Both the European part and the Asian part are very important to the Ottoman Empire; both are indispensable.
But the deadly issue is that to transport troops to the Balkan Peninsula, the Ottoman Empire must pass through the Marmara Sea. Whoever controls the Marmara Sea and the Aegean Sea can directly split the Ottoman Empire into two.
What the Ottoman Empire fears most domestically is the Russians marching all the way to Constantinople, driving the Ottoman Empire directly out of the Balkan Peninsula.
Unfortunately, the Russians currently have such a tendency. If the Russian attack cannot be stopped, the Ottoman Empire might be left with only the Asia Minor Peninsula.
"Gentlemen, do you have any other methods? The Empire is at a moment of life and death. If we cannot repel the Russian attack, perhaps the Ottoman Empire will cease to exist." The newly appointed Sultan Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire said with a face full of grief.
