The Ottoman Tradition of Wedding Splurging
Hatice Sultan (1660 – 1743), daughter of Sultan Mehmed IV, and sister of sultans Mustafa II and Ahmed III, had an epic wedding. In 1675, fourteen-year-old Hatice was married to Musahip Mustafa Pasha, the Ottoman Navy’s Admiral of the Fleet. Her royal family and the groom pulled out all the stops to ensure that Hatice’s marriage celebrations of were unequaled. The wedding took place in Edirne, and lasted for twenty days. The city was decorated with artificial trees that featured silver leaves. The biggest one was about sixteen-feet-wide, and was pulled by 200 slaves. Instead of navigate the city’s warren of twisting streets, all buildings in the big silver-leafed tree’s path, including houses, were demolished.
There were daily fireworks, ceremonies, banquets, parades, wrestling matches, and other athletic contests. Actors, musicians, and artists were brought in from all across the Ottoman Empire and beyond, to perform. Hatice’s dowry contained thousands of gifts, and was carried by eighty six mules covered in expensive fabrics. It included diamonds, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and other jewelry and precious stones. There was also plenty of delicate porcelain, gold candlesticks, pearl-covered stools, and expensive shoes, slippers, and boots. Also prominently featured were the priciest Persian rugs, carpets, beds and table cloths. It was the era’s most lavish marriage celebration, bar none.
