What is Levantine Cuisine? What is the Levantine Called?

10.08.2020

 

What is Levantine Cuisine? What is the Levantine Called?

Coord. Chef Ahmet ÖZDEMİR

(this definition is among the definitions I have saved on the wikipedia website)

 

Levantine cuisine Levantine, known in Arabic as Bilad al-Sham, covers a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is found in modern Cyprus, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Syria, and southern parts of Turkey near Adana, Gaziantep, and Antakya (formerly Aleppo Province). 

 

Levant cuisine in Syria during the Ottoman period is the traditional cuisine of the Levant or "Greater Syria" region. Traditions dating back to the Ottoman Empire (Ottoman Culture) period are shared in this region. These traditions are still in effect today. 

 

In general, Levantine cuisine covers Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Northern Iraq, Southeastern parts of Turkey and Palestine. Aleppo is one of the important cultural and commercial centers in this region and Levant cuisine.

 

Who is called Levantine?

 

 

Levantine or as a slang expression, Tatlısu Frenki is used to describe the Christians who concentrated in the big port cities and engaged in trade in the Ottoman Empire, especially after the Tanzimat.

 

What does Levant mean?

 

1. The name given to the Christians who concentrated in the big port cities and engaged in trade, especially after the Tanzimat, is the freshwater syphilis. 

2. p. He has a snobby attitude, trying to look like a European: “He provides a unique atmosphere to his stories by getting impressions from the Levantine living there.”

 

Levantine or as a slang expression, Tatlısu Frenki is used to describe the Christians who concentrated in the big port cities and engaged in trade in the Ottoman Empire, (Ottoman Palace Cuisine) especially after the Tanzimat. As the narrowest definition; They are Catholics of French-Italian origin who settled in the Ottoman period living in the states bordering the current Eastern Mediterranean. They are different from the local Christian population (Greek, Armenian, Syriac...).

 

What is the Levant region?

 

Levant (al-Mashrik) is a geographical, historical and cultural designation with uncertain boundaries used to describe a large area on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. In general, it refers to a large area in the Middle East, south of the Taurus Mountains in the course of history.

 

With the translation of Bülent Şenocak, who has been researching the Levantines in Turkey for years, Gaston Deschamps, who came to İzmir at the end of the 19th century, described the Levantines as follows: 

 

"The center of the Christian Quarter is Frenk Street. It is possible to see the most beautiful and best buildings in the Frenk Quarter. Frank Street developed a lot after the goods started to unload at the French customs wharf built by the Levant Company under the auspices of the king. 

 

In the clothing shops here, just like in Paris;

 

* Behind the high window glasses, the street goods of all Europe are displayed, 

* Also, Manchester's customary cottons that swept the east, 

* Overcoats, jackets and suits are sold, shipped in large bales by the Austrian tailors' union. 

* They heal their sick with castor oil from Milan and quinine sold cheaply by the Italians and Germans, 

* They flavor their coffee with Austrian sugar, 

* They go hunting with Belgian rifles, 

* Angouleme of your stories and letters, 

* On Annonay or Fiume paper, 

* french fountain pen, 

* They write with German ink and Viennese pencil, 

* They furnish their houses with Antwerp and Paris mahogany, 

* They look at Swiss made watches, 

* They light their homes with Baku oil, 

* They make their bread with Odessa or Sevastopol wheat, 

* They make their meals from Russian caviar, Marseille oil, English cod,  French potatoes, Austrian smoked meat, Iranian tea, Italian cheese, and Egyptian onions.

 

Definitions such as...

 

What is Levantine Cuisine?  What is the Levantine Called?

 

What Are The Most Famous Levantine Dishes?

Some of the dishes listed below may have early origins in neighboring regions, but have long been tradition in Levantine cuisine and the Levant.

 

** Awameh

Fried dough Levantine pastry, similar to donut holes, made from deep-fried dough soaked in sugar syrup or honey and cinnamon, sometimes sprinkled with sesame

 

**  Baba ghanoush

A sauce made from baked eggplant puree mixed with lemon, garlic, olive oil and various spices.

