Ann Bridge's Enchanter's Nightshade depicts Ottoman life in the period of Atatürk's rise to power, and makes clear the distinction in social usage in that period between the haremlik and selamlik.
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In pre-Atatürk Turkey, a haremlik, from Arabic ḥarīm ('harem') + -lik ('place') 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 of harem as an English loan-word, which implies a female-only enclave or seraglio. Although the women of the household were traditionally secluded in the haremlik, both men and women of the immediate family lived and socialized there.
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The word harem is derived from the Arabic harim or haram which give connotations of the sacred and forbidden. The female quarters of Turkish households were then referred to as haremlik due to their prevailing exclusivity.
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In 1904 she was married to Kenneth Brown, novelist, and soon began to write. Her second book, Haremlik, published in 1909, commanded wide attention. It consisted of 10 studies of Turkish women. A Child of the Orient (1914) relates the story of the author's own childhood.
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In Turkish of the Ottoman era, the harem, i.e., the part of the house reserved for women was called haremlik, while the space open for men was known as selamlık. The practice of female seclusion is not exclusive to Islam, but the English word harem usually denotes the domestic space reserved for women in Muslim households. Some scholars have used the term to refer to polygynous royal households throughout history.
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470 The ground floor is occupied by shops, a deprecated stable and a garden. The courtyard is elevated from the street level; it is accessible by a narrow staircase and an entrance porch that opens to the souk.Makaron 2007, p.410 The courtyard has a water fountain at its center and gives access to all of the 18th-century palace wings, including the selamlik and the now obliterated private haremlik.
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Interior of the Ramazanoğlu Hall According to the inscription on the south gate, Haremlik was completed by Halil Bey in the month of Sha'aban year 900 (April, 1495). Nevertheless, this date does not represent the completion date of the entire building. The section completed in 1495 was an attachment to another structure on the north side which was built earlier. Next to the Harem, there used to stand the Selamlık, where the government offices were located.
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Of the Palace's original 18th-century plan, only the selamlik, iwan, and service areas remain, the haremlik being destroyed during the 19th century. To accommodate their growing family, the Debbanes added two levels to the palace in the Levantine neo- Classical style during renovations undertaken between 1917 and 1920. The open courtyard was vertically extended by the addition of a gallery covered by a four-sided red tile roof. The new gallery was designed in the Damascene style with ablaq (alternating) motifs running on all its sides.
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Weber 2014, p.65 In 1856, the Sacy family acquired the haremlik (harem quarters) at the eastern end of the mansion as their private palace. The western part of the mansion, including the selamlik (Ottoman reception hall), was bought in 1859 by Asin Khlat, the wife of Youssef Debbane, a rich sericulturist and silk trader. The Dar was thenceforth known as Qasr Debbane or Debbane Palace; it became the private residence of the Debbane family since 1859 until the early years of the Lebanese Civil War in 1976.
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