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A Thousand And One NightsThis story may contain adult content. |
| Written by James A. Young | |
| Thursday, 19 June 2008 | |
 June 12th, 1684, marked her third day of captivity in the Grand Harem of Topkapi Palace -the headquarters/home of the Ottoman Empire's Grand Sultan. Eventually she would encounter the sultan. She hoped he would not notice her. Life in his harem was unlike any future she had ever envisioned. She had not settled into these new surroundings, had not yet become comfortable with this strange family. This morning, her temperament would not allow her to join other maidens relaxing nearby, enchanted by the music of a young odalisque (slave girl). Nor would she join those frolicking in the palace pool. Instead, she stood naked, defiantly alone, in the shallows of the pool, her back against a pillar, surveying strange surroundings, daydreaming, contemplating her predicament, her desperate future. Only days earlier, her father sold her into the sultan's harem. Sudden violence had catapulted her into a strange life and unfamiliar surroundings. In her sixteen years, she never had much to wear other than rags. Still, she had been free. She had been happy. Now, she could wear silk every day. If only she didn't mind a life of slavery within the confines of a gilded cage. But, she pined for her rags and freedom. It appeared most had accepted confinement as kismet (fate). She would not. "Everyone had to be prepared," the odalisques told her, "always ready to bring pleasure to the sultan." But she rejected any notion of living as a sex slave, a mere device for pleasure, her innocence violated in a strange man's groping hands. The idea made her skin crawl. Somehow, she would escape this horror before it materialized. If escape was impossible, she hoped he would always prefer others. She would make certain of it. He had many beautiful odalisques to choose from, most were eager to compete for his attention. How could her father sell her? Yes, true. Three goats disappeared from his herd. She had fallen asleep while shepherding them. Did he care so little for his daughter and so much for money that he would sell her? She expected his anger, but nothing like this crossed her mind. Now, instead of being a proud Albanian shepherd girl, she had been reduced to the status of mere livestock. Her father secretly made the arrangements. Eunuchs came during the night while she slept. She was seized, thrown to the floor and immobilized. Her nightclothes were torn away, her body examined from head to toe. She tried to conceal herself but her legs were forced apart to reveal that which no man had ever looked upon before. Satisfied with the merchandise, they bound and gagged her. Then they stuffed her into a large sack. It didn't take long to realize struggling would be futile, escape impossible. The trip to Topkapi palace, the Seraglio, took several hours. Once inside its walls, the sack was opened, the restraints removed. She tried to flee but the sultan's Grand Seraglio proved to be a heavily guarded maze of corridors and rooms. The Carriage House gate provided the only real access to the outside world. Halberdiers (royal guards) guarded it from without, black eunuchs from within. The black eunuchs flogged her as she ran about. Finally, she collapsed sobbing, curling up in a corner to partially protect herself from further assault. The chief eunuch counseled her, the message clear. Either submit or suffer mercilessly. What could she do? She submitted, but only for expediency. She was unprepared to deal with her situation, unprepared to know what was happening or would happen next. Far from broken, a way to escape would be found or, she vowed, she would die in the effort. Her captors wasted no time before beginning her preparation. Odalisques came for her. With the threat of more flogging she reluctantly surrendered and agreed to enter the bath. While steam swirled around her, odalisques scoured her with loofa and pumice stone from head to toe. Possessing body hair was deemed a sin. Hours were spent removing it. The process involved entangling a hot caramelized paste with the unwanted hair. After cooling, it thickened. When ripped away, the hair ripped out with it. She had no choice but submit. A eunuch stood ready to flog her if she resisted. She felt totally violated. She learned much from the odalisques during these precious hours. She would undergo a thorough examination by the chief eunuch and then again later by the valide sultana (sultan's mother). Ultimately, the valide sultana would decide her status, wife, concubine or odalisque, and assign her to a task group sequestered within the household. Regardless of assignment, she would be subject to the sexual whims of the sultan and the disciplinary