Chapter 13 The Ottoman Kingdom

Old Joseph found the voyage to be remarkably short. Could it have truly been merely an hour to arrive in this sandy land? Was there a spell upon the ship, or the waters?
"A wise man must keep an open mind." This quote had been passed down at the sanctuary from one wise man to another for as long as Old Joseph could remember. For all time for all he knew.
When they arrived, Old Joseph thought it wise to seek out the kind of this kingdom. After getting permission, Old Joseph himself led a couple of his wisemen across the land to a great palace.
A man wealthy in appearance met them on the road.
"Greetings to you Good Sir. We are wisemen to the King Erik Lovejoy of the Kingdom of Grunwald. I am called Old Joseph. We have come to extend greetings and peace from King Lovejoy. Are you King of this fine land?
The man looked at him a moment. "What is King?" "King...a man who makes laws, leads his people, all people of his land - his kingdom serve him. Do you have such a man in your kingdom?"
The man smiled proudly. "Yes, I am this man. We call King's Sultans. My land, my kingdom, is called Ottoman. I am Sultan Ottoman. My father was Sultan before me, and his father and so on."
"Please, walk freely about my palace."
Old Joseph dismissed his fellow wisemen. He stayed behind to get to know the Sultan and the ways of his kingdom.

The Sultan paused only a moment before asking Old Joseph to come inside out of the sun.

Allen found a woman in a chamber.

"Pardon me. The Sultan said I may walk about the palace freely. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"Than I am to entertain you."

"Excuse me?"

"I am a part of his harem. If he allowed you to walk freely about the castle, he trusts you will leave his harem to him."

Allen was a little taken aback by this blunt reply. So he is permitted to be alone with this woman because the Sultan trusts him. But they have only just met. Allen thought the Sultan to be a good judge of character. He knew himself to be trustworthy and thought the other wismen to be as well.

"I am from another land. Can you please tell me what a harem is?"

"I am one of his women."

"One of his subjects?"

"More than that. I and the other harem women are for him."

"I don't understand. What do you mean for him?"

"If he finds favor with me, I may give him a son or daughter."

The harem woman did not blush to say this.

"Are you his wife?"

"In this kingdom few men take a wife. Men have a harem - many women like wives. He may choose a wife, then she is like harem woman, like head harem woman, favored one."

"What happens to the rest of the harem then?"

"The man keeps the harem. It is a great honor to have a large harem."

Allen found himself silent. Other men would be delighted to hear of such an idea. Not Allen. He felt sad for the women of this land. Then another thought ocurred to him. This is an excellent way to repopulate after the plague. He certainly would not advise it...but he had a mild understanding.

"Come join me."

Allen was surprised. Perhaps he had not understood, or perhaps she did not.

"Excuse me?"

The woman gestured for him to sit. Allen breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't mean what he thought she had meant. Allen sat and grasped the thing in front of him like the woman had. He wasn't sure what to do with it.

The woman blew air into the thing. Allen did the same. Bubbles came floating down from above. Allen was delighted. He would have much to share about this interesting land.