Leyla: The Black Tulip

City of the World’s Desire

Finally, one day the doors to the small hold of the boat open. The brothers tell everyone to come out, and the girls awkwardly get to their feet again. Laleena pulls Lena’s hand through the crowd of girls to find a railing to hold onto. She breathes the fresh air, and lifts Lena up so she can see over the side of the boat.

Before their eyes is the most exquisite beauty Laleena has ever seen. It’s evening, and there’s a light fog in the air. Behind the fog are marvelous mansions and a forest. The boat travels through a narrow strait. Laleena can see minarets poking out in the distance. The landscape reminds her of the Thousand and One Nights stories her father used to tell her.

When the boat drops anchor, the girls gather their bundles and baskets. Lena falls asleep in Laleena’s arms when they board a covered oxen cart. Although the curtains on the cart are drawn, the girls compete for the slits where they can peek out to see the beautiful city of İstanbul.

Cafer Efendi takes the girls to the largest house Laleena has ever seen. The girls are immediately brought to a women’s hamam, where they are scrubbed clean and their heads inspected for lice. Luckily, both Laleena and Lena’s hair is spared from being cut. The girls are all given simple cotton gowns to wear, and then they’re brought together with more girls from other parts of the world. Some are unusual looking, with skin as dark as coffee. Laleena knows they’re from a place called Africa.

After a hearty supper—the first real meal they’ve had in weeks—they’re taken to a dormitory bedroom to spend the night. The beds are so clean they smell of freshly scythed grass. Laleena immediately falls asleep.

Before bedtime, the older girls were separated from the younger girls, so Laleena doesn’t know where Lena is. Lena cried when they were separated, and she hopes Lena isn’t getting into trouble by crying too loudly. And the next morning, Laleena doesn’t see Lena again.

Instead, Laleena is brought to a large room where there’s a woman in yellow feradje. She wears a translucent scarf to cover her mouth and neck. Laleena can see her inner dress has fur on it, and she wears many rings on her finger. She has a tortoiseshell hotoz and yellow shoes. Laleena has never seen anybody so flamboyant, so clearly this woman is wealthy.

The woman’s name is Madam Siranush. She tells them she is going to teach the girls how to walk properly and speak politely. Over the next several days, they work all day long learning how to walk, sit, serve guests, and speak in Turkish. Laleena is happy she already knows Turkish, and she pities the girls that don’t know how to say anything. Slowly, on the outside, they are no longer girls from the Caucasus or other parts of the Empire—they are girls from İstanbul.

Laleena learns that Lena is elsewhere in Madam Siranush’s household. She hopes that soon she’ll be able to catch a glimpse of her.