whims of the chief eunuch. If she turned out to be troublesome she might be re-sold in the slave market in Istanbul or simply forced into a sack and dumped into the river Bosphorus on a moonlit night. Leaving the bath, odalisques fitted her for clothing. Finally they allowed her to rest upon a divan. Sleep, however, she found elusive. Her mind could not shake off the horrors that had befallen her. Silent screams, grief and heartbreak tore through her. The pain seemed like a searing knife thrust deep into her heart and twisted. Much worse than anything physical, this was the pain of betrayed love. No one came to comfort her. She wanted each breath to be her last. The next day she explored her new surroundings looking for any weakness in the system of sequestering that might allow a clever captive opportunity for escape. But eunuchs were everywhere, always ready to frustrate every scheme. She found life in Topkapi Palace, a strange affair. Everyone, even the most powerful, was either slave or captive. Some had it better than others. Yet, all lived in opulence and luxury. The finest foods were always available. Sherbets, a favorite thirst quencher in the Seraglio, flowed nonstop from the kitchen. Smoking tobacco helped pass the time and relieved boredom. Even opium was available to brighten the spirit of the depressed. All had anything and everything one could want; all except the two most important things; freedom and sovereignty over their own lives and bodies. Most had long ago given up any shred of hope for freedom. The thought that her spirit might be broken troubled her. But she was encouraged to learn a few had never given up hope. As expected, the chief eunuch summoned her to be examined for defects. Once again, she protested invasion of her personal privacy. This time, the mere threat of the flogger forced her to submit. Satisfied she would be acceptable, he brought her before the valide sultana. The old woman had once been an odalisque herself. But she had no sympathy to offer this rebellious newcomer. Instead, she concerned herself only with whether this new slave could satisfy her son's sexual needs. "Take heed young woman. Your fate is sealed. Make mischief and you'll suffer. Better to embrace this life and make the best of it." Then she concluded, "Yes, you'll do nicely. Trained as a chengis (dancing girl) you'll dance before your Lord in the Hall of the Sultan. And if you work hard enough you may become a favorite, maybe even a wife. Who knows, you may one day become a valide sultana yourself." The sultan, made aware of the young Abyssinian with a rebellious spirit, could hardly wait. Just hearing about this spirited young woman excited him. His mother advised him to be patient. "Like all before her, this young woman will realize the futility of resisting," she advised. "But now... she is like a caged tiger. Be patient. For the moment, be satisfied to merely savor the sight of the flesh you will eventually caress." But alas, the sultan now entered the terrace where the young Abyssinian now stood daydreaming. He immediately noticed her, in the shallows of the pool, leaning against a pillar, naked and vulnerable. He could not resist this opportunity to speak to her. "You're new here, aren't you my dear?" His unfamiliar male voice intruded upon her daydream. She turned her head to discover its source. There, less than five feet away, beside the pool, stood the sultan. Terror overwhelmed her. She knew his eyes were locked upon her nakedness. Unsure of what to do, she turned away, dropping her head. (She'd been warned. Raising one's eyes to look into the sultan's could be cause for immediate execution.) Was this the moment she had dreaded, the moment when she would be forced to confront her new purpose in life? Instinctively, she crossed her legs. Her hand moved to exclude from his view her most private part. The sultan repeated the question. "You're new here, aren't you?" She remained silent. Her whole body began to tremble. Panic swept over her. Did her captors think she would submit so soon and without a fight? No, she would not be nice. No, not nice, even to the sultan. She would not allow herself to be violated in this way, not by a stranger, even a rich stranger. No; not even if he owned the whole world. Seeing her fear and remembering his mother's words, the sultan made offered one final comment. "You are a fine specimen," he whispered. Hearing those words made her swell with anger. "And you are a pig," she heard herself unintentionally blurt aloud. She did not see it coming; had no idea anger would push from her lips such antagonistic words. She could not take them back. No one had ever uttered such words to the sultan and lived. She would die now. She knew it. The sultan, horrified, recoiled in dismay. Eunuch guards lunged for