World Bulletin / News Desk
A document dated on October 1, 1915, reveals the details of petrol being found in the historic Balat district of Istanbul, but due to it being found in the Molla Aski neighborhood, which is a residential area, permission to explore was denied.
The Ottoman Archives document was found by historian Dervis Basa, who pointed out that during the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II, the Ottoman authorities had started a campaign to find petrol in the region. ‘This document shows that petrol was found in Istanbul,’ he said.
‘While the address at which the petrol was found is explained, the location is supported by a number of names,’ he summarized.
The petrol was found in the Molla Aski neighborhood, inside the Tekfur Palace of the Balat district, in front of the home of Hayim Bahar. Basa also said that a request was sent to the Board of Ministers to give Egyptian Dr. Ahmed Fuad Bey the license to investigate the source of amount of petrol. However, this request was refused.
Commenting on the document, the head of the Turkish History Board Prof. Dr. Metin Hulagu said that for the discovery to reach the Board of Ministers shows that it was quite an important issue. He added that when it comes to petrol, one must look back at the era of Abdulhamid II, claiming that the reason for his dethroning in 1909 was because of two reasons – his pan-Islamic politics and the fact that he gave just as much importance to petrol as the British and the French did.