 

**  Bamia

A stew made with okra and pieces of lamb in a tomato-based sauce, served over rice

 

**  Basbousa

Middle Eastern small dessert cake of baked semolina dipped in rose water syrup and topped with almonds or walnuts

 

**  Challah

A Jewish egg roll eaten mainly on the Sabbath and holidays

 

**  Stuffed

Vegetables, typically stuffed with eggplant, zucchini, onion peppers and/or tomatoes, ground beef and rice

 

**  Falafel

Formed into spicy mashed balls or fritters with chickpeas and deep-fried, usually eaten either pita bread hummus

 

**  Fasoulia

Casserole prepared with white beans and meat served on rice

 

**  Fatteh

chicken on rice, yogurt and pita bread

 

**  Fattoush

A salad of fried or fried pita bread with chopped cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes and other vegetables

 

 

**  Freekeh

A grain dish made from green durum wheat, which is roasted and rubbed to create its flavor, then served with cumin, cinnamon, and fresh lamb's tail fat.

 

**  Full medames

Ground broad beans and olive oil

 

**  Full medames salad 

A salad with broad beans, chopped tomatoes, onions, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, pepper and salt

 

**  Halva

A flour or nut-based fudge, including fruit or nuts

 

**  Hamin

A Jewish stew made with beef, chickpeas, beans, chicken stock, spices, lemon juice, garlic, barley, yellow potatoes, white onions, and sweet potatoes

 

**  Hummus 

A thick paste or spread made of chickpeas and olive oil, lemon and garlic; common in Egypt

 

**  Hummus salad 

An Arabic salad with cooked chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, tahini, salt, olive oil and cumin

 

**  Jerusalem mixed grill 

Chicken hearts, spleens and livers mixed with pieces of lamb cooked on a flat grill seasoned with onions, garlic, black pepper, cumin, turmeric, olive oil and coriander

 

**  Ka'ak 

Ring-shaped biscuit/cookie with occasional sesame sprinkles

 

**  Kabsa 

A rice-based dish commonly eaten with meat, lamb or chicken, cooked with various spices and sprinkled with nuts on the rice

 

**  Kanafeh 

A dessert made with grated filo and melted cheese soaked in sugar syrup

 

**  Kebab 

Grilled or roasted ground beef or lamb on a skewer

 

**  Kebab karaz 

Pita bread made of lamb meatballs in a cherry-based broth with pine nuts and cherries on a kind of kebab

 

**  Stuffed pastry

A pastry-like dish made with bulgur wheat or rice and spices, eaten cooked or raw.

 

**  Kibbeh nayyeh 

Minced raw meat appetizer mixed with fine bulgur and various spices

 

**  Kousa mahshi 

Zucchini cooked in a tomato-based sauce and stuffed with minced meat and rice

 

**  Labneh

Strained yogurt to remove whey; most popular as a breakfast food

 

**  Lentil soup 

May be vegetarian or contain meat, brown, red, yellow or black lentils, with or without shell

 

**  Levantine salad

Salad of chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, sometimes parsley, flavored with lemon juice and olive oil; Other popular salads include artichoke salad, beet salad, avocado salad, fattoush, and tabouli.

 

**  Limonana 

Lemonade made from freshly squeezed lemon juice and mint leaves

 

**  Ma'amoul

Semolina shortbread cookies filled with dates or walnuts, often sprinkled with sugar

 

**  Makdus 

Stuffed baby eggplants dried in oil

 

**  Malfouf salad 

Lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and mint salad

 

**  Manakish 

A pizza-like flatbread garnished with minced meat, thyme, and/or za'atar, often eaten for breakfast or dinner

 

**  Mansaf 

Lamb or chicken cooked in fermented dried yogurt sauce and served over rice

 

** Maqluba

A rice-based stew with meat, rice, and fried vegetables in a pot that turns upside down when served, hence the name, which literally translates as "upside down"

 

**  phyllo bread

Saj cooked on an iron griddle known as a thin, unleavened flatbread

 

**  farakeh 

An Arabic dish made of potatoes, eggs, ghee, cumin powder, salt and pepper with chopped coriander leaves as a garnish

 

**  Muhammara 

A hot pepper dip made from fresh or dried chili peppers, breadcrumbs, olive oil, spices and walnuts

 

**  Mujaddar

Groats cooked lentils, usually rice garnished with sautéed onions

 

**  Mulukhiyah 

A stew with chicken in a thick broth, cooked with hibiscus leaves, with mucilage like okra

 

**  Musakhan 

A classic Palestinian dish, whole roasted chicken cooked with onions, sumac, allspice, saffron and toasted pine nuts served on tabon bread

 

**  Pita 

A soft, slightly leavened flatbread made from wheat flour

 

**  My pti 

Literally "flakes", a type of fried pasta shaped like grains of rice, was developed in Israel in the 1950s when rice was scarce.

