A seraglio ( /səˈræljoʊ/ sə-ral-yoh or /səˈrɑːljoʊ/ sə-rahl-yoh) or serail is the sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines in a Turkish household. The word comes from an Italian varianta of Turkish saray, from Persian saraʾi (سرای),[1] meaning palace, or the enclosed courts for the wives and concubines of the harem of a house or palace.[2][3] The term harem is also used to refer to these sequestered living quarters, but has additionally come to refer to the women themselves.
In the context of the turquerie fashion, the seraglio became the subject of works of art, the most famous perhaps being Mozart's Singspiel, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio). In Montesquieu's Persian Letters, one of the main characters, a Persian from the city of Isfahan, is described as an occupant of a seraglio.
"The Seraglio" may refer specifically to the Topkapı Palace, the residence of the former Ottoman Sultans in Istanbul. The term can also refer to other traditional Turkish palaces—every imperial prince had his own—and other grand houses built around courtyards.
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