Yikes!

Well, I made it through Thomas Dallam's diary excerpts. Ouch. Sixteenth century writing skills leave something to be desired...the spelling about killed me. Although, once I became accustomed to it, Dallam's experiences in Constantinople were quite intriguing.

I love how he took the time to put some description into his diary. His writing, despite its less than reader-friendly authenticity, was very engaging. I think my favorite passage of description dealt with the concubines he spied on through the grate in the wall. I even started to translate it into modern language.

Of course, these descriptions are important to me not only because they make the reading all that more enjoyable, but because I write and as a writer, I find such passages inspiring. They definitely get the muse motivated.

Something else I picked up on was how intent the "grand seyinor" was to keep Dallam around. I imagine the determination was based on the fear that if the organ-maker left there would be no one capable of maintaining the mechanical contraption. It was in the man's best interest to keep Dallam happy and content, to show him the best of this culture.

I must admit I didn't think the harem scene was by happenstance. I thought he was being set up, that the forbidden glimpse would lead to blackmail. This suspicion came into sharper focus when he was pretty much bullied off the ship and back onto dry land.

The only thing I really didn't catch - and this is probably more my failing than Dallam's - is how he finally managed to escape Constantinople. I know he went home on a ship bound for England, but the details were sketchy. I guess you can't really critique the author though when you consider he was writing in a diary of all things. He likely never anticipated his writing would end up being the subject of discussion in a 21st century classroom.