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, 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 har ...

'' is the portion for the family.

Sources and references

Dictionary.com - Selamlik entry
Ottoman culture Architecture in the Ottoman Empire Architecture in Turkey Turkish words and phrases

See also

Sources and references