In the palace kitchen, the stoves were always made of cast iron, and the pots were always made of copper. Stamps were printed on the pots indicating which cuisine they belonged to. In addition to these, copper and silver coffee pots, barbecues, earthenware pots, and vats were..
What is the Kitchen Order and Organizational Structure in the Ottoman Palace?
The changes and transformations that the Ottomans experienced in the 19th century were also reflected in the daily life and practices of the palace. One of the places where the influence of European culture is seen is the palace cuisine, table setting and tradition.
In the palace, there was an organizational structure responsible for preparing the table for the sultan, princes, valide sultans and many other important departments. The general name of this organization, which consisted of many sub-units and each of them was called matbah, was Matbah-ı Amire. Matbah-ı Has, which belonged to the sultan, was divided into two, one in the Mabeyn-i Hümayun, which was the administrative place of the palace, and the other in the Harem-i Hümayun, where daily life continued.
The steward, who was responsible for the needs lists, order and bookkeeping of each printing house, prepared the daily order and menus, and the servant of each apartment, called Tablakar, would take the prepared meals to the apartments at meal times.
In the Ottoman palaces, meals were prepared as two meals, one in the morning and one in the evening, before the sun went down. In the time between these two meals, sherbet, ayran, fruit, etc. food was consumed.
In the palace kitchen, the stoves were always made of cast iron, and the pots were always made of copper. Stamps were printed on the pots indicating which cuisine they belonged to. In addition to these, copper and silver coffee pots, barbecues, earthenware pots, and vats were indispensable kitchen utensils of the Ottoman cuisine.
Sultans also had their own tableware. Sultan II. Abdulhamid had tableware for 120 people and Sultan Abdulaziz had table sets for 40 people. Each piece of these sets, which were gold plated on silver, was counted after the feast and sent to the mint for maintenance.
Transformation at the Ottoman Table
Dolmabahçe Palace cuisine, which experienced its most developed period in terms of organizational structure and activities during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz, got its share from the wind of change of the 19th century and a blend that brought together the Ottoman tradition and the western tradition emerged. It is seen that in addition to the desserts with syrup, cakes, pies and, naturally, the special ingredients required for these recipes began to appear in the palace menus.
New cooking methods, different presentations, candlesticks, flowerpots and tableware brought from Europe begin to decorate the tables. In the classical period, the habit of eating around the tray left its place to setting a table on wide tables. Menus printed in both Ottoman and French are among the most common examples on the tables where the French influence is intense.
The first ruler, Sultan II, who applied the transition from the classical period habits to the western style table setting at the banquet tables. Mahmud was So much so that he sent one of his cooks to Vienna to learn western-style cooking techniques for the renewal of the table setting.
Institutionalized Invitation Order
Sultan II. After Mahmud, his son, Sultan Abdülmecid, continued the innovation movement. Sultan Abdülmecid took this transformation one step further and established the "Teşrifat-ı Foreign Affairs Officer", that is, the institution that organizes the relations and invitations with foreign states and official officials, and bound the banquet tables and ceremonies to be given in the palace to a certain protocol.
The way to be followed when a banquet is given is as follows; The guests gather in the ground floor halls, the attendants take them to the dining hall and show their places. The sultan's entrance to the hall is accompanied by the March-ı Hümayun and the meal begins. Hademe-i Hümayun, who was brought up in a western style, is ready to serve the guests at the table. During the meal, Turkish and European music is performed. Coffee is served after the meal.
The Place of Glass on the Table
The history of the use of glass in the Ottoman palace table goes back to Fatih Sultan Mehmed. The expansion and diversification of the use of glass products was in the period of Murad III (1574-1595), and the industrialization of glass production in the period of III. It happens with the development of relations with Europe during the reign of Selim I (1789-1807).
In the 19th century, the developments in world glass production and glass art gained speed, and the Ottomans ordered tableware from the world's leading brands. The Bohemian and Baccarat crystals used at the banquet tables in the Dolmabahçe Palace constitute the most elegant examples of the period, which received the titles of Kings' Glass and Kings' Crystal.
What is the Kitchen Order and Organizational Structure in the Ottoman Palace?
Bohemian crystals were produced at the Moser Factory in the Central European Bohemia region. Another important feature of Moser glass tableware, each piece of which has a gilded rim, is the Ottoman state coat of arms and the II. It had the letters A and H symbolizing Abdülhamid.
It is possible to examine the details of the table setting and tradition and the collections in the I. Treasury Exhibition Hall of Dolmabahçe Palace. All of the items exhibited in the section used as the Mabeyn Cellar in the past are pieces used by the Sultan and members of the dynasty.
What are the Protocol Principles in the Palace?
