Turkish clogs
Clogs have traditionally been used in Turkish bath houses to protect the foot from dirty water and soap. The earlier form were called "nalins" and originated during the Ottoman period. Nalins came to be artistic objects which indicated the wearer's social standing. As domestic baths became more common the rituals of the bath house declined and nalins were replaced with the simpler "takunya". Takunya are also worn outside of the bath house. Since 1960 takunya have in their turn been replaced by plastic slippers which are lighter and quieter.
Nalin
A nalin was based on a wooden sole supported on wooden plates under the heel and ball of the foot and carved from a single piece. A strap secured the nalin to the foot. The base was carved from a hardwood such as plane, box, ebony, walnut or sandalwood. The base was then embellished with precious metals or inlaid with mother-of-pearl or tortoise shell. The strap was of leather or fabric with jewels and embroidery.In 1898 a price of five guineas was quoted in Notes and Queries for a pair of Nalins. The description of them was :
The height of the plates and the quality of the embellishments was determined by the status of the wearer. The height varied from to. Enderûnlu Fâzıl's 18th century painting of a bathhouse shows one finely dressed woman with very high nalins whilst the majority of subjects have much lower footwear. Nalin were often part of a woman's dowry. Babies were sometimes given miniature versions as gifts.
Although mostly associated with hammans or bath houses, they were also worn in stone houses, konaks and palaces.
Turkish nalins are claimed to have influences Venetian chopines which were similarly tall clogs.