From July 1909 to August 1910 Ahmed Şerif, an Ottoman journalist, travelled throughout the Balkans, Anatolia, and some of the empire's Arabic-speaking territories reporting on what he observed for the Tanin newspaper (the semi-official newspaper of the Ottoman Government). Of special interest to him was investigating the effectiveness of government administration in each area. As part of each of his journeys he visited each town's government buildings, courts, police, gendarme, and prison. His reports are detailed and surprisingly candid concerning administrative problems, such as corruption, nepotism, and abuse by government officials. These reports provide rich insights into the state of the empire in the early years of the Second Constitutional Period.

During his visit to the district of Karaağaç (Şarkıkaraağaç) located in Konya province from 9 to 13 September 1909, Şerif investigated its prison. As he walked into the government offices he came to the door of the prison dorm room, which was across a narrow garden. A foul odour emanated from the small metal grate in the door that acted as the prison's only source of fresh air. Looking through the opening, Şerif saw a relatively large room holding about 25 prisoners who were either lying down or sitting and who were talking to one another. Their faces, however, were ‘pale, death shaded, and bloodless’.

As he entered the prison, he was overcome with what he would later describe as the worst stench imaginable, forcing him to cover his mouth and nose. He also found the prison to be poorly lit, with only one small lamp and no natural source of light. Conditions as he saw and felt them were extremely damp, miserable, and wretched. At the back of the room stood a government toilet (hükümet abdesthanesi) that emptied its contents into an open sewer and emitted a horrific stench that filled the entire room. He could not see how anyone could survive being imprisoned in such horrible conditions.