The word harem (Arabic: ḥaram) literally means a sacred or protected place. In the context of the topic covered by this post, the word referred to the section of a family's house that was apportioned to the women of the family, into which unrelated men would not be permitted to enter. When people in English use the word, they're typically talking about a collection of concubines owned by a single man, which is not the normal use of the word in the Muslim world, but one can see why it got that meaning. When someone speaking Ottoman Turkish would say "my harem," what he meant was not "my slave concubines" but "the part of my house where the women live," which for most people meant their mothers, unmarried sisters, and wives. Thus the Ottoman imperial harem (harem-i hümâyûn) referred to the section of the imperial palace within which the women of the imperial family resided, as well as their female household slaves, some of whom would have been concubines.

The Ottoman imperial harem's primary purpose was to serve the needs of the women of the imperial family - the sultan's mother (Valide Sultan), his sisters, daughters, and so on. The sultan ruled over a large following of male slaves who attended to his person, served as his soldiers and bodyguard, and generally manned the state apparatus of the empire. We call the Ottoman Empire in the 15th and 16th century a patrimonial state because the state was in some respects simply an extension of the household following of the sultan, with government positions given to the ruler's slaves who had been trained to serve him within the palace, before graduating to serve him outside of the palace in administrative positions. And just as the sultan ruled over this household of male slaves, so too did the imperial women rule over their households of female slaves. Most women in the imperial harem functioned as the servants of the female members of the dynasty: the Valide Sultan, the concubines who had borne children to Ottoman rulers, and the imperial princesses. Life in the harem was highly regimented, with a strict hierarchy over which the Valide Sultan presided as the matriarch of the dynasty. The power dynamics of the harem were dependent upon each individual's personal closeness to the Valide Sultan, or to whichever other powerful women they were assigned. Just how much freedom a given woman had would depend on her place within this hierarchy, with lower-ranking servants having fairly strict schedules.

Like the sultan's male servants, the inhabitants of the harem would receive an education, studying things like literacy, the tenets of religion, sewing, the playing of musical instruments, and how to sing and dance. As far as leisure goes, serving women had limited free time because of their strict schedules. Almost all of their time would be taken up either with learning and practicing the above-mentioned skills or in performing service tasks for their superiors, but what free time they did have they could spend in the gardens attached to the harem, and sometimes the more expansive gardens surrounding the palace would be evacuated of men so that the inhabitants of the harem could enjoy an outing there. Religious services and prayer sessions were presumably also a common activity. The harem also frequently held musical and dance performances, especially for the benefit of higher-ranking women. We learn from the account of Bobovi, who served in the palace for several decades in the seventeenth century, that male musicians were sometimes brought into the harem to perform for the women there, although they had to do so blindfolded. Dwarfs were also introduced as entertainers, and were free from restrictions due to not being seen as fully men. Only a small proportion of serving women would be chosen to sleep with the sultan, particularly if they were approved of by the Valide Sultan. Most instead would, after serving for several years, eventually be married to the male members of the sultan's household as the latter graduated from the palace. Thus these women would leave the imperial harem and potentially become the head of their own much smaller followings of servants, depending on how wealthy their new family units became.

The harem was the ultimate symbol of power and wealth of the Sultan. His ownership of women and eunuchs, mostly as slaves, showed his wealth and prowess. The institution of the harem was introduced in Turkish society with the adoption of Islam, under the influence of the Arab Caliphate which the Ottoman’s sought to emulate. Most of the men and women within the harem were bought as slaves to ensure obedience, however some remained free.

Harem was where Sultan’s concubines, mother, sisters, daughters and little sons, maids(“kalfa”) guards (“harem ağası”) and the inner palace boys (“iç oğlanları”) lived together and was not a kind of place how Western people fantasized. It was such a strict place and inside, there was a school for women to get their education, mandatory art courses, small hospital, grand kitchen, masjid, women Sultans’ chambers, dorms, guest rooms, Turkish baths, recreation areas and a grand hall ect. It was where women spent their entire life and was without any window for privacy, had their own system and Sultan’s mother (“Valide Sultan”) was in charge of the entire harem. Which means, even Sultan himself was consulting her about harem related matters. Harem had it’s own treasurer, Sultan mother had the right to choose or approve the concubine for Sultan, or even if she wants, she would dismiss a concubine from harem or would her get married with someone else. Many women who worked in harem for certain jobs like cooks or teachers or maids, had their own husbands and were working for salaries. All women in harem had strict Islamic education and drinking alcohol, shouting or speaking loudly, having sex with another man (who were not married), failing in their education or not being able to have a proficiency in at least one art field was not accepted. In harem, all concubines had that era’s most intensive and progressive art education which included, literature, music plus an Islamic education and would be encouraged to be poets or song composers. Harem was not a brothel but an establishment for palace women’s education. The most talented concubines would be chosen to be the charge-hands, who were basically the bridge between the Harem and Sultan, and they were responsible for many jobs in Harem. Concubines (who were not became Haseki Sultan already) were allowed to leave the palace if they had a proper reason. They were writing a letter for their reason of leaving request and folding into four and leaving at a visible place at the grand hall, where Sultan could receive, and if Sultan would accept the request, then the concubine would be released from the palace. If there was a special entertainment for Sultan, it would be held in a special area inside the harem and Valise Sultan would choose and take care of the concubines who would perform the dance or play and the organisation itself. No concubine would ever be introduced to Sultan before she would complete her 7 years of mandatory school and the art education. All concubines were earning salaries (“yevmiye”) and if the concubine was not having a child from Sultan or had spent a night with him, she would be arranged to get married with Viziers (“Pasha”) or governors to establish her own family. No man was allowed to be in harem even princes after certain age. (except castrated guards and cooks) So long story short; Harem was women world in the palace and was the most strict place you could ever imagine.