Daily Life in Ottoman Empire

DAILY LIFE During the Seljuk and Ottoman periods, Turkish family structure was patriarchal, consisting of mother, father, children and sometimes other close relatives. Although woman in rural communities labored in the fields, her urban sister was confined to the house whatever her social status. Depending on the family's economic situation a woman spent her day doing household chores or supervising the servants (most of whom were cariyes (pronounced djar-ee-yeh)), taking care of her children, praying, …

… with a narrow base and broad crown. came into fashion. In the Istanbul of Ahmed III, when the Empire was relatively undisturbed by political troubles, women's headdresses began to take a diversity of exaggerated forms, quite unlike those of earlier periods. Hotoz with a one-sided brim curving over one shoulder is the most striking innovation of this period. During the reign of Mahmud I and his successors, women's headdresses were widely varied and ornate.