Seemingly contradictory ideas of privacy and community dominate Ottoman cities. While houses are internally divided to guard female modesty behind a frontage studded with peep-holes, streets in cities like Amasya are often bridged by first-floor passageways between different houses.
The Turkish pottery at Iznik, ancient Nicaea, supplied the Ottoman court with luxurious vessels and tiles. One of the great glories of the Ottoman art at its peak period, the designs combine Turkish motifs with elements transposed from imported Chinese blue-and white porcelain.