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Ottoman rulers rarely left Istanbul, except for military campaigns and hunts. However, the 19th century brought a new development; starting with Mahmud II, sultans began to undertake domestic tours.
Among the Ottoman sultans, Sultan Abdulaziz (1861-1876) traveled the furthest from Istanbul. After ascending the throne, the Sultan traveled to Bursa to visit the tombs of his ancestors and personally oversaw the launching of a ship in Izmit. In 1863, he went to Egypt, and in 1867, he traveled to Europe. During his reign, Sultan Abdulaziz sought to strengthen the central power of the state. In Egypt, however, Khedive Ismail Pasha was acting autonomously, attempting to govern the province as he wished. Grand Vizier Yusuf Kamil Pasha, who was the son-in-law of Mehmed Ali Pasha of Kavala, encouraged the Sultan to visit Egypt to reinforce the province's loyalty to the state, as Egypt had begun to transform into a separate entity since his father-in-law's governorship. At the same time, the long-standing Suez Canal issue was ongoing. Sultan Abdulaziz embarked on his Egyptian journey to demonstrate that the Ottoman Empire was one of the main players in the Suez Canal matter and that Egypt was an integral part of the Ottoman Empire.
The Sultan's journey to Egypt began with a ceremony at Dolmabahce Palace on April 3, 1863. After the ceremonies, they set sail on the steamer 'Feyz-i Cihad'. Accompanying the Sultan were Serasker and Aide-de-camp Kececizade Mehmed Fuad Pasha, Princes Murad, Abdulhamid, and Mehmed Resad Efendi, Grand Admiral Ates Mehmed Pasha, the Sultan's tutor Aksehirli Hasan Fehmi Efendi, and other bureaucrats. Grand Vizier Yusuf Kamil Pasha remained in Istanbul as the Sultan's deputy.
Traditionally, Ottomans would show respect to the Sultan by bowing their heads and waiting silently. For centuries, standing silently before the Sultan was the most important rule for showing respect, but this custom changed after Sultan Abdulaziz's visit to Egypt. The people of Egypt had not seen an Ottoman Sultan for 346 years. Thousands of people, seeing their Sultan before them, could not endure standing silently and began to shout, cheer loudly, pray for the Sultan, and applaud. Sultan Abdulaziz was surprised, but he was immensely pleased by the sincere display of affection from the people.
Kececizade Fuad Pasha, one of the most pragmatic statesmen in Ottoman history, demonstrated his acumen as a great statesman and master diplomat with an action he took during this journey. The purpose of the Sultan's trip was to show the Egyptians and Governor Ismail Pasha that Egypt was a province loyal to the Ottoman Empire.
When Sultan Abdulaziz arrived in Alexandria, a magnificent horse had been prepared for the Sultan, and horses were also brought for Ismail and Fuad Pashas. When the Sultan mounted his horse, Ismail Pasha also intended to mount his own. However, when he saw Fuad Pasha begin to lead the Sultan's horse, he became quite annoyed but was forced to act in the same manner. With his subtle intelligence, Fuad Pasha had reminded the governor of his true position.
Upon his return, Sultan Abdulaziz evaluated the trip in an imperial decree dated May 5, 1863, stating: "On this recent journey to certain regions of our country and upon our return, the heartfelt loyalty and devotion shown by all classes of the people were as great as my love and affection for them, and I was exceedingly pleased by this. There is no need to reiterate that my greatest aspiration is the increase in the happiness and prosperity of all my subjects. The positive results of our special efforts in this direction will be reaped gradually.
"All subjects of our state, with the help of Allah, will see the reward of their loyalty to us through the improvement of their conditions. Witnessing this will be a reward for the efforts we have expended. Furthermore, I especially command and advise that even the deputies and officials of our state should expend their efforts in this direction by faithfully performing their duties, that is, striving and taking care to fulfill my desire to keep all the people of our country content and to ensure their satisfaction. Since the respect shown to us by the subjects of friendly countries during this time also caused our pleasure, I wish this to be proclaimed as well."
After making the Sultan's influence felt in Egypt, Sultan Abdulaziz set off for Istanbul. On his way back from Egypt, he also stopped in Izmir. The people of Izmir had not seen a Sultan for a long time, so the enthusiasm seen in Egypt was also experienced in Izmir. Since Izmir was a city where people of different religious and ethnic backgrounds lived together, each community expressed their love for the Sultan according to their own understanding and in their own language. The people of Izmir cheered and applauded the Sultan loudly, and even young European girls and women residing in Izmir, as was done in their own countries, knelt in the streets and shouted "Vive le Sultan" (Long live the Sultan).
The Sultan was very pleased with the applause and so impressed that upon his return to Istanbul, he remarked to those around him, "We did not see the love and enthusiasm in Istanbul that we saw in Egypt and Izmir." In reality, the welcoming ceremonies in Egypt and Izmir marked the end of a centuries-old tradition. The fact that the people of Istanbul had not previously shown their affection for their sultans by cheering and applauding enthusiastically was due to this behavior not being customary and being considered improper. However, now things had changed; the cheers in Egypt had sparked a new custom. Indeed, even before the Sultan's return, news of the welcoming ceremonies in Egypt and Izmir and the Sultan's critical remarks about the people of Istanbul had reached the capital.
The Sultan returned to Istanbul on April 24, 1863. In honor of the Sultan's return from Egypt, grand festivities were held in Istanbul for three days and three nights. The people of Istanbul greeted Sultan Abdülaziz with unprecedented celebrations that year, far surpassing those held in Egypt and Izmir.
The people of Istanbul prepared an unprecedented celebration to welcome Sultan Abdulaziz. All the streets of Istanbul turned into decorated mansion gardens. The same preparations were made along the Bosphorus shores, in Uskudar, Galata, and Beyoglu.
The rice merchants, who had trade relations with Egypt, took the lead in organizing Sultan Abdulaziz's welcoming ceremonies in Istanbul. The rice merchants adorned their shops like bridal chambers and illuminated the streets with precious chandeliers, lanterns, and oil lamps. Competing with the rice merchants, the mat weavers and candlemakers also decorated and illuminated their bazaars and shops, not falling behind the rice merchants. This enthusiasm quickly spread to other merchants, and each merchant strived to outdo the others with ostentatious decorations. For this purpose, unimaginably costly preparations were made. The fronts of shops and inns were decorated with laurel branches, and lanterns and oil lamps were hung everywhere. In many neighborhoods, gardens in the style of citrus groves were created with lemon and flower pots. Even the people of the most remote neighborhoods in Istanbul decorated their homes and shops with laurel branches and hung lanterns to the best of their ability.
The Grand Bazaar merchants also wanted to participate in the festivities and celebrations. They planned to illuminate the Bazaar and keep it open at night, but at that time, it was forbidden for the Grand Bazaar to be open at night. The Bazaar merchants were granted special permission to remain open at night, and the Grand Bazaar merchants made extraordinary preparations, making every part of the bazaar brightly lit and decorated.
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