Contents
ABOUT HAREM: THE WORLD BEHIND THE VEIL
meaning, origins, polygamy, slave markets, harem of the Seraglio, acquisition of slaves, training of odalisques, sultanas, eunuchs, dynasty, the Golden Cage, death, the world of extremes
DAILY LIFE IN THE SULTAN’S HAREM
harem walls, gardens, games, pools, riddles and stories, poetry, prayer, secrets of flowers and birds, opium, song and dance, shadow puppets, shopping, excursions, visits and outings, festivals and special days, disenchantment
passing of the veil
marriage of sultans, harem women and politics, valide procession, princess sultanas, remarriage of sultanas, accouchement and birth, death of sultanas, Roxalena (Hürrem Sultana), Kösem Sultana, Aimée DeBucq de Rivery (Nakshedil Sultana)
Süleyman Ağa, origins, types of eunuchs, eunuch trade, procedures, Chinese eunuchs, effects of castration, sexual desire and consummation, marriage of eunuchs, regeneration of genitals, the chief black eunuch (kizlar ağasi)
the go-betweens, romance, gifts, henna night, weddings, husband-wife relationships, polygamy, relationships among wives, superstition and charms, upkeep, odalisques, jewelry, living quarters, bundle women, death
One Thousand and One Nights, wind from the East, Lady Mary Montagu, journey to the Orient, John Frederick Lewis, the Romantics, Jean-Léon Gérôme and the camera, Amadeo Count Preziosi, Empress Eugénie, Pierre Loti, emancipation of the East, the last picture
twentieth-century Orientalist threads, movies and television, harems today