her. Scrambling from the pool, she eluded them at first but others joined the chase. In seconds, she found herself forced face down to the floor. The chief eunuch straddled her, sat upon her back and drew his scimitar (knife). Grasping her hair, he pulled her head back and slid the blade under her throat. He paused momentarily as the other women fled the room. I die quickly, she thought. But hearing the sultan's voice, the chief eunuch froze. "No," the sultan ordered. "Let her die slowly. Sink this ***** to the bottom of the river." With that, the eunuchs acquired a large sack. Ordered into it, she attempted to kick and claw herself free. They beat her senseless and put her into the sack anyway. The eunuchs placed the sack, in a dark room, in a secluded part of the palace. She awoke to find herself thus confined. Hours passed. Nothing could be heard. She pleaded. No one answered. She had no options. She wept. The sack was tightly woven. She desperately craved fresh air. In their haste, the eunuchs had not bound her. This allowed her to place the heavy cloth between her teeth and gnaw. She worked until she had gnawed a small hole through which she might breathe. The cramped sack, cold stone floor and her injuries combined to wrack her body with pain. Death, she thought, would be a welcome reprieve. She lay in the darkness shivering, hurting, for what seemed an eternity. She wondered when her executioners would come for her. Finally, she heard their footsteps. The door creaked as it opened. They did not speak and she remained silent. Her fate could not be changed by either plead or struggle. The Sultan ordered her dumped into the Bosphorus. She would die like other rebellious slave girls. It troubled her that no one would ever know her fate. (In accordance with Islamic law, no man was permitted to enter another man's harem. Thus, men knew they could abuse and even murder their sequestered women with impunity.) She would have liked her father to suffer knowing the evil end he had imposed upon her. Two eunuchs lifted the sack and began the journey. She felt relieved. The pain, the cold hard floor, gone, replaced by a thick cushion of hay in the bed of a cart. Yes, soon she would find herself swallowed by the depths of the river. But drowning, she hoped, would be a short-lived horror. It was night. Torches lighted the way for the eunuchs and the cart that carried her. Through the hole in the sack she could see thousands of stars in the clear night sky. Beautiful stars. The two eunuchs sang softly; the cart swayed as it navigated a bumpy road. Their song, the beauty of the night sky and the motion of the cart soothed her. She pondered the events that brought her to this miserable moment, the goats she had lost, the eunuchs throwing her from her bed, her father standing by, doing nothing to help her. She thought about the strange world of the harem, the baths, and the opulent prison. What could she have done to escape? She wondered why women were reduced to the status of cattle, how they could be raped and murdered with impunity. Would a woman's world ever change? Eventually, idle thoughts put her fast asleep. When the cart's journey abruptly ended, she awakened to the smell of the river. The mating calls of frogs pierced the night and she could hear water gently lapping against what must have been a nearby shore. The Eunuchs removed the sack from the cart, settling it on soft damp ground, she guessed on the beach, near the boat that would carry her to a watery grave. Minutes later she heard distant human voices, a commotion. She maneuvered to gain access to her peephole. Up from the beach she saw men, three torches huddled. They were arguing. What was the disturbance about? She knew eunuchs were corrupt. Was there any chance the eunuchs were conspiring to sell her instead of following the Sultan's orders? Abruptly the group dispersed. She heard the cart leave. All became quiet. Just then, she caught glimpse of a single torch moving toward her, likely a man. Perhaps it was true. Perhaps someone had purchased her. The man set aside his torch. A minute later he lifted the neck of the sack and cut the cord binding it closed. Grabbing it from the bottom, he heaved. She rolled out and onto the ground. Yanking the sack from his grip to cover her nakedness, she turned to confront a new tormentor. The man picked up his torch and rushed forward. In the flickering light she could see that he was completely naked. He knelt, straddling her, his erect penis poised for action. Obviously intending to enjoy the pleasures of his purchase, he struggled to wrest the sack from her grip. Then his torch illuminated the faces of both. "My God...," the man exclaimed in horror. "Father!" she screamed. Copyright 2008 James A. Young |
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