In the imperial capital of Constantinople, security and public order duties were performed by Janissaries, called: Karakullukcu, who carried out the police and security duties.
Right - Two illustrations of the Bekci: night watchman responsible for maintaining local public order, from 1618 - Right [1], and 1809 (Far Right).
Each block‟s association would pay its own bekci (these were the security guards, night watchman, lookout, guardsman, safekeeper and security men).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Ottoman Turkish Illustrations from Peter Mundy's Album, "A briefe relation of the Turckes, their kings, Emperors, or Grandsigneurs, their conquests, religion, customes, habbits, etc" - Istanbul 1618.
Between 1827 and 1837, the state employed local militia, retinues, irregulars, old bandits and vagabonds as security forces, these were distiguised:
Edmund Spencer’s ‘Travels in European Turkey, 1850’, mentioned the dress of an ‘Arnout pandour, or kavass’, whom had joined his tour party in Bulgaria, noting that his dress was ‘peculiar to that arm of service’ of the bekci, but also, whose employment it was to act as couriers, and protect the caravans and travellers in European Turkey.
An earlier description of various Bekci, appears in ‘The Present State of the Turkish Empire’ (Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont) (duc de Raguse) London, 1839;
Two known illustrations of the post-1826 Bekci show them carrying a long baton as a mark of office (pictured above).
Right - Dated 1840 (Brown University Library collection), and is titled ‘Kavass’. This figures is -
On each breast there is a row of fabric loops, to take a set of five black-powder charge metal bottles. These are likely cloth breast cartridge pouches, of the type classically seen as a Cossack item of dress.