06/16/2006
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Those who would like to talk about the problematic and controversial relationship between Greeks and Turks need look no further than news reports, also recent ones, because there is no lack of information.
The occasion that created this recent news story caused an outcry in Turkey.
During the “European Day” celebrations Greek Cypriots presented Baklava, a sweet
made with nuts or pistachios and drenched in syrup as the Greek national dessert.
What’s more, in a leaflet distributed during the events the dessert was placed
along side the Greek flag. The Turkish reaction was voiced immediately. Mehmet
Yildirim, President of the Association of Producers of Sweets and Baklava (BAKTAD)
answered questions in kind, at a press conference specifically organised to respond
to this question. After having recognised Baklava as, “the Sultan of desserts
and the dessert of Sultans”, he closed the question definitively with: “Baklava
is a Turkish dessert, the biggest gift that Turks have given to humanity.” For
Yildirim, the Greek attempt at claiming ownership of this delicious cake, “is
not based on any concrete proof.” Between Greeks and Greek-Cypriots a culture
of Baklava could not exist, “it would therefore be useless to challenge them on
this, they have no Baklava maestros. If there are, come here now!” Indignant
reactions also came from from the city of Gaziantep in the south-east of Turkey.
The city is known as the gastronomic capital of Turkey and above all its name,
for every Turk, is intrinsically linked to Baklava made with pistachios. The dessert
has become the symbol of the city and represents one of its major industries.
Dozens of cake shops are dotted throughout the centre of Gaziantep from which
every year tonnes of this precious cake are dispatched to all four corners of
the country, as well as being sent to console Turks living in other parts of Europe.
The importance of Baklava for Gaziantep is born out in the words of Burhan Cagdas,
owner of a family restaurant founded in 1887 who last year told me “despite new
methods used in the production of Baklava one thing has never changed: the value
of one kilo of Baklava always corresponds to the value of one gram of gold.” The
Baklava produced in Gaziantep boasts at least two peculiarities: the first is
the abundant use of a typical product of the region, pistachios, whose qualities
have been noted since the Ottoman epoch and which have been exported all over
the world. The second is the difference with the rest of the country, where Baklava
is a homemade product made by housewives and makes up part of religious festivities,
but in Gaziantep Baklava is prepared by professionals. Ayfer Unsal, author of
the book “Eating and Drinking in Gaziantep,” notes that in the city no housewife
prepares Baklava at home, here you can only find it in cake shops. Mr Gullu, owner
of a celebrated chain of Baklavians (specialised Baklava cake shops) spread throughout
the country, refers to his ancestor, Gullu Celebi who started producing Baklava
in his cake shop at the end of the 1800’s. He strangely, had learnt trade secrets
in another city Aleppo, during the epoch towards the end of the Ottoman and the
beginning of the Syrian Empire. It was Mr. Gullu, supported by the local Association
of the industry, who as the spokesman of the city expressed its indignation: “I
believe that you have to laugh at news of this type, Baklava is Turkish.” Gullu
has also reassured fellow citizens: “Turks don’t worry, we will not lose our Baklava!”
The Turkish-Greek diatribe surrounding the crispy pastry isn’t a novelty of recent
days. Charles Perry, journalist from the Los Angeles Times and culinary expert,
also isn’t convinced. Over the last few days many Turkish newspapers have made
reference to him, because a few years ago during a convention he supported the
theory of the Turkish origins of Baklava. In an article, within a volume of Culinary
Culture of the Middle East, published by the prestigious School of African and
Oriental Studies in London, Perry attempted to put an end to the age old polemic.
He does it by attacking the foundations of the Greek claim to ownership to the
sweet. In a book by the historian Speros Vryonis, “The Decline of Medieval Hellenism
in Asia Minor“, he sustains that Baklava couldn’t be anything other than the Byzantium
Kopte or Koptoplakous, this constitutes the principle reference point for supporters
of the Greek origin of the sweet. Perry puts the interpretation made by Vryonis
of two historical sources to support his theory under discussion. The first of
these sources is from a text written in the Second Century AD; in which reference
is made to a sweet made from layers and filled with nuts and honey. According
to Perry, Vryonis overlooks the fact that these layers could not be made with
delicate layers of pastry but with layers of ground sesame. Citing also the second
source, a book by Professor Koukoules, Vyronis, according to Perry commits the
same error, he fails to precisely identify explicitly what the layers of pastry
are made from.
