From Byzantion to Istanbul — AB IMO PECTORE.

Every city has a single life. Istanbul has had several. It was Byzantion when the Greeks founded it in 657 BCE — a strategic outpost above the Bosphorus, where Europe and Asia pressed their foreheads together. It became Constantinople when Constantine moved the centre of the Roman Empire east in 330 CE. Then, in 1453, Mehmed II rode through the Blachernae Gate and it became Istanbul — capital of the Ottoman Empire for nearly five centuries.

Each of these lives left a residue. The Ottoman hammam. The spice bazaar where merchants from three continents traded saffron, oud, benzoin, and rose attar. The imperial court where a great perfumer was worth more than a military advisor. The minaret call and the church bell, both present, neither erasing the other. This is the city that Hareem Istanbul was born from.

Our founding principle is in Latin, not Turkish: AB IMO PECTORE — From the Depth of the Heart. It is a phrase that has moved across cultures and centuries without losing its meaning. It says: what we make is not commercial. It is sincere. We believe a fragrance that is not sincere cannot last the day.

In West Africa, we have found a mirror. The cultures of Ghana and Nigeria carry their own layered histories — of empire, of trade, of resilience across centuries. When a woman in Accra or a man in Lagos wears Hareem Istanbul, something is recognised, not invented. The depth of Ottoman perfumery meets the depth of West African self-presentation. This is not a coincidence. It is why we are here.

Every bottle from our house — from the Veni oud to the Enigma women's perfume to the Vivaldi home diffuser — is made to carry this weight. Not to speak about it. Just to hold it.