Women Under Polygamy/Chapter 16
CHAPTER XVI
THE HAREM IN MODERN EGYPT
The significance of the word harem has been interpreted variously as "that which is forbidden" and the "Abode of Bliss." These establishments, in which women are segregated in luxurious surroundings, exist in much of their former splendour in Cairo to-day.
The round, central hall, roofed with a high dome, is in some harems about one hundred and fifty feet across. Around this spacious apartment are divans of red velvet. In the centre there is, in some instances, a sunk circular bath.
The following description of the interior of a regal harem in Egypt is taken chiefly from Miss Lott's "Harem Life in Turkey and Egypt."
The whole of the floor is covered with a thick, hand-made carpet, very soft to the tread. Women and eunuchs pass to and fro noiselessly.
Innumerable doors, each one a mirror, surround the interior of the great hall. These are the entries to the apartments of the women. In all these chambers is a connecting door through which the pasha can pass at will. The walls are very beautifully decorated with painted panels of birds and flowers in gorgeous colours. In many harems the bath is in one of the arms or wings, or in a separate building in the gardens. A solid stone wall, thirty feet in height, encompasses the palace and the delightful gardens.
The chief apartments of a Grand Pasha's daughters in Cairo have been described by Emmeline Lott, in her book on "Harem Life," as two large saloons. The carpets are of the finest Brussels. On the carpets are innumerable spots of melted wax that have fallen from the candles carried in the fingers of the slaves. Divans, covered with fine red damask satin, surround the room.
A tall mirror reaches from the floor to the ceiling. In one corner of the mirror fruit and flowers are painted; in others, musical instruments, weapons, and the crescent. The marble tables are supported on gilt legs, and upon each table is a silver chandelier holding eight candles. The candles have red glass shades, adorned with paintings of flowers.
Seven rooms, approached from the saloons, are used as bedchambers. One of these rooms had a divan covered with striped red and green damask, standing near a window overlooking the pasha's garden. Damask hangings were attached to the window and the door. No blankets are used, but a wadded coverlet was spread on the bed. Landscapes were painted on the ceiling, from which was suspended a huge gilded chandelier. On the walls were designs of flowers.
In the lovely scented gardens were myrtle hedges enclosing borders of luxuriant roses. Jessamine, with white and yellow blossoms three times the size of these flowers in England, trailed everywhere. Dazzling geraniums carpeted some of the beds. The air was odorous with the leaves of the verbena tree and the rose. Oranges and many other fruits abound. Huge cacti and strange Indian plants flourish here.
The square sheets of ornamental water have each their pagoda of white marble. Within these are comfortable divans. Around the lakes are terraces of marble, with vases decked with sweet-smelling flowers. China cushions, exquisitely painted to resemble silk, are placed at the corners of the terraces. Upon the gates of the garden are life-size marble figures of lions. In the gardens are statues of nude men and women.
Marble lions adorn the terrace steps leading to the pleasure boats. Swans, black and white, swim in the clear water. Numerous aquatic birds of the most beautiful plumage frequent the lakes. On the roof of the pagoda Egyptian crows, with sheeny black wings, build their nests.
There are mazes in these fairy gardens formed of myrtle hedges. Near the mazes are huge marble fountains, the basins supported by female figures from whose mouths sparkling water spurts. In the centre of one fountain is an immense statue, in marble, of Ceres, carrying on her hand a basket of fruit and flowers, coloured in imitation of nature. The goddess holds in her hand a cornucopia filled with ears of wheat and bunches of black and white grapes.
Around the fountains are terraces of marble upon which stand light ironwork tables and couches. The fountains are surrounded and shaded by weeping willows, and among the trees are numerous statues.
Every garden has its swings for the women. Swinging is a favourite Oriental pastime, and in some of the temples of India swings are provided for both men and women. In the paintings of the school of Watteau, women are frequently represented in swings, surrounded by admiring gallants.
The swings of the harem gardens are shaped like barouches, and recall the swing-boats of our English fairs. They are fitted with cushions. From the garden one passes into a superb hall floored with marble, and with a ceiling gleaming with gold, supported by twenty-eight to thirty pink marble columns with carved capitals.
