Islamic law “assigned men and women distinct social roles, and made many rights and obligations contingent upon gender identity.” 1 Along “with distinctions between free and slave, and between Muslim and non-Muslim, gender difference was one of the most significant distinctions of the Islamic legal system in the Ottoman Empire.” 2
The “proper sphere” of Muslim women as articulated by classical authorities such as Ghazali was “in domestic and sexual terms.” 3 According to Ghazali, the principal function of women was to obey male authority and take care of the household and satisfy their husbands’ sexual desires. In the 16th century, Ottoman ulema who used Ghazali as their source and model declared that “women’s obligations” were “to bake bread, clean up the dishes, do the laundry, prepare meals and the like.” 4 These responsibilities to one’s home were “a matter of heaven and hell for a woman” for if she failed to perform these tasks, she would be “a sinner.” 5 Screened from the gaze of the outsider, decent, obedient, and pious Muslim women had to attend to the everyday needs of their husbands and children without any reservation. 6
In Islam, marital sex was viewed as part and parcel of a believer’s obligation toward God and in no way connoted sin for the Muslim believer. While heterosexuality and marriage were praised as natural, normal, and indeed necessary, the official Islam of the ulema was “violently opposed to all other ways of realizing sexual desires,” which were denounced as abnormal, unnatural, and running “counter to the antithetical harmony of the sexes.” 7 The curse of God rested on “the boyish woman and effeminate man, male and female homophilia, auto-eroticism, zoophilia etc.” 8 By rejecting the principle of the natural male-female relationship, all these “deviations” constituted a revolt against God and the divine scriptures. Among all these ungodly deviations, the Quran regarded “male homosexuality the worst,” because it was “the essence of all perversions.” 9 The story of “ Lot ( Lut) and his city, Sodom, destroyed by God for the sexual sins of its people,” was interpreted as the ultimate warning against a deviation that could lead to the end and destruction of the human family. 10 And yet, in Ottoman society male erotic attraction to males was assumed to be natural and, if not universal, sufficiently widespread to be tolerated.
The Ottoman concept of sexuality was based on the traditional medical notion that human body comprised four basic elements, namely, air, fire, earth, and water. 11 In this conception, “man and woman were virtually the same being, differing in the balance between the elements and in the degree of development.” 12 Rather than “a separate sex,” women were viewed “as an imperfect version of men, a form that did not reach its full development.” 13 The “vagina, clitoris, and uterus were assumed to be an underdeveloped version of the male penis and scrotum, and women were believed to be able to produce semen in their ovaries and thus contribute to the creation of the fetus.” 14 Because this view “of the body implied that men and women were not inherently different sexually, present-day concepts of same-sex intercourse as radically different from heterosexual intercourse were not part of the Ottoman culture.” 15 Thus, “while homosexual acts were forbidden by law, as were other forms of sexual activity such as incest and fornication, same-sex intercourse was not perceived as fundamentally unnatural and abnormal.” 16 Indeed, “ in most circles, same-sex love and intercourse (mainly, but not exclusively, between older and younger men) were perceived as more proper.” 17 Female “same-sex intercourse was known and sometimes mentioned, but largely ignored by the men responsible for almost all writing in the empire until well into the 19th century.” 18 The “general preference for homoerotic ties was present most prominently in mystical Sufi circles” as “ love between an initiate and a young disciple, often referred to as ‘gazing upon an unbearded youth.’” 19 By “gazing upon the beauty” of an unbearded boy ( amrad ), “the Sufi would fill his heart with the attributes of God’s splendor and learn the virtues of unconditional love.” 20
PROSTITUTION
In addition to young beardless boys, female prostitutes provided another important outlet for male sexual energy. As in other societies, “traffic in sexual pleasure” was widespread in the Ottoman Empire “since its early days, and edicts and fetvas were published frequently to try to contain what authorities viewed as a problem for moral order and public health.” 21 During the 16th century, the central government tried several times to clamp down on prostitution by expelling prostitutes from Istanbul, Damascus, and other major urban centers of the empire, “and in a famous edict they were forbidden to follow the army as it marched to and from the front.” 22 Even in state regulations, “procurers were warned against the use of slave girls as prostitutes in hostels around the empire.” 23
The practice of punishing prostitutes by banishing them from towns, and at times, even hanging them at the entrance to city markets, continued into the 17th century. While such harsh punishments were hailed by the members of the elite who could support several wives and female slaves, they were opposed by the poor who could only afford cheap and publically available sex. In his Book of Travels, the Ottoman writer Evliya Çelebi proudly reported that in 1652, his patron, Melek Ahmed Pas¸a, who at the time served as the governor of Rumelia, banished all of the prostitutes from Sofia, Bulgaria. 24 In accordance with Islamic law and “for the reform of the world,” a few of these prostitutes “were strung up like chandeliers to adorn the town at the street corners in the silk market.” 25 To demonstrate the popularity of his patron’s act, Çelebi added that “the notables of the province were grateful that their town was now tranquil and free of prostitutes,” but he had to admit that “for the sake of their carnal pleasures,” the local “rogues and brigands bruited it about that the town’s resources had grown scarce, and there would now be famine and dearth, even plague.” 26 And indeed, the plague they had predicted did begin, devastating the town and killing thousands.
