Several
years ago, I published a book called ‘Turkish Delight’. This was the ‘inside story’ of a slave-girl
harem in the Palace of Quireme situated in the
remoteness of Turkey.
A
brief extract from the opening pages of ‘Turkish Delight’ perhaps sets the
scene best:-
‘The
Palace of Quireme was originally built by a powerful Bey in the 16th century.
It is in the hinterland of Turkey and he and his successors lived there
for many generations in pomp and splendour.
In
those days, their slaves came mainly from Arabia and Africa but there was also
a small sprinkling of Europeans. The
exact site of this palace is of small importance. There are many such still in Turkey, which
remains one of the most remote and mysterious countries on the verge of Europe,
despite superficial attempts at modernisation during the present century. Suffice to say that the name of the palace is
Quireme - and its present-day owner is a woman.
A
most unusual woman, to be sure. One, naturally, of immense
wealth. In her mid-thirties, her
name is Karina-el-Nessim and three strains of blood
run in her veins. One
half German, one quarter Jewish, one quarter Arab. Largely because she wishes it so, and partly because of the exalted status of her Arabian
ancestor, she styles herself as a Princess.
Amongst her entourage and acquaintances she is known as Princess Karina
... and since, as a general rule, her contact with the outside world is
minimal, its opinion of the worth of her titular claim is of scant
importance. In any event, whenever the
Princess travels outside Turkey, she travels incognito. That does not really concern us. What does is the mode of life she maintains
at the Palace of Quireme.
It
is one designed to satisfy her own desires and
particular pleasures. Because she has
willed it, and organised it, it exists.
It is as simple as that. As to
the moral rights or wrongs of it, we need not be concerned. That is exists does, however. For the Princess lives in a
style which was quite commonplace amongst the wealthy and powerful in the Near
East and elsewhere. Then, such a
style was not commented upon. Neither is
it commented upon today ... but that is because the world at large is not aware
of it. All the
Princess has done, in fact, is to devise a sort of ‘time-shift’. Not going forward into the future as in
science fiction but moving into the past in modern times. In this way she had achieved the all-powerful
mode of existence of past potentates, yet is also able to enjoy the advantages
which modern-day technology brings.
Many
of a similar temperament would envy the Princess Karina her way of life ...
particularly her possession of hundreds of slaves whose sole function is to
serve and amuse her. There are, of
course, those who would not find this life to their taste. But we are not concerned with them. Each to his own.
We
are concerned only with Princess Karina who, within the compass of her Palace
of Quireme, wields as much absolute power as any
Emperor or conquering tyrant of the past.’
In
that book, one of the slave girls, by the name of Nerine,
was consigned to the Palace Stables ... there to be trained as a Pony
Girl. Some account of her experiences
and reactions was given.
These
Stables at Quireme began to prove most popular with
guests and, ultimately, Princess Karina decided to extend them
considerably. Re-building and
re-landscaping was begun and, within a year, was completed. The result was the Stables as they now are,
and this book describes how they are organised and the varying activities that take
place within them. It also contains
accounts from guests, trainers and Pony Girls themselves.
STAFF
EMPLOYED IN THE STABLES OF QUIREME
KEMAL Aged around forty. Rather obese and oily. A full blooded Turk.
RENATA Age 29. Yugoslavian. A tall, powerfully-built
woman. Dark
colouring. Balkan
in her looks ... and on her cruelty.
INGRID Age 28. Scandinavian. Another statuesque woman. Blond and blue-eyed. Though more beautiful than her colleague, she
is no less cruel.
CARLOTTA Age 30. Half-Italian. Attractive but hard
features - typically Mediterranean.
Lithely athletic.
BABU Age
25. Arab. Strongly-built handsome young man.
HAKIM Age 26. Kurdish. Sleeker, but equally well made.
PLUS:
Eighteen
stable hands - all male. Ages ranging from early twenties to mid-thirties. A fit, well-built, well-made team dedicated
to their tasks. Nationalities include
European, Arab and Nubian.
Much
of the planning of the new Stables at Quireme was
carried out by Princess Karina herself, although she naturally consulted her
Head of Stables, Kemal, and his two assistants, Renata
and Ingrid. This trio were already
running the small stable which had already been set up - and which was now to
be developed.
At
an early stage, in view of the increase in Pony Girls envisaged, it was decided
that a new post would have to be created.
That of Head of Training. He or she would be responsible for transforming the
selected harem slave-girls into workmanlike Ponies so that they could take
their place in the Main Stable.
But
who to choose?
Renata
or Ingrid could have filled the post well, but Kemal did not want to lose two
such able deputies. In the end, the
choice fell on a woman who was a frequent guest at the Palace of Quireme ... and also a regular visitor to the Stables. This was Carlotta, a half Italian woman with
some aristocratic blood in her veins and, in those days, many a Pony Girl knew
she’d had a real ‘work out’ after they had been in her charge!
Needless
to say, Carlotta was delighted to accept Princess Karina’s invitation and at
once joined the planning group.
It
was decided to make the Main Stables large enough for twenty-four Pony
Girls. Alongside would be a small stable for
twelve Pony Girls under training.
Whether this latter Stable would always have its full complement was doubtful, but it was not
important. More than likely, it was thought, no more than half a dozen Ponies would be under
training at a time. That would depend on
demand.
For
it was also decided that each Pony would spend six months in the Main Stable
before being sent back to the Palace harem for a ‘rest’. She would be replaced by one of the girls who
had completed her training.
