By ANASTASIA ASHMAN
Just call us hothouse flowers. We’re breathing fresh life into the Expat Harem concept — this is now more than a site about a book. It’s a group blog.
GLOBAL NICHE
A variety of voices will begin to appear on the site. Don’t miss anything: Updates by email. Updates by RSS.
You’re also invited to join the cultural conversation at my individual blog.
Along with fellow-American-writer-in-Istanbul Jennifer Eaton Gökmen, I’m cocreator of the critically acclaimed expatriate literature collection TALES FROM THE EXPAT HAREM: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey. We coined the Expat Harem concept* — which reclaims the feminine powerbase of the traditional Ottoman harem and refreshes it as a modern and virtual community of cultural peers.
*We noticed the doors swing both ways. When expatriate women in modern Turkey lead an insular life due to regional naivete, language barriers and ethnocentricity = peer-filled prison. When they find solace and a collective wisdom in one another’s experiences = cultural refuge.
Expat Harem also acknowledges the permanent liminality of today’s multicultural, global existence. Like the nation of Turkey itself — its struggles are both personal and universal, self-perception East yet also West, looking toward Europe or Asia, ancient empire persisting under the surface of new republic. In some small or large way, all of us are coming or going, crossing threshold after threshold but never arriving.
NEW SOCIAL ORDER
expat+HAREM, the global niche embodies the hybrid Expat Harem concept while embracing intentional travelers and global citizens of all kinds. Common interest and experience defines us far better than geography, nationality or even family.
SHARE YOUR PERSPECTIVE
Are you a cultural creative, a globally mobile progressive, an explorer of identity? What is true camaraderie to you, and how (and where) do you find it?
WELCOME BACK. Identity adventurers like you make this global niche what it is -- so, thanks! If you register at Disqus -- free, takes 30 seconds -- we can 1) match a face to your thoughts here at expat+HAREM, and 2) follow your voice across the web. Tip: Once you register, click on the avatar of an earlier comment to 'claim' them all!
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