Common though it may have been, prostitution in the Ottoman Empire “was not usually practiced in formal establishments intended for the purpose.” 27 The “older” and more traditional form of prostitution portrayed in the Karagöz shadow theater was Zenne, “the lone damsel” living “in a rented house in the neighborhood and socializing with men” and symbolizing the “blurred boundaries between companionship and sexual favors.” 28 It was only in the second half of the 19th century that the brothel “as a commercial enterprise” and a new space for male-female encounters emerged. 29 Indeed, throughout the 19th century, as the European urban centers of the empire grew in size and population and a “culture of public parks, cafés, beer gardens, and dance halls” spread, prostitution “assumed new proportions” and emerged as a “major industry.” 30
In 1879 in Salonika, local journalists “denounced the ‘depraved women’ who haunted the city’s beer-halls, and demanded they be driven away,” and a year later, “Christian, Jewish and Muslim community leaders protested to the municipality at their presence in the heart of the city,” but by 1910, “girls of all races and religions were working its more than one hundred brothels in a separate quarter near the railway” and “neither the rabbis nor the other notables of the city seemed very concerned about the problem.” 31 According to one source, there were three types of prostitutes: “the woman who had her own room, the woman who went to the room of her client, and those who consorted in the open because woman and client were both too poor to rent rooms.” 32 This last category “included youths from villages who had saved up in order to walk many kilometers to the town for no other reason than sex.” 33
In addition to the brothel, the second half of the 19th century witnessed the emergence of a new phenomenon in Ottoman society, namely, the practice of keeping a mistress or the woman who lived in a clandestine apartment and served the unique sentimental and sexual needs of her lover. 34 Traditional Ottoman society had developed its own unique outlets for males who wished to have extramarital sex. In accordance with the Islamic law, “men could marry several women; richer men could own slaves and exploit them sexually; many public baths also functioned as meeting places for same-sex encounters,” but as “slavery declined in the 19th century and polygamy was frowned on in certain urban circles,” the new institution of mistress “often called metres (from French maitresse )” appeared and took over from Zenne, the neighborhood’s “lone damsel.” 35 The brothels of “the fashionable streets of Pera, Istanbul’s urban center, were now in need of new venues for extramarital and premarital encounters of the modern kind.” 36 According to the Islamic law, the punishment for an adulteress was death by stoning. Various schools of Islamic jurisprudence, however, introduced provisos, which made inflicting such harsh punishment in effect impossible. That “adultery had in fact been committed had to be proved through the testimony of at least four male witnesses, and a woman accused by her husband of adultery could evade punishment by denying the allegation and basing her denial on a solemn oath.” 37 This “particular ruling was commonly adhered to in Ottoman jurisdiction where kadis generally refrained from deciding that adultery had been formally proven.” 38 When residents of a neighborhood surprised a couple engaged in intercourse, “the verdict would usually be one of ‘alleged adultery’ and a prison term and/or condemnation to the galleys would be imposed.” 39 Women “who bore illegitimate children or cohabited out of wedlock,” however, “were never regarded with tolerance, and urban security officers were empowered to keep an eye on them,” or place them in the custody of the local police. 40 To reduce the potential for extramarital relationships, every effort was made to “keep unmarried men out of residential districts.” 41
GIVING BIRTH
Among the Ottoman elite, astrologers and diviners were asked to take the woman’s horoscope and determine whether she should get pregnant and if so, when. At times, they warned the wife against pregnancy by predicting that she would suffer and that in the end she would die in the childbirth. Sometimes, such warnings alarmed and frightened the wife to the point that she would not allow her husband to approach her. Regardless, the news of a woman’s pregnancy was welcomed with joy and a great deal of trepidation. In rich and powerful households, the servants celebrated the news of a pregnancy because whenever the lady of the house gave birth, she distributed money and gifts to the members of her household.