 

 

**  Qamar al-Din 

A thick, cold apricot drink typically served during the month of Ramadan

 

**  Qatayef 

A dessert commonly served during Ramadan, a sweet dumpling filled with cream or nuts

 

**  Qidreh 

Lamb stew made with chickpeas, garlic and spices, usually served over rice

 

**  Quzi

A hearty dish of roasted lamb with raisins, nuts and spices wrapped in rice or tabun bread

 

**  Rahab 

An eggplant and tomato salad popular in the Middle East.

 

**  Sabich 

an Israeli sandwich stuffed with eggplant in pita, seasoning, salad, hard-boiled egg, and amba

 

**  Sambusac 

Triangular savory pastry fried in ghee or oil with spicy vegetables or meat

 

**  Sfiha

Meat pies made with ground beef, lamb or veal

 

**  Shanklish

Cheese made into balls from cow's or sheep's milk, rolled with Aleppo pepper and za'atar, then aged and dried

 

**  Shashlik 

Skewers and grilled meat cubes

 

**  Shawarma 

Roasted meat is skewered and shaved to serve in sandwiches

 

**  Shish kebab 

Grilled or roasted pieces of meat on a skewer, often served over flatbread or rice

 

**  Sumaghiyyeh 

Ground sumac is soaked in water, then mixed with tahini (sesame seed paste), water, and flour, added to sautéed chopped chard, slow-boiled beef chunks, and chickpea beans.

 

**  Tabbouleh 

Bulgur salad mixed with finely chopped parsley, chopped onion and tomato

 

**  Tahini 

Condiment made from ground and hulled sesame seeds, main ingredient baba ghanoush and hummus

 

**  Tray 

A casserole cooked with minced meat, eggplant, potato and tomato slices and served with pickles, rice and salad

 

**  Toum 

A paste containing garlic, olive oil, and salt, typically used as a sauce

 

**  Warbat 

A sweet pastry consisting of thin-layer phyllo filled with custard, popularly eaten during Ramadan

 

**  Za'atar

A condiment consisting of sesame, dried sumac, and dried herbs often mixed with salt and other spices

 

**  Zalabia

Fried dough pastry in the shape of a ball or disc, dipped in a sweet syrup

 

**  Zibdieh 

A dish of shrimp in a clay pot cooked in a casserole with olive oil, garlic, hot pepper and peeled tomatoes

 

What is Levantine Cuisine?  What is the Levantine Called?

 

Some Kitchens (Ottoman Kitchen History) with Geographical Indications of the Levantine Cuisine;

 

* Assyrian Cuisine

* Syrian Cuisine

* Mesopotamian Cuisine

* Lebanese Cuisine

* Egyptian Cuisine

* Israeli Cuisine

* Jordanian Cuisine

* Turkish cuisine

* Cyprus Cuisine

* Palestinian Cuisine

* Syrian Cuisine

* Arabian Cuisine

* Middle Eastern Cuisine

* Jewish Cuisine

* Greek Cuisine

* Iranian Cuisine

 

What Does the Levant Mean?

 

The name given to the countries on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean starting from the 10th century in European literature.

 

Derived from the Latin word levar, meaning "to arise, to rise", it has a meaning pointing to the direction in which the sun rises. Italian levante entered French and English as levant.

 

Although there are different opinions about which countries are included in the concept of Levant, it is understood that it was originally used for the Aegean islands and the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts of Turkey. During the Crusades, Syria, Palestine, Cyprus and Egypt, XIII. It is seen that it covers the Black Sea region, which extends to the Crimea in the 19th century. After the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope road, the Far East countries were called the Far Levant. After World War I, the name Levant was used only for Syria and Lebanon. These countries, which were given the French mandate, were called Levant states in some literature until they gained their independence (see bibl.).

 

The navigating Italian city-states of the Middle Ages, who attempted to obtain free trade permission from the Byzantine State, played an important role in naming the eastern Mediterranean coast as the Levant.

