Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1907-08-10
LIFE In A HAREM
INMATES AT THE MERCY OF DIES
PoT.c WOMAN.
Mother of the Sultan Has Absolute
Power of Life and Death Within
Its Confines-CrueI Punish
ment Frequent.

At the present moment, when SC
much attention is being paid to the
question of equal rights for men and
women, a passing glimpse into the
harem of his serene majesty, Abdul
Hamid, exposes a condition of things
hard to believe and still harder to
accept.
Curiously enough, however, it is
not the sultan who is the most pow
erful and most dreaded autocrat in
his own harem, but the sultans moth
er, known by the name of 'sValide."
1t is the sultan's mother who not only
regulates every incident of the harem
but possesses the right of life and
death over the women in it, and there
are almost no known instances in
which a sultan has dared to save ia
vorite from a punishment ordered by
the crown of yelled heads" as the
Valide is called in the harem.
And next to the sultan's mother
comes, not the sultans favorite wife,
as might be imagined, but the Has
nadar-osta, or grand mistress of
finance. The sultan's chief wife, or
more correctly speaking, mistress,
ranks only third in the order of the
harem, and seems to possess, more
over, no real power whatsoever. /
use the word mistress, because the
sultan, which will probably come as a
surprise to the majority of English
readers, is not allowed to marry. This
extraordinary prohibition dates from
the time when a sultan, going upon
some holy war, and taking his legiti-
mate wife with him, found her sud
denly seized by the enemy and led
into captivity Now, the sultan, be-
ing considered the Almighty's de-
scendent and representative on earth,
his wife was, of course, sacred, and
could not become the property of
any lesser creature. Her seizure,
therefore, created something like a
panic in royal circles. A council was
called, and it was decided that hence
forward, to avoid repetitions of a sim
liar abomination, no sultan should
ever marry.
The members of the harem are still
young slaves bought in Circassia,
Georgia, Armenia and other places,
and practically educated in the harem
itself on the chance that the sultan
may one day notice them. 1t appears
also that civilization has not made
great strides in the management of
the royal harem, and that corporal
punishments are still frequent, eu-
nochs, called beating eunochs," still
being Kept for refractory persons. Poi
soned coffee is also not entirely out of
fashion, while, grimmer still, the ter
rible sack flung into the BoSphorus
even now does its sinister work It
is piteous to learn that, notwithstand-
ing all this, many parents willingly
sell their children to supply the enor-
nous colony which constitutes the
harem.
But life for a Turkish potentate is
at best a troubled circumstance The
fear of assassination is so great that
the sultan, it seems, has not for years
slept two nights running in the same
chamber. The only person aware
each night of the room selected is his
mother, who secretly gets it ready.
Two female slaves also lie, like faith
full dogs. extended across the door
way, ready to spring up at the slight
est noise or the faintest call from the
sovereign But for fear of treachery
even these are chained every night,
and never until the last moment know
to what. part of the palace they are to
be sent. The ordinary amusements
of the harem are trivial enough, but
it is pleasant to learn that some of
the women have the deeper joy of
and that there are chill
dren to take care of and watch over
So many pet animals are kept, also,
that the royal harem has been called
a verftable menagerie.