The Ottoman Empire: a Historical Encyclopedia [2 Volumes]

by Kia, Mehrdad;

  Large royal banquets to honor the visit of a foreign dignitary, to celebrate the circumcision of a prince of the royal family, or to mark the arrival of the Festival of Sacrifice offered the best opportunities to demonstrate the richness and diversity of Ottoman culinary culture. Although many of the same dishes appeared on the divān’s normal menu, the order of serving them changed. Meat dishes such as chicken ragout, sheep’s rump ragout, roasted pigeon, chicken, duck, and goose were added, while sweet dishes and pastries also were increased significantly. Banquets held in the palace itself produced so many leftovers that after guests had finished their meals, the janissaries were invited in for the customary practice of “plundering” the food (yagma). If the banquet was held outside the palace, servants and attendants, as well as the ordinary subjects of the sultan, were invited to participate in the “plunder.”

  Outside the palace, diets of rich and powerful Ottomans differed significantly from those of the lower classes. Wealthy families took the manners and dining habits of the sultan, his harem, and high government officials as a model. Their meals included egg or börek, meat dishes, vegetables with butter, rice, pastry, and pudding. They sat for their main meal in the evening, with the rich customarily consuming soups, spicy rice and meat dishes, cheese, fruits, and a variety of breads and jams. Glasses of coffee or tea completed the meal. In the homes of the wealthy and powerful, a coffee server and a chief taster were present throughout the meal. The taster first ate a morsel from every dish and then passed it to his master and the guests to eat.

  Wealthier Turks relied on lamb to provide the principal meat for their daily diet. Those who could afford it served it at nearly every meal. Sheep’s heads and trotters were a favorite dish. Zucchini and eggplant, stuffed with finely chopped mutton mixed with garlic, spices, and salt, were particular favorites. Carrots sometimes were stuffed in the same manner, or grape leaves were rolled around a mixture of chopped meat and cooked in a stew with sour plums. Yogurt often provided a sauce for the stuffed eggplant, zucchini, and vine leaves before they were served.

  Besides lamb, goat and deer meat also were dietary mainstays in the Anatolian provinces of the empire. Beef was not, however, popular among the Ottomans, and it proved difficult to obtain, particularly in Istanbul. The Turkish scholar Metin And described the several specialized techniques Turks had for preparing chicken. Stewed chicken was divided up and mixed with rice. Parsley or cinnamon was sprinkled on top for flavoring just before it was served. Roasted chicken usually was stuffed with spices and onions. Chicken was so popular that many shops sold whole chickens roasted in large ovens. These ovens, which resembled lime kilns, contained one or two shelves. The heat from red-hot embers rose up through holes in the bottom. The chicken, and at times other meat, was placed in a covered earthenware pot to cook in its own steam. Most meat dishes featured sauces flavored with spices such as pepper or saffron. Cooks often placed bread dough on a tray beside the cooking pot so that it baked as the meat cooked. A variety of rice dishes, ranging from chilau (white rice without any other ingredients) to pilaf (rice with various roasted meats such as chicken, duck, or partridge), and kebabs of lamb, were mainstays of the Ottoman diet. Carrots, green beans, lentils, and other vegetables, along with dried or cooked fruits and nuts, such as barberries, raisins, almonds, pine nuts, pistachios, orange peels, mulberries, and dates, were also central ingredients of daily meals.

  Islam prohibited the eating of any quadruped that seized its prey with its teeth or of any bird that seized its kill with its talons. Likewise, Muslims were prohibited from consuming elephants, weasels, pelicans, kites, carrion, crows, ravens, crocodiles, otters, asses, mules, wasps, and nearly all insects, as well as dogs, cats, and any fish that died on its own.

  Dinner parties at the homes of wealthy and powerful Ottomans sometimes went on for hours and included performances by dancers, musicians, and jesters. After dinner, faithful Muslims performed their evening prayers before retiring to bed. The very rich and powerful, such as khans or emirs of a distant province, might prolong the night by withdrawing to their private bathhouses, where slave boys rubbed them down with bath gloves and soap. Joined by family and companions, they also swam, and applied henna and depilatories. Finally, they relaxed while watching the bathhouse’s water fountains. After retiring to their bedrooms, they lit incense and enjoyed music and conversation until midnight (Evliya Çelebi: 373).

