Istanbul, 1840: the new sultan, Abdülmecid, has heard a rumor that Bellini's vanished masterpiece, a portrait of Mehmet the Conqueror, may have resurfaced in Venice. Yashim, our eunuch detective, is promptly asked to investigate but, aware that the sultan's advisers are against any extravagant repurchase of the painting, decides to deploy his disempowered Polish ambassador friend, Palewski, to visit Venice in his stead. Palewski arrives in disguise...

Tired of his troubled marriage, an Italian businessman's life changes dramatically after he learns that an aunt has left him property in Istanbul. Francesco (Alessandro Gassman) arrives to the Turkish city hoping that he can take care of the matter swiftly and return to Italy. He is surprised to discover that the property is actually one of the last traditional hamams (old-fashioned bath houses) in Turkey. The family that has been running the Turkish...