Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
every detail of Harem life was governed by tradition, obligation and ceremony. The word
'harem' literally means 'forbidden' or 'private'.
The sultans supported as many as 300 concubines in the Harem, although numbers
were usually lower than this. Upon entering the Harem, the girls would be schooled in
Islam and in Turkish culture and language, as well as the arts of make-up, dress, comport-
ment, music, reading, writing, embroidery and dancing. They then entered a meritocracy,
first as ladies-in-waiting to the sultan's concubines and children, then to the sultan's moth-
er and finally - if they were particularly attractive and talented - to the sultan himself.
The sultan was allowed by Islamic law to have four legitimate wives, who received the
title of
kadın
(wife). If a wife bore him a son she was called
haseki sultan
;
haseki kadın
if
it was a daughter. The Ottoman dynasty did not observe primogeniture (the right of the
first-born son to the throne), so in principle the throne was available to any imperial son.
In the early years of the empire, this meant that the death of a sultan regularly resulted in a
fratricidal bloodbath as his sons - often from different mothers - battled it out among
themselves for the throne. Later sultans imprisoned their brothers in the Harem, beginning
the tradition of
kafes hayatı
(cage life). This house arrest meant that princes were prey to
the intrigues of the women and eunuchs, kept ignorant of war and statecraft, and thus usu-
ally rendered unfit to rule if and when the occasion arose.
Ruling the Harem was the
valide sultan
(mother of the reigning sultan), who often
owned large landed estates in her own name and controlled them through black eunuch
servants. Able to give orders directly to the grand vizier, her influence on the sultan, on
the selection of his wives and concubines, and on matters of state was often profound.
The earliest of the 300-odd rooms in the Harem were constructed during the reign of
Murat III (r 1574-95); the harems of previous sultans were at the Eski Saray (Old Palace),
near current-day Beyazıt Meydanı.
The Harem complex has six floors, but only one of these can be visited. This is ap-
proached via the
Carriage Gate
. Inside the gate is the Dome with Cupboards. Beyond it
is a room where the Harem's eunuch guards were stationed. This is decorated with fine
Kütahya tiles from the 17th century.
Beyond this room is the narrow
Courtyard of the Black Eunuchs
, also decorated
with Kütahya tiles. Behind the marble colonnade on the left are the Black Eunuchs'
Dormitories. In the early days white eunuchs were used, but black eunuchs sent as
presents by the Ottoman governor of Egypt later took control. As many as 200 lived here,
guarding the doors and waiting on the women of the Harem.
