Controversial Books | Page 385

Damascus: Jewel of the Orient 38,1 winding. Native life indescribable in variety and color spread before us with every step. We entered Azem Palace—the governor's abode in earlier days—and found ourselves in a huge courtyard surrounded by magnificent mosaics, pools, trees, and flowers. This was the haremlik reserved for the pasha's family. To the left were the women's quarters, where dozens of wives and concubines had whetted the appetite of their lecherous master and the princes of his household. We stepped