Turkey’s cultural, historical wealth mainly work of Ottoman palace women

While their husbands set out on military expeditions against Vienna and conquered foreign lands, the women of the Ottoman dynasty used their wealth for charitable purposes. Many Ottoman cities prospered thanks to the complexes, schools, caravanserais and mosques that the Ottoman palace women sponsored. They also helped a water-oriented civilization flourish during the empire, mainly through funds allocated to the construction of numerous fountains. Mihrişah Valide Sultan, for example, is known as a benevolent person who contributed to the development of decorative fountain architecture, as she extended financial sponsorship to architects to produce water-giving masterpieces.

Wives, mothers and daughters of Ottoman sultans also played a central role in social life by extending protection to orphans, the poor and desperate people. Adile Sultan, the daughter of Sultan Mahmud II, built 27 foundations during her lifetime. She opened shelters for desperate women. In total 45 benevolent foundations were established by the women of the palace during the time of Adile Sultan.

Hafsa Sultan -- the mother of Süleyman the Magnificent and of Yavuz Sultan Selim -- sponsored the construction of mosques, schools, and dervish lodges in Manisa and Edirne.

Mısır Çarşısı, the famous İstanbul icon, is also the benevolent work of a well-known palace woman. It was built with funds provided by Hatice Turhan Sultan as part of the Yeni Cami complex, which was predominantly financed by Hatice. There are also palace women who pursued their passions and ambitions by taking an active part in the state administration, such as Kösem Sultan and Hürrem Sultan. But it is also obvious that many mothers and wives of Ottoman sultans spent much of their time and money on charitable purposes.

Selçuk Hatun was such a woman. An aunt of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, she sponsored three mosques in Edirne, Bursa and İstanbul, all named after her. A school in Bursa and a dervish lodge in Balıkesir were also built with her support.

The Ottoman woman who revived Eminönü

Hatice Turhan Sultan was the wife of Sultan İbrahim, the daughter-in-law of Kösem Sultan and the mother of Sultan Mehmet IV. Unlike her mother-in-law she devoted most of her time to charity work. The construction of the Yeni Cami in Eminönü was interrupted a year after it began and was left incomplete for 59 years until Hatice Turhan Sultan arranged for it to be finished. As a source of revenue for the mosque, she had the Egyptian Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı) built. She had a fountain and a primary school constructed there as well. There is currently an İş Bankası building on top of the remains of the primary school. 

A neighborhood in Manisa 

Hafsa Valide Sultan was the mother of Süleyman the Magnificent and the wife of Yavuz Sultan Selim. During her life, Hafsa Sultan would always long for the return of her son and husband, who would frequently set out on military campaigns, mainly to the east. In Manisa, where she lived together with her son for many years while he received training and education, she sponsored the construction of Sultaniye Mosque and its complex. In order to guarantee that people attended the mosque in sufficient numbers, she bought land large enough for the construction of 20 houses. She also arranged that no tax would be collected from those who built their houses there. Thus, the neighborhood established in the vicinity of the mosque was named Sultaniye. Darü’ş-şifa, which functions as a museum of health today, was a hospital specifically built for Hafsa Sultan’s complex in Edirne. Hafsa Sultan also willed her remaining wealth to fund the continued operation of these complexes, hospitals and mosques.

Kanuni’s daughter-in-law built up Üsküdar

Nurbanu Valide Sultan, the wife of Sultan Selim II, was Hürrem Sultan’s daughter-in-law and the mother of Murad III. Contrary to her mother-in-law, she never got involved in state affairs and devoted most of her time to charity work instead. Among the structures she had built is the Atik Valide Mosque and Complex located in Üsküdar Square. She donated the funding needed to construct the famous Turkish baths in Çemberlitaş and Yenikapı, which are still open today, to finance the needs of the complex. Currently, the Atik Valide Sultan Primary School is used by the gendarmerie unit that guards Toptaşı Prison. The Orta Valide Soup Kitchen, built on behalf of the sultan, became popular for the delicious dishes that were served to travelers. The soup kitchen was in service for 325 uninterrupted years before being shut down with the proclamation of the Second Constitution. 

She travelled extensively and built a mosque everywhere she went

Gülnuş Valide Sultan, the wife of Mehmet IV, travelled with her husband, who liked to go hunting. She had a mosque built in her name in every city she visited. There are many mosques named after her in the Balkans. There are structures in İstanbul, the Sakız Island and Mekke that Gülnuş Valide had built as charity. Both of Gülnüş Valide’s sons became sultans. In the complex her youngest son Ahmet III built in her name, is calligraphy written by him for his mother. The splendid calligraphy reads the Prophet’s saying “Heaven lies beneath the mother’s feet.” 

She developed public fountains

Mihrişah Valide Sultan was the wife of Mustafa III and the mother of Sultan Selim III. Many structures were built on her behalf as charitable projects in and around the district of Eyüp including a school, a library housing valuable texts and fountains. The valide sultan had mosques built in the districts of Halıcıoğlu, Levent and Hasköy and repaired the Kasımpaşa dervish lodge. The school built by Mihrişah Valide Sultan has been functioning as the Eyüp Sultan youth scouts group clubhouse since 1995. Manuscripts in the Eyüp library were transferred to the Süleymaniye Library in 1957. The most splendid fountains were commissioned by Mihrişah Valide Sultan. The fountains she had built in Kasımpaşa, Üsküdar, Eminönü, Yeniköy, Hasköy and Halıcıköy are still in place.

She had hospitals, schools and bridges built

Bezmiâlem Valide Sultan, the wife of Mahmud II and the mother of Abdülmecid, liked handicrafts. The octagon-shaped brocade that hangs in a black showcase in the Fatih Mosque is a product of her hands. She used the money that was allocated to her during her son’s reign to feed the poor. She paid for the wedding expenses of girls who lost their parents at an early age. She would dress in disguise and go out to locate poor and orphaned people herself. The Vakıf Guaraba Hospital, which used to be known as the Bezmiâlem Hospital, was one of her charitable works. She donated olive groves, vineyards, gardens, lodges and farms to pay for hospital expenses. The olive grove she donated as a source of revenue for the hospital in Edremit had 25,000 olive trees. She also had a mosque built in the yard of the hospital. One of the structures she commissioned was the first civilian high school, called the Darül Maarif. Today we know the school as the all-girls İstanbul Kız Lisesi. She also commissioned the Bezmiâlem Valide Sultan Mosque, which is more popularly known as the Dolmabahçe mosque because of its close proximity to the Dolmabahçe clock tower. She later ordered the constructed of a bridge between Karaköy and Eminönü that no longer exists.

She had a centrally heated hospital built

Pertevniyal Valide Sultan, of Circassian origin, was the mother of Abdulaziz. She spent all her income on building the Valide Sultan mosque in Aksaray and the water dispenser and primary school next to it. The valide sultan also ordered the construction of a women’s hospital in Medina. It was the first centrally heated building in the region. The valide sultan, who repaired the Yahya Efendi Tomb in Beşiktaş, also had fountains built in Karagümrük, Eyüp and Şehremini.