Chapter 46: 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 pitiful cries as Araj Aga delivered the six stokes of his cane to the feet of each young woman. 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 was delivered, she must believe that she has been lax in her management of the harem. Several changes are introduced. Concubines and odalisques 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 women of Ahmed’s personal harem has improved considerably now that Araj Aga is no longer in charge of them. Ahmed has officially taken responsibility for his slaves, 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 women. However they 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 over Aysun and Tülay. Aysun hasn’t been recalled to Ahmed’s bed after that first night. Aysun tries hard, but she is unable 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. He clearly prefers Nuray. 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 their former students, although we see them around the harem from time to time. I’m the only one who regularly socialises with the slaves 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 slave from talking about her life before entering the harem. Nevertheless, the occasional glimpse of a slave’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 and Tülay come from a port town or city, and that their father was a merchant. Nuray was brought up on a farm, 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 Mehtap was part of a travelling group of entertainers and never lived in one place for more than a few weeks at a time.

The women 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 her 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 women.