Every Friday the sultan would attend Friday prayers in one of the mosques of Istanbul, a tradition known as selamlik. The alkish (literally, ‘applause’) that is mentioned in descriptions of this ceremony does not actually mean hand-clapping but refers to the activity of those who saw the sultan passing by: they would call out, ‘My sultan, do not be proud, as Allah is greater than you.’ The pageantry surrounding selamlik was of great importance. As was mentioned earlier, in the classical age of Ottoman rule some complaints from members of the public were written down and placed in a pouch attached to the stirrup of the sultan. These petitions in Turkish and other languages, which are among the most valuable documents to be found in the Ottoman archives, would be collected by an official and were dealt with seriously. Sometimes very interesting petitions emerged from the pouches, which were handed over to the Rikab-i Humqyun

ref: Ortayli, Ilber (2009).  Discovering the Ottomans. pub: Kube Publishing Ltd. Leicestershire