Describes in chilling, yet affectionate, detail the disintegration of a wealthy ottoman family, both financially and emotionally. It is rich with the scent of fin de siecle istanbul in the last days of the ottoman empire...Describes in chilling, yet affectionate, detail the disintegration of a wealthy ottoman family, both financially and emotionally. It is rich with the scent of fin de siecle istanbul in the last days of the ottoman empire. His mother was a beauty, married at thirteen, as befitted a turkish woman of her class.