Duvarları içinde - within the walls

Prologue/Extended Description

Great-granddaughter of Suleyman Shah and Hayme Ana

Granddaughter of Ertuğrul Ghazi and Halime Sultan

Niece of Gunduz Bey, Savci Bey and Osman Bey

Mihrimah Turhan Sultan had a lot to prove to her family, even though she was a woman. She wasn't interested in weaving rugs, not that she knew how to do it either, nor many things that were expected of a Hatun. She was, on the other hand, more interested in swordsmanship and going on missions and conquests with her uncle Osman Bey and his Alps.

Many were skeptical of her wish to become a warrior like her grandfather, Ertuğrul Ghazi, whom she looked up to a lot. He was her role model along with Selcan Hatun, and it had the opposite effect of the desired outcome.

When Mihrimah was of the age of marriage, Selcan was quick to remind her that it was time to get married and settle down. But Mihrimah wouldn't even hear Selcan out, as Mihrimah didn't wish to get married.

At least not yet.

She was busy training herself to become a fine warrior that maybe even would make a mark in history. Selcan eventually gave up but used every opportunity to remind the young, yet stubborn woman of marriage.

Being without parents, Mihrimah has built walls around her heart and feelings so they wouldn't interfere with her. She had never loved before, but she had heard and witnessed how complicated love is.

Mihrimah isn't afraid to stand up to what she thinks is right. She stands up to anyone who forgets themselves or doesn't see the bigger picture.

No one sees the world like Mihrimah did. No one truly knows her (yet), as they think they do, or the reasons behind her actions. And it often leads to others reprimanding or patronizing her.

Her father, Tarik Bey, was Gunduz Bey's older twin brother, as well as Savci and Osman's older brother. He was loyal to his family and his religion and was praised as the next bey of the Kayi Tribe, which his brothers also agreed upon.

Then he met Bamsi Bey's daughter, Güneş, from his first marriage with Ayça. Tarik fell in love with the girl and eventually married her. After some time, they had Mihrimah together. She was originally supposed to be named only Turhan (strong ruler, leader), but then her grandfather, Ertuğrul, asked if she could also be named Mihrimah.

''In a dream, I looked up in the sky and saw the sun and the moon besides each other. Please let me give her the name Mihrimah. The Sun, that will shine over the tribe even in the darkest times. The Moon, that will light the path towards home for everyone who is in need of it. I hope that she too never is without that light.''

The light that shone over the tribe and led them when trouble arrived - that's how she was named Mihrimah Turhan.

Mihrimah's father died by Byzantine hand when she was eight years old. He, along with her mother and other residents and alps, who were on their way to Söğüt, when they were attacked and outnumbered. Some of the bodies were retrieved and some were missing, among them being her mother Güneş. The whole tribe was heartbroken by the beloved Bey's death and presumably Güneş' death. Mihrimah was the only thing left to remember them by.

Her mother was deliberately distant from her, making their relationship strained after the death of Mihrimah's twin brother, when they were 5 years old. Aftermath, due to her devotion to her work in the Rug House, she often forgot about Mihrimah. Her mother was extremely overbearing, determined, and hardworking.

Growing up, she read every book she could get her hands on. Some books even caused Mihrimah to question her own relationship with her mother and desired to understand what it was like to have a meaningful relationship with her mother again.

Along with her family, the tribe also helped to raise the young Mihrimah and fill the hole of the absence of her parent's love. Her uncle Gunduz Bey and his wife Ayşe Hatun took Mihrimah in and raised her along with their son Aktemur, who was a few years older than Mihrimah and eventually became her older brother.

This is why Osman is so reluctant when it comes to Mihrimah going on missions. She knows this, but it was never enough to stop her. Even before her parents absence, she had always been running after the Alps and her male family members, as she wished to be like them. So he let her go on missions until a certain degree, which annoyed her from time to time, but she stayed put anyway.

Ever since Ertuğrul left for Konya due to bad health, Mihrimah and Osman had butted heads more often, and it was always up to their family members to stop it before any of them said or did anything they regretted.

Sultana is a title for female monarchs when they are born into the family of Sultans. Her paternal grandmother was also known as Halime Sultan, who was the daughter of Shahzade Numan, the brother of the Sultan Alaaddin Qeykubad, who was the ruler of Seljuk.

And her maternal grandmother Ayça was a cousin of Sultan Mesud, also making her and her daughter Güneş a Sultana.

Mihrimah has always seen the title as a burden, as she never had any interest in it or being treated differently. But the more she pushes it away, the more likely it is for her to fall prey to the title.