Following a revolt of Albanians in 1730, the Ottoman administration was very concerned about the great number of Albanians who crowded Istanbul in search of employment. Of particular interest to officialdom were the many Albanians staffing Istanbuls bathhouses, since the leader of the revolt, Patrona Halil, had been a bath attendant himself. The profession brought the bathhouse attendant into close contact with the many bathers frequenting the workplace and enabled him to spread his revolutionary message. Between 13 July and 6 August 1752, an inspector was commissioned to visit all bathhouses including the employees. The unnamed inspector recorded 177 bathhouses in Greater Istanbul and listed the attendants with their names, religious status, and their place of origin.
This register is now a valuable primary source telling about labour migration patterns and dynamics in the Ottoman Empire. 71 percent of the male employees in Istanbul bathhouses originated from the Balkans, 17 percent from the Anatolian provinces and 7 percent came from Greater Istanbul.
Read More? Nina Ergin, 'Mapping Istanbul's Hammams of 1752 and their Employees' in: Bread from the Lion's Mouth. Artisans Struggling for a Livelihood in Ottman Cities (2015)