Menna Jameel

Every year, coinciding with the approaching month of Ramadan, the Turks are racing to pay the debts of the Garmin, according to the customs of the old Ottoman Empire.

It is not required in this habit for the person who will pay the debts to know the identity of the person who is levying his distress, as it is a behavior handed down to the generations to show cooperation and social solidarity.

At a time when the men of the Ottoman Empire were preoccupied with the political and administrative affairs of the state, their women were busy with charitable and community work, and they were ordered to build mosques, vaults, schools, and charities.

And in historical accounts, the sultana "Kosim Mah Baker" - meaning its Arabic title "Face of the Moon" - was particularly famous, unlike other sultans, for visiting prisons every year in the month of Shaaban to pay debts for the giants who were sentenced to prison for their debts.

Sultan "Kossem", wife of Sultan Ahmed I, was keen on this habit that thousands of people benefited from at that time, and considers it the most important charitable work that can be presented to the needy and the poor during the months of Shaaban and Ramadan.

Kosim also took care of providing marriage requirements for the daughters of poor families, and freeing slaves after working for them for only 3 years.

Contemporary models of
 Aref Kara, an old Turkish woman, who says in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net that paying off the debts of the Garmin is a feature "rooted in the souls of the Turks, and everyone races to it, especially before Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr, similar to the Ottoman grandparents and their wives."

Aref explained that citizens usually go to the nearest dealer or foodstuff seller in the neighborhoods in which they live, and ask them to open the debt book to choose a random name that will pay off its debt in full or at least part of it.

He also pointed out that some merchants burn the entire debt book themselves to relieve the debt of the aggrieved people, especially before Ramadan, as it is considered the most important date during the year to do good and give alms.

Aref pointed out that Ottoman history has often shown the women of the Ottoman Empire as a source of good and giving.

He continued, "Sultana Safiye established the Yeni Mosque (New Mosque) in the Emmenu district of Istanbul, and there are many spas and hospitals in the name of the Ottoman Sultans, including Sultana Kossim."

The Ottoman Sultan "Kossem" (communication sites)

Contradictory novels
 Sultana Kosim, whose real name is "Anastasia", was born in 1590, and there are accounts that say she was born in Greece, and others indicate that her birth was in Bosnia.

Heritage volumes ranked her as one of the most powerful and influential women in Ottoman history.

Anastasia was sent to Istanbul for sale in Souk Al-Raqiq, but after her arrival in the Ottoman Palace and her conversion to Islam, she called herself "Cosim".

Her nickname, "The Face of the Moon", was obtained thanks to the love of the fourteenth Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I (ruler from 1603-1617) and his fascination with her beauty, a love that eventually culminated in marriage despite the opposition of the Sultan's mother at the time, Sultana Handan.

Al-Sultana Koussim gained her authority in the Ottoman Empire through her husband who considered her the favorite among his wives, then through their son Murad IV (ruled from 1623-1640) and Ibrahim I (ruled from 1640-1648), and finally through her minor grandson Muhammed IV (ruled from 1648). 1687).

Despite what she says about her love for charity, building mosques, and running water fountains, stories have been told about her cleverness and her constant desire to control the reins of affairs.

According to the accounts, "Cosim" was exercising its influence in an unprecedented way during 37 years, and was taking advantage of any opportunity to isolate its children and grandchildren from power and state administration, if they tried to strip it of its influence.

It reached with this matter that she got rid of her two sons, Sultan Murad IV and Sultan Ibrahim I, and installed her grandson from her son Ibrahim Sultan Muhammad IV, who was seven years old at the time.

The character of Sultana “Kossem” was embodied in the historical Turkish series “Harem Al-Sultan .. Sultana Kossim” (2015-2017), actresses Beren Sat (in the youth period), and Nur Gul Yashilchay (an advanced age).