MY GRANDFATHER, HIS IMPERIAL HIGHNESS PRINCE IBRAHIM TEVFIK (1874-1931)

On March 4th, 1924, following Kemal's orders, guards came to my grandfather's palace and commanded him, his family and his entourage to get out. They gave them three days to pack. My father, His Imperial Highness Prince Burhaneddin Djem, who was four years old at the time, remembers that while his parents and the servants were packing, he was playing by a pool with his sisters and his cousins.

 
During their trip on the Orient Express, there was a snow blizzard and the train stopped in Bulgaria. All the passengers had to climb off the train and they continued on foot until the next city. His Imperial Highness Prince Ibrahim Tevfik led the way in the snow and everyone followed him. He carried his son, His Imperial Highness Prince Burhaneddin Djem, on his left shoulder.

On the Orient Express, on their road to exile, my grandmother, Her Highness Şadiye, was pregnant of my uncle, His Imperial Highness Prince Bayezid Osman.