HAREM SECRETS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 162, 11 July 1930, Page 8

HAREM SECRETS.

THE SULTAN'S SERAGLIO, NEW "ARABIAN NIGHTS" DREAM PALACE. Wide-eyed with curiosity, hundreds o f visitors are passing through the great seventeenth century bronze -door in the Palace, of Topkapou giving access to the Sultan's Seraglio which has—for the first time in history—been opened to the public. Standing amid surroundings almost indescribably beautiful, they arc able td reconstruct for themselves the life of the Turkish sultans of the past 400 years. Accompanied by a guide, I made a tour of the harem building and gardens, where countless sultans held court over their wi,ves and hundreds of concubines, states ' a "Daily Chronicle" correspondent. Built for the most part by the Sultan Solomon the Great in the sixteenth century,- tho Palace of the Seraglio has been transformed several times following fires and invasions. Other sultans added wings and pavilions, and the palace to-day consists of a ' great rambling series of buildings connected by enclosed courtyards. The chief and most sumptuously furnished building is that in which dwelt the sultans, their wives, their women relatives, and children. Attached to the main building are two smaller houses bearing the names of the Sultans' Mehmed IV. and Osman 111. These buildings were constructed to house the concubines. Fountains and Marble Baths.: Facing the main or imperial harem is a balconied courtyard. The balcony was used by the sultans and their women to take the air, free from public gaze. I found the imperial harem to be composed of a series of suites of rooms, each having its small courtyard, fountains, • and series of connecting ante-chamhers and corridors. Each suite has several dining rooms, drawing rooms and bedrooms, while the baths are constructed of ornate marbles. The. imperial harem also contains the library founded by the Sultan Ahmet I, to which successive Sultans added rare volumes. The rooms of the Sultans themsejve3 , have the names of their occupants on the doors. All are richly ornamented with Italian - and Chinese friezes, and contain sumptuous' gilded and tapestried furniture. Golden Canopies. A special feature of each room is the magnificent great bed, with canopies of cloth of gold and other rare materials. . Every room has .also divans of great beauty. Eare paintings and other works of art are strewn about the rooms. Thick carpets of almost priceless value cover the floors. Each chamber has, a fountain mounted on a dais. The corridors and ante-chambers lead to the balcony, from which a glorious view can be obtained of the royal park and gardens. Guarded Door. A heavy door, dated 1667, provides the only access to the harem, and effectively shuts the seraglio off from the other parts of the palace. Through this door, which was. guarded in former days by.eunuchs, only the sultan, his wives, women, relatives, servants and eunuchs were allowed to pass. Nearby there is another door, which was the servants' entrance. Before this door is a heavy stone table on which the food supplies for the harem inmates were placed to be collected by the eunuchs. Inside the main gate, giving access to the court of the Imperial ' Harem, is a magnificent mosaic gateway, through which the sultans made a Etato entry when returning from wars and travels abroad. Sultans would ride on horseback to provide an impressive picture for their waiting wives. The Sultan would then be received by ; his chief eunuch and escorted to the throne room in the Imperial Harem, where his wives would be waiting to greet him. The colour scheme throughout the harem is mauve, the walls are decorated with mauve-coloured tiles, while the furniture is inlaid with mother-of-pearl.