 

The first Italian city to turn to Levant trade was Amalfi in the south. As early as the tenth century, the Amalfis began to transport pharmaceutical and dye raw materials and silk fabrics, which were highly sought after in Europe, from the Byzantine capital or Alexandria to Italy. However, when the city was annexed to the Norman Kingdom at the end of the century, Venice became superior in the Levant. After Venice XII. Pisa at the beginning of the century and Genoa at the end of the century competed to have a share in this trade and to establish colonies in the region.

 

 

The activities of the Venetians between Europe and the Levant began with the news-bearing between the Roman-Germanic Empire and the Byzantine Empire. In 992, they won the right to trade in Byzantine lands. Although these rights were expanded later, their participation in the Crusaders who entered Istanbul in 1097 overshadowed their relations with Byzantium. It was the Pisans who benefited from it. Genoa, which gained its full independence in 1099, was only able to make a trade agreement with Byzantium around 1142.

 

The Crusades shifted trade to Syria and Palestine, and then to Egypt.

 

During these expeditions, Genoese and Venice, who carried armies to the Levant, obtained extensive commercial concessions from the kingdoms and principalities of Jerusalem, Antakya, Urfa (Edessa), Tripoli, established in the region. Italian merchants also established more intense commercial relations with Egypt. Although Asian goods were also available in Syrian markets, a long and expensive caravan journey was necessary to transport these goods to the ports. 

 

However, it was possible to obtain them cheaper in Alexandria. However, here too, the prohibitions brought by the papacy were encountered.

 

IV. Beginning with Nicolas (1288-1292), the popes issued a series of decretos arguing that trade agreements with Muslim rulers, even traveling in Islamic countries, were against religion (Yver, p. 143). There were also some problems in terms of Islam in this regard, but in general, Islam allowed relations and agreements with the People of the Book under certain conditions, and granting some facilities and rights to those who were considered obligatory. After all, trade overcame all these barriers. Italian states also obtained the right to trade in Egypt. Gradually, this country became the most important place and key point of the Levant in transportation and trade.

 

On the other hand, the Italians spread to the Eastern Mediterranean coasts of Anatolia and settled in Cyprus.

 

Since the Seyhan (Sarus) and Ceyhan (Pyramus) rivers flowed into the sea through a common mouth at that time, ships could approach this part. Tarsus river had not lost its connection with the sea, as the river was not blocked with sand yet. On the other hand, Adana and Misis (Yakapınar) also had contact with the sea and rivers. XIII. The Armenian Kingdom, which dominated the region at the beginning of the century, had two major ports: Ayas (Lajazzo = Yumurtalık) and Korykos (Curcho, Gorigos = Kızkalesi). 

 

In addition to being suitable for anchoring and accommodation, the fact that these ports were connected to Anatolia by land and then to the Black Sea and Iran increased their importance even more. Genoa was the first state to gain commercial concession here, followed by Venice, Pisa and Florence. Cyprus, on the other hand, passed from the Lusignan Kingdom to the rule of Venice.

 

While these developments were taking place in the Eastern Mediterranean region, IV. The Crusade plunged Venice and Genoa into a new race for supremacy in the Levant.

 

Venice, which was among the Latin armies that occupied Istanbul in 1204, took possession of a quarter of its lands while the Byzantine Empire was disintegrating. While the Crusaders established a new Latin Kingdom in Istanbul, the Aegean islands, Greece, the Ionian Sea and Byzantine lands in the Adriatic were given to Venice. Thus, Venice, a small gulf republic, suddenly became a powerful colonial empire in the Levant. 

 

However, the fact that the Paleologists, who had withdrawn to Iznik, captured Istanbul in 1261 and put an end to the Latin Kingdom, this time brought Genoa to the forefront, which helped him in the Byzantine lands.

 

Moreover, the Genoese's policy of acquiring city ports directly ruled by them created a new era in the Levant; VIII. Mikhail Paleiologos gave Galata to them in return for the help he received from the Genoese (1267). Then, starting from the Aegean islands, very important trade cities on the Anatolian and Black Sea coasts passed under the rule of Genoese families. 

 

The Genoese reached as far as the Crimea.

