Neslihan Sultan was born as daughter of Sultan Mahmud and Hibetullah Sultan. She enjoyed her easy life with her parents and siblings in Topkapi palace, all until her 18th birthday when her father suddenly died. It was a surprise to everyone especial...
The doors of the harem of the Topkapi Palace were opened to the Crimean ladies who came there for the wedding of their Khan with the Ottoman Sultana.
First in line was Ayse Hanim, mother of the Crimean Khan Mehmed. Although she looked very young, Ayse was already in her thirties, but she looked very youthful. In her eyes, you could see the strictness and coolness by which everyone knew her. Along with her, came her three daughters, Rabia, Fatma and Nur.
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Ayse Hanim was dressed all in black, looking more like she has arrived at the funeral, rather than wedding of her only son. She measured everyone in harem and all the girls bow to her, she was still mother of khan of another territory and had to be respected, especially by the concubines who gathered in the harem.
"Ayse Hanim, welcome to Istanbul," Hibetullah Sultan said as she sat at the throne in the harem as she nodded Ayse Hanim who entered the harem. She nodded to her to sit down on the throne next to her since she wanted to make at least good relationship in the beginning.
"Thank you, Hibetullah Hatun, I am glad to arrive here," Ayse Hanim said with little smile which seemed to be fake, especially since she addressed Hibetullah as Hatun, because she wasn't mother of a prince, but just a Sultana who is going to marry Ayse's son now. Hibetullah even if she didn't have a son, she was respected in the palace like a Sultana and everyone titled her as she was one.
Three daughters of Ayse went following her as they nodded to Sultana and then sat down at the pillows because they were younger than the two women at the throne.
The eldest daughter was Nur, she was twin sister of Mehmed Giray and she was total copy of her mother. They two even resembled each other, they had dark eyes and even darker hair, eyes which looked so cold and gestures which showed to everyone how they held themselves so high.
The second one was Rabia, the blonde one who looked more like she was Hibetullah's daughter than Ayse's. She had nothing in common with her mother and elder sister, she had light eyes and blonde hair, but what made her so different was smile on her face.
The youngest one was Fatma, who looked like a mixture of Nur and Rabia. She was the brunette with light brown eyes, and with relaxed face, something in between beside her sisters.
"Where is the bride?" Ayse Hanim asked coldly as she didn't seem to be very fond of the dance and the music, and whole festivity, that took place in harem today.
"She should be here any moment," Hibetullah said, measuring Ayse for the whole time. Her gut said to her this wasn't a good decision and she feared Ayse would destroy her daughter's mood and turn her into a cold woman like she was. She didn't want to send her daughter to a place with those women and prayed inside herself her son wasn't like her, but at least like Rabia Hanim.
"We heard Neslihan Sultan is very pretty, I wonder how she looks in reality," Rabia Hanim said, stopping the embarrassing silence, but only thing she got was dead serious look of her mother Ayse Hanim.