Highly skilled midwives were indispensable to childbirth. Women who had acquired considerable experience and skill in delivering children were greatly respected at all levels of Ottoman society. Many families had their own favorite midwife, in whom they had developed enormous confidence. When the woman’s labor had reached the final stage, the midwife sat her on a chair with side arms, a high back, and “a seat scooped out to facilitate the delivery of the child.” 42 Just prior to the appearance of the child’s head, the midwife uttered the tekbir, or “God is great.” 43 With the arrival of the child, the midwife and all the women present proclaimed the s¸ehadet: “I bear witness that there is no god but God, I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.” 44 Then the midwife washed the newborn in warm water and cut the umbilical cord.
To protect the mother from evil eye, a copy of the Quran, which had been installed in an embroidered bag, was placed at the head of the couch. At its foot hung “an onion impaled on a skewer, wrapped in red muslin and ornamented with garlic and blue beads.” 45 When the mother had been dressed up, her husband came to visit his wife and the new baby. He held the child toward Mecca and uttered the Muslim’s declaration of faith in his right ear: “I bear witness that there is no god but God. I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.” 46 He then chanted the bismillah (“In the name of God”) in the baby’s left ear and three times announced the child’s name. Shortly after a successful delivery, and sometimes the day after the baby was born, a messenger bearing the good news visited the homes of relatives and friends. At each home, he was rewarded with a tip.
Childbirth in the Ottoman Empire could be extremely dangerous—even when the woman giving birth was a member of the Ottoman ruling family. In his writings, the Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi described the pregnancy of Kaya Sultan, the daughter of Sultan Murad IV, who was married to Evliya’s patron, Melek Ahmed Pas¸a. As the time for delivery arrived, close female relatives and friends, and all the experienced women and skilled midwives, arrived. Forty Quran recitals and 4,000 invocations of the prophet Muhammad were recited, and after she had given birth to a daughter, her husband gave away 10 purses of his own and 40 purses of Kaya Sultan’s money to the poor and the needy, as alms and a sincere expression of gratitude. Melek Ahmed Pas¸a also “clothed 500 men in all sorts of garments and they responded by showering him with benedictions.” 47 But as Çelebi had to admit, God did not answer these prayers and “the placenta,” which was “supposed to come down the uterus and exit the mother’s womb as the afterbirth,” remained “stuck in the womb.” 48 The women and the midwives placed the Kaya Sultan “in blankets and shook her mercilessly.” 49 Twice “they suspended her upside down,” and they “filled a honey barrel with orange-flower water and put her inside.” 50 To make a long and sad story short, the women “tortured” Kaya Sultan “for three days and nights” without finding a remedy. 51 Finally, “the bloody midwives came with their arms smeared in almond oil and stuck their oily arms up into the sultana’s uterus all the way to their elbows” and “brought out a piece of skin.” 52 But they were not willing to release their patient. One midwife insisted that there was still some skin left inside and “stuck her hand up the vagina and brought out several items that looked like pieces of wet skin.” 53 At last, four days after giving birth to a girl, the princess died.
If the delivery moved along without any complications and if the mother was well enough to receive guests, a reception was organized following the birth. Female relatives and friends were invited to visit the mother and the baby. Every guest arrived knowing that, according to the prevailing custom, she could not admire the baby or praise his/her beauty and vigor, as this could invoke the evil eye and undermine the fragile health of the newborn. In fact, the guests tried to ignore the baby, who lay on a cushion of embroidered satin, or called him/her “an ugly thing,” although they often brought charms, cookies, and candies, as well as gold and silver pieces for the infant.
During the reception, the attention of the guests was focused primarily on the mother. Coffee, sherbets, and sweetmeats were served, while women played a variety of musical instruments and sang happy songs. When the reception ended and the guests departed, the midwife “fumigated the room against an evil eye they might have brought in by throwing into the brazier a clove for each guest,” and if “one of the cloves exploded, that meant the evil eye was indeed present.” 54 At times, to exorcise the house, the midwife threw into the brazier “a strand of the mother’s hair and a piece of the child’s (if it had any) and, if it could be secured, a scrap of the clothing of the person suspected.” 55 While these were burning, she prayed and recited incantations.
