figures: Midhat Pasha (1822–1883), Ottoman prime minister (grand vizier) and reformer who drafted and implemented the constitution. Mustafa Fazıl Pasha (1830–1875), brother to the viceroy of Egypt and grandson of Muhammad Ali of Egypt, principal benefactor and supporter of the Young Ottomans after formally organizing them in 1867 in Paris. History Formation The Picnic at Belgrad Forest near Istanbul In the summer of 1865, six young men convened at the Belgrad Forest (Turkish: Belgrad Ormanı) near Istanbul for a picnic to form a group that would become known as the Patriotic Alliance and would be the nucleus of the future Young Ottomans. Almost all of the men in attendance had at one time or another worked in the Translation Bureau of the Sublime Porte (the metonymy for the Ottoman government) and therefore had knowledge of both European political systems and the inner workings of Ottoman foreign policy. The six men in attendance were Mehmed Bey, Namık Kemal, Menâpirzâde Nuri, Reşat Bey, Ayetullah Bey, and Refik Bey, and all shared a desire to change the way the Ottomans interacted vis-à-vis the European powers in addition to the nature of rule in the empire. The group attracted a moderate number of followers. "In the course of two years, a few hundred people seem to have joined the society, among them two nephews of the Sultan, Prince Murad (the crown prince) and Prince Hamid." Exile to Paris During the same year, İbrahim Şinasi left control of his newspaper Tasvir-i Efkâr to Namık Kemal, and it was under Kemal’s editorship that the paper became more radical. In 1867, Namık Kemal and other Young Ottomans published the open letter of a disgruntled Egyptian prince Mustafa Fazıl Pasha to the Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz. This letter advocated constitutional and parliamentary governance. After the publication, the Ottoman government cracked down on the Young Ottomans, causing them to flee to Paris, where they continued operating under the patronage of Mustafa Fazıl Pasha. By the time these exiled publicists had come together under the patronage of Mustafa Fazıl Pasha in Paris, they began calling themselves Yeni Osmanlılar (). Publications Through the new medium of the press and with the financial support of their ally Mustafa Fazıl Pasha, the Young Ottomans were able to widely circulate their ideas in a number of publications. One of the most important periodicals was Hürriyet ("Freedom"), which was publicized by Namık Kemal and Ziya Pasha