Summary: Itrsquo;s been a staple of novels and films about the ldquo;exotic eastrdquo; ndash; the harem. Itrsquo;s typically shown as a large room full of beautiful women lying about on silken pillows awaiting the arrival of the prince or sultan or caliph to whom they belong. And, while there is a kernel of truth to that depiction ndash; the Ottomans as well as Persians famously kept large harems of women ndash; the original harems were something different. Western art has turned the harem into a kind of sexual playground, but, originally, the harem was simply the area of the house where the female relatives, and often, the children lived. The word harem comes from the Arabic ldquo;haramrdquo; which means ldquo;something forbidden or kept saferdquo;. It was the part of the home in which Muslim women lived their lives, where they could take off the headscarf and relax. The only men allowed in this section of the house were family members. The idea of the harem, or womenrsquo;s only section of the home, actually predates Islam. Chinese rulers and nobility also kept the women of their households away from outsiders. And in some European cultures wives and daughters lived secluded lives and rarely saw anyone outside their own families.