The mother rested for nearly a week. During this period, she could not drink water but only sherbets. At the end of the seventh day, the family read to the child the Mevlüd, or the poem celebrating the birth of the prophet Muhammad. The mother’s bed was removed, and the baby’s maternal grandmother delivered a wooden cradle. A urinal was also provided, “which consisted of a tube that led from between the baby’s legs to a receptacle.” 56 Now, the life of a normal infant began with the mother gently singing lullabies. Attendants and servants (if the woman was from a wealthy family) burned incense day and night to ward off the evil eye.
As late as the second half of the 19th century, Turks believed that a woman who had given birth to a child was “dangerously exposed” to evil spirits for 40 days, and it was, therefore, “not safe for her to be left alone for a moment.” 57 If the woman “was poor and had no servants a neighbor would come in to stay in her room and would leave a broom behind the door if called out in an emergency;” the broom kept the evil spirits away. 58 To ensure the health of the mother and protect her from dangerous spirits, a copy of the Quran was placed on her pillow. Additionally, she wore a red ribbon on her hair, and every evening, incense was “burned beside her to keep the evil ones at a distance.” 59 After 40 days, during which she had been watched over by a midwife, female relatives, and friends, as well as servants and attendants, the woman left her home for a public bathhouse. On her walk to the bathhouse, the new mother was accompanied by her own mother, female relatives, numerous friends, and the midwife, who carried the baby in her arms. Once at the bathhouse, the mother was washed and bathed. When she had finished the mother’s bath, the midwife began to work on the child. Then she soaped and rinsed the baby.
During various intervals gypsies danced, and sweetmeats, sherbets, and coffee were served. At times, the celebrations and festivities at the bathhouse took up an entire day. As the members of the ruling class built homes, which included private bathhouses, the women of the upper classes invited their relatives and friends to their home to celebrate the 40th-day bath.
ROYAL BIRTHS
At the imperial palace, the ceremonies surrounding the birth of a prince or a princess followed many of the same customs and ceremonies that were organized among the ordinary subjects of the sultan. The women of the royal family had their own trusted midwives who were called in when a pregnant wife of the sultan went into labor. As with the women outside the palace, the mother was seated on a couch that, unlike the couch of lower classes, “was draped in red satin embroidered in rubies, emeralds, and pearls.” 60
Three cradles were presented to the mother and her newly born child as gifts. The first came from the mother of the sultan, the second from the grand vizier, and the third was presented by the chamberlain of the imperial treasury. A procession delivered each cradle to the royal harem. With each cradle, the sender attached numerous gifts. For example, the cradle sent by the mother of the sultan was accompanied by “a handsome quilt and an embroidered coverlet,” while the cradle presented by the grand vizier carried jewels and, “if the child was a boy,” “an aigrette.” 61 The cradles and the gifts were presented to the ag˘a of the house of felicity who presented them to the sultan before carrying them into the imperial harem. The men who carried the cradles and gifts in each procession received robes of honor, and even gifts if they were deemed to be appropriate.
The day the child was born, an imperial notice was issued for the public to celebrate the arrival of a new member of the house of Osman. The next day, the grand vizier and other high dignitaries, such as the s¸eyhülislam and the chief of scribes, arrived at the imperial palace to congratulate the sultan. They were all rewarded with robes of honor by their royal master. Meanwhile, the women of the royal palace and the wives of high government officials were invited to the harem. The first group lived in the palace and had no need for transportation. The second group of invitees, who did not reside in the imperial harem, assembled at the home of the grand vizier and from there were taken to the palace by horsedrawn carriages. Once in the harem, the women greeted the lady who had given birth to a new member of the royal family and kissed the coverlet on her bed. They also presented her and the baby, who was held by a wet nurse, with gifts. Sumptuous meals, including sweetmeats and coffee, were served, while musicians played and singers performed to entertain the guests, who sometimes stayed at the harem for several days.
CHILD REARING
A distinguishing trait of the Ottoman popular culture was strong paternal affection and love for children. As one European visitor observed, nothing could be more beautiful than the tenderness of a Turkish father; he hailed “every demonstration of dawning intellect, every proof of infant affection, with a delight that must be witnessed to be thoroughly understood.” 62 The father anticipated “every want,” he gratified “every wish,” and he sacrificed “his own personal comfort to ensure that of his child.” 63
There were many different child-rearing traditions across the Ottoman Empire. After wrapping and swaddling the newborn, and without allowing it to drink the mother’s milk, the Abkhazians sent their children to foster mothers, and their parents could not visit them until they were 10 or 15 years old. 64 They believed that if the child suffered homelessness he would become a man. 65 Turkish women, however, generally suckled their own infants and refused to hand them over to a wet nurse; they believed that the attention, care, and love of the child’s own mother was the best nourishment for an infant. Children were not merely brought up by their parents. They were the joint responsibility of both sides of the family. Children spent as much time with their grandmothers, aunts, and cousins as with their mothers. Women exchanged babysitting responsibilities with their mothers and sisters, as well as with their in-laws.
