I believe there are many fans of the famous Turkish series, Magnificent Century, among us. The series is based on the life of one of the greatest sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman the Magnificent, and his beloved Hurrem Sultan. The events take place in the early-to-mid 16th century, and all these love, hatred, jealousy, intrigues and betrayal against the backdrop of a medieval harem seem incredibly romantic.
However, very few people actually realize that this medieval tradition of harems continued to exist in Turkey until the end of World War I when the Entente countries literally broke the once great Ottoman Empire into pieces, and Turkey said good-bye to its last sultan who had to flee to Europe. And with him, famous harems also sank into oblivion.
And yet, revolutionary moods had begun to spread in Turkey a few decades earlier. At that time, the Ottoman Empire was ruled by Abdul-Hamid II whose reign became famous thanks to 2 things: the first Turkish constitution which he adopted under great pressure, and terrible persecutions of Christians (mainly Armenian ones). This historical period became the backdrop to the story shown in the 1986 TV movie, Harem.
A young and free-spirited Lady Jessica (Nancy Travis) is soon to marry a worthy young man (Julian Sands). But he works in diplomacy, and in order not to part with her fiancé for a long time, Jessica travels with him to Damascus. There, revolutionary-minded rebels successfully kidnap her and sell her to the harem of the Sultan (Omar Sharif) in exchange for some prisoners. Jessica was brought up in a progressive but also somewhat puritanical way, so the sensual mores of harem women, who are ready to sell their souls for getting into the Sultan's bed, seem centuries-old antiquity to her. Her beauty, purity and intelligence, however, attract the Sultan's attention, and Jessica becomes his favorite, pushing his first wife (Ava Gardner) into the background. But for how long will Jessica be able to keep this title?
Surely, all the historical events are shown in a rather loose manner, including the Sultan himself. Abdul Hamid was far from being as handsome as Omar Sharif. However, the movie touches on a subject that was completely missed out in Magnificent Century. Sultans, their wives and mothers were traditionally served by black and white eunuchs. Black eunuchs were dark-skinned men brought from Africa, and they had great power, often dealing with diplomatic issues for Valide sultan (mother of the Sultan), who would rarely leave the harem and was not allowed to talk to men directly due to religious and cultural aspects.
Harem is a beautiful romantic story with elements of adventure. And if you are fond of Magnificent Century and have always wondered what harem life was like a few centuries after Hurrem, then you will have 3 enjoyable hours while watching this movie.