In another sumptuous harem, the halls are of marble, surrounded by a verandah, with many columns of porphyry. Vases, with rams' heads, and horns as handles, stand on the terraces, and are filled with choice semi-tropical plants. At night the verandah is illuminated by gilt lamps. The gorgeous rooms of this palace are carpeted with a material resembling the softest green mosses of several shades. All the ceilings in the larger chambers are painted with designs and figures of men, women, and animals, or scenes in Cairo and Alexandria, Cleopatra's Needle, and parts of the banks of the Nile. Four immense stained glass windows shed a tinted light in the hall. The hangings of the doors and windows are of white satin, upon which flowers are printed.
There are no divans here, but chairs, sofas, and footstools of ormolu and gold. Almost the whole of the wall space is occupied by high glittering mirrors, giving the effect of a huge glass curtain. The clock on the mantelpiece is of modern manufacture, much gilded. Two massive candelabras are on either side, each holding twelve wax candles.
A drawing-room adjoining is decked with blue satin drapery, and furnished in a similar manner to the large saloon. The dining room has a carved oak table, which has accommodation for thirty to forty guests. It is curious to note that the backs of the oak chairs are shaped like a bishop's mitre. A beautiful green carpet, studded with groups of raised moss-roses, covers the floor of the dining-room. Mitre-shaped panels are on the walls.
A chandelier, with a hundred coloured wax candles, hangs from the splendid stained-glass roof. Besides this chandelier, there are branching candlesticks on the walls. The drapery of the doors and windows is green velvet and satin, looped up with gold tassels.
Such are the comforts and luxuries of the harems owned by the influential pashas of Egypt. Every device of art is used in the decoration of these palaces, which reflect faintly the joys that await the true believer in the Seventh Heaven. Beautiful women of other lands come gladly to share the luxuries of this indolent life, hoping to win the costly gifts that the lords of the harem bestow upon their favourites. There is no lack of candidates for the honour of consorting with a wealthy pasha or bey. In Syria, Circassia, Armenia, Italy, and Austria there are girls whose greatest ambition is to enter the harem.
Men of coloured races generally admire greatly the women of white races. Circassian women, who are perhaps the most beautiful and graceful of their sex, are highly valued in the harems of the East. Rarely an English woman resolves to become the bride of a pasha, and, rejecting her faith and all her traditions, enters the harem.
At ten years of age the girls purchased by the pasha enter the palace. The age of puberty in girls is reached in most Eastern countries at about eleven. Upon joining the houris, the novice is trained thoroughly in her duties. Various means are employed for developing and beautifying the body by means of diet, baths, and constant massage. This preparation for marriage lasts for about twelve months.
The elaborate massage gives to the skin the colour and velvety softness of a peach. Great attention is given to manicure and pedicure. The tresses are continually combed, oiled, and scented, and odorous pomades are used for the whole of the body.
Each group of six girls is attended by a young eunuch, who is instructed in his duties by an older eunuch.
Slave girls were formerly chosen in public once a year by the sovereign. A circular was published in the spring-time, announcing that about fifty girls are required from the age of twelve to eighteen. They were required to be pretty in features, well-shaped in figure, with copious, long hair. At an appointed hour the candidates assembled in an open space or market place, dressed in their finest garments.
The royal purchaser arrived upon the scene attended by his secretary, officials, several physicians and servants. One after another the eager girls were paraded under the direction of one of the principal doctors. They were ordered to display their bosoms, legs and arms, and to let loose their tresses. A severe scrutiny of the teeth followed. The girls were then commanded to stoop, walk, and show how they smiled. At a nod of their future owner's head, they were selected, and the secretary wrote down their names. The parents, who stood by, were told that the girl must be at the harem on the following morning.
Gleeful congratulations were showered upon the happy, smiling maidens who were chosen. They were complimented and flattered by their relatives and friends. The rejected damsels retired in groups, and throwing themselves on the ground, wept and groaned for their bitter misfortune. They knew that this want of success would seriously deteriorate their value.
In the future it would be difficult to remove this stigma of uncomeliness. Rich men would not want them; they were destined to marry a poor man of their own class. Not for them were the luxuries, the gifts, and the pleasures of the harem life. Consoled by their companions, they dispersed, sore at heart and crying. Very early the next morning the fortunate girls hastened to the palace and presented themselves.