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Clothing and weapons of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Magnificent century: the fashion of the times of Suleiman

Clothing in the Ottoman Empire

Kazan researcher Bulat Nogmanov, whose publications are read by Mintimer Shaimiev, continues to acquaint the readers of Realnoe Vremya with his observations about the culture and history of Turkey. In today's column, he talks about weaving traditions and types of clothing.

It is known that the eternal confusion in the use of the verbs "put on" and "put on" is solved by the simple formula "put on Nadezhda, put on clothes." But what they dressed in and what preferences in clothing the residents of the Great Porte had, this will be discussed a little lower.

The Russian folk saying “they are met by their clothes, but they are escorted by their minds” was more relevant than ever for the inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire, especially its first half. Because, starting from the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmed, at the legislative level, they begin to regulate the clothes worn by the inhabitants of the empire. In particular, the regulation concerns the use of certain fabrics and sewing methods. This was done in order to easily determine the social status of a person and his position in the state hierarchy. For example, silk, velvet, things embroidered with gold and silver could only be worn by sultans and representatives of his family. A person, as it was customary to say, from a different social category could not, not only wear, but even acquire silk and velvet fabrics for personal use. This was strictly monitored, and punishment was provided for violation.

Starting from the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmed, at the legislative level, they begin to regulate the clothes worn by the inhabitants of the empire. Photo kendallredburn.com

If we talk about the sultans and their entourage, then the first six sultans of the Ottoman Empire wore ordinary cotton clothes. Only with the conquest of Constantinople, when the welfare of the state increased, did the sultans begin to wear clothes made of expensive fabrics, and the fashion for furs appeared. The types of fur and the time of wearing were determined by the sultan. Usually, three weeks before autumn, they began to wear clothes with ermine fur, in autumn and spring - with squirrel fur, in winter - clothes with sable fur, and in summer - a ferage (coat) made of angora wool. Ordinary people understood that it was time to change their outer clothing when they saw that some high-ranking official came to Friday prayers in a different attire.

Black fox fur was considered especially valuable. Only very high-ranking people could afford this. The wearing of black fox fur by high-ranking officials was perceived with disapproval. Only the chief vizier could wear such clothes, and then only during ceremonies. If the padishah allowed one of the inhabitants of the palace or some pasha to wear black fox fur, this meant that the person was rewarded for completing some important task. As for women, there were no restrictions in terms of fur for them.

Many researchers note that the period from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the Tanzimat in women's clothing has been characterized as a period of increasing closure. According to Sharia, laws were issued requiring women to cover their heads and cover their faces. However, it is worth noting that Muslim and non-Muslim women at home were free to dress as they liked. But, when they went out into public places, regardless of religion, everyone was required to cover their heads and cover their faces when males appeared. The law also regulated the frontal openness of women's ferage (coats), according to the law, the lining of the coat had to be sewn on, not glued.

Bursa - the center of the textile industry

Most tourists who have visited Turkey know that Bursa is the capital of the modern Turkish textile industry. She was like that until the XVl century, until Istanbul intercepted this status from her. At that time, there were about a thousand stalls selling fabrics in the Bursa market. In 1502, Sultan Bayezid II issued a decree that all fabrics sold on the Bursa market should be classified by type, quality, weight, etc. A special official kept a strict record of each cut produced, brought and put up for sale. in Bursa. In this regard, the Sultan's decree of 1574 is noteworthy, which states that from now on only the palace craftsmen of Istanbul can be engaged in the production of gold-embroidered fabrics. The reason given for this decision is that the craftsmen from Bursa spend too much gold and silver in the production of gold-embroidered fabrics.

Archival sources say that in the Ottoman Empire the textile industry and related industries, especially gold-embroidery, were under the constant control of the servants of the padishah. Laws were even issued to regulate the activities of tailors, which prescribed fabrics allowed for use, the cost of tailoring certain items of clothing, etc. This was done in order to limit waste, protect religious norms and preserve traditions.

With the beginning of the tulip era, there are noticeable changes in women's clothing, which, of course, leads to an increase in the number of decrees prohibiting the wearing of certain clothes. However, this and more about women's outfits from the time of the Ottoman Empire will be discussed next Saturday.

Bulat Nogmanov

Reference

Bulat Nogmanov- researcher, translator.

Born on 10/31/1985 in the village of Apastovo, Apastovsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan.
In 2008 he graduated from the International Kazakh-Turkish University. HA. Yasawi majoring in International Relations.
In 2010, he graduated from Ankara University with a master's degree in the same specialty.
Member of ethnographic expeditions.
Member of the Tatarstan branch of the Russian Geographical Society.
Speaks English, Turkish and Kazakh.

