Zeliha is a nineteen-year-old who decides against an abortion in the opening chapter. She later operates a successful tattoo parlor where she creates designs for heartbroken clients. She aggressively rejects traditional modesty by wearing short skirts and a nose ring. She drives an Alfa Romeo and remains fiercely independent in a male-dominated society.

The eldest Kazanci sister works as a fortune-teller out of her bedroom. She relies on two djinn, Mr. Bitter and Mrs. Sweet, to see into the past and future. While she technically remains married, she lives apart from her husband and visits him only to perform chores before returning home.

The only son of the Kazanci family leaves Turkey at eighteen to study agricultural engineering in Arizona. He actively avoids his Turkish heritage and struggles with personal insecurities. He later marries Rose and settles into a quiet, distant American life, refusing to return to Istanbul.

A Kentucky native living in Arizona, Rose feels alienated by her Armenian former in-laws' culture. She eats junk food for comfort and drops out of college to care for her daughter. She eventually meets Mustafa at a supermarket while intentionally seeking a partner outside her ex-husband's community.

Known as "Amy" to her mother, Armanoush is a bookish nineteen-year-old who feels out of place in America. She spends her nights in a chatroom for the Armenian diaspora. Seeking a connection to her heritage, she flies to Istanbul in secret to locate her grandmother's childhood home.

Asya is a nineteen-year-old existentialist who lives in a house filled with her female relatives. She resents her family's superstitions and her status as a child born out of wedlock. She prefers spending time at Café Kundera, listening to Johnny Cash, and drafting her personal manifesto.

The matriarch of the Tchakhmakchian family in San Francisco commands quiet respect from her relatives. She survived the 1915 exile from Istanbul and strictly guards her granddaughter's cultural upbringing, fearing the erasure of her heritage.

The aging great-grandmother of the Kazanci household originally emigrated from Greece. Once a talented pianist, she now suffers from severe dementia and spends her days as a quiet observer in the chaotic home.

The mother of the Kazanci siblings dotes exclusively on her absent son, Mustafa. She frequently criticizes her daughters, holding particular resentment for Zeliha's modern fashion choices and independent lifestyle.

A high school Turkish history teacher, she lives in the Kazanci family home and contributes her professional opinions to the household debates. She views the military as the only trustworthy institution.

A highly anxious woman who obsesses over illness and disaster, she frequently worries that the evil eye is targeting the family. Her mental health struggles make her highly protective of the home.

An Armenian businessman living in Istanbul, he maintains a steady partnership with Zeliha. He speaks fluent Armenian and offers a grounded perspective on the city's shared history, resisting the urge to leave for the diaspora.

Armanoush's father navigates the tension between his overbearing Armenian relatives and his ex-wife. He supports his daughter while actively avoiding direct conflict with his forceful family members.

A regular at Café Kundera who drinks heavily and draws caricatures. He maintains a casual romance with Asya but harbors deeper feelings for her, even as he faces political trouble for his artwork.

An active user in the Café Constantinople chatroom. He shares strong opinions on history and serves as an online confidant for Armanoush, though she fears meeting him in person.

A poet and children's book author living in 1915 Istanbul. He purchases a ruby pomegranate brooch for his wife shortly before soldiers arrive to arrest him for his writings.

A cauldron-maker who adopts the surname Kazanci in 1925. He rescues an orphaned Shushan and marries her, but she eventually abandons him, leading him to marry Petite-Ma.

The deceased patriarch of the Kazanci family. He enforced strict discipline over his children and favored rigid traditionalism, leaving a lasting psychological impact on his family.