The selamlik, selamlek or sélamlique ( tr, selamlık) was the portion of an
Ottoman palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
or house reserved for men; as contrasted with the
seraglio
A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from fa, سرای, sarāy, palace, via Turkish and Italian) is a castle, palace or government building which was considered to have particular administrative importance in various parts of the former Ott ...
, which is reserved for women and forbidden to men.
Selamlik was also a portion of the household reserved for the guests (from the root word ''selam'', "greeting"), similar to the ''andronites'' (courtyard of men) in
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
, where guests would be welcomed by the males of the household. The ''
harem
Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...
'' is the portion for the family.
See also
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Haremlik
In pre- Atatürk Turkey, a haremlik was the private portion of upper-class Ottoman homes, as opposed to the ''selamlik'', the public area or reception rooms, used only by men in traditional Islamic society. This contrasts with the common usage o ...
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Odalisque
An odalisque (, tr, odalık) was a chambermaid or a female attendant in a Turkish seraglio, particularly the court ladies in the household of the Ottoman sultan. In western usage, the term came to mean the harem concubine, and refers to the ...
Sources and references
Dictionary.com - Selamlik entry
Ottoman culture
Architecture in the Ottoman Empire
Architecture in Turkey
Turkish words and phrases