9: Turkish State Tent

The Ottoman sultans retained many of the customs of their ancestors, in particular a liking for tents - "nomadic houses", whose prototypes were the felt yurts of Central Asia. Tents were made for various purposes. They were used as dwellings and also for household needs. They could act as a dining-room, coffee-house, laundry, stables and much else. There were tents of different shape: with a pitched roof or a conical one; with or without walls, divided into sections, and so on. Tents could be small, designed for one man, or huge, accommodating up to a thousand. The state tent included in the display is made up of four sections (out of a total of eleven). The material was decorated with embroidery using silks and metallic thread. Red tents were the prerogative of high-ranking Ottoman officials.