 

As a result, together with the islands of Gökçeada (Imbros), Thasos, Lesbos and Chios, Foça (Phokaia), Amasra, Sinop and Kefe, Balıklava (Cembalo) and Suğdak (Sudak) became centers where the Genoese ruled. The Genoese, who had half of Samsun in their hands, also captured Güzelhisar, which is called the Genoese Castle on the Trabzon coast, and also dominated Edremit and Kadı Castle (Anea) for a while. A map drawn up in 1351 reflects the extent of Genoa's expansion in the Levant. This supremacy of the republic lasted until the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmed (1451-1481).

 

Trying to hold on to the western side of the Aegean while the Genoese expansion continued, Venice connected the ports of Koron and Modon in the Peloponnese and the islands of Euboea (Negroponte, Euboa), Stampalia, Scarpanto, Serifo directly to the center and made Crete the center of its empire in the Levant. He also captured the Tana Port in Crimea.

 

 

The Italians, who spread to the Eastern Mediterranean, soon made agreements with the Seljuks, the new owners of Anatolia, and the Western Anatolian principalities, which gave them the right to trade freely. In this period, Anatolia became known as Turchia in Western sources. The first step towards heading there was taken by the Lusignan kings of Cyprus. An agreement was made to regulate trade between Cyprus and the Anatolian Seljuks through mutual correspondence (Osman Turan, p. 139). 

 

Then, the Venetians received an edict from the Seljuk Ruler, I. Gıyâseddin Keyhusrev, which gave them the right to trade.

 

They made a comprehensive agreement during the reign of Alaeddin Keykubad I (8 March 1220). As the provisions seemingly based on the principle of reciprocity functioned unilaterally in practice, the Venetians who would settle in the country with this agreement were given the right of special jurisdiction as well as using their own measurements. The agreement in question contained similar rights that the Italians had obtained from Byzantium, and set an example for the agreements to be made with the Principalities and the Ottoman Empire. Thus, Western merchants began to travel mostly through Anatolia to Iran, and from there to Central Asia.

 

After the disintegration of the Seljuk State, commercial relations were established between the principalities established in Western Anatolia and the Italian states.

 

In addition, the Venetians made a trade agreement with the Ilkhanate. This agreement, dated December 22, 1320, can be considered an extension of the Seljuk-Venice agreement a century ago. In the eighty-three years from 1331 to 1414, the Venetians made seven peace and trade agreements with the Menteşeoğulları and three with the Aydınoğulları. The Genoese, on the other hand, tried to maintain their relations with their neighbors Aydın and Candarogullari during this period. XIV. In the 17th century, besides Alexandria, Beirut and Ayas in the Levant trade, Aydınoğulları, called the Teologo / Altoluogo (= Ayasuluk, Ephesus) Sultanate in Western sources, and Menteşeoğulları, known as the Meğri and Palatia (= Balat, Milet) Sultanates, came to the fore.

 

The rapid development of the Ottoman Principality changed these balances.

 

While the Ottomans were advancing towards the Byzantine capital, the Genoese in Galata sought help from the Ottoman Sultan Orhan when their colony was besieged by the Byzantine-Venice joint navy. When they achieved this, they started to refer to Orhan as "the brother and father of the Pera people" (Manfroni, p. 136). Relations culminated in a friendship and trade agreement in 1387. 

 

What is Levantine Cuisine?  What is the Levantine Called?Venice, which was not bordered by the Ottoman lands, also tended to make an agreement with Murad I at the end of his reign.

 

However, on May 21, 1390, he was able to obtain some trade rights in the Ottoman lands with the letters signed by Yıldırım Bayezid. However, since Venice saw the Ottoman advance as a threat to itself, the relations between the two sides changed in the XVI century. Until the end of the century, it followed a bumpy road that was often interrupted by wars. Venice, which joined the Varna Crusader alliance, which was established to expel the Ottomans from the Balkans, turned to peace in the face of the defeat and in 1446 II. He received an ahidname from Mehmed. 

 

In 1451, this ahidnâme was renewed.

 

However, on the other hand, he took advantage of the Ottoman-Karaman rivalry and attempted to make an alliance with Karamanoğlu İbrahim against the Ottomans. With an ahidnâme he signed on February 12, 1453, İbrahim Bey gave the Venetians extensive rights. In his letter to Doc Francesco, he said, “I am ready to act against our enemy in a way that will benefit you and us” (Diplomatarium Veneto Levantinum, II, 385-387). However, Fatih Sultan Mehmed's annexation of Istanbul and then the Aegean islands, Foça, Amasra, Sinop, Samsun, Trabzon, and Crimea, and the elimination of Anatolian principalities, put an end to the superiority of the Italians in the east and started a new era in the Levant trade.

