2-2. Dancing for the Sultan
Hürrem and I wait patiently outside the sultan's bedchamber. The trays of food we are holding are starting to feel heavy, but we dare not put them down. Mahidevran told us to stand here until she collected the trays from us, but she didn't say how long we are expected to wait. I begin to understand why she didn't order two of her personal maids to do this chore. Ibrahim left us as soon as Mahidevran entered the royal bedchamber, leaving Hürrem and I in the company of the two men guarding the door.
Although the guards remain passive, I can sense the lust in their eyes. Nigar Kalfa has repeatedly warned us to be careful not to be caught alone with one of the household guards. These men might be slaves, but some have been known to run the risk of punishment for a few moments of pleasure with a harem girl. Regardless of the circumstances, the consequences for any girl unfortunate enough to be ravished by a guard is much worse. The best she can hope for is expulsion from the harem, the worst is execution by the traditional means; tied inside a sack and thrown into deep water to drown.
We wait for nearly an hour before the bedchamber door opens. Mahidevran leaves the room and walks past us without looking in our direction. The expression on her face suggests her meeting with the sultan hasn't gone well.
"Now what are we supposed to do?" muses Hürrem once Mahidevran is out of sight.
I'm about to suggest taking the trays to the kitchen when there's a call from inside the sultan's room. One of the guards opens the door and goes inside to answer the sultan's summons. A moment later the guard returns and orders us to take the trays into the sultan's room. I nearly drop my tray in alarm. This was never part of Mahidevran's plan. I desperately try to remember the correct procedure for delivering food to His Majesty.
Hürrem takes the lead and I simply follow her into the room. While I am terrified of doing something wrong, Hürrem clearly sees this as an opportunity to be seized in both hands.
"Leave the trays on that table," says Sultan Suleiman as we enter his room with bowed heads.
We quickly do as he commands. As soon as we have deposited the trays on the table we drop to our knees, keeping our heads bowed. Even Hürrem is not so bold as to look at him face to face.
"You must be two of the new girls," says the sultan. "What are your names?"
"Gülnihal, your majesty," I reply as calmly as I can manage.
"And you must be Hürrem," says the sultan, before Hürrem can reply. "Both Mahidevran and my mother have told me of a newly arrived red-haired firebrand in my harem. I trust you are paying attention to your lessons?"
Fortunately Hürrem has sufficient command of the Turkish language to understand the gist of what the sultan is saying.
"I am your humble slave, your majesty" replies Hürrem. "I strive to learn how best to serve you."
The sultan seems to understand Hürrem's reply even though she mispronounces several words. Her reply is one of several standard responses we are being taught to say. The sultan clearly knows this and doesn't pursue the conversation any further. He dismisses us and we carefully back towards the door. Once through the door, we quickly head back to the harem.
The next morning Gülsah, one of Mahidevran's personal maids, comes looking for Hürrem and I. Several of the girls in the harem have already warned us to keep clear of Gülsah. She has a reputation for causing trouble and for being Mahidevran's spy. Unfortunately there's nowhere to hide from her.
"The sultana has her eye on you two," sneers Gülsah. "You had best watch your step."
There are currently four sultanas living in the Royal Wing of the harem, so Gülsah's warning is ambiguous. Nevertheless, we don't need to be told which sultana Gülsah means. What I don't understand is what we are supposed to have done to deserve such treatment.
Hürrem's slip in referring to the sultan by his name seems to have been forgotten. Nobody mentions her error over the next few days. Hürrem and I go back to our daily routine and put our moment of excitement to the back of our minds. We don't even think about our meeting with the sultan when Nigar Kalfa tells us that a special evening of entertainment is being planned for the sultan next week. Nor do we think it out of the ordinary when Hürrem and I are selected along with six other girls to have dancing tuition in addition to our regular lessons.
The style of dancing is like nothing I have ever encountered before. The sexual overtones to the dances are hard to ignore. I do my best to imitate the lithe young woman teaching us. Hürrem seems to find it much easier to achieve the allure and grace required to perform the dance well. Our teacher encourages and praises all our efforts, but her best praise goes to Hürrem.
