Following Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s taking the Best Director award at last month’s Cannes Film Festival, Turkey received further international recognition last week when author-lecturer Aslı Sancar’s book “Ottoman Women: Myth and Reality” won an award at the US’s Benjamin Franklin Awards.
 
 
“Ottoman Women,” a detailed exploration of Ottoman harem life, was announced the winner in the history/political category — one of the two categories in which it was shortlisted — at an awards ceremony in Los Angeles. Apart from its content, the book was also nominated for its visual quality, in the cover design/large format category.
Accepting her award at the ceremony, Sancar saluted Ottoman women “for leaving behind such a rich legacy — which should not be ignored.” Sancar said she was grateful to her publisher for their efforts in bringing about the quality publication and thus helping her dream come true.

Published by the New Jersey-based Tughra Books in cooperation with the Kaynak Publishing Group in İstanbul, the book explores the lifestyles and legal rights of Muslim women in the Ottoman Empire, particularly in the 19th century. The book features hundreds of illustrations and portraits of Ottoman women and objects from the period. Challenging the unfavorable stereotype of Muslim women in the harem, the author argues that the Western perception of Muslim women has been dominated by fiction such as the “1001 Nights” fairy tales or through fantasy-based travel accounts by people who simply would not be allowed into a harem.

The Benjamin Franklin Awards are organized annually by US trade association the Independent Book Publishers Association (PMA) to recognize excellence in publishing. Publications grouped by genre are judged on editorial and design merit by top practitioners in each field. Trophies are awarded to the best books in several categories and presented to publishers during an awards ceremony ahead of the opening of BookExpo America.

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