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A fascinating illustrated history of one of the strangest, and cruelest, cultural institutions ever devised. A worldwide best seller, translated into twenty-five languages. “I was born in a konak (old house), which once was the harem of a pasha,” writes Alev Lytle Croutier. “People around me often whispered things about harems; my own grandmother and her sister had been brought up in one.” Drawing on a host of firsthand accounts and memoirs, as well as her own family history, Croutier explores life in the world’s harems, from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century, focusing on the fabled Seraglio of Topkapi Palace as a paradigm for them all. We enter the slave markets and t...
"An exotic and beautiful story" (Isabel Allende) chronicling the lives of four generations of remarkable women, sweeping readers from the last days of the Ottoman monarchy to Turkey's transformation into a republic and the present day backlash. "A highly imaginitive family saga...Croutier's measured prose is artistic and sensuous" (San Francisco Chronicle) as the story of a silkmaking family iss told through the houses they occupied. From a grand villa in Smyrna in the early twentieth century to a silk plantation in the foothills of Mount Olympus, from a tiny house in a sleepy town to an apartment in a modern urban high-rise, the family's dwellings reflect its fortune's rise and fall. As communal baths and odalisques give way to movies and cell phones, four unique yet powerfully linked women experience all of life's hardships and pleasures.
A fascinating illustrated history of one of the strangest, and cruelest, cultural institutions ever devised. A worldwide best seller, translated into twenty-five languages. “I was born in a konak (old house), which once was the harem of a pasha,” writes Alev Lytle Croutier. “People around me often whispered things about harems; my own grandmother and her sister had been brought up in one.” Drawing on a host of firsthand accounts and memoirs, as well as her own family history, Croutier explores life in the world’s harems, from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century, focusing on the fabled Seraglio of Topkapi Palace as a paradigm for them all. We enter the slave markets and t...
Casimir de Chateauneuf, a nineteenth-century French winemaker, becomes obsessed with finding the woman pictured in a miniature portrait. His quest leads him from Paris to North Africa and then to a deserted palace in Istanbul.
Illustrated with a diverse collection of historic and contemporary artwork, travel posters, and photographs, this irresistible volume traces the evolution of spas from the sacred springs of prehistoric times to the Roman baths to the fabulous waterholes of elite society. 140 illustrations, 60 in full color.
Harem explores life in the world's harems from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century.
The author aims to expand the definition of Turkish American literature beyond fiction written by Americans of Turkish descent to incorporate texts that literally 'commute' between two national spheres. Her analyses include literary works of Elif Shafak, Halide Edip, Güneli Gün and Alev Lytle Croutier.
After being kidnapped and brought to the emperor's palace in Gondar, Ethiopia, twelve-year-old Saba discovers that she and her brother are part of the emperor's desperate attempt to consolidate political power in the mid-1840's.
Dreaming of adventure, 12-year-old Isabel Campion faces a future that seems dull and limited. Then, on the road from London, Isabel survives an attack by brigands and ends up traveling with a band of actors who left London to escape the plague. When given new choices, Isabel must decide what direction her life will take. Illustrations.
Lintang's dream of adventure on the high seas comes true when Captain Shafira invites her to join her pirate crew, but Lintang's best friend, Bayani, has stowed away and is keeping secrets.--