For nearly 400 years, the Ottoman Empire dominated what is now Turkey, southeastern Europe, and the Middle East. Today, interest in the history of this empire is greater than ever, but at the same time, few people know that the stops had many "dark" secrets that they hid from prying eyes.

1. Fratricide

The early Ottoman sultans did not practice primogeniture, in which the eldest son inherits everything. As a result, a number of brothers often claimed the throne. In the first decades, it was not uncommon for some of the potential heirs to take refuge in enemy states and cause a lot of problems for many years.

When Mehmed the Conqueror besieged Constantinople, his own uncle fought against him from the walls of the city. Mehmed handled the problem with his characteristic ruthlessness. When he ascended the throne, he executed most of his male relatives, including even ordered to strangle his baby brother right in the cradle. He later issued his infamous law which read: The one of my sons who should get the Sultanate should kill his brothers"From now on, each new sultan had to take the throne by killing all his male relatives.

Mehmed III tore out his beard in grief when his younger brother begged him for mercy. But at the same time, he "did not answer him a word," and the boy was executed along with 18 other brothers. And Suleiman the Magnificent silently watched from behind a screen as his own son was strangled with a bowstring when he became too popular in the army and became a danger to his power.

2. Cells for shehzade

The policy of fratricide was never popular with the people and the clergy, and when Ahmed I died suddenly in 1617, it was abandoned. Instead of killing all potential heirs to the throne, they began to imprison them in the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul in special rooms known as Kafes ("cages"). An Ottoman prince could spend his entire life imprisoned in Kafes, under constant guards. And although the heirs were kept, as a rule, in luxury, many shehzade (sons of the sultans) went crazy with boredom or became depraved drunkards. And this is understandable, because they understood that at any moment they could be executed.

3. The palace is like a silent hell

Even for a sultan, life in Topkapı Palace could be extremely bleak. At that time, there was an opinion that it was indecent for the Sultan to talk too much, so a special form of sign language was introduced, and the ruler spent most of his time in complete silence.

Mustafa I considered that this was simply unbearable and tried to abolish such a rule, but his viziers refused to approve this ban. As a result, Mustafa soon went mad. He often came to the seashore and threw coins into the water so that "at least the fish would spend them somewhere."

The atmosphere in the palace was literally saturated with intrigue - everyone fought for power: viziers, courtiers and eunuchs. The women of the harem gained great influence and eventually this period of the empire became known as the "sultanate of women". Ahmet III once wrote to his Grand Vizier: " If I move from one room to another, then 40 people line up in the corridor, when I get dressed, then security is watching me ... I can never be alone".

4. Gardener with the duties of an executioner

The rulers of the Ottomans had complete power over the life and death of their subjects, and they used it without hesitation. Topkapi Palace, where petitioners and guests were received, was a terrifying place. It had two columns on which severed heads were placed, as well as a special fountain exclusively for the executioners so that they could wash their hands. During the periodic purges of the palace from objectionable or guilty people, whole mounds were piled in the courtyard from the tongues of the victims.

Curiously, the Ottomans did not bother to create a corps of executioners. These duties, oddly enough, were entrusted to the palace gardeners, who divided their time between killing and growing delicious flowers. Most of the victims were simply beheaded. But it was forbidden to shed the blood of the Sultan's family and high-ranking officials, so they were strangled. It was for this reason that the head gardener was always a huge muscular man, able to quickly strangle anyone.

5. Death Race

For delinquent officials, there was only one way to avoid the wrath of the Sultan. Beginning in the late 18th century, it became customary for a condemned grand vizier to escape his fate by beating the chief gardener in a race through the palace gardens. The vizier was summoned to meet with the head gardener, and after an exchange of greetings, he was presented with a goblet of frozen sherbet. If the sherbet was white, then the sultan granted the vizier a respite, and if it was red, he should have executed the vizier. As soon as the condemned man saw red sherbet, he immediately had to run through the palace gardens between shady cypresses and rows of tulips. The goal was to reach the gate on the other side of the garden that led to the fish market.

There was only one problem: the vizier was pursued by the head gardener (who was always younger and stronger) with a silk cord. However, several viziers managed to do so, including Khachi Salih Pasha, the last vizier who was the last to participate in such a deadly race. As a result, he became a sanjak-bey (governor) of one of the provinces.

6. Scapegoats

Although the grand viziers were theoretically second only to the sultan in power, they were usually executed or thrown into the crowd to be torn apart as a "scapegoat" whenever something went wrong. During the time of Selim the Terrible, so many grand viziers were replaced that they always began to carry their wills with them. One vizier once asked Selim to let him know in advance if he was to be executed soon, to which the sultan replied that a whole line of people had already lined up to replace him. The viziers also had to calm the people of Istanbul, who always, when they didn’t like something, came in a crowd to the palace and demanded execution.

