The five turtles in this portrait symbolize a stubborn, resistant and slow changing society. Some even believe that they represent the five most difficult associates of Osman Hamdi, giving him heartburn. The turtle trainer, dressed in a red dervish robe and a turban, holding a ney (sufi flute) is Osman Hamdi, representing a patient intellectual that is coaching change. A change he hopes to teach primarily by blowing his ney and occasionally by using it to prod or reprimand the animals. Unfortunately, the turtles have no ears to hear the ney and with a thick protective shell they are also not bothered by his prodding. His efforts are futile. Osman Hamdi Bey's calls for westernization are met by deaf ears and much resistance by the establishment and the conservative segments.
