Understanding Muslim Households and Families in Late Ottoman Istanbul

The basic features of Muslim Turkish household and family structures in late Ottoman Istanbul are analyzed using quantitative data obtained from the Ottoman censuses of 1885 and 1907, retrospective interviews, and literary sources. A major purpose is to examine the meaning of quantitative household data for an understanding of household and family life at that time by considering both the methods used to elicit and to analyze such data and the alternative perspectives gained by the use of datafrom retrospective interviews and literary sources.