This is not a faithful biography, and many characters are fictional. Others are real, like the character of Loxandra.

What I tried to represent as faithfully as possible are the historical events, the customs, and the spirit of the time. I hope I succeeded, because I experienced the old city in the early years of my life, and it remains deeply engraved in my mind.

I caught up with the night watchman who proclaimed the fire during the nights, I came across the bell and the signaling of the Tatavla, I came across the Turkish water carrier who asked Loxandra for a little miraculous holy water from Balukli to heal his aching eye.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]