Georgia Bahá'í School | Journey / Constantinople

Constantinople

Welcome, my friends to Constantinople. I am Naderih I have lived here for a long time. I would like to share with you the story of how I came here. Many years ago I lived in Baghdad, when I was a young woman a group of exiles arrived in the city, from Tehran. I visited them many times and they taught me the Bábí Faith. When it came time for them to leave Baghdad I was devastated. Bahá’u’lláh allowed me to travel with them to Constantinople.

The day we left from Baghdad a great crowd gathered to see us off. Bahá’u’lláh was riding a great roan stallion that the believers had purchased for Him. As Bahá’u’lláh rode forth, there were countless heads bowed to the ground kissing the horses hooves and people crowding around Bahá’u’lláh’s stirrups. I have never seen such devotion, such majesty, it was like a mighty king departing from His kingdom.

We formed a caravan of 50 mules, a mounted guard of ten soldiers and their officer and seven pairs of HOWDAH’s each covered b four parasols. We traveled slowly through Anatolia, the uplands, fields, woods, valleys and pastures. The countryside was lovely and at every town and village people would ride out to meet us and at each stop there would be great feasting and celebrating.

Our journey took 110 days, when we reached the port of Samsun we boarded a boat that carried us to the city of Constantinople. We arrived on August 16, 1863 and were taken from the docks by special carriage to the home of Shamsi Big. He was an official of the government appointed to entertain us. We stayed in Shamsi Big’s home for several weeks before moving to the residence of Vísí Pashá.

It was customary at that time for foreigners to visit the various ministers and officials of the government but Bahá’u’lláh refused to participate. He did not want to become involved in the political intrigues of the Turkish Empire. Unfortunately, even this course of action could not avert the plotting of the Persian Ambassador.

Shortly after our arrival the Persian Ambassador began visiting the Sultan and Ministers and telling them lies about Bahá’u’lláh. He said that Bahá’u’lláh was proud and arrogant person who thought Himself above the law. Because the Sultan was very insecure and his ministers were so power hungry, they believed these lies, not bothering to find out the truth for themselves.

So, after only four months in Constantinople, we received a message from the Sultan stating that Bahá’u’lláh was to be further exiled to Adrianople. Bahá’u’lláh was furious. The injustice of this situation was more than He could bear. That very evening, He composed a lengthy tablet to the Sultan. The next morning I carried the message to Shamsi Big. I told him that just as Bahá’u’lláh instructed me that the tablet was to be delivered to the Sultan, that it was sent from God.

I later found out that when Shamsi Big delivered the letter to the Grand Vizir and he perused it, the Vizir “turned the color of a corpse and said, ‘it is as if the King of Kings were issuing His behest to His humblest vassal king and regulating his conduct.”

Bahá’u’lláh said of that Tablet that whatever action the ministers of the Sultan took against Us could be justified but what they had done before could have no justification whatsoever. So, in a matter of days, Bahá’u’lláh family was forced to leave the city.

The Blessed Beauty asked me to stay here and support the developing Bahá’í community although I longed to remain with the Holy Family. I obeyed Bahá’u’lláh’s request and have labored to since then to fulfill His request.