The Pasha of Cuisine by Saygin Ersin

Author:Saygin Ersin [Ersin, Saygin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781628729610
Publisher: Arcade Publishing
Published: 2018-09-04T07:00:00+00:00

It was at this time that Mahmud Bey, the elder son of the renowned Darıcızade family from Alexandria, decided to visit Istanbul. The Darıcızade family was very wealthy and just as powerful. They owned so much land that the harvests from their fields affected grain prices not just in Istanbul but in the entirety of the Ottoman Empire.

Mahmud Bey’s arrival in Istanbul, replete with three galleys, was greeted with great fanfare. He moved into a mansion on the shores of the Bosphorus and his entourage settled into two other mansions. He was received by the Grand Vizier who gave a feast in his honor, and the merchants of the city lined up at his door to secure an audience with him.

Of course, Mahmud Bey couldn’t visit Istanbul without hearing about the House of Pleasure—Sirrah made sure of that.

His arrival at the House of Pleasure was an event in itself.

Preparations had begun a week in advance. All the other guests were sent away, the mansions were cleaned and repaired from top to bottom, and all the servants were given new outfits.

The kitchen had never been so busy. Every ingredient was purchased anew even though the cellar was stocked, and the freshest and rarest of foodstuffs were bought.

But the cook’s mind was elsewhere. A dark mood had descended on him when he’d heard Kamer would be the lead dancer at the reception to be held in Mahmud Bey’s honor. Naturally, Sirrah had decided to present such an important guest with her best dancer. The cook had already envisioned what would happen days before Mahmud Bey arrived at the House of Pleasure. In his mind, Mahmud Bey would be awestruck by Kamer, prolong his stay just for her sake, and, unable to endure being separated from her for too long, return shortly afterwards to invite Kamer to his home.

Even his despairing mind did not permit him to imagine what would follow.

Whether it truly was a twist of fate, or whether because imagining something so many times suffices to make it happen, as the old proverb says, things transpired just as the cook had imagined they would.

The Darıcızade heir returned to the House of Pleasure a few days after his departure, this time at night. His second arrival wasn’t as grand as the first. He only brought a few servants with him, took up a room like an ordinary customer, and requested neither drink nor services. He wanted only one thing, and that was Kamer.

It wasn’t unheard of for someone who had visited the House of Pleasure to return. There had been others who paid the house a visit just to watch Kamer dance, but the fact that Mahmud Bey invited the girl to his mansion the following morning was a true exception.

It was no small matter to take a girl outside the mansion, and few customers dared make such a request. Sirrah only accorded this privilege to her most influential customers, and in exchange she asked for an exorbitant payment.

But Mahmud Bey had plenty of influence and just as much money.

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