Imran Abdullah

When the Ottomans were besieging the Austrian capital of Vienna, the great Sadr Mustafa Basha sat in his luxurious tent outside the walls of the city he brought with him to rest, before the Ottoman army was attacked by the European coalition forces led by the Polish king who defeated the Ottomans and took tents decorated in bright colors for himself.

The tents lost by the Ottomans in this battle were associated with a long history with invaders, leaders and princes. It was an ancient tradition carried by the Ottoman Turks from Central Asia to the Ottoman Empire in the 13th century. The nomadic Turkish nomads - who used the tents as military barracks and mobile homes - played a major role in the ancient Turkish society .

Cities of tents
In the description of Adirana in the first half of the 15th century, the city appeared to be divided into two sections, one of which was a stone and brick building, and the other of the Ottoman mobile tents used for rest and accommodation and belonged to the heritage of the forefathers.

"One must add the possibility of establishing semi-permanent camps on the outskirts of the city as an integral part of its urban and urban landscape," wrote Ottoman historian Amy Singer, describing the city that was the capital of the Ottoman Empire before the conquest of Istanbul. Wool fibers), leather, fabric, city mosques, markets and wooden dwellings.

According to the Turkish Academy Norhan Atasui, the Ottoman Imperial Khiam complex was a multi-functional mobile palace used on various occasions. The beautifully decorated, embroidered and embroidered tents were considered a delightful alternative to the imperial palaces.

The Turks were unable to separate from the culture of the tent despite the transition to a stable civil life. Turkish families and tribes in Central Asia lived the life of movement, migration and seasonal tents.

In the Ottoman era, the nomadic culture of Central Asia became an imperial tradition. According to some art historians, Topkapi Palace's architecture indicates that it was designed as a kind of permanent stone-encampment.

"It is a kind of asymmetrical and irregular buildings that resemble tents in nature," wrote French traveler Corne Le Bruen.

The tents played a major role in the Turkish culture, which began to shelter the Bedouin and sheep herders and to hold concerts, banquets, meetings and entertainment performances accompanying weddings, circumcision of princes and others.

The Ottomans used tents to build luxury mobile complexes during military campaigns, diplomatic missions and fishing trips. They were also used for various celebrations, along with the use of permanent luxury structures in Istanbul. The tents were developed to include textiles, wood and stone side by side. Flags symbol of power and glory.

The tent was accompanied by Ottoman soldiers during the siege of Vienna (wiki Kommen)

The art of the tent
The Ottoman Military Museum in Istanbul presents a 19th-century Ottoman Empire style depicting the art of weaving used in tents and the architecture of the Turkish Baroque era, according to Islamic scholar Ashley Deming, who wrote about Ottoman tents in the late Ottoman era.

The most common decorative design in the classical tents was built by glittering columns, whose arches are filled with motifs of multicolored floral motifs resembling contemporary architectural motifs used in ceramics and modern textiles, according to Deming.

The colors were relatively limited, with most tent makers using dark blue, green and red. Structurally, the classical style with the large, closed oval area was the most common form of imperial tents.

This model was used for practical reasons. Tents were often used as accommodation or meeting rooms while traveling, both of which required a certain degree of privacy.

When the tent was erected in the suburban meadows or in the palace gardens, the interior of the entire tent would light up and shine in the sunlight, and the cloth would move and sway with the wind.

By the early 18th century, the classical mold had been broken. The structure of the tent was opened and its decorative elements became more diverse through experience and innovation in materials and technology. Sultans were often in a state of movement and conquest, and their stay in the tents enabled them to remain active and visible to the soldiers while retaining them With the requisite fairness.