 

 

XVI. Although the political picture in the Levant changed completely until the turn of the century, there was not much change in the goods bought or sold in trade.

 

The goods taken from the region to Europe during the said period can be grouped into several groups as agricultural-animal products, industrial products and transit goods. Transit goods included spices, raw silk, furs and slaves. The main goods brought from European countries and sold in Levant markets consisted of various textiles, yarn, soap, glassware, crystal, mirrors and paper. 

 

In addition to the density and variety of the goods transported, it was foreseen that the ships going to the Levant would sail together at certain times in order to ensure their safety. This system was called “muda” and caravan trips were organized once or twice a year. The fact that in 1423 only Venice provided 10 million ducats in the Levant trade, 4 million of which was profit, shows the dimensions of the trade (Sottas, pp. 36-51).

 

The Italians felt the need to prepare guide dictionaries and books for the merchants going to the region.

 

Codex Cumanicus, prepared in Suğdak in 1303, has an important place among such works. The dictionary, organized as Latin-Persian-Cumanian, contains 2500 Cuman words used in commerce (Komanisches Wörterbuch [pre. K. Grønbech], Kobenhavn 1942). 

 

After the Ottomans dominated the region, similar Turkish-Italian dictionaries were prepared.

 

Venice, which did not find dictionaries sufficient, turned to teaching Turkish to its young people, and these Turkish-speaking staff were called "language boys". Apart from dictionaries, books giving information about the measures used in the Levant countries, money and the goods bought and sold there were also prepared. Chief among these is La Pratica della Mercatura by F. Balducci Pegolotti, which was sent to the east on behalf of the Bardi firm in 1324 (ed. A. Evans, Cambridge 1936).

 

While Italian merchants settled in the Levant, Turkish merchants only lived in the XV. At the end of the century, they set foot on the territory of Italy and opened a business in Venice.

 

During the Battle of Lepanto, Turkish merchants living in a house in the city's Cannaregio district were given other places in the following years. The inn in San Matteo, where they lived after 1591, was called Fontico di Turchi. In 1621, the magnificent building belonging to the Ferrara Duchy on the city's great canal was allocated to Turkish merchants, Ottoman subjects, by making the necessary renovations. Thus, the Turkish merchants, who took their families with them and their number increased to fifty at one time, lived in this place called Fondaco dei Turchi until 1839, after the Republic of Venice fell under Austrian domination.

 

While the Ottoman advance put an end to the Levant Empire of Venice, it also allowed France to enter the region first and then England.

 

Defeat in the war against Austria forced France to seek help from the Ottomans. This rapprochement also provided commercial relations. France began to come to the fore in the Levant region, which was in the hands of the Ottomans. Despite the shift of Asia-European trade from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, England, who wanted to reach Asia via the Levant, III. By sending envoys to Murad, he succeeded in getting an ahidnâme in 1580 that gave trade permission to British subjects. 

 

The British, who established a company called Levant Company to open up to the east, started to trade through İzmir, which became an important port in Western Anatolia, and then headed to Alexandria. The Netherlands, which started to play a role in world trade after the British, made similar agreements with the Ottomans. However, while these agreements, which are now called capitulations, were frequently renewed, the Levant trade lost its importance, but continued to exist as a concept.

 

What is the History of the Levantines?

 

First of all, with the cooperation in the maritime and trade areas between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Genoese, the Genoese population, especially in the Galata region, began to settle on the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts. In the Ottoman Empire, which took the place of Eastern Rome in Anatolia and the Balkans, this alliance left its place to Venice, another Latin-based state. In the Ascension period, another alliance is formed.

 

With the Franco-Ottoman alliance established in 1536, this time the French merchant class began to settle in the coastal regions. This French and Italian population mingled among themselves and partly with the local Greek population, forming the Classical Levantine society. The most important common feature in this period is that the society was connected to the Roman Catholic Church.

 

After industrialization, European states in search of raw materials increased their population assets on the Mediterranean coast of the Ottoman Empire.