Among the Ottomans, children, and particularly male offspring, were greatly prized. The preservation and survival of the family required its reproduction; any family that did not reproduce disappeared and vanished. Among peasant farmers, economic productivity increased when more hands were available, particularly during the harvest season. Children also were needed to provide security and care for their parents when they grew old. In the absence of children, a family would come to the brink of extinction if its sole male member, the husband, were recruited by the army and taken away to a far-away war. 66 A child, and particularly a son, could guard the land and ensure its cultivation in the absence of his father. Additional sons were even better because if one son was taken to a military campaign, his brother or brothers could assume responsibility for his family and his land. Indeed, the idea of a unified family staying together, and protecting and defending its collective interests, was central to Ottoman society and culture. In the rural communities of the empire, children began to work very young and generally developed “into hardy and handsome men and women.” 67
A central feature of Ottoman family culture was the reverence displayed by children toward their parents. Special love and adoration was reserved for the mother of the family. Husbands and wives could advise and reprimand, but the mother was “an oracle”; she was “consulted, confided in, listened to with respect and deference, honored to her latest hour, and remembered with affection and regret beyond the grave.” 68
Among both rich and poor, children were taught to show the utmost respect for parents. When a young boy entered the presence of his parents and other older members of the family, he stood still and, after making proper salutations, proceeded to kiss their hands. He sat down only after he had received permission from his father. When a family decided to leave, the father stood up first, then the mother, and only lastly the children, who allowed their parents to leave first before they followed. Often, the children kissed the hem of their mother’s gown and their father’s robe. This sensitivity and politeness, remarked upon by numerous Western observers, continued in the relationship between a student and his teacher when he entered school. Pupils regarded their teachers as superior beings, almost as second fathers, who deserved unwavering respect and obedience. Though highly cultured and extremely polite, from the humblest to the most powerful, men and women maintained a strong sense of dignity.
CIRCUMCISION
One of the most important dates in the life of a young Muslim boy was the day he was circumcised. One European observer who lived in Istanbul at the beginning of the 17th century described the Muslim circumcision as a ceremony of the greatest significance, one which was always held with pomp and solemnity among the Ottomans. 69
The age of a boy at circumcision varied considerably. Regardless of the boy’s age, families allowed a lock of hair to grow on the crown of the boy’s head until the very day of circumcision. 70 The hair hanging down the middle of the boy’s back, over his uppermost jacket, was displayed in such a way as to make it visible to everyone. It served as a sign that the boy had not been circumcised and therefore could not pray with the congregation at a mosque.
On the day of circumcision, a large contingent of male relatives and family friends, on foot or horseback, accompanied the boy to a mosque where he was catechized by an imam, who asked him questions on his faith: Was he a Muslim? Did he believe in Muhammad the prophet of God? Was he willing to defend Islam? And so on. The boy then swore to defend the “true faith,” be a friend of Islam and Muslims, and an enemy to the foes and enemies of religion. 71 He then returned home to be circumcised by a local barber.
While the boy was catechized in the mosque, his home was turned upside down as the family prepared a feast to follow the circumcision ceremony. They were obliged by custom and tradition to dispense unbounded hospitality in celebration of their son’s coming-of-age. Parents kept an open house and entertained not only neighbors and relatives but also nearby residents. Festivities could last anywhere from one to three days, depending on the social status and the financial means of the family. Refreshments and sweetmeats were served and gifts were offered. Magicians and dancers performed, theatrical productions, such as the popular Karagöz, amused and entertained the head of the household and his guests at the selamlik and the women at the harem.
In sharp contrast to the general populace, who celebrated the event for a few days, the festivities surrounding the circumcision of the male members of the Ottoman royal family could last as long as several weeks. Royal circumcisions were always followed by tournaments and entertainments by a host of singers, musicians, theater groups, clowns, fire-eaters, dancers, and artists of all kinds. 72 Clothing, gold coins, underwear, and toys were given as gifts. The significance of these royal circumcisions is best demonstrated by the large number of miniature paintings that depict the circumcision of the sons of various sultans, as well as surnames (imperial festival books) that recorded the important events of a sultan’s reign.
