The Seamstress of Ourfa by Victoria Harwood Butler-Sloss

Author:Victoria Harwood Butler-Sloss [Butler-Sloss, Victoria Harwood]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789963255597
Publisher: Armida Publications
Published: 2018-06-20T04:00:00+00:00

“How many times have I told you not to spy on me!” she screams. “Go and get my carriage and have Binnur and Alef wait for me in the courtyard.” The weeping girl flees and Begum Șenay ushers Khatoun out of the room, leaving the warm red and gold Ottoman carpets patterned with the ghostly imprint of her powdered feet.

They slip through the corridors until they reach an enclosed garden where half a dozen women sit in the shade near the fountain. Two of them peel off and follow Șenay and Khatoun through an archway into another, smaller yard where a covered araba with two horses is waiting. They heft Șenay into the cabin, chattering as they climb in after her. Thick drapes enclose them, the heat of the long day stuffed inside. The clashing perfumes and stale air give Khatoun an immediate headache and she loosens the buttons at her neck as Bayram cabrioles into his seat and they lurch off.

“You’ll have to wear this when we get there,” Begum Șenay says, throwing a çarshaf to Khatoun. “Cover up completely. It’ll make our lives easier. And let me do all the talking, you just nod and do what I say.”

By the time they reach the Millet Khan, Khatoun is feeling sick. She pulls the curtain open and lets a sliver of cool air in. Bayram dismounts and bangs on the khan’s wooden doors. A trickle of sweat snakes down Khatoun’s face and the sea roars in her ears. After several repeated knocks, a small door cut into the gate opens and a gendarme clambers out. Begum Șenay slips her hand through the drapes and hands the sealed letter over.

“Let’s see how long this takes,” she snorts. The gendarme disappears and within seconds the gates creak open and they are admitted into the khan.

With the heavy doors slammed shut behind them they pull the drapes open and are immediately hit by the smell. A high wall encloses a yard packed with mules, donkeys and horses – all of them shifting disdainfully away from a mangy pack of dogs foraging in their dung. Khatoun takes a shallow breath and looks up. Thin streaks of pink tear across the cobalt blue sky. A lone star is visible.

Above them, on the second floor, a balcony runs the length of the enclosure. At first it looks as if washing has been hung over the railings to dry, and then Khatoun makes out a face and then another. Hundreds of people are draped over the balustrade, watching them silently, their faces just discernible in the waning light. The gendarme who admitted them tells their party to stay put and disappears with the letter. The horses twitch uneasily, spooked by the scavenging dogs. Bayram curses and scrapes the sole of his slipper on the edge of the wheel.

“Sit inside and don’t move,” Begum Șenay orders Binnur and Alef. The girls nod, happily retreating behind the curtains. A few minutes later the gendarme reappears.

“This way.” He leads Begum Șenay and Khatoun across the yard into a long dark room.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.