10: New beginnings
10-1 Changes
Only Şah Sultan will know whether the punishment of Irem, Anna and Emete had the effect she desired. Even the most hardened women were moved by the three girls' pitiful cries as Araj Aga delivered the six stokes of his cane to the feet of each girl. It was days before Anna and Emete were able to walk properly once again. I presume Irem was similarly afflicted, but we haven't seen her since the day of the punishment. That was a month ago. A month which has seen a number of changes in the Edirne harem.
Despite Şah Sultan's speech before the punishment, she must believe that she has been lax in her management of the harem. Several changes are introduced. Girls are moved to different dormitories, married couples are no longer allowed to meet in the passageways downstairs, the kalfas and agas are seen patrolling the harem more often. All this unsettles the harem. Needless to say, the married women in the harem are particularly unhappy.
Aysun, Esmeray, Mehtap, Nuray, Şenay and Tülay have completed the first stage of their concubine training. Should one of them look like becoming a long term favourite of Ahmed then she'll receive another few months of training to become a fully trained hatun. My daily language lesson, and dancing lessons three afternoons a week, are the only formal training they currently receive.
The mood of the six girls has improved considerably now that Araj Aga is no longer in charge of them. Ahmed has officially taken responsibility for his girls, although Leyla Sultan oversees their day to day activities. Leyla is diligent in her duties and, like Araj Aga, she expects a high standard of performance and hygiene among the girls. However the girls respond better to Leyla Sultan's commands than they ever did to those of Araj Aga.
At the moment only Aysun, Nuray and Tülay have walked the golden path to Sultan Ahmed's bed. He seems to favour the darker haired Nuray and Tülay over Aysun, who hasn't been recalled to Ahmed's bed after that first night. Aysun tries hard, but she can't overcome the handicap of her blond hair. I don't think Mehtap, Esmeray or Şenay are ever likely to be called. Mehtap has the misfortune to also have blond hair, while Emeray is too timid, and Şenay too sullen, to win Ahmed's favour in preference to Nuray and Tülay. I suppose that some of them will be transferred to other duties once Ahmed's preferences become certain.
Birgül and Didem no longer have daily contact with the girls, although we see them around the harem from time to time. I'm the only one who regularly socialises with the girls of Ahmed's harem. It's a mutually beneficial friendship. They look on me as their mentor ... an older sister at times ... while I use our time together to learn more of their native languages.
The harem rules prohibit any girl from talking about her life before entering the harem. Nevertheless, the occasional glimpse of a girl's past life slips out from time to time. Our language lessons often give me an insight into their previous life. I know, for example, that Aysun comes from a port town or city, and that her father was a merchant. Mehtap and Nuray were brought up on farms, while Şenay is the daughter of a soldier. I don't know enough about Esmeray's culture to understand her previous life, and as far as I can tell Tülay was part of a travelling group of entertainers and never lived in one place for more than a few weeks at a time.
The girls have been assigned work duties in the kitchens during the mornings, so I'm often left on my own for several hours. As a guest in the harem, I'm not expected to work, although I don't receive a daily stipend as a consequence. Fortunately Hasan made sure that I arrived with adequate money for my needs, and Şah Sultan sees that I'm paid a few aspers for each language lesson that I teach. I regularly wear the harem uniform even though I've enough money to buy new clothes from time to time. However, throwing a party in the harem is beyond my means. The stipends paid to the harem women in Edirne are quite low in comparison to those paid in Constantinople. Even the hanimsultans only receive a pittance, and the sultanzades aren't wealthy enough to afford expensive gifts for their favourites. Consequently, nobody in the harem can afford more than the basic necessities, and the much needed relief of a party is something we can only dream about.
Anna quickly recovered her spirit once her physical injuries healed. Her fear that the other women would shun her after the punishment proved unfounded. If anything, her reputation within the harem has been enhanced by the incident. We no longer share the same dormitory but I see her regularly to continue her lessons in Turkish and mine in Hungarian. Anna has been assigned work duties with the women making and repairing dresses for those women who can afford to buy them. In reality, the woman market trader who visits the harem once a week is their best customer. Nuray bought one of their dresses shortly after Leyla ordered that Nuray's and Tülay's daily stipend be increased from six to ten aspers a day. It's an old dress which has been repaired many times, so it wasn't very expensive. Nevertheless, Nuray takes pride in wearing her own dress even though it may not last for more than a few months.
The incident between Ramazan and Kadir is no longer mentioned in the harem. Emete and I know the truth, but we have enough sense never to talk about what we know. Melek paid the price for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. When I went to the infirmary the day after the punishment I found that Melek had gone, and nobody was able or willing to say where. It would be nice to think that she was simply transferred to another palace, but she was in no condition to travel. I'm realistic enough to know that she was probably silenced for good. An innocent scapegoat, murdered to save two sultanzades' reputations. It's a reminder of the darker side of harem life.