After Nigar Kalfa's initial announcement, no further mention of the special evening of entertainment is made. I begin to think it has been cancelled. The sultan has many things requiring his attention. It is quite possible that he has decided he has no time for such frivolity. But I'm wrong. Hürrem and I, along with four other odalisques, are called away from our lessons early one morning. We are escorted to a room at the side of the harem where Ibrahim, Sümbul Aga and Daye Hatun are waiting.
"Tonight you are to entertain His Majesty," says Daye Hatun in a tone which suggests she thinks this enterprise is foolhardy. "In my opinion none of you are ready for such an undertaking. But His Majesty commands it. Ibrahim and Sümbul Aga have selected you. I don't need to tell you of the importance of this entertainment. If you please His Majesty, then your future in the harem is assured. Displease him and you will find yourselves working in the laundry from tomorrow. You are excused from further work today so that you may prepare."
Sümbul Aga takes us back to the main part of the harem where a group of six girls are waiting to help us bathe and beautify ourselves for tonight. An assortment of beautiful silk costumes and jewellery is available for us to wear. The next few hours pass in a flurry of activity. Apart from the girls assigned to help us, all the other girls are kept well away from our preparations.
Although the six of us will perform as a troupe, we all know that we'll be competing against each other for the sultan's eye. If a girl is skilful enough she might earn a more valuable reward than the other girls. The ultimate disgrace would be to displease the sultan. Not only would the sultan withhold any gift, but, as Daye Hatun has warned us, the girl's future will be ruined.
"Will His Majesty be awarding the purple handkerchief tonight?" asks Efsun of Sümbul Aga.
Despite my inexperience, I know that the purple handkerchief is the most coveted prize to be awarded during an entertainment of this type. The sultan will award it to a girl who not only attracts his eye, but sets him on fire with lust and desire. A girl given the purple handkerchief will be summoned to the royal bedchamber a few nights later and spend the night with the sultan. Pleasing the sultan in those circumstances not only earns gifts of significantly greater value, but confirms her status as a concubine and sets her on the road to becoming one of the sultan's favourites.
"You have barely commenced your training, Efsun," replies Sümbul Aga. "Your fluency in our language is poor. Your knowledge of our history and customs is patchy at best. How will you converse and entertain His Majesty alone in his bedchamber? You had best pray that His Majesty doesn't give you the purple handkerchief. You are not yet ready for such an honour."
We ponder Sümbul Aga's comments while we finish our preparations. On one hand he is correct. Being summoned to the sultan's bedchamber entails more than sex. Intelligent conversation and proper deportment are also required. I for one don't feel ready for such a task. Yet, on the other hand, this might be the only chance I get for months, or even years, to advance my status within the harem. Unlike some of his predecessors, who are rumoured to have bedded two or three different girls every night, Sultan Suleiman is most reserved in the use of the girls in his harem.
All too soon there is no more time for preparation. The six of us are escorted to a room in the main building of the Old Palace. There we make our final adjustments to our costumes before being lead into the room where the sultan awaits. He isn't alone and has obviously been dining with selected guests. I've no idea who these men are and no introductions are made. A group of girls from the harem are sat to one side with musical instruments at the ready. Other girls are busy serving food and drinks to the male guests.
At some hidden signal the music begins. We glide into the centre of the room and begin our performance. At first we dance our well rehearsed routines. None of us blatantly tries to outperform the others, although each of us is hoping to catch the sultan's eye. To our surprise, our performance is not ended when our initial routine is exhausted. Instead the musicians begin a new set of tunes which demand more rigorous and sensuous dances. I do my best to create a dance compatible with the rhythm of the music. But, before long, I join some of the other girls in edging towards the back of the group, where we might be less noticeable. A few minutes later only Hürrem continues to dance at the front of our group.
The five of us move to the edges of the dance area and concede the main part of the floor to Hürrem. Her dance is inspired and I can see the effect she is having on all the men watching her. Her dance ends with her on her knees facing the sultan in a posture of submission. The sultan leans forward and tosses a purple handkerchief in front of Hürrem. She leans forward as though bowing, and swiftly takes her reward.
A signal from Sümbul Aga tells us we are to leave and return to the harem. Other than the purple handkerchief given to Hürrem, we have no idea how our performance has been received. I doubt any of us will sleep tonight, Hürrem least of all.