during my travels。 Despite never having spoken with her; I’ve nursed feelings
of lust toward her for years and still do。 Perhaps; by now; she’s passed away。
Seeing a woman’s bare face; speaking to her; and witnessing her humanity
opens the way to both pangs of lust and deep spiritual pain in us men; and
thus the best of all alternatives is not to lay eyes on women; especially pretty
women; without first being lawfully wed; as our noble faith dictates。 The sole
remedy for carnal desires is to seek out the friendship of beautiful boys; a
satisfactory surrogate for females; and in due time; this; too; bees a sweet
habit。 In the cities of the European Franks; women roam about exposing not
only their faces; but also their brightly shining hair (after their necks; their
most attractive feature); their arms; their beautiful throats; and even; if what
I’ve heard is true; a portion of their gorgeous legs; as a result; the men of those
cities walk about with great difficulty; embarrassed and in extreme pain;
because; you see; their front sides are always erect and this fact naturally leads
to the paralysis of their society。 Undoubtedly; this is why each day the Frank
infidel surrenders another fortress to us Ottomans。
After realizing; while still a youth; that the best recipe for my spiritual
happiness and contentment was to live far from beautiful women; I grew
increasingly curious about these creatures。 At that time; since I hadn’t seen any
women besides my mother and my aunt; my curiosity assumed a mystical
quality; my head seemed to tingle; and I knew that I could only learn how
women felt if I did what they did; ate what they ate; said what they said;
imitated their behavior and; yes; only if I wore their clothes。 Therefore; one
Friday; when my mother; father; older brother and aunt went to my
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grandfather’s rose garden on the shores of the Fahreng; I told them I was
feeling ill and stayed at home。
“e along。 Look; you’ll entertain us by mimicking the dogs; trees and
horses in the country。 What’ll you do here all alone; anyway?” said my
mother; may she rest in peace。
“I’m going to put on your dresses and bee a woman; dear mother;” was
an impossible answer。 So I said; “My stomach hurts。”
“Don’t be such a coward;” said my father。 “e along and we’ll wrestle。”
I shall now describe to you; my painter and calligrapher brethren; exactly
what I felt once they’d left and I donned the underclothes and dresses
belonging to my now dearly departed mother and aunt; as well as the secrets I
learned that day about being a woman。 Let me first state forthright that
contrary to what we’ve often read in books and heard from preachers; when