The Last Ottoman Influenza: How the 1918 Flu Pandemic Finished an Empire

The Last Ottoman Influenza: How the 1918 Flu Pandemic Finished an Empire

In the autumn of 1918, as the Great War staggered to a close, a silent killer swept through the Ottoman Empire with devastating speed. The Spanish flu, arriving via military transports and returning pilgrims, struck a population already exhausted by years of war, blockade, and famine. In Istanbul, the Sublime Porte ground to a halt as officials fell sick and hospitals overflowed. Death carts rumbled through the streets of Üsküdar and Beyoğlu. The pandemic didn't just kill soldiers and civilians — it paralyzed the government during the critical weeks before the Mudros Armistice. This episode traces the path of the virus through the empire, from the barracks of the Çanakkale front to the palaces of the sultan. We examine how the Hilal-i Ahmer (Red Crescent) and the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa responded, and why the flu remains one of the least-told stories of the empire's collapse. Featuring accounts from Dr. Tevfik Salim (later Turkey's first health minister), the quarantine station at Kavak, and the forgotten dead of the 1918 pandemic. #1918FluPandemic #SpanishFlu #OttomanEmpire #Istanbul #Hilal-iAhmer #RedCrescent #TevfikSalim #MudrosArmistice #Çanakkale #PandemicHistory #WWI #PublicHealth #Quarantine #Kavak #Üsküdar #Beyoğlu #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Ottoman Spy Who Tricked the British in WWI

In 1915, a single Ottoman intelligence officer infiltrated British-held Cairo, fed false plans to General Maxwell's staff, and almost changed the course of the war. This episode follows the shadow war of Major Mehmed Rüşdü of Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa—the Special Organization—who posed as a defector, walked into enemy headquarters, and convinced the British that the Ottomans were about to invade Egypt via the Sinai. His deception forced Britain to keep tens of thousands of troops idle in Egypt while the real Ottoman army struck elsewhere. We explore the high-risk tradecraft, the near-success, and why Rüşdü's name is almost forgotten today. Also: how the British finally caught on, and what happened to Rüşdü after the war. #OttomanEmpire #TeşkilatıMahsusa #WWI #Espionage #MehmedRüşdü #Sinai #Cairo #BritishIntelligence #SirJohnMaxwell #Gallipoli #MiddleEast #History #FexingoHistory #IntelligenceHistory #Deception #OttomanSpy #WWIMiddleEast #ForgottenHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Ottoman POWs: Siberia and the Forgotten Captivity

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the overlooked story of Ottoman soldiers taken prisoner during World War I, focusing on the nearly 30,000 men captured on the Caucasus Front and sent to remote Siberian camps like Krasnoyarsk and Nizhneudinsk. They discuss the harsh conditions, the role of the Russian Red Cross, the fate of Ottoman officers like Colonel Şükrü Pasha who led a brief mutiny, and the slow repatriation process after the Bolshevik Revolution. The conversation also touches on the cultural shock of Ottoman prisoners encountering Siberian winter and the complex negotiations between the new Soviet government and the crumbling Ottoman state. Finally, they reflect on how these POWs' stories were largely forgotten in Turkish national memory, overshadowed by the Gallipoli victory and the War of Independence. #OttomanEmpire #WorldWarI #POWs #Siberia #CaucasusFront #Krasnoyarsk #Nizhneudinsk #BolshevikRevolution #RussianRedCross #ŞükrüPasha #EnverPaşa #MudrosArmistice #Repatriation #ForgottenHistory #TurkishHistory #PrisonerOfWar #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Last Ottoman Fleet: How Germany Took the Navy That Changed History

In August 1914, the Ottoman Empire still controlled a formidable navy. But two powerful warships — the battlecruiser SMS Goeben and the light cruiser SMS Breslau — were racing across the Mediterranean, pursued by the British Royal Navy. Their escape to Constantinople and subsequent transfer to the Ottoman flag effectively dragged the Empire into World War I. This episode tells the story of how German ships became the Yavuz Sultan Selim and Midilli, the Ottoman admiral who secretly welcomed them, and how these ships later shaped both the Gallipoli campaign and the final collapse. Lucas and Luna explore the geopolitical chess game, the legal fiction of the sale, the crew's fez-wearing charade, and the long afterlife of these vessels — including the Yavuz's last voyage in 1950. A tale of naval brinkmanship, alliance politics, and the fateful decisions that ended an empire. #YavuzSultanSelim #SMSGoeben #OttomanNavy #WilhelmSouchon #AhmedCemalPasha #EnverPasha #Gallipoli #MudrosArmistice #NavalHistory #WorldWarI #Dardanelles #Constantinople #TreatyOfSevres #EmpireCollapse #History #FexingoHistory #MiddleEast #NavalWarfare Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Ottoman Officer Who Became a Guerrilla: Kuva-yi Milliye

After the Armistice of Mudros, the Ottoman army was disbanded—but some officers refused to accept the Allied occupation. In this episode, Lucas and Luna follow the story of Yüzbaşı Cemil and other commanders who smuggled weapons from Constantinople to the Turkish interior, laying the foundations of the Turkish War of Independence. They explore the shadowy network of the Karakol Society, the Ohrl brothers, and the secret shipments of rifles and ammunition from the Harbiye Ministry arsenal. How did a few hundred pistols and machine guns spark a national resistance? And what happened when the Sultan's government cooperated with the Allies? This is the story of the Kuva-yi Milliye—the National Forces—and the officers who chose guerrilla war over surrender. #OttomanEmpire #Kuva-yiMilliye #TurkishWarOfIndependence #KarakolSociety #MudrosArmistice #YuzbasiCemil #OhrlBrothers #HarbiyeMinistry #WeaponsSmuggling #NationalResistance #MustafaKemal #Ankara #1920 #History #FexingoHistory #WorldWarI #MiddleEast #GuerrillaWar Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]