7. Harem

Perhaps the most important attraction of the Topkapi Palace was the Sultan's harem. It consisted of up to 2,000 women, most of whom were bought or kidnapped slaves. These wives and concubines of the Sultan were kept locked up, and any outsider who saw them was executed on the spot.

The harem itself was guarded and ruled by the chief eunuch, who, because of this, had great power. There is little information about living conditions in the harem today. It is known that there were so many concubines that some of them almost never caught the eye of the Sultan. Others managed to get such a huge influence on him that they took part in solving political issues.

So, Suleiman the Magnificent fell madly in love with the Ukrainian beauty Roksolana (1505-1558), married her and made her his chief adviser. Roksolana's influence on the politics of the empire was such that the grand vizier sent the pirate Barbarossa on a desperate mission to kidnap the Italian beauty Giulia Gonzaga (Countess of Fondi and Duchess of Traetto) in the hope that Suleiman would pay attention to her when she was brought to the harem. The plan eventually failed, and Julia could not be kidnapped.

Another lady - Kesem Sultan (1590-1651) - achieved even more influence than Roksolana. She ruled the empire as regent in place of her son and later grandson.

8. Blood Tribute

One of the most famous features of early Ottoman rule was the devshirme ("blood tribute"), a tax imposed on the non-Muslim population of the empire. This tax consisted in the forced recruitment of young boys from Christian families. Most of the boys were enrolled in the corps of the Janissaries - the army of slave soldiers, who were always used in the first line during the Ottoman conquests. This tribute was collected irregularly, usually resorted to devshirma when the sultan and viziers decided that the empire might need additional manpower and warriors. As a rule, boys aged 12-14 were recruited from Greece and the Balkans, and the strongest were taken (on average, 1 boy per 40 families).

The recruited boys were rounded up by Ottoman officials and taken to Istanbul, where they were entered on a register (with a detailed description in case anyone ran away), circumcised, and forcibly converted to Islam. The most beautiful or smartest were sent to the palace, where they were trained. These guys could achieve very high ranks and many of them eventually became pashas or viziers. The rest of the boys were initially sent to work on farms for eight years, where the children simultaneously learned the Turkish language and developed physically.

By the age of twenty, they were officially Janissaries, the elite soldiers of the empire, who were famous for their iron discipline and loyalty. The blood tribute system became obsolete in the early 18th century, when the children of the Janissaries were allowed to join the corps, which thus became self-sustaining.

9. Slavery as a tradition

Although devshirme (slavery) was gradually abandoned during the 17th century, this phenomenon continued to be a key feature of the Ottoman system until the end of the 19th century. Most of the slaves were imported from Africa or the Caucasus (the Adyghes were especially valued), while the Crimean Tatar raids ensured a constant influx of Russians, Ukrainians and Poles.

Initially, it was forbidden to enslave Muslims, but this rule was quietly forgotten when the influx of non-Muslims began to dry up. Islamic slavery largely developed independently of Western slavery and therefore had a number of significant differences. For example, it was somewhat easier for Ottoman slaves to gain freedom or achieve some kind of influence in society. But at the same time, there is no doubt that Ottoman slavery was incredibly cruel.

Millions of people died during slave raids or from exhausting work. And that's not even talking about the castration process that was used to fill the ranks of the eunuchs. What was the mortality rate among the slaves, evidenced by the fact that the Ottomans imported millions of slaves from Africa, while in modern Turkey there are very few people of African descent.

10 Massacres

With all of the above, we can say that the Ottomans were quite a loyal empire. Apart from devshirme, they made no real attempt to convert non-Muslim subjects. They received Jews after they were expelled from Spain. They never discriminated against their subjects, and the empire was often ruled (we are talking about officials) by Albanians and Greeks. But when the Turks felt threatened, they acted very cruelly.

Selim the Terrible, for example, was very alarmed by the Shiites, who denied his authority as a defender of Islam and could be "double agents" of Persia. As a result, he massacred almost the entire east of the empire (at least 40,000 Shiites died and their villages were razed to the ground). When the Greeks first began to seek independence, the Ottomans resorted to the help of Albanian partisans, who carried out a series of terrible pogroms.

As the empire's influence declined, it lost much of its former tolerance for minorities. By the 19th century, massacres had become much more common. This reached its peak in 1915, when the empire, just two years before its collapse, slaughtered 75 percent of the entire Armenian population (about 1.5 million people).

Continuing the Turkish theme, for our readers.

