If you walk to Istanbul in the district of Fathi, you will find in Haseki caddesi, an elegant mosque (Haseki Sultan Külliyesi), built by the large Sinan architect for the sultana Roxelane. But which was this woman whose name is known in the whole world for its tricks and its intrigues?

She was born with the whole beginning from the years 1500.

Removed by the Tartars, at the time of a raid to the borders of the border between Poland and Russia, Roxelane (the Russian) was sold like slave. She was the girl of an orthodoxe priest and was called Alexandra Lisowska. She was undoubtedly bought by the large vizier, Ibrahim Pasha who offered it in gift to the Soliman the Magnificent sultan.

We know almost anything of her physique, no painter or draughtsman being authorized to penetrate in the Harem. However, one of the rare people to have seen her, Bragadino the Venetian ambassador, says to us that she was not beautiful but grâcieuse. Rather small, she had a solid character, a disproportionate ambition and a good natural mood which was worth to him the nickname of Hürrem (the merry one).

As of her entry in the Harem, she understood that to gain the capacity she was to be the mother of the next sultan. Crafty one and intelligent, she played admirably on the guitar and could charm Soliman by singing the nostalgic airs of the Slavic countries to him. Very quickly she became the exclusive mistress of the Sultan, not hesitating to use of calumny or the assassination to get rid of its rivals. (BAD TRANSLATION) He having given 4 wire, it will avoura its triumph when Soliman married it.