This was quite hard work, but I ended up enjoying it, as the rather disparate plot elements were pulled together in the last 50 pages.
Set in 16th century Istanbul, the hero, Janan, is a young Indian boy entrusted to ferry an elephant from India to Istanbul (I forget why). Once there, and embroiled in the complexities and corruptions of society there at the time, he falls in love with a princess and is apprenticed to the royal architect Sinan, apparently a real life and rather tragic figure.
After numerous slightly boys own adventures, both Sinan and the princess have died, and the plot unravels with Janan fleeing Istanbul and ending up in India where he plays a part in designing the construction of the Taj Mahal.
A curious mixture of an adventure story and a deeply spiritual book about love, architecture and life. Worth re-reading.
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