The motif of Orientalism played an important role in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literary works in Europe. Fueling the creative imaginations of artists, literary figures, and in fact all of Europe, this fascination with the Orient also influenced many of the Romantic writers, who situated novels and poetry alike in the mysterious far-off lands of Turkey, India, the Middle-East, and Asia. Relations between East and West first gained widespread political and social importance during the Crusades (1096-1271), when religious hostility between the Muslim and Christian worlds exploded into a power struggle to recapture lands taken by the “Infidels.” However, while failing to successfully recapture the Holy Land, the Crusades opened up increasingly accessible channels to the East. Returning Crusaders brought back stories and goods from the far-off lands they had seen, which excited the popular imagination and created a thirst for greater contact with the Orient. The East became an intriguing destination for travelers, many of whom went on to write about their experiences in ccompanying her husband, Lord Montagu, Ambassador of the Levant Company, on a trip to Turkey. Her “Turkish Letters,” published posthumously in 1763, described harem life for the first time for English