  Ottomans also enjoyed playing cards. Once they were tired of talking and playing, they washed their hands and sampled candies and sweetmeats, followed by fresh fruits such as plums, apricots, pomegranates, peaches, pears, or grapes washed down with juices. At the close of the evening, towels were brought and hands were washed a final time before bedclothes were laid out. As the lord of the house lay down to sleep, his storyteller would recite a story until his patron fell to sleep.

  Adopting the habits and lifestyles of the rich and powerful as a model, urban elites such as merchants invited relatives, friends, business partners, and even foreign guests to dinner receptions. On such occasions, the guests were separated according to gender. Upon entering the home men removed their shoes and followed the servants to the selamlik or the main reception hall, where the master of the house awaited their arrival. Women guests followed attendants to the harem, also a large reception hall, where they were met by servants who took their shoes, shawls, and bonnets and led them on to the beautifully furnished apartment of the lady of the house. Once the guests had arrived, an embroidered carpet was spread out and cushions placed around it. As guests relaxed against the cushions, servants served them a variety of stewed, roasted, boiled, and baked dishes, which might have included herb- and olive-filled chicken, anchovy cakes, pilaf, grape leaves stuffed with chopped meat and rice, delicate pastries, and tasty conserves. Colored sherbets and lemonade accompanied the dishes. At the close of the meal, sweetmeats were served as musicians played and guests lingered over coffee and the latest gossip. Some even began a game of chess or backgammon.

  Beyond the imperial court and outside the ruling elite, each ethnic and religious community of the empire boasted its own cuisine. Ottoman statesmen who had been recruited from non-Turkish backgrounds often remained loyal to the cuisine of their original home cultures. In describing the death of the Ottoman grand vizier Derviş (Dervish) Mehmed Pasha, who had died after suffering a stroke, the chronicler Evliya Çelebi (Chelebi) attributed the worsening of his condition to the minister’s refusal to forego a favorite meal. Being of Circassian background and having grown up among the Tatars, reported Çelebi, the grand vizier died after eating a delectable meal that included the flesh of a fat horse; koumiss, the region’s traditional mare’s milk; and a tasty Circassian cheese pastry. Çelebi warned his readers that such food was harmful because it led to a paralysis that required constant administration of laxatives and purgatives.

  As in other premodern empires, the cuisine of the Ottoman palace was far different than that of the scattered populations of the countryside. For example, rice was the mainstay of the imperial kitchen, but peasants in Anatolia and Syria ate boiled cracked wheat, or bulgur. Although the elite of the empire preferred olive oil, peasants inland from the Mediterranean coast used animal fats, namely, butter in the Balkans and sheep fat in Anatolia and the Arab provinces of the empire.

  In sharp contrast to the wealthy of the Ottoman Empire, the poor consumed a simple diet based on cereals and locally grown vegetables, beans, lentils, peas, pumpkins, and radishes. A typical diet sometimes included black bread and rice, along with yogurt. Dairy products, such as sour milk, often were accompanied by seasonal fruits or vegetables or by stewed dried fruit. Cheeses were also popular among the poor, including a slightly salted boiled cream cheese called kaymak, as well as cheeses preserved in leather bottles (tulum), in wheels (tekerlek), or in balls. A particularly famous cheese, cascaval, was made of ewe’s milk that had been boiled repeatedly. In the countryside, and among the poor, food was usually cooked on a small stove.


  On special occasions the family might share a chicken stew or a stew made of chicken and mutton cooked together in one pot with rice. With no liquid added, the rice soaked up all the juices of the meat. The lack of refrigeration in rural communities meant that most perishable foods were produced and consumed locally. Peasants in Anatolia and the Balkans consumed a wide variety of fresh and dried fruits. Popular fresh fruits including apples, cherries, pears, figs, grapes, apricots, melons, pomegranates, and plums, were grown in local gardens and orchards. Inhabitants of Anatolia and the Balkans originally did not have access to tomatoes, potatoes, corn, peanuts, bell peppers, and turkey, which arrived from Central or North America only in the 16th century. Honey served as a universal sweetener.

  Although the diet found among the empire’s poor might not include ingredients as sumptuous as those found in the palace and the private homes of the rich and powerful, all kitchens adhered to a strict regimen of hygiene during the preparation and consumption of food. These kitchen rules also applied to marketplace stall owners. Indeed, they were warned in an imperial edict that all makers and sellers of food must prepare it cleanly and thoroughly. They also must wash dishes in clean water and dry them with clean cloths. Potential offenders were warned that the marketplace supervisor, acting with the approval of a religious judge, would otherwise punish them severely. Certain rules applied to the use of spoons: only the right half of a spoon—the landing side—was to be dipped into the communal bowl; the left side of the spoon was to be used to raise the food to the lips. The Ottomans used only their right hands to raise food to their mouths, because the left hand was used for wiping the body and was therefore considered unclean. Between courses they invariably washed their hands and dried them with fresh towels. Like the wealthy, the poor did not use tables and chairs. Instead, a special mat placed on the floor served as a table.