Each country is proud of its history and traditions, including national cuisine, clothes, rituals, etc. One of the most ancient states is Turkey, on the territory of which different nationalities lived, preserving their customs and peculiar attire. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Turkish national costume has undergone changes for a long time. This was influenced by the rich history of the development of the empire and, of course, the cultural heritage of its inhabitants.

historical sketch

Beginning in the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire experienced its heyday, and from that time on, clothing gradually began to be perceived by society as an indicator of status. By the appearance of any person, it was possible to determine the financial condition, marital status and religious views. Even the place of work or service was easy to recognize by the outfit. By the way, almost until the beginning of the 20th century, the Turkish national costume retained its original appearance.

Features of women's outfits

For example, the first wife of the Sultan had the legal right to wear only the best and most expensive silk with an impressive neckline, long slits and a magnificent belt with precious stones.

Women practicing Islam wore loose-fitting outerwear called "feradzha", cotton shirts and loose trousers. The most important element was the veil, which completely covered the head (except for the eyes) and shoulders. However, according to some researchers, only young ladies from a wealthy class should have covered their faces, while slaves and poor girls were not required to do this.

A hat or fez was put on the head, and later hotoz and veil came into fashion. Clothes were sewn mainly from silk and velvet, and as for colors, green and blue shades were preferred.

For non-Muslim women (Armenian, Hungarian, Greek women), a fustanella skirt, loose-fitting blue trousers and a headscarf were allowed in the wardrobe.

Men's clothing

Men, regardless of status and class, wore wide trousers, a shirt, a caftan, a camisole or a jacket. An upper caftan and a sash were also added. Trousers (or "zagshin") were worn on the naked body and girdled. Later, their shortened version appeared to the knees, which was worn Over the trousers they always wore a long-sleeved shirt, which was usually made of silk or cotton fabric. The caftans were also long, their hem was sometimes tucked up and fastened to the belt. As for the Janissaries - the military - they preferred sleeveless caftans so as not to hinder movement.

After the 16th century, instead of a caftan, they began to wear a camisole, decorated with embroidery and buttons, and a jacket. All this was girded with a sash, and the soldiers - with a special belt made of leather and metal.

Major changes

The Turkish national costume changed noticeably at the beginning of the 18th century. The reason for this was the cultural and trade exchange with the countries of Western Europe. For the manufacture of feraji, fabrics of lighter colors and lower density are now used. The veil also changes - there is no need to fit the face, it can hang freely to shoulder level.

Home attire becomes more relaxed, transparent fabrics and fabrics with floral patterns, fitted styles come into fashion. At the end of the 18th century, a new thing appeared in the women's wardrobe - a shawl that was tied around the hips.

The 19th century does not bring significant changes in outfits. Only the veil is now sewn from a transparent fabric through which jewelry is visible. Also in the home outfit there are corsets and lace collars.

Clothing reforms

Since the Ottoman Empire has always been a Muslim power, the fairer sex dressed according to Sharia law. In other words, women were required to observe modesty and restraint in outfits and hide their bodies from the eyes of strangers. For this, the feradzha was invented - outerwear (cape), covering the dress, which was worn when going out into the street. The face was covered with a veil, and a headdress called a turban was put on the head.

Everything changed after the reform of 1925. It was then that Turkish women were allowed to wear absolutely any outfit that, in their opinion, was considered fashionable. This right is still enshrined in the Constitution of the country.

Distinctive elements of Turkish clothing

Turkish national and male versions) necessarily include harem pants - loose trousers made of thin material, draped and decorated with complex patterns. Their difference lies in the fact that they are quite wide along the entire length and narrow only at the level of the ankles.

Another obligatory element of the traditional attire is a long shirt with a free cut. Representatives of the stronger sex, as a rule, tuck their shirt into their pants, and women, on the contrary, wear trousers over them. In addition to the shirt, ladies also wear a dress that looks like a bright caftan. These dresses can be made with both long sleeves and short sleeves. This outfit "fixes" a special belt - a sash.

What fabrics were used to make the Turkish national costume? Men's attire was mostly sewn from muslin, velvet, fur, taffeta, and women's - silk, brocade, etc.

Modern national clothes

Interestingly, each region of Turkey has its own traditions regarding attire. For example, only merchants and wealthy merchants lived in some villages, who could afford clothes made from expensive fabrics. And in other villages - poor peasants who do not have extra money.

However, now, despite constant changes, Turkish national costumes, photos of which can be found in our article, have retained their overall original appearance. The first thing that catches your eye is bright colors: blue, bright blue, green, crimson, yellow, orange, etc. Men's clothing is made in darker colors, including brown, dark gray, blue, black. Shirts must be white. As for the belts, you can see multi-colored stripes, lilac or yellow laces on them.

