Harem-Selamlik (Women’s Quarters-Men’s Quarters):
Religion and traditions close the house to the outside world. For this reason the gardens and interiors of houses are separated from the streets by high walls; the windows are latticed . Women are not seen by men outside the household. Sometimes, even in the same house, men and women live in separate quarters. There are examples of such houses in Safranbolu, divided into men’s and women’s quarters (selamlik, harem). Usually, it is only the very rich who can to have this spatial organization. The Haci Memisler summer house is comprised of a harem and selamlik built side by side.

Among the examples studied in this book, the Kaymakamlar house is unique in that it is provided with separate entrances for the harem and selamlik quarters, on different floors and openings onto different streets. In the Haci Salih Pasa house also, there two separate entrances and staircases for the harem and selamlik quarters. In other houses although there is a single entrance, a room which is easily accessible from the staircase, without unnecessary intrusion into the family life, is used as a selamlik. The selamlik rooms are treated with special care. In the older examples these rooms have top windows and their ceilings are decorated in a more sophisticated manner.

The Revolving Cupboard: As in the old days, it was not desirable that a woman be looked upon by a man from outside the household, even in her own home. Therefore special arrangements were made to secure her privacy. One of these was the revolving cupboard, designed so as to enable serving the men in the selamlik from the harem quarters, without being seen. The plates, tableware or cups used for serving food, coffee, syrups etc. were placed on the shelves ofthis revolving cupboard which was built in a cabinet between the harem and selamlik quarters, with doors opening to both sides. After turning the cupboard manually, anything on the shelves could be fetched from the other side. This design shows how the houses which do not have separate harem and selamlik or separate servants for each, conform to traditions.

The Selamlik Pavilion: Some houses have a separate selamlik pavilion in their gardens with one or more rooms. In most of them, there is a pool in the main sitting area. Pools are also to be found in the selamlik rooms on the middle floor of some houses.

There are such pools in both of the “sehir” houses of the Asmazlar. The parapet wall is about 50 to 60 cms from the floor. There are divans(sitting platforms) along the walls on all three sides. In the selamlik pavilion of Kurtlar summer house there is a raised platform with pillars along the window wall and a small fireplace for making coffee at one end of the pool-room. The pavilion has two separate rooms and a toilet-washroom. The windows are unglazed. The main floor with the pond is the ground floor. In the Rauf Beyler house at the Baglar district there is a very impressive pavilion.

Its strictly symmetrical plan has an almost unique architectural concept with its two rooms with an eyvan in between; its large pool surrounded by divans and the beautifully decorated ceiling of the pool room which has a span of 8 metres.The selamlik pavilions open onto the garden which is entered through a separate street door. When the garden pavilion consists of a single room with a pool it is simply called “the pool room”. Usually these rooms – which contain a pool, a fountain, divans and occasionally a small fireplace for making coffee – have a polygonal plan.

In some houses in the Baglar district which do not have spring water, the pool is replaced by a well, in which case the space is called the “well-room”. With the divans on all sides, these rooms have the same refreshing function as the pool-rooms. Drinking water and fruits are chilled in the well.