The Sultan's Eyes

At present I’m deep in research about the Sultan’s harem in the palace that’s now known as Topkapi, high on the hill in Istanbul overlooking the Bosphorus.

I remember my visit to the palace very clearly, but the details of daily life, protocols, titles, even all the different buildings is, to be honest, a bit bewildering. There were hundreds of rooms and courtyards in the harem alone. It was a complex and highly ritualised world, and I need to understand it very quickly - as best I can - before I make some horrid mistakes in the draft.

It’s also a world that has been romanticised and eroticised, particularly by the Orientalists, so I feel a duty to present it as honestly as possible.

It feels a little daunting at present, but endlessly fascinating. 

How can you go past this kind of detail? During the annual Flower Festival marking the first full moon in May there were treasure hunts on the garden terraces, dancing boys, and performances of poetry and music by the women of the harem.

Tortoises wandered around with lanterns on their shells, coloured glass lamps hung in the trees.

My fictional characters are right in there amongst it.