Ottomon Defenders part 1

Around 1916, Sharif Husain's forces launched attacks on Turkish garrisons at Taif and Makkah. During this period, a young Turkish officer began to bombard the Sharif's palace in Makkah, when a stray shell landed in the  courtyard of the Ka'bah, and the curtains caught fire.

The Turks rushed out of the fort and managed to extinguish the fire, but the Makkans believed that this was a deliberate attempt at sacrailege and set upon them. The entire Turkish garrison was massacred and the body of the young officer was dragged through the streets.

(From Mecca the Blessed, Madinah the Radiant by Emel Esin. This book is a treasure and I was fortunate to have found a copy of it on Amazon. It is brief, but has enough details that an average person would not have read or known. Especially, the history following Ummayad attack on Makkah and Madinah.)

I cannot judge the Turkish soldiers who were massacred that day, but I feel - and it is just a feeling - that they were defending the Holy City from rebellion. A rebellion that must have been difficult to understand, especially in a day and age where rumors got around fast and where there were no reliable sources of information.

How ironic for them to have died at the hands of their fellow Muslims after having put out the fire that they had accidentally set. To have been considered sacrilegious when in fact they were wholeheartedly defending the sacred. Oh Fate, how cruel thou art!