A Seraglio, like all Moslem dwellings, is divided into Haremlik and Selamlik. The former is reserved for the family life of the Sultan and his women; the latter is accessible to officials who come to transact state business with his Highness. The Mabeyn consists of a number of rooms between the two great divisions, and may be considered the private home of the Sultan. It is here that the Padishah resorts between nine and ten in the morning, attired in his gedjlik, or morning négligé; consisting of a tekké, or white skull-cap; a bright-colored intari (dressing-gown) and eichdon (trousers) of similar material; a pair of roomy terliks (slippers), a kirka (quilted jacket), or a kirk (pelisse lined with fur), according to the season.
Thus attired, he resorts to his study and gives his attention to state affairs, or to any other occupations that suit his tastes and inclinations. Close by are the apartments where the gentlemen of the household, the private secretaries, and other functionaries, await their Imperial Master from sunrise.
An account I recently saw of the Imperial expenditure estimated the annual outlay of Sultan Abdul-Aziz at £2,000,000. The Palace contained 5500 servants of both sexes. The kitchens alone required 300 functionaries, and the stables 400. There were also about 400 caïkjis, or boatmen, 400 musicians, and 200 attendants who had the charge of the menageries and aviaries. Three hundred guards were employed for the various palaces and kiosks, and about 100 porters. The harem, besides this, contained 1200 female slaves.
In the Selamik might be counted from 1000 to 1500 servants of different kinds. The Sultan had twenty-five “aides-de-camp,” seven chamberlains, six secretaries, and at least 150 other functionaries, divided into classes, each having its special employment.
One is intrusted with the care of the Imperial wardrobe, another with the pantry, a third with the making and serving of the coffee, and a fourth with the pipes and cigarettes.
There were also numberless attendants who carried either a torch, or a jug of perfumed water for ablutions after a repast. There is a chief barber, a superior attendant who has special charge of the games of backgammon and draughts, another superintends the braziers, and there are at least fifty kavasses, and one hundred eunuchs; and the harem has also at its service a hundred servants for going on errands and doing commissions in Stamboul and Pera.
Altogether, the total number of the employés of the Palace is about 5500. But this is not all; these servants employ also other persons beneath them, so that every day 7000 persons are fed at the expense of the Palace. So great is the disorder in the organization that the contractors claim five francs per diem for the food of each of these 7000 persons, which amounts to £511,000 per annum for the employés only.
The various items comprise £1120 for wood, £1040 for rice, and £16,000 for sugar.
The wages of employés included in the civil list amounted to a total of £200,000, exclusive of the salaries of aides-de-camp, doctors, musicians, etc., which were paid by the minister of war.
The stables of the Palace contained 600 horses, whose provender, according to the estimates of the most reasonable contractors, cost three Turkish liras per month, making a total of about £20,000.