Why the Monkeys of Istanbul Were Hanged in the Ottoman Empire?

In the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Istanbul, which had active trade relations with African countries, the monkeys brought from abroad were quite popular, Tert.am reports, referring to Haberler.com.

The initiator of the historic slaughter of monkeys was the favorite priest of the Ottoman Empire Sultan Murad III, Abdülkerim, who had the title of molla and was also known by his hatred towards religious minorities. It turns out that Mullah Kerim also hated the monkeys.

One day during a religious sermon in a mosque, the mullah declares that some of the monkeys are used for "abominable purposes", after which the raging crowd comes out to the city streets and slaughter monkeys.

The historians of the time wrote that on that day it was difficult to find a single branch of tree in Istanbul without a hanged monkey.

The people who witnessed this massacre of the monkeys began to call Abdülkerim ''maymunkeş '' and on the occasion of his death a number of animal lovers are organizing a fest.