Emete frequently entertains Ramazan, but she is less enthusiastic than on the night she shed all her clothes while dancing at Ahmed's birthday celebration. It was that act which earned her the beating at Şah Sultan's order. Melek had hoped that Kadir had died during the altercation between the two brothers. She won't have known the answer to that question before she disappeared. Emete witnessed the fight and, fortunately for her, she wasn't seen by anyone other than Melek. Even she didn't know the extent of Kadir's injuries until much later when she learned that he had been confined to the men's infirmary for nearly two weeks before belatedly leaving Edirne to join his regiment. At least Kadir's departure means he won't be trying to poach Ahmed's girls.
News recently arrived from Constantinople that Sultan Suleiman has a new son, Mehmed. Hürrem isn't mentioned by name ... the mother simply being referred to as 'a young concubine' ... but I know that Hürrem must be the mother. Normally such news would be the cause for a harem celebration, but Şah Sultan shows no inclination to arrange one. I suppose the news means that her own sons are now one step further away from becoming the next Ottoman sultan.
Not being the sort of person who can sit around idly, I begin to find things to do with my free time. I visit the family wing of the harem once a week so that one of the midwives can check on the progress of my pregnancy. I also take the opportunity to catch up with Gülriz while I'm there. That usually involves helping her with the young children left in her care while their mothers are at work. Twice a week I visit Fahrunissa, a former concubine who lives in one of the other dormitories. She's nearly seventy years old and she's too frail to work more than a couple of days a week. Fahrunissa welcomes my visits and has a wealth of knowledge which she readily shares with me. My knowledge of history and the Turkish language improves in the process.
I don't forget the midwife's advice that I should keep active. It's far too easy to spend the day sitting around the harem. Not only do I participate with Aysun and the others during their afternoon dancing lessons twice a week, but I persuade our dancing teacher, Nebahat, to give me an extra lesson once a week in the morning. I must pay her for the extra lesson, but the three aspers for each lesson is money well spent. Previously my dancing skills had been satisfactory, but nothing out of the ordinary. Now Nebahat says that I'm improving and ready to try something harder.
I periodically meet with Şah Sultan. She is polite to me and treats me with respect despite the huge difference in our social status. In return, I gladly help around the palace when an interpreter is needed. My advancing skills in several languages makes me a valuable person for Şah Sultan to call on when necessary. Şah Sultan regularly entertains the local pashas' wives, some of whom are foreign born. While all of them speak Turkish to varying degrees, Şah Sultan likes to have me on hand just in case. Consequently I get to know the pashas' wives, although I confine my conversations to translating whenever necessary. It's through these conversations that I learn that Irem has been married to some up-and-coming bey in Manisa. I also learn that Şah Sultan is having one of the disused palace buildings repaired and converted into suitable quarters for the married couples currently forced to sleep apart.
A third piece of news is less pleasing. It seems that Şah Sultan is expecting a visit from her mother, the Valide. Hopefully I can keep out of sight while the Valide is here. The last thing I need is for the Valide to notice the state of my pregnancy and suspect that Sultan Suleiman is the father of my child. I'd never be allowed to leave the harem if she even suspected the truth. My child would become part of the dynasty with all the dangers and privileges that involves. Sultan Suleiman's dream of fathering a child free of the dynasty's control would be destroyed. I try to think of some way of avoiding the Valide, but nothing immediately comes to mind.
The next day I mention what Nebahat said about my improved dancing skills to Fahrunissa. She goes thoughtful for a while and then tells me that perhaps I should try a seven veil dance. I baulk at the thought, but she continues to encourage me to at least try. She goes on to tell me of the history of the seven veil dance.
"The origins of the dance are drawn from ancient Babylonian legend," says Fahrunissa. "In order to meet with her dead lover, the goddess Ishtar had to relinquish some of her jewels and robes at each of the seven gates to the underworld, until she stood naked in the 'land of no return'. There she would be reunited with her lover. Only if each gatekeeper approved of her gift was she allowed to continue. Each veil in the dance represents the clothes and jewels Ishtar leaves at one of the gates."
"So what does Ishtar's quest tell you about how the seven veil dance should be performed?" asks Nebahat when I repeat Fahrunissa's story to her during that afternoon's dancing lesson.
"Ishtar must shed just enough at each gate to satisfy the gatekeeper, or she may not have enough clothing and jewels left by the time she reaches the seventh gate," I reply after a few moments thought. "But if she doesn't shed enough then she won't be allowed to continue past the gate."
"Exactly," laughs Nebahat. "The longer the dance, the better. But you must hold the audience's attention throughout. Reveal too much too early, and you will lose the audience's interest before you finish. Reveal too little, and you can suffer the same fate."
By this time I've become interested enough in the dance to at least practise it. My pregnancy won't interfere with my dancing for a few more months, although I'll need to adjust my balance as my belly expands. Since the other girls aren't ready for a dance as complicated as a seven veil dance, I leave practising it until my private lesson with Nebahat.