Ayşe Hatun

It is night-time at the end of May, in the year 1469. Ayşe Gülbahar Sultana wakes up in deep distress. She jumps out of bed and runs to the window. She quietly draws open the honey-colored curtains. She looks into the dark.

The harem garden, bordered by tall cypresses, is silent and cold as a graveyard. Clouds are being driven by high winds. They seem to be marching across the sky like well-trained foot-soldiers. A total darkness descends as the moon and the stars hide behind the rushing clouds. Yeşilırmak shines like a silver necklace in the distance.

It makes wild noises, that somehow rejuvenate her. She feels the cold wind on her face. She throws open her robes to refresh her naked body. Suddenly her face brightens with an inner joy, something that she is barely able to contain or dare to believe. And yet she is convinced: she is pregnant.

She, Ayşe, daughter of Alâüddevle Bey, descended from the Dulkadiroğlus, is pregnant with the son and heir of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid, the most powerful sovereign in the world. God has replied to her prayers. She lays down joyfully on the silk carpet that has been rolled out on the sofa. Her blue eyes well up with tears of happiness. Everyone in the city of Amasya is asleep.

The night is tight-lipped. Ayşe Sultana must celebrate her precious secret alone. She remembers the wise words of Sultan Yavuz Selim: “This world is too big for one sovereign, yet too small for two!”