CLOTHING, VEILING, AND SEGREGATION
No other subject aroused more controversy and discussion among Western visitors to the Ottoman Empire than the status of women, particularly the concept of the harem and the custom of veiling. European diplomats and businessmen lamented the miserable and oppressive confinement of Ottoman women, despite having never visited a harem. The few European ladies who were invited to a Turkish harem did not find the lives of Ottoman women confined and praised their Muslim counterparts for their beauty, power, and sophistication.
As soon as a young girl had reached puberty, she donned the veil and no man could see her face and body unless it was her father, immediate male kin, and, later, her husband. She even covered her hands with gloves. To preserve her privacy and veiled status, the windows of the women’s apartment opened to an inner courtyard. If there were any windows facing the street, they were barred so tightly that no outsider could see the inside of the room.
In the first half of the 18th century, ladies of the court and women of upper classes wore a pair of very full pants that reached their shoes and concealed their legs. These pants came in a variety of bright colors and were brocaded with silver flowers. Over this hung their smock with wide sleeves hanging half way down the arm and closed at the neck with a diamond button. The smock was made of fine silk edged with embroidery. The wealthy women wore a relatively tight waistcoat with very long sleeves falling back and fringed with deep gold fringe and diamond or pearl buttons. Over this they wore a caftan or a robe, exactly fitted to the shape of the body, reaching the feet “with very long straight-falling sleeves and usually made of the same stuff as the pants.” 73 Over the robe was the girdle, which for the rich was made of diamonds or other precious stones, and for others was of exquisite embroidery on satin. Regardless of the material it was made of, the girdle had to be fastened “with a clasp of diamonds.” 74 Over the caftan and girdle, women wore a loose robe called cebe, made of rich brocade and lined either with ermine or sable, was put on according to the weather. The headdress for women from wealthy families “composed of a cap called kalpak, ” which in winter was of “fine velvet embroidered with pearls or diamonds and in summer of a light shining silver stuff.” 75 The cap was “fixed on one side of the head hanging a little way down with a gold tassel, and bound on either with a circle of diamonds or a rich embroidered handkerchief.” 76 On “the other side of the head,” the hair was laid “flat and here the ladies” were “at liberty to show their fancies, some putting flowers others a plume of heron’s feathers,” but “the most general fashion” was “a large bouquet of jewels made like natural flowers; that is, the buds of pearl, the roses of different coloured rubies, the jessamines of diamonds, the jonquils of topazes, etc, so well set and enamelled ’tis hard to imagine anything of that kind so beautiful.” 77 Finally for their footwear, women wore “white kid leather embroidered with gold.” 78
Women did not leave their homes before sunrise or after sunset, except during the holy month of Ramazan, and even then, ladies from wealthy families did not appear on the street unless they were accompanied and attended by several servants, who walked at some distance behind them. Segregation between the sexes was observed at all times. Men did not walk on the street next to their wives or mothers, and inside the house women had their meals apart from the men. Even among poor families, a curtain separated the men’s quarters from the women’s. On everything from steamers and ferries to streetcars, which were introduced in the 19th century, curtains designated separate compartments for women. Until the second half of the 19th century, even Christian churches observed and respected the segregation of sexes in a house of worship.
Piety was the hallmark of a woman’s life. Muslim women prayed five times a day and fasted during the month of Ramazan. On Fridays, many attended prayers at a mosque where they had their own section, separate from men, and, during Ramazan, those living in Istanbul went en masse to evening service at the majestic Sehzade mosque. Many women of power and prominence had their own personal prayer leaders (imams) and spiritual guides.
Going to a bathhouse was another important occasion for the women of the household. Once a week for at least four to five hours, the women of rich and powerful families set out for a nearby bathhouse, followed by a retinue of servants carrying on their heads bathing robes and towels, as well as baskets full of fruit, pastry, and perfumes their mistress was to consume during her long visit away from her home. Once inside the bathhouse, women relaxed, took off their clothes, drank coffee or sherbet, shared the latest scandal or gossip, and lay down on cushions as their slaves braided their hair. With the introduction of private baths, public hammams lost their popularity, but they never disappeared completely.
Before the arrival of capitalism and modern factories in the 19th century, a woman living in a village or a tribe played a far more important role in the economic life of her community than a wealthy woman living in a city. From working on the land and caring for animals, to spinning wool and cotton, and producing rugs and carpets, the economic function and the social role of a village woman was critical to the survival of her family and community. She was also responsible, by custom and tradition, for keeping the house tidy, preparing meals, and taking care of children.
