Seraglio (ETW building)
| Seraglio | |
|---|---|
| Category: | Entertainment |
| Level: | 2 |
| Turns to build: | 4 |
| Building cost: | 2000 |
| |
| Requires | |
 Turkish Bath | |
| Enables | |
 Pleasure Gardens | |
An enclosed section of a palace, where the concubines are secluded, ready for the pleasure of their master and away from the lustful gazes of other men.
The word came to English through Italian, where the Turkish “serai” (palace) was confused with the Latin word “sera” (door-bar). A “serai” was any grand palace built around a courtyard, not just a harem. Despite this confusion, there were separate quarters for concubines (Circassian girls were highly prized for their reputedly amazing good looks), and access was tightly controlled.
The whole idea of a seraglio became something of an obsession in Western Europe, and the subject matter of many works of art in “Turkish” Oriental style, which was quite popular during the 18th Century. Obviously, it combined the exotic and the naughtily erotic in tasteful pictures for the rich! The concept provided the inspiration for Mozart’s opera, “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” (Abduction from the Seraglio), where the hero attempts to rescue his love from the clutches of an Ottoman Pasha. First performed in Austria in 1782 under the (indirect) patronage of the Austrian Emperor, Joseph II, there has to be a suspicion that anti-Turkish sentiment informed the piece. Nevertheless, the opera was a success and personally very profitable for Mozart.