Guided by the accounts of such female travellers as Lady Montagu, Julia Pardoe, and Lucy Garnett, all of whom lived in Ottoman lands for significant periods of time, this beautifully illustrated book explores - and hopes to overturn - the 19th-century stereotypes of Ottoman women. Both Eastern and Western accounts of Turkish society during that time made much of the harem, with the Orientalists describing Turkish women as exotic, indolent, and depraved, while some European writers described them as noble and elegant.Then, with the advent of the first women's movement in the West, the harem began to be criticised as an institution that trapped women and enforced their submission to men. All of these ideas were refuted by Montagu, Pardoe, and Garnett, who argued that Ottoman women were perhaps the freest in the world; this book backs up that claim with historical research showing that women frequently prevailed in cases against their husbands and other male relatives in the Ottoman courts.

This book is a form of guidance for the youth of today, a guide for their everyday lives, as well as being a compilation of useful information that is related to the various forms of worship with informative explanations given in an understandable manner. It has been prepared with color illustrations about every stage of performing various acts of worship, in particular, the rituals of purification and daily prayers. Aiming to meet the practical needs of English speaking readers for their daily worship, this guide is one that is essential for every Muslim young person.