In the 16th century, Istanbul was the capital of the greatest Islamic empire the world has ever known. Ruled by Suleiman the Magnificent, it stretched from Baghdad to Budapest. The center of power was Topkapi palace, and in the heart of Topkapi was the Harem. Into it came hundreds of women from all over the empire and beyond... the personal slaves of the Sultan, but in the Imperial Palace, sex could equal power. This is the story of those women and the closed and secret world of the Ottoman Harem.

In the 16th century, Istanbul was the capital of the greatest Islamic empire the world has ever known. Ruled by Suleiman the Magnificent, it stretched from Baghdad to Budapest. The center of power was Topkapi palace, and in the heart of Topkapi was the Harem. Into it came hundreds of women from all over the empire and beyond... the personal slaves of the Sultan, but in the Imperial Palace, sex could equal power. This is the story of those women and the closed and secret world of the Ottoman Harem.