 

There were migrations to the Ottoman Empire from other western states, especially the British. For example, Germans who settled in Istanbul in the 19th century form a society called Istanbul Germans or Bosphorus Germans. These new populations also mix with the Levantine population to form the concept of Extended/Modern Levantine. New migrations lead to the presence of Protestant sects in the society.

 

Levantine or as a slang expression, Tatlısu Frenki is used to describe the Christians who concentrated in the big port cities and engaged in trade in the Ottoman Empire, especially after the Tanzimat. As the narrowest definition; They are Catholics of French-Italian origin who settled in the Ottoman period living in the states bordering the current Eastern Mediterranean. They are different from the local Christian population (Greek, Armenian, Syriac...).

 

Note: This article is just a compilation made by me as a combination of information from different places. I hope it will be useful to those concerned in the gastronomy and culinary community.

 

 

Resources;

https://islamancyclopedisi.org.tr/levant

L. Capelletti, Dell Industria e del Commercio dei Veneziani, Venezia 1867, p. 16.

G. Müller, Documenti sulle relazioni della citta Toscane coll'oriente Cristiano e coi Turchi, Firenze 1879.

Diplomatarium Veneto Levantinum, Venice 1880-89, II, 222, 385-387.

C. Manfroni, La Relazioni fra Genova, L'Impero Bizantino ei Turchi, Genova 1898, p. 28, 136.

G. Yver, Le commerce et les marchands dans l'Italie meridionale, Paris 1903, p. 143.

GJ Bratianu, Recherches sur le commerce genois dans le Mer noire au XIIIem siècle, Paris 1929, p. 160.

M. Silberschmidt, The Eastern Question at the Time of the Emergence of the Turkish Empire Against the Venetian Sources (tr. Köprülüzade Ahmet Cemal), Istanbul 1930, uk.

FB Pegelotti, La Pratica della Mercatura (ed. A. Evans), Cambridge 1936.

J. Sottas, Les messageries maritimes de Venise, Paris 1938, p. 36-51.

R. Grousset, L'empire du levant: Histoire de la question d'orient, Paris 1949.

G. Puaux, Deux années au levant: Souvenirs de Syrie et du Liban: 1939-1940, Paris 1952.

Osman Turan, Official Documents on the Seljuks of Turkey, Ankara 1958, p. 139.

G. Luzzato, Storia Economica di Venezia dall' XI al XVI secolo, Venezia 1961, dir.c.

AC Wood, A History of the Levant Company, London 1964.

F. Braudel, La Méditerranée et le monde méditerranéen à l'époque de Philippe II, Paris 1966, I-II, dir.c.

P. Cernovodeanu, England's Trade Policy in the Levant and Her Exchange of Goods with the Romanian Countries under the Latter Stuarts: 1660-1714, Bucharest 1972.

W. Heyd, Near-East Trade History (tr. Enver Ziya Karal), Ankara 1975, p. 129 et al.

EA Zachariadou, Trade and Crusade: Venetian Crete and the Emirates of Menteshe and Aydin (1300-1415), Venice 1983, dir.c.

T. Shaw, Travels or Observations Relating to Several Parts of Barbary and the Levant (ed. Fuat Sezgin), Frankfurt 1995.

M. Fontenay, “Le commerce des occidentaux dans les échelles du Levant vers la fin du XVIIem siècle”, Chretiens et musulmans a la renaissance (1994), Paris 1998, p. 337-370.

Şerafettin Turan, Turkey-Italy Relations I, Ankara 2000, p. 168-178, 197-270.

M. Cortelazzo, “La Conoscenza della Lingua Turca In Italia nel 500”, Il Veltro, XIII/2-4, Rome 1948, p. 133-141.

Faruk Sümer, “Wild Market”, TDA, p. 37 (1985), p. 1-99.

Sami Zubaida, "National, Social and Global Dimensions in Middle Eastern Food Cultures", Sami Zubaida and Richard Tapper, 

A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East, London and New York, 1994 and 2000, ISBN 1-86064-603-4, p. 35.

Jean Bottéro, The World's Oldest Cuisine: Cooking in Mesopotamia, University of Chicago Press, 2004, ISBN 0226067343

Wright, Clifford A. (2003). Small foods of the Mediterranean: 500 amazing recipes for appetizers, tapas, hors d'oeuvres, appetizers and more (Picture edition). Harvard Joint Press. Its ISBN is 1-55832-227-2.