The Ottoman sultans were keen to appease the Western countries by establishing various relations with them, and granting them unlimited privileges that harmed the Ottoman state itself. In return, they violate human freedoms in the Islamic world, exploit the inferior class for service, and remove any dealings that preserve their humanity.

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu mentions that the mother sultana, who is the mother of the ruling sultan in the Ottoman Empire, used to receive revenues from various places in the empire from the royal estate’s revenue in the name of Bashmaqliq (Turkish: başmaklık) and other summer and winter allocations.

The gifts she received from foreign countries and from the men of the Ottoman Empire constituted a great wealth. She was considered the most influential figure and actual owner of the throne “Khatun”. She had her internal and external relations within the Haremlik (Harem-i Hümayun).

It is strange because if the Haremlik enjoys a very high privacy and is surrounded by ambiguity in its dealings, then what is the reason that made the Sultan’s mother enjoy this external influence, especially since the killing of brothers rivals to the Sultan, and even sons, was one of the tasks accomplished by the mother sultana!

Oglu mentions that some of the sultans such as (Nurbanu) and (Safiye) as well as (Kosem Mahpeyker) are bad examples because they used their influence to harm the state as they interfered in politics. How can this opinion be compatible with the previous opinion when mentioning the sources of funds and the importance of the mother’s influence in foreign relations?

The most surprising thing is the opinion of Emine Erdogan, the wife of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, about “The Haremlik” regime, which she considered an educational institution that prepared women for life.

That opinion was in Ankara at an official meeting about the Ottoman sultans. This opinion was confirmed by Erdogan, the owner of the fake sultanate, who said that woman is “a mother in the end”, in his speech on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

The question that imposes itself is: If Erdogan adopts this opinion, and his wife believes that the Haremlik is an educational system, what if Emine Erdogan was among the women of the Haremlik, and how would she feel if she fell under the control and influence of the mother sultana (El Walda Pasha)? Can she pretend to be satisfied within that organization? Will she be satisfied with the dealings with concubines or maidservants and the low level of behavior because of the vast majority who aspire to reach the highest ranks without looking at the means, and because the end justifies the means according to the prevailing belief!

During Ottoman rule, members of the royal family, servants, and concubines, all lived in what was known as the Sultan’s Haremlik.

The Ottoman Sultan used to spend his private time in the Haremlik, where his wives and the rest of the family’s women and concubines, who sometimes numbered hundreds of women, lived.

The Turkish president’s wife said that the Haremlik served as a school for members of the Ottoman royal family. She pointed out that the influence left by women in history of the Ottoman Empire’s Haremlik, which lasted for six centuries, can be a “source of inspiration”. What inspiration do you think her imagination reached?

There was a Haremlik dedicated to the Ottoman sultans in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, which has been turned into a museum since 1924. It is better for the wife of Sultan Erdogan to view it as a museum because the reality of the situation in it was ambiguous and bitter.