Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures

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Representations: Erotic Literature: Turkey and the Ottoman Empire
(2,414 words)

Sexuality permeates literary genres – even mystical literature (Schimmel 1979). Popular tales (Nicolaidès 1906), curses, proverbs, riddles, jokes (Burrill 1970), graffiti, and other ephemera all have erotic dimensions. A broad survey is Ertop (1977).

Ottoman high literature

Bâhnâmes (books of libido/intercourse) were part medical, part erotic treatises covering taxonomies of genitalia, sexual positions, aphrodisiacs, and risqué anecdotes. The ear…

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Schİck, İrvİn Cemİl, “Representations: Erotic Literature: Turkey and the Ottoman Empire”, in: Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures, General Editor Suad Joseph. Consulted online on 21 September 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1872-5309_ewic_EWICCOM_0623d>
First published online: 2009



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