Genab Effendi

Genab Effendi was Caimakam, or governor, of Larnaca in the 1860s, and the only account of him is Luigi Palma di Cesnola's own, from his years as American consul there. No year is printed for the events¹.

Cesnola writes that the Caimakam arrested two of his diggers without informing him and, when asked, replied that digging without a firman was strictly forbidden. The men were held several days without judgment¹. Cesnola says he then "had a grudge" and promised himself repayment¹. When a notable Turk of the Marina asked to become American consular guard, saying the Caimakam had sworn to have him conscripted, Cesnola appointed him; his name was Mustafa Fefsi. According to Cesnola, Genab Effendi first tried to persuade him to pick someone else, promising not to interfere in the excavations again, and then went through the Governor-General, who refused to recognise Mustafa. About four months later the Turkish police took Mustafa from an American storehouse as an alleged army deserter¹.

Cesnola went to Constantinople to the American minister, Edward Joy Morris. Grand Vizier Aali Pasha proposed a mixed commission, in which Augustus J. Johnson, Consul-General at Beirut, acted for the United States, and it decided in Cesnola's favour. Two American warships arrived at Larnaca as Morris issued an ultimatum. The satisfactions Cesnola lists include the dismissal of Genab Effendi, who was permanently barred from Ottoman office, Mustafa's restitution, a 21-gun salute and 10,000 piastres in damages to the American dragoman^1,2. Marangou calls the affair a typical example of Cesnola's egocentric and vengeful character, and records that a 15-page report on it went to the State Department².