The First Ottoman Capital as Seen by a Russian Officer: Lieutenant Alexander L. Kalusovsky’s Report on a Trip to Brusa in 1904

In 1904, Lieutenant Alexander L. Kalusovsky (1871–1908), a student of the Officer Courses in Oriental languages at the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire, was sent on a study trip to the Ottoman Empire. The trip, which lasted from May to October, was aimed at practicing the Turkish language and improvement of knowledge about the country. Most of the business trip took place in the city of Brusa (now Bursa, Turkey). As a result, a detailed report was compiled by Kalusovsky, including both military information, and descriptions of various aspects of the life of the city of Brusa and the Hüdavendigâr Vilayet. Currently, this report is housed at the Archives of the Orientalists of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The value of this source, which contains numerous specific data on the state of the region in the early 20th century, inspired its publication in this article.