Mostly free cut, but the figure can be emphasized. A woman's outerwear is often adorned with embroidery of silver or gold threads. It can be national or floral ornaments.

It is noteworthy that modern designers have borrowed some elements of the Turkish wardrobe to create their collections in oriental style. So, bloomers, elongated tunics, beautiful shawls came into fashion.

Shoes and additional accessories

It is worth noting that the Turkish national costume for a girl (or woman) necessarily includes a multi-layered scarf. Sometimes young ladies put on several scarves at once to cover their head, neck and shoulders from prying eyes. In addition to scarves, you can see headdresses with an additional front part - a veil that covers the face.

To decorate clothes and demonstrate status in society, the outfit is decorated with precious or semi-precious stones, various jewelry. An interesting element of clothing are socks that are high enough to cover the legs. They are often hand-embroidered.

Men's headwear is a fez or turban. A military suit for men can be recognized by cropped bloomers. Shoes must be leather.

Costumes for children

Children's national clothes in their composition do not differ too much from adults. So, the Turkish national costume for a boy includes bloomers, a shirt, a belt and a vest. Girls, like adult young ladies, put on loose pants, a shirt (or, as they call it now, a tunic), an overcoat, and a hat. Decor is sometimes sewn onto a hat for beauty, for example, small coins. Usually, there are no expensive embroideries and rare fabrics on a children's costume, that is, the materials are used a little easier. As a rule, outfits for babies are made of fabrics of bright colors with colorful ornaments.

TURKISH COSTUME IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

In the middle of the 15th century, when the Turkish Sultan Mohammed II conquered Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire finally fell. The Ottoman Turks did not perceive the cultures of the conquered peoples, since religion did not allow any change in appearance. However, the Turks adopted external luxury from the more developed Arabs and Persians, and the huge wealth plundered in wars contributed to the fact that the Turkish court became unusually magnificent and magnificent.

Turkish clothes were made from a wide variety of fabrics: linen, paper, wool, cloth, as well as taffeta, satin, muslin, batiste, and even fur and morocco. The costumes were white, black, green, sometimes red (clothes of this color were worn by the prophet Muhammad himself). Turkish sultans dressed only in white clothes; military - in white and green. The grand vizier's dress suit was made of white silk, the mufti's was made of white cloth, the clergy wore green cloth.

Men's suit

Men of all classes wore trousers, a shirt, a camisole, a jacket or caftan, an upper caftan, a sash. Pants ("zagshin") were sewn from fine silk or linen. Men put them on their naked bodies and pulled them around the waist with a lace with embroidered ends. At first, the pants were wide and long, they folded down to the foot. Then another style of them appeared: they were shortened to the knees. Such wide cropped trousers were worn by Janissary warriors. Stockings were worn under these trousers.

Over the trousers, the Turks wore a long shirt (“kais”) with long, wide sleeves, reaching to the middle of the calves or to the ankles. Shirts were sewn from thin striped semi-silk fabric, from muslin, silk and linen.

Long caftans with wide and very long sleeves were sewn from one-color or striped fabric - semi-paper or semi-silk, fastened with buttons or wrapped around. The floors of the caftan could be wrapped and attached to the belt. Janissaries collected them from behind in wide folds. The military had caftans with short, to the elbow, sleeves or no sleeves at all.

At the end of the XVI century. the caftan was replaced by a camisole ("subun") and a jacket ("sujeri"). The swing camisole was sewn from blue or red cloth, decorated with embroidery, and on the sides with buttons, and reached the length of the hips. A longer jacket was worn over a camisole.

The caftan and camisole (but not the jacket) were girdled by the Turks with a sash, which was folded from a shawl or from a large piece of patterned silk and sheathed its ends with tassels and fringes. The military wore a belt or a metal-bound leather belt instead of a sash.

The outerwear of the Turks was "fereje". It was worn over the rest of the dress. It was a long, wide garment with long, wide, sometimes slit sleeves. For every day, it was sewn from thick woolen fabric in blue or green. And on the way out - from silk, expensive cloth, knocked out and turned off with expensive fur. It may also have had a turn-down collar and cords and buttons at the front. The color and decoration of the feredzhe depended on the rank and position of the wearer. In the XVI century. Feredzhe appeared with narrow decorative sleeves. In cold weather, the Turks also wore cloaks made of camel cloth.

Turkish costume of the Ottoman Empire

Left: silk top caftan and bloomers, turban
Right: Turkish caftan with false sleeves, belted with a sash

Woman suit

The costume of Turkish women was similar to that of men. Just like men, they wore pants that were sewn from kisei, silk, yellow linen or striped. The linen shirt looked like a man's, but shorter. From above they put on: a silk patterned semi-caftan with wide sleeves, from under which the sleeves of the shirt peeked out, and another silk caftan. Both caftans had a deep neckline. The top one was long, with slits on the sides up to the very knees, tied with a silk sash or belt, decorated with silver and gold.