In sharp contrast, the rich urban woman was far less critical to the economic life and survival of her husband and family. Among the rich, cooks prepared the meals, while nurses, nannies, and tutors took care of the children and their daily basic needs. This level of support provided wealthy women with ample time to enjoy themselves by going to parks for picnics, inviting female friends and relatives for coffee and sweets, and entertaining their guests with dancers and musicians. In the second half of the 19th century, a new middle class educated in European languages and Western ideas emerged. Women from these middle-class families began to attend schools where they studied foreign languages, European history, modern ideas, and philosophies. It was from the ranks of this new class of educated women that a new generation of female business leaders, parliamentarians, and scholars emerged. 79
DIVORCE
Divorces were prevalent in Ottoman society, and men could divorce their wives without any explanation or justification. 80 In numerous instances, women also filed for divorce. There were three types of divorce. The first was talaq, which allowed a man to “divorce his wife unilaterally and without going to court simply by pronouncing a formula of divorce.” 81 The Muslim women in the Ottoman Empire could not use talaq to divorce their husband, but they had the right “to obtain a court-ordered divorce ( tafriq ).” 82 A “woman could also negotiate a divorce known as khul with her husband by agreeing to forego payment of balance of her dower or by absolving him of other financial responsibilities.” 83 Affluent women seeking divorce paid an additional sum of money to secure their husband’s consent to divorce. Unless “the khul divorce specified otherwise, a woman gained certain entitlements upon divorce.” 84 She could “receive any balance owed on her dower, and material support for three months following the divorce.” 85 Payment of alimony was “decided by the court on the woman’s application, not only in cases of formal divorce but also in instances of abandonment or if the husband failed to provide for his family.” 86 Additionally, “any underage children born of the marriage were entitled to full financial support from their father.” 87 At the time of divorce, it was unlawful for husbands to take from their wives anything they had given them, including gifts before marriage and during the wedding ceremony.
The wife was entitled to divorce her husband and seek another man if she was not satisfied with the house to which her husband had taken her. She could also file for divorce if the marriage remained unconsummated, if the husband was impotent or mentally unstable, or if he had committed sodomy or intended intercourse in ways that were viewed as abnormal, or if he had forced her to drink wine against her wishes. Other legitimate causes for divorce were “incompatibility, ill treatment, including physical abuse by the husband, financial problems that led to altercations between spouses, adultery, failure of one or both parties to keep to the basic expectations of marriage, especially not doing the work the family needed from either husband or wife,” and the inability of the wife to produce sons who “were greatly desired and needed for financial security, to carry on the family and support the old folks.” 88 Women were often blamed for not producing sons, and divorce “caused by a lack of sons was not uncommon.” 89 A man without a son was justified by custom and tradition to marry another wife who would produce a son for him.
Though divorces were common in the Ottoman Empire, there were many factors that worked against them. 90 Because marriages were arranged between families and not individuals, divorces would not only impact the husband and the wife but two large and extended families, which had established personal, familial, and at times, social and financial ties. Both families had invested a great deal, both in expenses and goods, not to mention time and emotions. Poor and struggling families, who had spent a great deal to purchase household goods and build a house, could not afford losing their investment. Outside financial concerns, the impact on children and “public shame” were also important factors in preventing divorces. 91 If “a man or a woman caused a marriage to dissolve for what fellow villagers thought was a bad reason, the entire village would censure him or her, and public shame was not easy to live with in a closed society.” 92
After divorce, both men and women were free to marry again. In the Quran, divorced women were commanded to wait “three menstrual courses” before they could marry again. 93 Very few divorced individuals remained unmarried, and though women were required to wait 100 days before remarrying, this rule “was routinely broken” and remarriage came shortly after divorce. 94 If a man divorced his wife, he could not remarry her until she had wedded another man and been divorced by him. In case of a second marriage between the same individuals, the husband was obligated to promise the payment of mehr.
NOTES
1 . Judith E. Tucker, “Law and Gender,” in Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, eds. Gábor Ágoston and Bruce Masters ( New York: Facts On File, 2009), 325.
2 . Ibid.
3 . Madeline C. Zilfi, “Muslim Women in the Early Modern Era,” in The Cambridge History of Turkey: Byzantium to Turkey 1071–1453, 4 vols. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 227.
4 . Ibid.
5 . Ibid.
6 . Ibid., 227–28.