Hosting guests in the Ottoman Empire; Ceremonies held on special and important days such as feasts, weddings, and Culus (ascension ceremony) were organized according to certain procedures and rules. This protocol, namely the memorandum, was one of the most important ways both to show and renew the power of the state and to ensure communication between the Ottoman society and the ruling strata.
The protocols differed in their qualities and details according to the reasons for the ceremonies and the guests to be hosted. The most used sources in the protocols of the classical period were the attendance registers, in which the experiences in the ceremonies of the previous period were recorded.
First of all, the institution that regulates the ceremony in foreign relations, “Teşrifat-ı Foreigniye Memurlığı”, was established by Sultan Abdülmecid in order to bind the ceremony procedures to a set of rules. After I and II. With the constitutional period, the principles of the protocols started to keep up with the changing era and the modernizing western style methods. In this period, ceremonial procedures are recorded in a much more rational way.
Especially II. Chief Mabeynci Lütfi Simavi was the person who enabled us to learn the details of the official dress code and the procedures of conduct during the Constitutional Monarchy period. His work “Teşrifat ve Adab-ı Muaşeret” is one of the most reliable and detailed sources about the spirit of the period, etiquette and protocol rules. Lütfi Simavi has written all kinds of etiquette rules and protocols in this source work, from the details of the lanyard in the way the medallions are attached to the necessity of trying not to sleep during the performances. In addition to making an analysis of his age, he also gave direction with his work in which he conveyed the rules that should be followed individually both in the palace and in the society.
Some examples from this archive are as follows;
“In Which Situations Are Cards Sent?
Christian and European friends are congratulated with cards on the occasion of the New Year, just as a card is congratulated or condolences when one of the friends is honored with a civil service, rank or engagement, when news of a marriage or birth is received, and when the death of an acquaintance is heard.
"Glove"
When entering a hall, he must take off the glove on his right hand to shake hands. The glove on the left hand can remain. In fact, it's best to get in by removing and holding both. Guests are not accepted even though they are wearing gloves. Women don't go out without gloves. They do not take off their gloves during visits either.”
Rules and Keeping Up with the Times in Ceremonies
In the ceremonies, all the details, from the clothes that the participating administrators should wear according to their status, to the places and positions they should stand, and the way of greeting, were under the control of the attendant officers. The types and types of veils to be draped over the horses present in the ceremony area were also subject to certain rules.
These details showed that a form of communication with intense symbolic meanings was produced. In the period when the West began to increase its power over the world, the Ottoman Empire's relations with European state officials began to become more frequent and close. The protocol procedures have also been differentiated and westernized over time. Some of the classical ceremonial traditions have been transformed, some have been preserved, and some have been abandoned.
For example, the sultan, who used to eat alone and communicate only with signs without speaking to his servants, started to share his table with the ambassadors and the prominent administrators of the state, as modern methods took their place in the palace ceremonies. Tours were started in the country and abroad, and thus the sultan came to a more easily accessible position, and the distance between him and the people was shortened.
The silent witness of the transition from the Sultanate to the Republic: Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace is a place that witnessed great transformations in the political structure of the Ottoman Empire, as well as being the witness and pioneer of cultural transformations in Ottoman society.
The fact that the Ottoman Dynasty began to settle in Dolmabahçe from Topkapı showed that there was a change in Ottoman political and social life. The blended structure of Dolmabahçe Palace with western style architecture also emphasized the transformation in the intellectual and spiritual world of the Ottoman Empire. Of course, one of the most fundamental reflections of this was the political system itself.
Age of Innovation 19th Century
Towards the end of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire had become unable to maintain its former power in the face of western states, and therefore, a clear picture emerged that the current system needed change. The innovations within the Ottoman Empire, which started with small steps and developments towards the end of the 18th century, began to require an unavoidable system change after a century.
During the reign of Abdülmecit, Tanzimat Fermanı (1839), Reform Edict (1856); II. During the reign of Abdülhamid, developments such as the preparation of the first constitution, the Kanun-i Esasi, and the declaration of the First Constitutional Monarchy (1876), showed that the political and social scene was in a transitional period. We can say that the Majlis-i Mebusan, which was accepted to be established with Kanun-i Esasi, is one of the first indicators of a process that will evolve towards a parliamentary system.
This process, which started with the proclamation of the Tanzimat Edict in 1839, carried the winds of renewal to architecture, and palaces were built where neoclassical and baroque styles were used together with traditional architecture.
Undoubtedly, the most important and most magnificent of these was the Dolmabahçe Palace, the construction of which was started in 1856 by the order of Sultan Abdülmecit. Dolmabahçe Palace, which we can call the palace of the Tanzimat period and which also carries the symbolic expression of modernization, became the epicenter of the political and social processes that followed.
