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Two Dervishes
Coffee
Like dancing, music, and painting, coffee is a controversial phenomenon within the world of the book, with some characters praising its virtues and others denouncing it as a sin. Coffee is thought to have arrived…
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Blindness
According to miniaturist folklore, the greatest master miniaturists will go blind in old age as a “reward” from Allah for a lifetime of devotion to their art. Though blindness might seem like a strange reward…
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The Book
The main source of conflict in the novel is a secret book, intended to show off the splendor of the Ottoman Empire, that the Sultan commissions Enishte to create with the help of the master…
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Snow
During the first half of the book, snow is falling over Istanbul, which creates an atmosphere of mystery and melancholy. Since snow is not common in Istanbul, its presence adds to the impression that the…
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