In reality Perry’s interpretation is convincing when compared to the evidence
put forward to favour the Greek origin of the sweet. The evidence is much less
when you look at the Turkish origins of Baklava and the fact that the traditional
preparation of fine layers of pastry is diffused throughout Turkish culture. In
reality many points remain unclear about the origin of Baklava, nor does etymology
help. In fact the word contains the Arabic word baqla which means vegetable or
plant. In modern Turkish it has taken on the meaning of broad bean, maybe because
of the way in which Baklava is cut. This is without taking into account the numerous
theories that support the original Byzantium version: that Greeks could have added
the use of layered pastry, phyllo; or the fact that the maestros of cake making
in Gaziantep appear to have learnt the techniques of making Baklava in Aleppo,
a city that was politically Ottoman and culturally linked to the Arab world.
Still in the ambit of gastronomy let’s take the example of a product that is
very popular in Europe, yoghurt. If you ask any European citizen what the origins
of yoghurt is most probably they will respond with Greece or maybe Bulgaria. Imagine
though there could be nothing more Turkish than yoghurt. Starting with the word
that contains the root yog, that in Turkish means dense, solid, and the origins
of the verb yogurmak, to densify. Or the case of another sweet, lokum, cubes of
hard jelly made from dry fruit or custard. Recently lokum prepared by Greek-Cypriots
with a record weight of one a a half tonnes was put into the Guinness Book of
Records and recognised as a Greek-Cypriot sweet. There are historical news reports
confirm lokum as being invented in 1777 by a genial baker from the Black Sea region.
Who made his fortune in the imperial court. The original name is rahat lokum (quick,
easy snack) is made up of two Turkish Ottoman words both of which have Arabic
origins.
printsend
The Greek-Cypriote community presents the celebrated sweet as a Greek product, causing an uproar in Turkey
Those who would like to talk about the problematic and controversial relationship between Greeks and Turks need look no further than news reports, also recent ones, because there is no lack of information.
Dramatic as the recent incident collision between two F16 fighter planes in the
sky above Rodi. Or there’s the tragicomic alarm launched by some Greek television
stations to stop a suspected Turkish spy, later revealed as an innocuous tourist
whose hobby was photography. Maybe for once it may be worth looking at the question
from a perspective that is softer, or better still, sweeter.
The occasion that created this recent news story caused an outcry in Turkey.
During the “European Day” celebrations Greek Cypriots presented Baklava, a sweet
made with nuts or pistachios and drenched in syrup as the Greek national dessert.
What’s more, in a leaflet distributed during the events the dessert was placed
along side the Greek flag. The Turkish reaction was voiced immediately. Mehmet
Yildirim, President of the Association of Producers of Sweets and Baklava (BAKTAD)
answered questions in kind, at a press conference specifically organised to respond
to this question. After having recognised Baklava as, “the Sultan of desserts
and the dessert of Sultans”, he closed the question definitively with: “Baklava
is a Turkish dessert, the biggest gift that Turks have given to humanity.” For
Yildirim, the Greek attempt at claiming ownership of this delicious cake, “is
not based on any concrete proof.” Between Greeks and Greek-Cypriots a culture
of Baklava could not exist, “it would therefore be useless to challenge them on
this, they have no Baklava maestros. If there are, come here now!” Indignant
reactions also came from from the city of Gaziantep in the south-east of Turkey.
The city is known as the gastronomic capital of Turkey and above all its name,
for every Turk, is intrinsically linked to Baklava made with pistachios. The dessert
has become the symbol of the city and represents one of its major industries.
