HAVE YOU HEARD OF ĐOJLEN?

Almost 200 years ago, Serbia had been paying

gay youths from its own budget, to serve as TURKISH LOVERS

In the Ottoman empire, having a male harem was completely legitimate, just like
having a female one, a fact used to the fullest by sultans and other statesmen. In
nineteenth century, Belgrade also had male harems where young men were paid
to serve from the budget of Serbia.

In the spirit of the time, Belgrade Vizier also had a male harem, and the youths
serving him and his companions were called đojlen, a term for a younger gay
person. Đojlen were regularly paid for serving in male harems, and the Vizier
was reimbursed for these expenses from the state budget of Serbia, with the
hard-earned money that ordinary people had to pay.