Going out into the street, the Turkish women put on a black silk cloak with a large green quadrangular turn-down collar. Middle-class women wore striped woolen cloaks and very long bedspreads. It was believed that, by order of the Prophet Muhammad himself, women, except for old women, should not show their face and legs to anyone except their closest relatives. The Turkish woman's legs were covered with trousers, and her head and face were covered with a veil (“marama”), consisting of two large strips of muslin. One strip was tied under the chin, and the other covered the face to the very eyes. Women also wore caps with a black veil attached to them, covering the entire face up to the chin.

Turkish national male and female costume

On a man: a Turkish caftan with gold ornaments, pointed shoes.
On a woman: an upper swing caftan, harem pants, a veil with a thin veil

Men wore shoes with turned up toes and wide ankle boots. They were sewn from thick red morocco. At home, the men wore light shoes made of yellow morocco. Women's shoes were similar to men's. At home, Turkish women also wore soft shoes made of yellow morocco or wooden soles with ties. Going out into the street, they put on red morocco shoes or ankle boots with high heels with metal trim.

Hairstyles and headwear

The most remarkable part of the Turkish costume was the headdress - the "turban". The turban consisted of two parts - a cap of various sizes and shapes and a long piece of thin soft silk or muslin. The cap, as prescribed by Muslims, was red, and the turban itself was white. Only the emir wore a green turban (the color of Mohammed's banner).

The turban was decorated with precious stones, pearls, feathers. The number of feathers was strictly defined. In the XVI century. the sultan wore on his turban three feathers studded with diamonds; the grand vizier had two feathers, and the other dignitaries had one each.

During the reign of Muhammad II, a turban wrapped in white muslin became fashionable. In 1583, a decree was issued, according to which its various types were established depending on the estate and rank. Since the 14th century, since the time of Osman I, Muslims have shaved their heads so that a small strand remains on the crown. Therefore, under the turban they put on a small hat - “fes”. When the turban was removed at home, the fez was left on the head: it was not customary to walk with an uncovered head.

In addition to turbans, there were many other headdresses that differed in shape, decoration, and color.

The Janissaries wore a variety of feather hats, as well as high headdresses with a plume of feathers or high hats, the upper part of which fell on the back in the form of a sleeve. The latter had a symbolic meaning: the memory of how once the holy dervish blessed the head of the Janissaries, who founded this army, laying his sleeve on his head.

Turkish military headdress with sultan

Head coverings protected the Turks from insects.

The beard was considered the best decoration of a man, and therefore it was carefully looked after. There were strict regulations that determined its form.

In the XVI century. the female headdress looked like a male turban, but by the end of the century, small hats made of velvet, silk, and brocade appeared. They looked very elegant: they were decorated with ribbons, bows, and rich women - with precious stones, gold, pearls, feathers. Women also wore shawls on their heads. At home, Turkish women walked with their hair loose, intercepting it with a ribbon, and going out into the street, they braided it in braids and put on a headdress on top. Various ornaments were woven into the braids.

Jewelry and cosmetics

Turkish women used cosmetics with pleasure. They whitened and blushed, rubbed themselves with various incense and oils, painted their nails and fingers red, blackened their eyebrows and eyelashes with paint made from soot. Some Turkish women decorated their foreheads with flies. Sometimes, according to the ancient Arab custom, they put a tattoo on their arms and chest.

The precious jewelry of the Turkish women was also varied. They wore earrings, rings, necklaces, anklets and hand bracelets, pendants, agrafs with precious stones, flat caps struck from gold and silver, fans from embroidered silk or feathers.

Rich Turks also loved jewelry, but since the time of Suleiman II, men have only worn silver rings, a dagger set in silver and a rosary of 99 beads (according to the number of names of Allah). For those who had the right to carry weapons, the costume was supplemented with a saber. The Turks put handkerchiefs behind their belts.

Source - "History in costumes. From pharaoh to dandy". Author - Anna Blaze, artist - Daria Chaltykyan

Feredzhe - cape on the head in the coastal Crimea

From the second half of the XIX century. in some places "fereje" began to be used in the mountainous and coastal Crimea as head capes when leaving the house. Thus, they began to represent a detail of a costume characteristic of a Muslim woman, already in a very specific purpose, since, due to religious institutions, women were forced to cover their face and figure in public.