7 . Dror Zéevi, Producing Desire: Changing Sexual Discourse in the Ottoman Middle East, 1500–1900 ( Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006), 4.
8 . Abdelwahab Bouhdiba, Sexuality in Islam ( London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1986), 30, as quoted in Zéevi, Producing Desire, 4.
9 . Ibid.
10 . Ibid.
11 . Dror Zéevi, “Sex and Sexuality,” in Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, eds. Gábor Ágoston and Bruce Masters ( New York: Facts On File, 2009), 523.
12 . Ibid.
13 . Ibid.
14 . Ibid.
15 . Ibid.
16 . Ibid.
17 . Ibid.
18 . Ibid.
19 . Ibid.
20 . Ibid.
21 . Mark Mazower, Salonica: City of Ghosts, Christians, Muslims, and Jews ( New York: Random House, 2006), 364; Zéevi, Producing Desire, 147.
22 . Zéevi, Producing Desire, 147.
23 . Ibid.
24 . Çelebi, The Intimate Life of an Ottoman Statesman, trans., Robert Dankoff (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991), 99.
25 . Ibid.
26 . Ibid.
27 . Zéevi, Producing Desire, 147.
28 . Ibid.
29 . Ibid.
30 . Mazower, Salonica, 268.
31 . Ibid.
32 . Godfrey Goodwin, The Private World of Ottoman Women ( London: Saqi Books, 2006), 98.
33 . Ibid.
34 . Zéevi, Producing Desire, 148.
35 . Ibid.
36 . Ibid.
37 . Ilber Ortayli, “Family,” in Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, eds. Gábor Ágoston and Bruce Masters ( New York: Facts On File, 2009), 213–14.
38 . Ibid., 214.
39 . Ibid.
40 . Ibid.
41 . Ibid.
42 . Davis, The Ottoman Lady, 33.
43 . Ibid.
44 . Ibid.
45 . Ibid., 34.
46 . Ibid.
47 . Çelebi, The Intimate Life of an Ottoman Statesman, 231.
48 . Ibid.
49 . Ibid.
50 . Ibid.
51 . Ibid.
52 . Ibid.
53 . Ibid.
54 . Davis, The Ottoman Lady, 35.
55 . Ibid.
56 . Ibid., 36.
57 . Halidé Adivar Edib, Memoirs of Halidé Edib ( New York: Gorgias Press, 2004), 42.
58 . Ibid.
59 . Ibid.
60 . Davis, The Ottoman Lady, 35, 38.
61 . Ibid., 38–39.
62 . Julia Pardoe, The City of the Sultan and Domestic Manners of the Turks in 1836, 3 vols. ( London: Henry Colburn Publisher, 1838), 1:92.
63 . Ibid.
64 . Çelebi, The Intimate Life of an Ottoman Statesman, 273.
65 . Ibid., 272.
66. Justin McCarthy, The Ottoman Turks: An Introductory History to 1923 ( London, New York: Wesley Longman Limited, 1997), 261.
67 . Richard Davey, The Sultan and His Subjects, 2 vols. (London: Chapman and Hall LD., 1897), 1:238.
68 . Pardoe, The City of the Sultan, 1:93.
69 . Ottaviano Bon, The Sultan’s Seraglio: An Intimate Portrait of Life at the Ottoman Court ( London: Saqi Books, 1996), 138.
70 . Ibid.
71 . Metin And, “The Social Life of the Ottomans, in the Sixteenth Century,”
in Ottoman Civilization, ed. Halil Inalcik and Günsel Renda, 2 vols.
(Istanbul: Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture Publications, 2003),
1:425.
72 . Ibid.
73 . Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, The Turkish Embassy Letters ( London: Virago Press, 2007), 69.
74 . Ibid., 70.
75 . Ibid.
76 . Ibid.
77 . Ibid.
78 . Ibid.
79 . McCarthy, The Ottoman Turks, 274.
80 . Suraiya Faroqhi, Subjects of the Sultan: Culture and Daily Life in the Ottoman Empire ( New York: I. B. Tauris, 2007), 103.
81 . Tucker, “Law and Gender,” 326.
82 . Ibid.
83 . Ibid.
84 . Ibid.
85 . Ibid.
86 . Ortayli, “Family,” 213.
87 . Tucker, “Law and Gender,” 326.
88 . McCarthy, The Ottoman Turks, 267.
89 . Ibid.
90 . Ibid.
91 . Ibid
92 . Ibid.
93 . Quran, Cow, 2:228.
94 . McCarthy, The Ottoman Turks, 267.
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