  Whether they were rich or poor, young or old, women or men, Ottoman Turks loved Turkish sweetmeats. A very popular custard, known as muhallebi, was made from milk, flour, sugar, rice, and butter, and flavored with rosewater or another flavor. Another sweet was prepared by dropping a spoonful of batter on a hot metal plate and allowing it to cook and spread like a pancake. Once the pancake had been shaped, it was covered with a thick layer of rosewater-flavored sugar and chopped nuts and folded over into several layers.

  DINING AT THE OTTOMAN COURT

  In the following excerpt from one of her letters, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762), the wife of England’s ambassador to the Ottoman court, describes a meal that was served to her during her visit to the wife of a vizier:

  She entertained me with all kind of civility, till dinner came in, which was served, one dish at a time, to a vast number, all finely dressed after their manner, which I do not think so bad as you have perhaps heard it represented. I am a very good judge of their eating, having lived three weeks in the house of an effendi at Belgrade, who gave us very magnificent dinners, dressed by his own cooks which the first week pleased me extremely but,…I then began to grow weary of it and desired our own cook might add a dish or two after our manner. But I attribute this to custom. I am very much inclined to believe an Indian that had never tasted of either, would prefer their cookery to ours. Their sauces are very high [strongly flavored], all the roast very much done. They use a great deal of rich spice. The soup is served for the last dish and they have at least as great variety of ragouts as we have. I was very sorry I could not eat of as many as the good lady would have had me, who was very earnest in serving me of everything. The treat concluded with coffee and perfumes.

  Source: Letters of the Right Honourable Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (London: Printed for Thomas Martin, 1790), Letter XXXIII. Available at Project Gutenberg, http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/17520/pg17520-images.html.

  Regardless of class and social background, Ottoman Turks ate their meals without pomp and ceremony. They sat cross-legged on carpets and rugs, preferably in a flower garden or on the banks of a river or a creek shaded by heavy trees. The food was either served on a sofra, a large piece of cloth or leather, or on a low table, which could easily be reached by diners sitting on the ground. Travelers usually carried a sofra with them. Made of red or yellow leather with a string tied around it, it could be opened up or shut and carried like a purse. In the homes of the poor who could afford only one dish, family members sat around the cooking pot or a large plate or tray. They prayed and then ate together as a group, using their fingers because they did not use knives or forks. Even the rich and powerful sometimes ate directly from the cooking pot. Food was always eaten in silence.

  See also: Empire and Administration: Palace; Palace Pages and Royal Chambers; Primary Documents: Document 19; Document 20; Document 21; Document 22

  Further Reading

  And, Metin. “The Social Life of the Ottomans in the Sixteenth Century.” In Ottoman Civilization, edited by Halil Inalcik and Günsel Renda, 1:427–437. 2 vols. Istanbul: Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture Publications, 2003.

  Arsel, Semhet, ed. Timeless Tastes: Turkish Culinary Culture. Istanbul: Vehbi Koç Vakfi, 2003.

  Böcking, Isabel, Laura Salm-Reifferscheidt, and Moritz Stipsicz. The Bazaars of Istanbul. London: Thames & Hudson, 2009.

  Bon, Ottaviano. The Sultan’s Seraglio, An Intimate Portrait of Life at the Ottoman Court. London: Saqi Books, 1996.

  Braudel, Fernand. The Perspective of the World: Civilization & Capitalism 15th–18th Century. Translated by Sian Reynolds. 3 vols. New York: Harper & Row, 1979.

  Della Valle, Pietro. The Pilgrim. London: The Folio Society, 1989.

  Evliya Çelebi. The Intimate Life of an Ottoman Statesman: Melek Ahmed Pasha, 1588–1662. Translated by Robert Dankoff. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991.

  Evliya Çelebi. Seyahatnameh, Book of Travels. Vol. V, Evliya Çelebi in Albania and Adjacent Regions (Kosovo, Montenegro, Ohrid). Edited by Robert Dankoff and Robert Elise. Leiden: Brill, 2000.

  Evliya Çelebi. Seyahatnameh, Book of Travels. Vol. II, Evliya Çelebi in Bitlis. Edited by Robert Dankoff and Robert Elise. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1990.

