For nearly four centuries, the Ottoman sultans ruled from within the forbidden heart of empire—Topkapi Palace—a dazzling stronghold of power, desire, and ruthless intrigue. Hidden behind high walls and golden gates, the Grand Seraglio was far more than a palace: it was the epicenter of the empire’s might, a labyrinthine blend of court, council, academy, and private paradise, fiercely off-limits to outsiders.

Then, in 1936, renowned Orientalist Norman Mosley Penzer—bold, curious, and impeccably connected—was granted rare access to its innermost chambers. What he uncovered was intoxicating. In this lush and legendary volume, Penzer lays bare the palace’s seductive past: glittering pavilions, perfumed gardens, silken rooms where concubines and queens once schemed under the watchful eyes of eunuch guardians. He maps it all with rare photographs, architectural plans, and vivid prose that drips with sensual detail and imperial drama.

Topkapi Palace, perched at the sensual crossroads of East and West, where the Bosphorus kisses the Marmara, still casts a powerful spell. Penzer’s classic remains an essential, irresistible invitation into a world of secret splendor, whispered alliances, and the erotics of power.