Akçe—A small Turkish coin.
Altena—In Venice, an upper-story patio or flat roof.
Awqaf—Plural of waqf, see below.
Baraka—Great holy power or blessing.
Chiaus—An imperial bodyguard.
Fatiha—The first and shortest Sura of the Koran, commonly used as a prayer.
Ghrush—A large Turkish coin.
Habibi—A term of endearment.
Haram—The Arabic root from which our word harem comes. It means many things, but in particular something forbidden and sacred.
Haremlik—Simply the Arabic harem, ending with the Turkish lik, or place, to make it parallel withselamlik.
Inshallah—”If Allah wills.”
Kadin—A lady, one who has borne the Sultan or his heir a son.
Kapu aghasi—A high position in the Ottoman government that included control of the sanctuaries in Mecca and Medina.
Khadim—Arabic for “servant,” used euphemistically in Turkish for “eunuch.”
Khuddam—Plural of khadim, see above.
Lufer—A fish that seasonally migrates between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
Mabein—From the Arabic for “between”; a portion of a Turkish house between the haremlik and selamlik where a man may meet with his women without disturbing the rest of the harem.
Mashallah—An exclamation usually of wonder meaning “What Allah hath wrought!”
Medrese—An Islamic religious college.
Minhal—A camel litter.
Muderisler—Professor in a medrese.
Nikah—A betrothal ceremony where the marriage contract is drawn up.
Oda—A room or chamber, base of the English word odalisque.
Proveditore—A high official in the Venetian Republic, advisor to the commander of a military force.
Razzia—A raid.
Sandjak—A Turkish province. The word comes literally from the Turkish word for horsetail “standard” or “banner,” harking back to the Turks’ wild days on the steppes of Asia, which the sandjak bey would have carried before him.
Selamlik—The men’s portion of a Turkish house. It is a hybrid word containing the Arabic selam (likesalaam, literally peace, a greeting, hence this is the place where guests are greeted) and the Turkish suffixlik, which means “place of.”
Shalvar—Turkish trousers worn by men and women.
Spahi—There are two types of spahis. I use the word only in its rarer form, to refer to an elite cavalry troop chosen from the ranks of Palace School as a bodyguard for the Sultan. The more common spahis were freemen awarded lands for services rendered to the throne and who were required to present themselves, horsed and armored, when called upon, something like feudal knights.
Suq—A bazaar.
Tekke—A Turkish monastery for dervishes.
Tughra—A highly stylized signature with the letters twisted together in an artistic fashion used for formal documents.
Ustadh—Turkish, from the Arabic, with the sense of “master” or “teacher”; used to address eunuchs respectfully.
Valide Sultan—The mother of the Sultan, the highest feminine position in the harem.
Waqf—Turkish word, taken from the Arabic, which refers to a pious charitable foundation or trust.
Yelek—A floor-length jacket buttoned down the front and worn as part of a Turkish woman’s costume.