Dozens of cake shops are dotted throughout the centre of Gaziantep from which
every year tonnes of this precious cake are dispatched to all four corners of
the country, as well as being sent to console Turks living in other parts of Europe.
The importance of Baklava for Gaziantep is born out in the words of Burhan Cagdas,
owner of a family restaurant founded in 1887 who last year told me “despite new
methods used in the production of Baklava one thing has never changed: the value
of one kilo of Baklava always corresponds to the value of one gram of gold.” The
Baklava produced in Gaziantep boasts at least two peculiarities: the first is
the abundant use of a typical product of the region, pistachios, whose qualities
have been noted since the Ottoman epoch and which have been exported all over
the world. The second is the difference with the rest of the country, where Baklava
is a homemade product made by housewives and makes up part of religious festivities,
but in Gaziantep Baklava is prepared by professionals. Ayfer Unsal, author of
the book “Eating and Drinking in Gaziantep,” notes that in the city no housewife
prepares Baklava at home, here you can only find it in cake shops. Mr Gullu, owner
of a celebrated chain of Baklavians (specialised Baklava cake shops) spread throughout
the country, refers to his ancestor, Gullu Celebi who started producing Baklava
in his cake shop at the end of the 1800’s. He strangely, had learnt trade secrets
in another city Aleppo, during the epoch towards the end of the Ottoman and the
beginning of the Syrian Empire. It was Mr. Gullu, supported by the local Association
of the industry, who as the spokesman of the city expressed its indignation: “I
believe that you have to laugh at news of this type, Baklava is Turkish.” Gullu
has also reassured fellow citizens: “Turks don’t worry, we will not lose our Baklava!”
The dispute over the origins of Baklava follow the similar destiny of many other
debates in Turkey and have finished up on the lap of the European Union. Some
journalists wanted the opinion of Hansjorg Kretschmer, head of the EU presence
in Turkey, made during a visit to the Commerce Chamber in Ankara, to be known.
Kretschmer recalled many similar disputes regarding the defence of national culture,
and he suggested to the Turks to take the matter to the European Court of Justice
in order to resolve the matter.
The Turkish-Greek diatribe surrounding the crispy pastry isn’t a novelty of recent
days. Charles Perry, journalist from the Los Angeles Times and culinary expert,
also isn’t convinced. Over the last few days many Turkish newspapers have made
reference to him, because a few years ago during a convention he supported the
theory of the Turkish origins of Baklava. In an article, within a volume of Culinary
Culture of the Middle East, published by the prestigious School of African and
Oriental Studies in London, Perry attempted to put an end to the age old polemic.
He does it by attacking the foundations of the Greek claim to ownership to the
sweet. In a book by the historian Speros Vryonis, “The Decline of Medieval Hellenism
in Asia Minor“, he sustains that Baklava couldn’t be anything other than the Byzantium
Kopte or Koptoplakous, this constitutes the principle reference point for supporters
of the Greek origin of the sweet. Perry puts the interpretation made by Vryonis
of two historical sources to support his theory under discussion. The first of
these sources is from a text written in the Second Century AD; in which reference
is made to a sweet made from layers and filled with nuts and honey. According
to Perry, Vryonis overlooks the fact that these layers could not be made with
delicate layers of pastry but with layers of ground sesame. Citing also the second
source, a book by Professor Koukoules, Vyronis, according to Perry commits the
same error, he fails to precisely identify explicitly what the layers of pastry
are made from.As stated by Perry the presence of fine layers of pastry could be the unconditional
proof of the Turkish paternity of the sweet. The preparation of fine layers of
pastry is in fact a characteristic of the Turkish nomadic population, who weren’t
able to cook the pastry in a conventional oven and were constricted to cook the
layers on a flat, slightly convex, metal plate. The use of fine leaves, yufka
or katmer in Turkish, other than being central in the preparation of sweet and
savoury Turkish food, can also be found throughout the Turkish Diaspora, from
Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan, between the stony Russian Steppes and the Turkish figures
of the Chinese Sinkiang. The Baklava that we have the pleasure in tasting today,
could be, according to Perry, the fruit of the crossing of the traditions of Yufka
with the best techniques and the introduction of new ingredients brought by the
Imperial kitchens of the Ottoman palaces.
