Zeynel has had an extremely complex family history, and I could go into much detail about how his paternal family arrived from the Iberian peninsula and then eventually assimilated into Istanbul, and how his maternal family arrived from Persia and also assimilated, meeting at the point when Efraim and Zaynab were in university (not the same institution!!). Literally most people Zeynel knew were educated people – sometimes he sees those from court and that’s super scary – and everyone is academically accomplished. It only makes sense to follow from there. Especially if you are the eldest son of a highly-in-demand teacher, and a sought-after physician, with a talent for speaking (or BSing when the situation calls for it), languages (at this point he knows 4 (Turkish, Arabic, Persian and conversational Ladino), with more in the future) and reading (and memorising).
Additionally Ayse has an equally interesting family history as well. Though I think it’s simpler? They were just generations upon generations of nomads travelling across Western Asia before they settled where they are now some 200 years back. Her father is the foreigner son of the fruit merchant (but was educated by third party means) from the capital who somehow got married into this family, and that’s also another interesting story (following up from his run-in with Efraim). SO haha now there’s a connection………
Not to mention Zeynel and Ayse’s future together, which is also another interesting thing and which we will only get glimpses of later.
AHH!! Too much backstory info. I don’t plan to produce a second Carpet Merchant(s) of Konstantiniyya until 1) I acquire money 2) I acquire the right artist/co-writer (which is the important condition). After all TWIDI is such a huge story, and Zeynel is only part of it.
*exhales peacefully*
I would have this framed for my wall. Also tbh you could probably make entire books out of each character’s backstory and I’d pay for them all (slowly in installments but still pay) because honestly, so much has gone into them I just keep wanting to know more.
Haha geeze how I wish I could get into the Cordova family and their dynamics. And the 25 years spanning Zeynel/Ayse’s marriage. ;; it’s too big for a single comic and even then I would be more comfortable working on it with someone else who shares the heritage (me writing maybe drawing, them drawing/co-writing). IDK HOW IT MANAGED TO GET THIS BIG IN SO SHORT A WHILE help me
hahah omg I just love how this early you’re like “oh this is twice as long as expected ” XD
(also Same Hat, Z, SAME HAT)
–I like how the framing elements for his story have shifted from the flowing carpets to the lovely, but more rigid buildings– and it says so much about his future too, like– the buildings where he learns and might expect to serve, the places of his career, would be fixed places; he would go to them, they would define the shape of his world. But a carpet goes where it’s needed, it fits into the space a life has for it already…
AAAA THIS ANALYSIS IS THE BEST. I want to print and frame it on a wall somewhere and tell everyone that this is my friend Cara and she is one of the best people I know who is passionate and adept at literary analysis not just in The Brick but also in other literary mediums like comics ;____; I LOVE U