Just like back in the 1500s, you can't get in without paying a price. In our case, it's ticketed admission to view parlors of magnificantly extravagent Ottoman craft. Any formal area is a symphony of inlay, stained glass, Iznik tiles, gilded and sparkly, domed, marble or woven, plastered and painted adornment. 
the sultan's chamber
one of the twin chambers for the princesWhen we hear 'harem' we think of a stately pleasure-dome full of scantily clad women. Literally, it means 'forbidden' as in off limits to all men except the sultan, the princes, and the eunuch guards. In reality the harem was living quarters and prison for its inhabitants. Most were non-Muslim women, Christian and Jews, enslaved in foreign lands who were given as gifts to the sultan. Perhaps my Armenian friends know that that Armenian and Georgian girls were favored for their fair skin. The girls were converted to Islam and trained in palace arts, including those arts performed in the sultan's bed chamber.
There was no sisterhood in the harem though. Each girl vied for the attention of the sultan or princes in order to elevate her status. Having the sultan's child guaranteed a higher station and was the path toward becoming the mother of the sultan's ruling heir, the valide sultana.
There was no sisterhood in the harem though. Each girl vied for the attention of the sultan or princes in order to elevate her status. Having the sultan's child guaranteed a higher station and was the path toward becoming the mother of the sultan's ruling heir, the valide sultana.
the valide sultana's chamber
The girls had to win favor with the valide sultana, who served as gatekeeper and selected the sultan's company and handmaids, while also avoiding angering the kizlar agasi, or chief black eunuch. You can well imagine that these chiefs had massive chips on their shoulders. They were known for their own unpredictability, vindicativeness, and power-brokering.
Primal survival pushed these women to conspire, knife, sleep, and poison their way up the harem hierarchy. It was a paranoid, mad-making existence.
Primal survival pushed these women to conspire, knife, sleep, and poison their way up the harem hierarchy. It was a paranoid, mad-making existence.
2 comments:
WOW! A little history lesson in every entry, I love it!
"Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks"
They Might be Giants
Constantinople is a very long word. How do you spell it?
I, T. Ha ha ha ha ha ha has.
Now, I have been following this blog from the beginning. I have been loyal. I have looked at all the photos, watched all the videos, and read almost all the text. Despite my diligence, how many pictures of Julian's hairy chest have I seen so far? I'll tell you: none. Throw me a bone, big boy. Let's have one of those v-neck white cotton Turkish shirts with something gold around your neck, and maybe a kebab in the right hand.
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