow forth from the Sultana’s ruby-rose lips like panacea to an aching soul: "A cursed Fate stabs at my heart, but loving you is my only sin ..." Tîrimüjgân married Sultan Abdülmecid in 1839 to become queen of the Ottoman Court. She stayed madly in love with her husband to the end.

She gave birth to Abdülhamid who succeeded his father to the throne.