At the beginning of the XX century. in Bakhchisarai, "fereje" was put on the bride as a wedding dress on the shoulder (Bonch-Osmolovsky, 1926).

VIII. Feredje.

1. "Fereje" - shoulder clothing, thrown over the shoulders and put on in the sleeves, and from the second half of the 19th century. in some areas and pounced on the head, i.e. it has already been used as a detail of a Muslim woman's clothing.

Unfortunately, we have very limited and often contradictory information about the history of the formation of this type of clothing in the Crimea, which makes it impossible to reconstruct a complete picture of the change in the features of its appearance, taking into account differences in zones.

The earliest information about "ferage" in the Crimea dates back to the middle of the 17th century. They appeared as women's clothing among the Bakhchisaray nobility. They were sewn from white woolen fabric, had a wide collar (Book of travel ..., 1999, 52). The "fereje" came here, obviously, from Turkey, where it was worn in sleeves, being the street clothes of a Muslim woman. And a scarf - "yashmak" served to cover the face. By the end of the XIX century. in Turkey "fereje" is gradually falling into disuse (Hansen, 1983, 152-153). Its function as the clothing of a Muslim woman in the Ottoman Empire is performed by the "charshaf" veil, which is widespread among the general population.

Shoulder "feredzhe" as street clothes have been known on the Crimean coast since the second half of the 19th century, but here it sometimes began to be used as a head cape of a Muslim woman. As V.F. Miller in the 1860s, "when leaving the house, above all, they put on a" feredzhe ", a pink or green cloth cape with short sleeves; with short absences from the yard," feredzhe "is thrown over the head instead of a veil or bedspread" (Miller , 1887, 81).

At the beginning of the XX century. in the Yalta region, shoulder "feredzhe" are known, judging by the cut, worn in sleeves. They were knee-length, with a large wrap-around, wide sleeves that flowed smoothly into the sidewalls, and no seams on the shoulders. These "ferejes" (judging by two museum samples) have unusual cut features - cut-off sides, gathered at the waist (MAE, No. 251-1; YaMK, No. 557; Table III-3, 4). At the beginning of the XX century. in Bakhchisarai, "fereje" was worn on the bride as a wedding shoulder garment (Bonch-Osmolovsky, 1926: 41).

Source ->>Roslavtseva L.I. Clothing of the Crimean Tatars of the late 18th - early 20th centuries

Turkish national costume

One of the brightest and richest of all national costumes is the Turkish national costume. The Turks sewed their clothes from various fabrics: linen, cloth, woolen, satin, cambric, muslin, fur and silk. The color scheme was dominated by black, white, green, red. The great sultans wore only white clothes.

The male costume of the Turks consisted of the following items: trousers, shirt, caftan or jacket, sash and upper caftan. The finest silks were used for sewing trousers. Over the trousers, the men wore a long shirt (kais) with long, wide sleeves. She reached mid-calf. For its manufacture, silk or muslin was used.

Caftans had long and wide sleeves. The fabric used is striped or plain. Turkish knitwear was already famous for its high quality in those days. Caftans were fastened with buttons or simply wrapped around. The Turks tied the camisole and caftan with a sash. It was folded from a piece of silk or a shawl. The military sash was replaced with a leather belt.

Outerwear was called "fereje". This is a wide, spacious cape, which had slit sleeves. For its tailoring, a woolen fabric of dark blue and dark green colors was used.

Turkish women's costume is very similar to men's. Turkish women also wore trousers, which were sewn from fine silk and muslin. The shirt resembled a man's cut, but was shorter. From above, she was dressed in a semi-caftan with spacious sleeves. Rich women decorated it with expensive embroidery and precious stones. They tied the caftan with a beautiful belt. When women went out into the street, they put on a long black cloak that concealed their figure. The woman's head and face were to be covered. To do this, they used a bedspread - marama.

One of the most famous pieces of the Turkish wardrobe is the turban. It consisted of two parts: a cap and a long strip of muslin or silk. The turban must be white only. Precious stones, feathers and pearls were used to decorate it. The number of feathers was strictly determined by customs. So, on the turban of the Sultan there were three feathers, on the Grand Vizier - two, on other officials - one feather.

The costumes of the Turkish nobility and today do not cease to amaze with their luxury, sophistication and beauty.

Many would think that due to the custom of women who lived in the Ottoman Empire to completely hide their body and face under a veil, now there is no reliable and detailed information about the clothes of women from Istanbul and other Turkish cities. But Ottoman fashion has always aroused keen interest among foreign guests, and as a result, many images have come down to our times that describe in detail the clothes of Turkish women.

