Today for Gus’ Gear, I have a very nice Turkish Mauser M1893 that was given to me by a good friend, John in Tennesee. It was manufactured in the first year of production (1893) and is chambered for the same cartridge (7.65x55mm) as the Belgian Mauser M1889. After Germany invaded Belgium, they captured a number of M1889 Mausers. The Germans shipped the Belgian Mausers to Turkey as they used the same cartridge. During the invasion of Gallipoli, the Commonwealth and French forces captured a number of Turkish Mausers and these were given to Belgian forces for the same reason. In 1893 Turkey had ordered 201,100 M93 rifles from Mauser.
From the right view of the rifle you can see the distinct Mauser design. Also shown in this photo is belt equipment that an Ottoman soldier would normally have. The scabbard for the M1890 bayonet, two 3 pocket ammo pouches, almost identical to the German M1909 pouches, a brass belt buckle, a #2 infantry grenade and a glass water bottle with a cloth cover.
A view of the sight shows the ranges marked with Arabic numerals, this is the early sight calibrated for round nosed projectiles.
A closeup of the left side of the receiver shows the Arabic number 1313, which converts to 1893, this is the model designation.
The left view also shows the modern Mauser design well.
A closeup of the right side shows a unique feature to this rifle, the small lever at the back of the receiver is an external cutoff.