In reality Perry’s interpretation is convincing when compared to the evidence
put forward to favour the Greek origin of the sweet. The evidence is much less
when you look at the Turkish origins of Baklava and the fact that the traditional
preparation of fine layers of pastry is diffused throughout Turkish culture. In
reality many points remain unclear about the origin of Baklava, nor does etymology
help. In fact the word contains the Arabic word baqla which means vegetable or
plant. In modern Turkish it has taken on the meaning of broad bean, maybe because
of the way in which Baklava is cut. This is without taking into account the numerous
theories that support the original Byzantium version: that Greeks could have added
the use of layered pastry, phyllo; or the fact that the maestros of cake making
in Gaziantep appear to have learnt the techniques of making Baklava in Aleppo,
a city that was politically Ottoman and culturally linked to the Arab world. Waiting for definite proof, which we may never get, it maybe wiser to think of
Baklava as the tangible fruit of the overlapping of cultures and civilisations
of this Middle-eastern Anatolian area. If the archaeological proof is true, (which
dates from the end of the Assyrian epoch,) demonstrates the existence of sweet
similar to that of Byzantium kopte.
The Ottoman Empire could be given merit though from the part of the imperial
kitchens, that refined Baklava and is the Baklava that we know today, and from
the another part of having favoured the diffusion of its political influence and
culture all over the territory under its influence. It could be easy to brush
away all the controversy over the origins of Baklava with a sweeping smile, or
judge it as yet another demonstration of Greek or Turkish fundamental nationalism.
In reality, the stake in a dispute of this kind is fine from this point of Turkish
Greek relations. “Our ancestors didn’t leave the world fundamentals from the history
of thought or from philosophy but had a strong predisposition to having a good
taste on their palate, at least they have left us that!” commented, somewhat ironically,
a journalist from the daily newspaper Radikal. But as often happens, behind these
apparently futile questions there are extremely hidden issues. In this case the
problem is the lack of recognition of the cultural inheritance from the Turk-Ottomans
in Europe.
Still in the ambit of gastronomy let’s take the example of a product that is
very popular in Europe, yoghurt. If you ask any European citizen what the origins
of yoghurt is most probably they will respond with Greece or maybe Bulgaria. Imagine
though there could be nothing more Turkish than yoghurt. Starting with the word
that contains the root yog, that in Turkish means dense, solid, and the origins
of the verb yogurmak, to densify. Or the case of another sweet, lokum, cubes of
hard jelly made from dry fruit or custard. Recently lokum prepared by Greek-Cypriots
with a record weight of one a a half tonnes was put into the Guinness Book of
Records and recognised as a Greek-Cypriot sweet. There are historical news reports
confirm lokum as being invented in 1777 by a genial baker from the Black Sea region.
Who made his fortune in the imperial court. The original name is rahat lokum (quick,
easy snack) is made up of two Turkish Ottoman words both of which have Arabic
origins.Hundreds of years of Ottoman presence in Balkan countries, despite radical changes,
with the rest of Europe (not only commercial), have left numerous traces of Turkish-Ottoman
culture. With the dissolution of the Empire, the birth of the Balkans national
states caused the Turkish presence to fall back into Anatolian region, an area
completely different, the East. Memories of this presence and contributions have
been completely lost. Or it can be seen that this memory was absorbed in the reality
of new politics of the region born out of the ashes of the Empire, which in some
way “nationalised” cultural elements brought by the Turks. On the other hand,
the modern Turkish Republic has done nothing to promote the recognition of its
cultural ancestry and its place in European culture.
In this sense, the news in recent days that the Turkish government could present
a draft law for the setting up of cultural centres dedicated to the Mystic poet
Yunus Emre and aimed at promoting awareness of Turkish culture in the world, represents
an interesting signal. An encouraging step in the right direction in reunifying
these dense strands that for centuries have crossed over the banks of the Mediterranean.
Fabio Salomoni
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