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On the day that the bride-to-be was to go to her new husband's house,
the groom and his friends would have a party at which the groom would
be shaved for the wedding. For this ceremony, the groom would use the
shaving-apron, towel, and shaving-bowl that were in the bundle
presented as a gift by the prospective bride.
The shaving-apron was a shaped like a long rectangle with a circular section cut out so that it could be placed around the neck. Together with the towel it formed a set and was made sometimes from linen but mostly from silk decorated with scattered embroidery. Other accouterments used on this day were a shaving-bowl, a basin and ewer set, and a razor.
The groom did not shave himself but was instead painstakingly shaved by a barber specially-hired for the occasion. After the introduction of coffee in the 16th century, it became the habit of Ottoman barbers to shave their customers in a corner of a coffee house. Because coffee were constantly at risk of being shut down however, some barbers preferred to ply their trade in the open air.
Not until the reign of Abdulhamid II did barbershops along the lines of the European model make an appearance in İstanbul and for a long time, itinerant barbers continued to serve their clientele outdoors, seated up against a wall or on a street-corner. Barbers are also known to have supplemented their income by practicing dentistry, performing circumcisions, and provided beeding by lancing.
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