The Hanim Sultan of the United Nations

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Fatma Samire Sultan with her mother Samiye Sultan and His father HIH Prince Abdulhalim. (Courtesy of Nejla Chawky)
Nejla Chawky is the only ‘Hanım Sultan’(Imperial Princess) living in the United States. Her mother, Princess
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Nejla Hanimsultan with her mother Fatma Samire Sultan. (Courtesy of Nejla Chawky Hanimsultan)
Fatma Samire, was the daughter of Prince Mehmed Abdulhalim. Members of the Ottoman Dynasty who bore the title “hanım sultan” were the daughters of an Imperial Princess.   Princess Nejla was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where her father was Egypt’s Ambassador. Her first schooling was in Romania where, after Brazil, her father served as Ambassador. 

The Prince Who Was Killed in a New York Hotel

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New York Times article about Prince Abdulkerim's death.
On August 4, 1935, the front-page headline of newspapers throughout the United States announced that Prince Abdülkerim had committed suicide in a room in the Cadillac Hotel, located on 43rd Street and Broadway in New York. The young Prince had 75 cents in his pocket, the newspapers said, and claimed that he had left a letter in Turkish to the New York’s chief of police. The police did not show the letter to the press; only later was it allegedly translated into English by an official of the Turkish Consulate in New York and presented to the media. This news also hit the front page of the New York Times.  In this letter, the young Prince was said to have claimed that he had fallen ill trying to regain his dynasty and throne; he had proposed marriage to a rich woman from the Bronx, Alice De Stefano, believing that such a marriage would allow him to realize his dreams. Her rejection caused him to fall into a depression and, as a result, he could not think of any other way out except by committing suicide.

Mediha Nami Martinez, An Ottoman Princess in Mexico

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Mediha Nami with HIH Prince Bayezid Osman at her New York visit.
It was a warm spring night. A group of people gathered at the Bergen Turkish-American Mosque and Cultural Center in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. They were very enthusiastic about their guest who would be watching a documentary about the‘Ottoman Family in Exile’ with them. The 8-year-old-boy in the crowd was probably the most excited one of all. He was expecting to see the Princess with a crown, and he came with his plastic sword to protect her.  The honored guest was Mediha Nami Osmanoğlu de Martinez who is the oldest daughter of Osman Nami, who is Abülhamid’s daughter Ayşe Sultan’s son. She watched the documentary with tears along with the participants.

The Ottoman Prince of New York's High Society

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The article about Prince Burhaneddin's party at his home in Maine.
The eighth child and the fourth son of Sultan Abdülhamid II, Prince Mehmed Burhaneddin is also among the Ottoman Dynasty members who lived and passed away here in the United States. Born in 1885 at Yıldız Palace in İstanbul, Prince Burhaneddin was Abdülhamid II’s favorite son and was known for his intelligence. It is said that when he was barely in his twenties, his father sought to declare him the heir to the Ottoman throne, causing a great uproar among conservative factions that insisted on the traditional line of succession, his father had wanted to declare him the Veliaht (the Heir) to the Ottoman throne. He had been a colonel in the Ottoman navy, a composer, a painter, and a virtuoso pianist and violinist. He had two extremely rare pianos of which only four still exist in the world.

Ottoman Dynasty Visits the Grave of the Prince Who Died in New York 80 Years Ago

Image The Head of the Ottoman Dynasty His Imperial Highness Bayazıd and the family members visited, in Queens, the grave of Prince Abdül Kerim, the grandson of Sultan Abdülhamid II, who died in a hotel room in New York under mysterious circumstances 80 years ago. The grave of the Prince in the Queens cemetery, where he was buried 80 years ago, was found in 2006 by TRT film director Kerime Şenyücel, who was shooting a documentary about his grandson Orhan Osmanoğlu and the Dynasty members.

The 30 Most Influential Turkish-American Women

Image After publishing a list of the 50 Most Influential Turkish-Americans in 2014, it was a must to have a list for only Turkish-American women. From business to professional life, science to show business, Turkish-American women have inspired millions of Americans and now, for the first time, TURKOFAMERICA has selected the most influential Turkish-American Women. TURKOFAMERICA has certain criteria to select these names, such as:

The Fresh Face of Healthy Living

Image THE MOST INFLUENTIAL TURKISH-AMERICAN WOMEN #1 - By Cemil Ozyurt - Daphne Oz is a natural foods chef, New York Times Bestselling author, and co-host of ABC’s hit lifestyle series “The Chew,” seated alongside restaurateurs and “Iron Chef America” stars Mario Batali and Michael Symon, “Top Chef” alum Carla Hall and style expert Clinton Kelly. In 2006, she wrote her national bestseller, The Dorm Room Diet, sharing the healthy lifestyle plan she developed in college that helped her permanently shed over 30 pounds without ever giving up the foods she loves. In April 2013, Oz released her New York Times bestseller, Relish: An Adventure in Food, Style, and Everyday Fun, a cookbook.

For Eren

The new TRJ628? and TRJ328? to be built in Turkey. (Credit: 328SSG) The Most Influential Turkish-American Women #2 - While TURK OF AMERICA’s advising committee began selecting names of the most influential Turkish-American women, many of the top candidates hailed from the academic world. The reason is two-fold: Not only are Turkish-American women rare in the American business environment, top female executives are rare in the American business world in general.

Designing The Wearable Technologies of The Future

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The smart and elegant bracelet MICA
The Most Influential Turkish-American Women #3 -  It is expected that the volume of the wearable technologies market will reach 45 billion dollars and there will be a total of 300 million items on the market by 2017. Ayşegül İldeniz, Vice President and General Manager for Business Development and Strategy, New Devices Group at Intel Corporation, says, “The developments and the works show that wearable technologies will be everywhere within the next two or three years.”

A Woman Who Leads the Future of Transportation

Image The Most Influential Turkish-American Women #4 - "My daughter is 12 years old and probably she will not need a driver's license by the time she needs to have it," says Seval Öz, CEO of Continental Intelligent Transportation Systems, LLC. So what will be happening in 4-5 years and why we will not need a driver's license? Öz and her team have worked for this dream to come true. Seval Öz was formerly head of business development for the Google [X] self driving car program, and last year she transferred to Continental AG, one of the world's largest automotive systems company. The company opened a branch in Silicon Valley and Öz has been leading a new Silicon Valley-based operation aimed at intelligent transportation efforts to create the car of the future since August 2014.
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