Basra was captured by the Ottomans between 1538 and 1546, and it remained as a naval base until the threats made by Portugal and the Netherlands in the Gulf at the end of the 17th century. However, after the Indian Ocean trade shifted to the Red Sea, it lost its former importance as a trade center. As the Ottoman Empire did not provide full political control over Baghdad and Basra, like other provinces far away from the center, the central government weakened and local power elements took over. Sultan II. Mahmud (1808-1839), in 1831, the military ruling over Baghdad under the policy of reestablishing the central administration over the states was terminated by the Kölemen administration. Baghdad and Basra were connected to the center again. The implementation of the military and military reforms foreseen by the 1839 Tanzimat Edict in the region began in 1844.

In order to establish the central authority in the region, Babıâli, which has a strong land army and an effective navy in the Persian Gulf, prepared a reform plan in the maritime area in Basra in the second half of the 19th century. In order to ensure the safety of the sea and the river and to improve trade, the wars and merchant ships were searched for the region. Steps were taken to modernize the shipyard in Basra. The first attempt in this regard began in 1847 when two naval officers from Tersane-i Âmire were sent to Basra to prepare an exploratory report. The will to do a reform in the maritime zone in Basra was also a preparation for the defensive strategy against the expansionist policies of the British who first came to India and then to the Persian Gulf in the middle of the 18th century and widened their sphere of influence in the region.

In 1850, Riyale-i Hümayun Pir Bey from Tersane-i Âmire and Riyale-i Hümayun Hüseyin Bey were dispatched to replace Basra Shipyard. They were given expert officers and personnel in the shipbuilding shipyard from Tersane-i Âmire. In the rank of admiral and sending quite well-educated names in naval techniques, it was an indication of the importance of the Babıâli. However, due to the physical-geographic conditions of the region, expected problems caused by a shortage of timber supply as well as other hardships caused by the lack soldiers for the shipyard were not realized. It was seen that most of the old ships were now beyond repair. New shipbuilding was not possible.

The idea of taking ships from Europe to the Basra beaches was not due to a lack of money. In this process, it was the first time that several of the ships in the shipyard were sent to Basra. However, the ships could pass through the Cebel-i Tarık and they would not be able to withstand the ocean voyage in this course they would do to Basra via the Cape. The Crimean War between Russia and the Ottoman Empire between the years 1853-1856 prevented the project of sending war ships to Basra.

Two Ottoman warships departed from Istanbul and were incorporated in the fleet in Basra four years before the Suez Canal was completed in 1869. These corvettes, called Izmir and Bursa, reached Basra at the end of the difficult 15-month long trip after sailing through Gibraltar and stopping in Spain, Brazil and Cape Town. For the first time in Ottoman history, sending the battleship from Istanbul to Basra and first voyage of the ships to the ocean were among the highlights of this course. It is aimed to clarify a phase of Turkish maritime history in this article in which the journey of two Ottoman corvettes between Istanbul and Basra was told. Another purpose of the study is to find out the strategic purpose and the effect of sending these corvettes to Basra. The main sources of this article are the memories of Engineer Faik and Imam Abdurrahman Efendi, who were assigned in Bursa Corvette and the report prepared by Commander and Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Bey. Although the first two studies are known, the fact that the Ahmed Bey’s report has not been used so far is one of the reasons why this article is unique.

Since the Suez Canal had not yet been opened, two Ottoman corvettes, which passed through the Cebel-i Tarık Strait and continue on their way to the Atlantic, experienced their first ocean voyage. They traveled to the African continent and arrived in Basra after a long and tiring 15-month dangerous journey. During the cruise, the demonstration of the Ottoman flag by Muslim warriors through two warships in the ports of Algeria, Rio de Jenario, the Cape, Moritos Island, Muscat, Bombay and Basra was welcomed by local Muslims in these areas and had a significant impact on them. Imam Abdurrahman Efendi, who left the Bursa Corvette and remained in Rio de Janeiro, had an influence over the Muslims of that region for years to come.

Baghdad Governor Namik Pasha managed to bring two war ships from the Tersane-i Amire to Basra by means of his three river ferries, which were ordered to Europe after his correspondence with Istanbul, and he paid for the expenses of the governorship. Thus, the number of qualified ships in Basra was partially maintained. The expansion of the Basra Shipyard, the establishment of factories and schools within the shipyard and the reclamation of the Fav Strait and the setting of the lighthouse in the Bosphorus were also carried out in this period. On the other hand, the competition with England, which increased the influence of these activities in the region with each passing day, also had an effect. After the opening of the Suez Canal at the end of 1869, it became easier to send ships to the Persian Gulf and the area became a field of international competition.