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Istanbul Center provides opportunities for authors to interact with their readers during periodic book singings held at Istanbul Center. Past Book Signings October 2009: Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor “An Altar in the World” 200, HarperOne (This event was held under the Distinguished Speaker Series) March 2009: Dr. Jay Hakes “A Declaration of Energy Independence: How Freedom from Foreign Oil Can Improve National Security, Our Economy, and the Environment” 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated (This event was held under the Distinguished Speaker Series) May 2008: Asli Sancar “Ottoman Women: Myth and Reality” 2003, The Light, Incorporated Ottoman Women: Myth and Reality by Asli Sancar On Tuesday evening, May 6, 2008, Istanbul Center hosted the very talented and thoughtful author, Ms. Asli Sancar, as part of her promotional book signing tour of the U.S. She was in Atlanta, Georgia specifically for this book signing hosted by Istanbul Center in between stops to New York, and later this month, L.A. Ottoman Women: Myth and Reality is a 2008 finalist in two (2) categories for the Benjamin Franklin Award in publishing: “Cover Design-Large Format” and “History/Political.” Sancar will travel to L.A. at the end of this month when she will attend the L.A. book expo to find out if her book received any awards. Primarily writing in Turkish, Sancar’s first publication in English encompasses the vast strata of life for women under the Ottoman Empire. In her personal and professional quest to break down stereotypes of Ottoman women, and by extension, Eastern women generally, Asli Sancar’s presentation of her new book commenced with an introductory lecture followed by a question-and-answer period from the audience. In her speech, Sancar relayed to her audience tales from travelers and accounts from court records of Ottoman women enjoying and exercising a great deal of personal power. Indeed, Ottoman women, being found by Westerners not only to be beautiful, fair and refined, were also discovered to be quite in control of their destinies. Many women and young females under the Ottoman Empire exercised this control by bringing civil actions against their husbands, or any other person generally, in pursuit of the fulfillment of marriage contracts, a divorce, or a resolution of other civil disagreements that could not be remedied by private means. Sancar explained that during Ottoman times, in more than 70% of court cases brought by women against men, the women won. As can be noted in Western history, British women did not enjoy the right of being able to file for a divorce until the late 19th century in Great Britain. Ottoman women exercised this right with passion in the 11th century under the Ottoman Turks, as well as had title to property and could recover property, much unlike their Western counterparts. In an age where Islamic women are thought to be repressed and without rights, Ottoman women and their legacy in Turkey bring to light the fact that stereotypes are too easily made and are often without the educated knowledge of experience and diligent study.