There are few pleasures greater than the freedom to wander amongst the historic cultures of yesteryear, marvelling at how the other half lived, well before modernity and good fortune caught up with them. A couple of years back I was in Istanbul, where I spent many happy hours (mainly queuing) exploring one Suleiman or the other’s wondrous palaces, complete with their wives’ quarters, affectionately known (if you’re a man) as the Harem.