A GREAT PORTENT REVEALING HAZRAT MAHDI'S (AS) COMING TO ISTANBUL

	Narrated from Abu Jaffar Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ali (ra). Three or seven days, AFTER YOU SEE A FIRE FROM THE EAST, EXPECT TO SEE THE APPEARANCE OF AL-I MUHAMMAD [HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)], an angel from the sky will call out the name of Hazrat Mahdi (as), and everyone in East and West will hear that voice. So much so that those asleep will wake from fear, those standing will squat down, and those seated will rise to their feet. (Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-zaman, p. 32)

We are told in this hadith of people's "beginning to await the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) when a fire is seen from the East."  on 15 November, 1979, a Romanian tanker, the 150,000-ton Independenta, loaded with 95,530 tones of crude oil, was struck by a Greek steamer on the approach to Istanbul, the center of the Islamic world, setting the oil on fire and leading to a blaze that raged for days on the sea in front of the Haydarpasa area of the city.

According to this information in the hadith, this is an incident expected to take place in the days when Hazrat Mahdi (as) sets foot in Istanbul. Through that incident, Hazrat Mahdi's (as) arrival in Istanbul will have been announced to the whole world, both the human world and that of the djinn, in a way that everyone can hear. In this way, everyone will have been told by Allah of Hazrat Mahdi's (as) coming to Istanbul, by way of a loud noise like thunder, a giant blaze that raged for several days, a cloud of light and smoke and periodic explosions.

In addition, many important events in the favor of Islam and Muslims took place at this time when Hazrat Mahdi (as) came to Istanbul, the last center of the Islamic world, to begin his work.

Pictures are taken from  http://www.sihirlitur.com/olaylar/tanker/galeri1.html#