Harem the world behind the veil

by Alev Lytle Croutier

Paper Book, 1989

Status

Available

Publication

New York Abbeville cop. 1989

Description

"Drawing on a host of intimate first-hand accounts and memoirs, Harem explores life in the world's harems, from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century, focusing on the fabled and ever-mysterious Seraglio of Topkapi Palace as a paradigm for all."

Media reviews

"Harem: The World Behind the Veil" is presented as a history of the harem, but it focuses mostly on Ottoman Turkey and, in particular, on life as it was lived in the sultan's seraglio in Constantinople. The small section on ordinary harems is as interesting as the more exotic portion of the book.

User reviews

LibraryThing member maggie1944
This book was really interesting and not at all purient. It gave me perspective on the relationships between men and women everywhere.
LibraryThing member Kellswitch
A visually gorgeous and lush book full of wonderful images of harems both realistic and fantastical.

The authors unique access to the culture and history through her family provides a realistic and enthralling look at what life was really like in a harem as well as looking at the fantasy version as
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imagined by Westerners.
Her writing style is highly informative without being dry and academic and makes you feel as if you are a part of the world she is describing.
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LibraryThing member yeldabmoers
Harem: The World Behind the Veil by Alev Lytle Croutier is a gratifying find among the many historical books written about the harem life of the Ottoman Empire. A harem was not a hidden, decadent enclave of the Sultan’s stunning concubines. It was simply where the women lived in the palace. All
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of the women lived there, including the Sultan’s own mother, known as the “Valide Sultan.” She was the most powerful figure in the empire after the Sultan himself. Croutier doesn’t exclusively cover the Turkish harem, or Seraglio as it is known, and addresses the topic of the harem in general. However, since Croutier is Turkish and has a personal linkage to this past, naturally the majority of her book covers the Ottoman harem.

Reading this book is like watching a documentary. Decorated with lush photography and paintings, it animates the women who lived in this time and place. Croutier covers all elements of the harem life: the baths that were a quotidian ritual, the poetry of the women’s voices, an emotional life as multifaceted as the gems adorning them, the princesses, high-ranking concubines, and the eunuchs who surrounded them. There is also mention of the ordinary harem of domestic households. This rich history is laid out like a damask tapestry. The author’s first person narrative makes the prose all the more alluring.

The harem life was not easy. It was an imprisoned life, a segregated complex of buildings populated mostly by foreign slaves. A Muslim Turk could not be a consort to the Sultan as slavery was forbidden in Islam. Women were kidnapped or sold into the slave market just as cattle were. In some ways, the Turks are still ashamed of such a history, and it was abolished in the early twentieth century. Even Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the revolutionary leader and creator of the modern Turkish republic, had said: “Is it possible that, while one half of a community stays chained to the ground, the other half can rise to the skies?” Women could rarely leave the walls of the harem, but as oppressive as it could be, it was still a place of rich culture where a network of women turned to each other for comfort and enjoyed as much of its splendor as they could.

Researched extensively, Harem offers a rare glimpse into the fascinating yet misunderstood heritage of women in the Ottoman Empire.
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LibraryThing member katsmiao
Fascinating

This book is so interesting to read. I've always been interested in the topic, and as someone, who only ever read stories about harems, was immediately drawn to this book, since it's written by someone with first hand experience.

The book held up to what it promised. Extremely
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interesting insights into harem life, the history behind them, and the elements included. Absolutely fascinating.
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LibraryThing member katsmiao
Fascinating

This book is so interesting to read. I've always been interested in the topic, and as someone, who only ever read stories about harems, was immediately drawn to this book, since it's written by someone with first hand experience.

The book held up to what it promised. Extremely
Show More
interesting insights into harem life, the history behind them, and the elements included. Absolutely fascinating.
Show Less
LibraryThing member katsmiao
Fascinating

This book is so interesting to read. I've always been interested in the topic, and as someone, who only ever read stories about harems, was immediately drawn to this book, since it's written by someone with first hand experience.

The book held up to what it promised. Extremely
Show More
interesting insights into harem life, the history behind them, and the elements included. Absolutely fascinating.
Show Less

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