Monkey Massacre in the Ottoman Empire

Bringing Monkeys to Istanbul

In the Ottoman Empire, monkeys were like a crew engaged in maritime activities. During the reign of Yavuz Sultan Selim, dozens of expeditions were made over North Africa, and as a result, many monkeys were brought to Istanbul. With the conquest of places like Egypt, Libya, and Algeria, many of the monkeys from these regions were brought to Istanbul to be used in the Ottoman navy. The monkeys' excellent eyesight enabled them to operate in the navy. Monkeys were specially trained, and many monkey shops were opened in the capital for this purpose. Monkeys would climb to the highest point of the ship and start screaming when they spotted an enemy ship. This allowed the crew to quickly prepare and launch an attack against the enemy ship. The use of monkeys in the navy for a positive purpose led to them being loved by the public. People began to go to the monkey shops in Istanbul and buy monkeys. Thus, monkeys became intertwined with the people of Istanbul for a long time. For information on this topic and to ask your questions, you can refer to the relevant pages on internet sites and examine them in detail.

The Massacre of Monkeys

Monkeys served in the navy for approximately 60 years. Although monkeys, who were close to both the rich and the poor, were loved by the public, an incident led to their extermination by the people they lived with. During the reign of Sultan Murad III, there was a very influential scholar. This scholar, named Molla Abdülkerim Efendi, was someone whose opinions were valued and respected even by the Sultan. One day, Molla Abdülkerim Efendi read in a book that monkeys could be used for lewd purposes. From then on, he began to think that women might engage in immoral acts with monkeys. Abdülkerim Efendi was teaching at the Fatih Mosque. During a Friday prayer, when he shared his thoughts with the congregation, the public became very angry and set out behind Abdülkerim Efendi to eliminate the monkeys. The enraged crowd stormed all the monkey shops in Istanbul and began to hang the monkeys from trees. Ottoman historians of the time documented this event by stating, 'No tree was left without a monkey hanging from its branches.'