Description

Immediate dispatch from Somerset. Nice book in great condition. Pages in excellent condition. Images are beautiful bright and vivid. No notes or highlighting. See images. Fantastic book.

About the book >.>.> The harem a mystical place of pleasure is one of the most enticing institutions of Islamic culture perceived to represent family and sexual traditions far different from those of the Western world. Turkish harems in particular have remained largely secret despite the interest of European travellers. This is not surprising since they could only be visited by close family members all-powerful eunuchs and the ruler of the house; all other men were barred entry. In consequence much of what we know about harems is second-hand or the result of a vivid imagination. The very word ‘harem’ designates a closed reserved place that part of the Ottoman living quarters set apart for women a place containing the most luxurious and elaborate rooms in the house. It is traditionally the seductive intimate heart of every home or palace. This beautiful all-colour book describes the Turkish harem in a comprehensive manner bringing it to life with sensual evocative illustrations and well-documented text. There is a detailed and fascinating description of the Topkapi in Istanbul the palace of the court of the Turkish sultans of its rooms of state its kitchens its elegant gardens and pavilions the hospital and the school for princes of the blood and of course the intrigue-filled harem. Here odalisques and sultanas – controlled by feared eunuchs – spent their lives lounging in various degrees of undress bathing being massaged and coiffed gossiping endlessly in the hamman and being entertained by acrobats musicians and dancers and partaking of dishes of extraordinary refinement cooked with ingredients brought from all parts of a vast empire. Ever present in this sybaritic atmosphere however were the lurking ambitions of women eager to advance their positions as well as those of their sons – by becoming the Sultan’s favourite through their carefully honed powers of seduction. For the winners there was an eventual place as the valide sultana or Queen Mother whose son had gained power in good part due to a mother’s cunning. For the losers there was banishment from the Topkapi and for their male offspring either strangulation with a silk cord or life imprisonment within the confines of the palace. (MP)