Book of Hafsa – Chapter Seven

The Center of the World

Liana arrives in Kostantiniyye- the heart of the Ottoman world- and begins to understand the true scale of the empire she is being absorbed into. The journey from Crimea to the Old Palace reveals a society built not only on military power, but on hierarchy and systematic control.

For the first time, Liana witnesses the machinery of the imperial household up close: the black and white eunuchs, the Bostancı, the hidden gates, the women behind the curtains quietly shaping dynastic politics. Nothing in the palace feels accidental. Every movement, every placement, every girl has a purpose.

The chapter also explores how enslaved women could eventually become some of the most influential figures in the empire itself. Gülbahar Hatun, once a foreign concubine brought into the Ottoman system, now helps decide the futures of others with only a few words and gestures. And her power was actually eclipsed by her predecessor.

In the end, Liana’s fate changes once again when she is selected for the household of a young prince in distant Trabzon: Şehzade Selim.

The Book of Hafsa is a historical fiction novel (by me) following the life of Hafsa Sultan, the consort of Selim I and the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent. Set during the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the story explores palace politics, dynastic paranoia, love, survival, and the hidden world of the imperial harem through Hafsa’s own eyes.