Palace traditions to keep the clothes of the Sultan after his death also played a positive role, and thanks to them we now have examples of what was worn in that era. After so many centuries, a huge collection of the Topkapi Palace has reached our days. The earliest examples date back to the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror (1451-1481). The collection contains wardrobe items of sultans, sultanas and their children.

Costumes of a woman in the Ottoman Empire of the 16th century

If you look at various illustrations, paintings, study written sources, you can easily recreate the image of a woman who lived in the Ottoman Empire of the 16th century. So, an indispensable component of a woman's costume was a shirt with long expanded sleeves covering her legs. On the street, she wore a long veil (veil), yashmak (a scarf covering her face), in some cases a veil was worn.

The veil completely covered the body and arms, leaving the floor. The overskirt opened at the front and was put on when the woman went outside. With a veil they put on either a veil or a yashmak. The veil was fastened on top and fell over the face, the yashmak was tied up from below and covered the lower part of the face to the eyes.

All women, going out into the street, had to hide their faces, so it was impossible to distinguish one from the other. Even the husband could not recognize his wife in such a dress. The yashmak and the veil that concealed the face were of very good material, however, like the rest of the clothes of rich Turkish women. They wore outfits of gold or silver satin, silk, brocade and damask.

In his travel notes, Joachim Zinzendorf, who was a chaplain at the imperial embassy in Istanbul from 1577 to 1581, noted that women on the street wore baggy trousers made of transparent silk. , taffeta or other material of very good quality. On top was worn other loose clothing of the same density of red, yellow or blue. . They also wore a silk shirt on top, reaching to the knees, and she was wearing a silk damask caftan. Bloomers were needed precisely in order to completely hide the legs, which, like the face, should not have been seen by anyone except family members.

On their heads they wore a small silk cap, adorned with gold coins and entwined with a braid of black silk. A translucent veil was attached to this braid, which hid the face. The noble women of the Ottoman Empire wore a veil when going out - they liked to wear luxurious clothes and even that they were paid attention. Poor women appeared in public covered from head to toe with a silk cape.

Caftans or other capes by poor Turkish women were sewn from silk or velvet. At the end of the sixteenth century, rich women wore caftans of stiff brocade with long, wide sleeves, on which another caftan could be worn on top, with short ones. The collar of the caftan changed over time, but by the seventeenth century it settled on the V-shape.

Women's and men's shoes were similar in style, but indoor shoes were much more comfortable. At home, morocco shoes were worn, pointed, sometimes without a back, with embroidery. Shoes (shoes or higher boots) were worn on the street with a wooden platform sole or with heels. The external decoration of shoes, of course, could tell about the state of the one who wears them, as well as headgear.

Turkish women wore long hair, which they braided into braids. Braids from various noble materials could be woven into them, and on the head there was a cap, richly embroidered, adorned with jewels, which certainly indicated belonging to the upper class.

Error of the century

In 2011, the colorful Turkish series "The Magnificent Age" was released on the screens of the whole world, telling about the life of the Topkapi Palace during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. The series instantly gained millions of fans around the world, who began to watch with interest the ardent passions and tough court intrigues. Fashion designers have embraced Ottoman fashion and have even begun producing collections inspired by it. And fashion historians and Turkic experts clutched their heads, and there is a reason for that. The century, of course, is depicted as magnificent, but not quite the one that remained in historical reference books.

Complaints about the series began to arrive on Turkish television almost from the release of the first episode. According to experts, there are a huge number of inaccuracies in it, and this applies to both the storyline and the visual component, in particular, the costumes of the characters.

The statement of the Turkish fashion designer Zuhal Yorgancioglu caused the greatest resonance. She has been working with Ottoman motifs for many years, which inspire her to create new collections. According to the designer, the costumes shown in the "Magnificent Century" are certainly very beautiful, luxurious, but ... they are not at all from Turkey of the sixteenth century. Yorgancioglu says that the women of the Ottoman Empire could not wear such tight dresses with a deep neckline, especially during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent.

In Ottoman palaces, red, green, black, dark blue and light pink caftans were worn. They were not tight at all and not tight at the waist. Bloomers were always worn under the caftan. Hereke fabric, rich embroidery with silk and gold, was very common. Therefore, there is no talk of the Ottoman Empire of the sixteenth century, because what we see on the screen is rather closer to the costumes of nineteenth century France. It is from there that dresses with sexy necklines and corsets are taken, in which court ladies and concubines of the Sultan appear in the series. They also wear luxurious boucles that lie loose on their shoulders or flow down their backs, whereas in the sixteenth century Ottoman Empire hair braided neatly.

The fact that the clothes in the series have too many features from the later Western fashion was emphasized by many. Indeed, dresses and costumes borrowed from the West in design were subsequently worn in Turkey, but this was much later - in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

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