  Faroqhi, Suraiya. Subjects of the Sultan: Culture and Daily Life in the Ottoman Empire. London: I. B. Tauris, 2000.

  Faroqhi, Suraiya, and Christoph K. Neumann, eds. The Illuminated Table, the Prosperous House: Food and Shelter in Ottoman Material Culture. Würzburg: Orient-Institut der DMG, Ergon-Verlag in Commission, 2003.

  Lane, Edward William. An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians. New York: Dover Publications, 1973.

  Levy, Reuben. The Social Structure of Islam. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1969.

  Lewis, Raphaela. Everyday Life in Ottoman Turkey. London: B. T. Batsford, 1971.

  Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley. The Turkish Embassy Letters. London: Virago Press, 1994.

  Pardoe, Julia. Beauties of the Bosphorus. London: Colburn Publishers, 1839.

  Pardoe, Julia. The City of the Sultan and Domestic Manners of the Turks in 1836. 3 vols. London: Henry Colburn Publishers, 1838.

  Halveti Order

  A popular Sufi mystical order in the Ottoman Empire, the Halvetis originated in Iranian Azerbaijan in the 14th century. The Halvetis, who enjoyed the support and patronage of Ottoman sultans, competed for many centuries with the Bektaşi (Bektashi) and Mevlevi Sufi orders.

  The Halveti order traced its origins to the Sufi master and teacher Pir Umar al-Khalwati, who died in Tabriz in northwestern Iran in 1397. The order’s name derived from the Arabic word Khalwa (Persian: Khalwat) meaning retreat, seclusion, and solitude. This referred to a basic rule of the order, which required members of the brotherhood to undergo solitary retreat once a year for 40 days in a small cell, fasting and praying all the while. One of Pir Umar’s successors, Yahya al-Shirvani al-Bakubi, who died in Baku in the present-day Republic of Azerbaijan in 1464, is considered to be the brotherhood’s actual founder (De Jong: 4:991). As traveling Halveti dervishes founded tekkes in various urban centers
of the region, the order and its teachings spread from the southern Caucasus and Azerbaijan to Anatolia and from there to the Balkans, especially to Macedonia, Albania, and Greece, as well as to Syria and Egypt. At Cairo’s world-renowned al-Azhar University, many şeyhs (sheikhs) joined the Halveti order. The mystical brotherhood also attracted followers from among the Turkoman tribes of Anatolia. In addition, it gained widespread popularity in the ethnically and religiously diverse urban centers of northern Anatolia, such as Amasya.

  In fact, the second half of the 15th century saw Amasya emerge as one of the most important centers of Halveti power and influence. Prince Bayezid, the governor of Amasya, ruled the strategically important region on behalf of his father, Sultan Mehmed II (r. 1444–1446, 1451–1481). Religiously and ethnically diverse, Amasya was home to Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Arabs, Kurds, and Tatars. The most influential şeyh of the Halveti order in the region was Mehmed Cemaledin Aksarayi (Mehmed Jemaledin Aksarayi), also known as Çelebi (Chelebi) Effendi. Closely allied with Prince Bayezid, he was invited to Istanbul following the death of Mehmed II in 1481, when the prince defeated his brother Cem Sultan (Jem Sultan) in a struggle for possession of the Ottoman throne. The new sultan considered Aksarayi his ally and spiritual mentor (Le Gall: 40).

  Under Sultan Bayezid’s patronage, the Halveti order grew in influence and established itself as the most powerful Sufi order in Istanbul. Bayezid II (r. 1481–1512) proved to be merely the first in a long line of sultans who sought spiritual counsel from Halveti şeyhs and favored the order for its collaboration in the Ottoman campaign of “Sunnization” (Le Gall: 40). When Bayezid’s son, Selim I (r. 1512–1520), ascended the Ottoman throne in 1512, the Halvetis suffered a setback, which was partially caused by the intense conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Shia Safavid dynasty in Iran and an “increasing Sunni orientation of the empire” (De Jong: 4:991). In response, the Halveti order adjusted itself to the new political reality by removing the names of the Shia imams from its silsilah, or the chain of the order’s former masters. After the victory over the Safavids at the battle of Chaldiran in August 1514, the Ottoman state relaxed its attitude toward the Halvetis once again. During the reigns of Süleyman I (r. 1520–1566) and his son, Selim II (r. 1566–1574), the Halveti order made a comeback, and many Ottoman government officials and dignitaries became its followers.