Istanbul: Places
Photos & Words: Salina Christmas

The locked curtain iron at the harem of the Topkapi Palace.

Folklore has it that one Sultan drowned his harem out of boredom. There were quite a few of mad Sultans over the years, in between the excellent ones.

But even the excellent ones weren't immune to the harem intrigue.

Suleyman the Magnificent, whose tireless campaigns against the Westerners almost brought Vienna to her knees, had his own heir apparent (his son) and his wazir or vizier (the guy that really ran the empire) murdered under the influence of his top harem woman, a Russian lady named Roxelana or Roksana (Roxanne).

Roxelana's son became Sultan as a result.