What Life Was Like As A Member Of The Sultan's Harem In The Ottoman Empire By Sarah Crocker/Feb. 19, 2021 1:30 pm EDT For much of history, the harem of the Ottoman Empire was purposefully mysterious. Sequestered in the Ottoman sultan's palace, the harem was a place that was physically set apart from not just the rest of the court but from the entirety of public life. The women inside were connected to the sultan, typically either by blood or by intimate relationship, and were expected to spend the vast majority of their lives apart from the world. Because of this withdrawal, there was a dea...