The Constitutional Basis of the Constitution, which was proclaimed on December 23, 1876, also determined the boundaries and responsibilities of the Parliament. It was decided that the opening of the Turkish Parliament would be held on Monday, March 19, 1877, at the Dolmabahçe Palace. Previously, newspaper reporters from Europe were coming to Istanbul to witness this historical event. On March 19, the official offices were suspended and the people gathered around the Dolmabahçe Palace and a huge crowd had formed.
The ceremony, which took place in the glamorous Muayede Hall of the Dolmabahçe Palace, II. It started with Abdülhamid's entrance into the hall, and the sultan's opening speech was read by Said Bey. After this speech, which lasted for half an hour, the opening of the Parliament was announced with 101 guns.
From the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
In 1878, II. With Abdülhamid's closing of the Parliament, the 30-year period called the Yıldız period for the Ottoman Empire begins. This process lasts until the reopening of the parliament in 1908.
After 1908, internal turmoil and wars played a major role in the agenda of both world states and the Ottoman Empire. In this period when the sultanate weakened and the idea of the Republic rose, the Committee of Union and Progress won the majority of the parliament in 1914, the 5th election period of the Parliament.
The Turkish Grand National Assembly, which was opened on April 23, 1920 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal, became the origin of the national struggle resolutions. The idea of an intellectually free assembly, which started in the Muayede Hall of the Dolmabahçe Palace in 1876, took its final form in 1920 with the Turkish Grand National Assembly. The core of the idea of transition to a contemporary system is immortalized in the architecture and atmosphere of Dolmabahçe Palace and in the memory of Mustafa Kemal.
A Sign of Honor; Coffee Culture and Serving in the Palace
Coffee, which is thought to have been drunk for the first time in the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, has become a worldwide known culture today. With the phrase "costly" in the language of the people, "a cup of coffee has a memory of forty years". However, its tradition and memory goes back hundreds of years in the history of Turkey.
The National Palaces Collections have a very valuable and rich inventory in terms of showing the tradition, place and importance of coffee in the Ottoman Palace. Coffee is an indispensable part of daily life for both the Ottoman Palace and the Ottoman society. It is one of the indispensable treats in hosting guests. It was introduced to the world under the name of Turkish Coffee with its presentation and treats, roasting, cooking methods and techniques.
Besides the daily drinking in the Ottoman Palace, the presentation of coffee was one of the most important parts of the guests' reception. The respect shown to a guest should be elegant and flawless as a requirement of respect.
This tradition, which took its place in Ottoman society, caused the tools that required the preparation and presentation of this drink to be mixed with art. Style sets, cups, envelopes and pushides are the main parts of the ceremonial coffee presentation. During the marriage process, it was customary for the girl to put a style pushide on the dowry, and for the man to put a coffee style set suitable for the style cover. Similar to today, sherbets and sweets such as licorice, tamarind and rose were served alongside coffee.
In the 19th century, style sets in the Ottoman Empire were made of silver, tombak, brass or copper. One of the most flamboyant pieces of the style set was the coffee cover on which the coffee would be served, namely the pushides. Generally 1 meter in diameter and round, poshides were made of silk, velvet or satin fabric, and the gold, silver details and silver fringes on their embroidery were eye-catching.
Coffee cups were made of materials such as porcelain and crystal. Cups varying in size and different features were called “nightingale cup”, large-size “kallavi” cups for smokers, pasha cup and hatai. Porcelain produced in Europe in the 18th century, and at the end of the 19th century, cups produced by the Yıldız Porcelain Factory began to be used.
One of the delicate parts of the coffee offering in the palace is the coffee cup envelopes. The envelopes, which are used to fit the cup inside and the cup is left out as much as the lip part, are a real work of art with their fine workmanship and precious stones. These envelopes have elegant details with the use of precious stones such as emerald, pearl, ruby, turquoise and diamond with the techniques of tombak, enamel, carving, niello, filigree.
According to Abdülaziz Bey, one of the people who documented the period, even enameled coffee cups were used in the 19th century, in which a small harmonica was placed through a mechanism.
Of course, the place where the coffee ceremony was most perfect and magnificent was the Ottoman Palace. The most elegant of all tools were produced, and special suits were prepared for the sultans. The coffee cups produced by the distinguished French, German and English brands from Europe for the Ottoman market were mostly used in the Ottoman Palace.
There was also an organization that fulfilled the duty of serving coffee in the Ottoman Palace. Coffee managers, called Kahvecibaşılar, were in close contact with the sultans as they were responsible for this most important treat unique to the Ottoman Empire. For this reason, they were chosen from experienced and respected people.
In some of the coffee sets specially produced for the sultans in the palace, the sultan's special tughra, initiation or name was embroidered on the parts of the set. Among the National Palaces Dolmabahçe Palace Collection, II. You can see the rare set, which was made by Abdülhamid's special order, bearing the initials (initial letters of his name) and the letters "A" and "H", and the coffee set inscribed with the name of Sultan Abdülmecid's daughter, Refia Sultan.