Emsalinur Kadın was born on 2 January 1866 in Abkhazia. Her father was Ömer Bey, an Abkhazian, and her mother was Selime Hanım. She had a younger sister named Tesrid Hanım eight years younger then her, who in 1894, married Şehzade Ibrahim Tevfik, son of Şehzade Burhaneddin, and grandson of Sultan Abdulmejid I. During the Russo-Turkish War, her family settled in Sapanca. She was then taken to Istanbul, where her father entrusted her to the imperial harem together with her sister. Here her name according to the custom of the Ottoman court was changed to Emsalinur.
Marriage
Emsalinur married Abdul Hamid on 20 November 1885 in the Yıldız Palace. She was given the title of "Sixth Consort". On 30 November 1886, a year after the marriage, she gave birth to her only child, a daughter, Şadiye Sultan. In 1895, she was elevated to the title of "Fifth Consort". In 1900, Abdul Hamid presented a mansion in Nişantaşı. In 1901, she was elevated to the title of "Fourth Consort". In 1907 she commissioned a mosque in Kırkpınar, Sarpanca. On 27 April 1909, Abdul Hamid was deposed, and sent into exile in Salonica. Emsalinur didn't followed him, and so remained in Istanbul. After Salonica fell to Greece in 1912, Abdul Hamid returned to Istanbul, and settled in the Beylerbeyi Palace, where he died in 1918.
Widowhood and death
In 1924, the Imperial family was sent into exile. Emsalinur followed her daughter to Paris. However, after a stay of few years there, she returned to Istanbul. Here she settled in her daughter's mansion located in Nişantaşı. In 1934, in accordance to the Surname Law, she took the surname "Kaya". After her mansion was sold by the ministry of finance in 1948, Emsalinur settled in her granddaughter's mansion located in Erenköy known as "Galip Paşa Köşkü". The government had no income other than 100 lira per month. There was no way to rent a house with. Emsalinur Kadın was asking to be allowed to stay as a “guardian” in the house owned by the National Property in Beşiktaş, which was allocated to Sabiha Gökçen, the world's first female fighter-pilot. The Presidency transferred the petition to the Prime Ministry on 6 April 1948 and the Prime Ministry to the Ministry of Finance a few days later. The Prime Ministry wanted Emsalinur to investigate her situation and be allowed to sit in one of the National Property premises if she was indeed in need of help. Emsalinur Kadin died on 20 November 1952 at the age of eighty six, and was buried in Yahya Efendi Cemetery, Istanbul. Her daughter outlived her by twenty-five years, dying in 1977.
