Even against the vivid backdrop of the sixteenth-century Ottoman Empire, Esther Handali (nicknamed Kiraze [Cherry]), stood out. Widow of an Istanbul rabbi and refugee from the Spanish Inquisition, she established herself during the reign of Suleymanthe Magnificent as an intermediary between thewomen of the sultans seraglio and the world outside the harem to which they were confined. Her connectionto the Imperial Palace ended only under Suleymans great-grandson.Such longevity owed much to Esthers charisma, intelligence and resourcefulness, as well as her ability to sidestep - and manipulate - the politics of the harem. Entrusted with the yearnings of the sultans concubines, as well as with news of their illicit erotic liaisons, she became important in palace circles even as her personal life roiled with family separations, a tragic marriage and other dramatic turns.Yet even Esther could not stave off the inevitable, and soon she, too, succumbed to palace intrigues: a careless indiscretion led to her downfall, first under great strain and persecution and later at the hands of a mob, with unspeakably tragic results.
