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The Imperial Harem (Harem-i H?may?n) is one of the sections of the private apartments of the sultan. The harem was home to the Sultan's mother, the Valide Sultan; the concubines and wives of the Sultan; and the rest of his family, including children; and their servants. The harem consists of a series of buildings and structures, connected through hallways and courtyards. Every service team and hierarchical group residing in the harem had its own living space clustered around a courtyard. The number of rooms is not determined, with probably over a 100 of which only about a couple are open to the public. These apartments (Daires) were occupied respectively by the harem eunuchs, the Chief Harem Eunuch (Dar?ssaade Ağası), the concubines, the queen mother, the sultan's consorts, the princes and the favourites. There was no trespassing beyond the gates of the harem, except for the sultan, the queen mothers, the sultan's consorts and favourites, the princes and the concubines as well as the eunuchs guarding the harem.
The harem wing was only added at the end of the 16th century. Many of the rooms and features in the Harem were designed by Mimar Sinan. The harem section opening into the Second Courtyard (Divan Meydanı), to which the Gate of Carriages (Arabalar Kapısı) opens to, expanded over time towards the side of the Golden Horn and became a huge complex. The buildings added to this complex from its initial date of construction in the 15th century until the early 19th century captures the stylistic development of palace design and decoration. Parts of the harem were redecorated under the sultans Mahmud I and Osman III in an Italian-inspired Ottoman Baroque style. These decorations contrast with those of the Ottoman classical age. |
