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1899: Film in the Land Without Electricity
1899 witnessed the arrival of the moving image in Turkey - a land in which electricity was banned due to despotic Sultan Abdul Hamid's somewhat irrational fear that it could be used for purposes of terrorism. The first cinema projector was imported into the country by Don Ramirez, the Spanish owner of a circus based in Constantinople. Ramirez beseeched the Spanish Ambassador to speak to the Sultan on his behalf. The Ambassador was so successful in his attempts to sway the Sultan that a command performance was ordered, to take place in his palace. Ramirez's private show for the Sultan was described by The Electrical Review as "Moving scenes from the leading capitals of Europe were thrown on the screen for the delectation of the Sultan, who no doubt enjoyed them all the more since he is not, like his friend, the German Kaiser, a great traveller."
The Sultan was so impressed by Ramirez's show that he allowed the Spaniard to have electricity installed in his circus. [ADD]
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