But,
of course, one could not calculate exactly for cases of extreme exhaustion nor for casualties.
Sensibly,
it was agreed not to be too dogmatic about numbers and simply make adjustments
in the light of experience.
The
number of stable hands was to be increased to eighteen (plus two
reserves). This meant that each hand
would have two Ponies in his charge, being responsible for appearance,
maintenance and general welfare. It was
considered that, if this job were to be done properly, it would be a full-time
task. However, as might be expected,
there was no lack of volunteers from amongst Palace guards, their assistants
and so on and
the chosen few were hand-picked for their fitness, muscular virility and
stalwart appearance. Keenness and a
sense of dedication were also qualities looked for.
Than
then, was the personnel agreed on at the outset. But again, it was decided that, if
circumstances dictated otherwise, this structure could be changed.
Then
the layout of the Stables was discussed and finally agreed upon.
The
Main Stable would have twelve stalls running down each side. Behind each pair of stalls would be a tack
room. Thus each stable hand would have a
single tack room for his two charges where all their equipment would be
kept. Here he would prepare and groom them
daily. Ponies would feed and sleep in
the stalls.
The
Training Stables would be exactly the same but half in number. At the rear of them would be a small
Punishment Room, designed for especially recalcitrant cases.
Nearby
the Training Stables would be the Training Tracks.
Two
of these were to be circular, and one hundred yards in circumference. The third was to be more oval in shape and
one hundred yards in circumference. All
three of these tracks would be slightly banked all the way round.
In
addition there would be a straight Training Track one hundred yards longs and
twenty yards wide.
For
the fully trained Pony Girls, there was to be a larger, oval track two hundred
and fifty yards in circumference, also slightly banked. Alongside there would be a straight of one
hundred yards.
Placed
between these tracks and the Main Stable was to be a
Paddock roughly one hundred and fifty yards in circumference.
All
these tracks, and the Paddock, would be ringed by raised seats for spectators.
Finally,
there was to be an Exercise and Jaunting Area, enclosed by a fence five miles in
circumference. This would be
criss-crossed by a large number of sandy Bridle Paths and Rides. The whole would be gently undulating - but
with a few steep gradients - and set in woods and heathland. Water troughs were to be placed at frequent
intervals.
This,
then, was the setting for the Stables and the Grounds.
Then
came the all-important topic of the mobile frameworks
in which the Pony Girls were to be kept.
In
general, those already in use had much to commend them, but a few simple
improvements were suggested and agreed to.
It
is best, at the outset, to describe these contrivances in some detail, for a
Pony Girl spends a very large part of her time in and upon them. In fact, only at the end of the day is she released
so that she can lie on her straw in her stall to sleep. And sleep, it may be said, was rarely hard to
come by for any Pony Girl!
The
frameworks were so designed that the Pony was forced into a forward-bending
posture whilst retaining full mobility of her lower limbs. They were made of the very lightest and
thinnest tubular steel and each had a kind of ‘Undercarriage’ which terminated
in four castor-like wheels of rubber-coated steel. It was on top of this that the Pony’s belly lay as she bent forward.
In fact, the Pony’s belly rested on a cushion of foam rubber and was
then secured down to it by what was know
as a girth-strap. This ‘Undercarriage’
was of such a height that the Pony’s legs were straight when standing still and
allowed complete freedom of movement when in motion.
Thus
we can see, in this posture, the Pony’s hindquarters formed a kind of ‘high
point’ ... for, by the framework, her back sloped very slightly downwards from
the top of her buttocks to her shoulders.
These shoulders rested against two foam-rubber pads, these pads being
supported by two tubular steel shafts rising up from the ‘Undercarriage’. These shoulder pads could be raised or
lowered and thus one can see that, according to their height, the breasts of
the Pony either hung, or were forced up high.
When
in repose in the Stables, it was normal to keep the pads low so that the
breasts hung. However, whenever the Pony
was in action, the pads were invariably high so that breast thrust up and out
to the maximum.
Incidentally,
Pony Girls with rather more heavy breasts were usually fitted with a
transparent, plastic under-strap which helped to hold the breasts in an
uplifted position without concealing them or restricting their movement in any
way.
Most
of the time, when a Pony Girl was fastened in her framework, her arms were
folded up high on her back and inserted into a kind of leather ‘sleeve’. Many stable hands would release a Pony’s arms
before and after ‘work’ since this increased blood circulation and thus improved
efficiency. When the Pony’s arms were not in this single
‘sleeve’, the wrists were clamped into
two wrist-rings set at the side of the shoulder pads.
This
was the simple, basic securement of a Pony.
And one can see it was a securement most effective yet not interfering
with her limb-mobility.
There
were various forms of harnessing, depending upon what function the Pony was to
perform. For example, the harnessing for
a single-seat carriage was a little different to that for a double-seat. Also, the harnessing would be different if
one Pony was being teamed with another.
Moreover, there were different kinds of carriage, as we shall later
see. In any event, bridle and bit were
essential equipment and always worn, although the bit could vary
considerably. Bits for Ponies under training
could be rather cruel and, on occasions, trained Ponies were forced to wear
similar type bits at the whim of a guest.
We
shall learn more about the various carriages employed - and other accoutrements
used - as this account proceeds. For the
time being, we are more concerned with a Pony Girl’s basic equipment.
Corrective
instruments were also discussed by the ‘Stable Hierarchy’.