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Early on as the Ottoman Turks drove out the Byzantines from Anatolia and later pursued them into Europe, the pursuit was a part of the Jihad (or Holy War) against Christianity, and the first Ottoman rulers called themselves Gazi, or Holy Warriors. But, as the Ottomans moved further west and the assimilation of the Greek and Balkan cultures progressed, the Turkic leaders themselves absorbed some of the culture of the conquered peoples. The alien culture was gradually added to the Turks' own, creating the characteristic Ottoman culture. It is impossible to speak of one Ottoman Culture as it is always in change and constantly in relation to other cultures. A logo for WP:AID; a combination of the WP logo and the picture from the shovel article. ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (the Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Bursa (1335-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), İstanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40... Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered around its capital in Constantinople. ... Asia Minor lies east of the Bosporus, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus as recounted in the New Testament. ... ...

The Ottomans had a high tolerance of alien cultures and religions: The men of the ruling Dynasty, the house of Osman, always married women with mixed heritage, Turkish, Greek, Arab, Russian, Serbian, thus themselves were mixed.

The Arts

Poetry

Main article: Poetry of the Ottoman Empire

Compared to Arabian and Persian literature translations, the poetical literature of the Ottoman Turks has been, with only a few exceptions, almost entirely neglected by Western scholars. Poetry has been cultivated in Turkey with greater assiduity than any other branch of literature. Joseph Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall, in his 1836 classic work, Die Geschichte der osmanischen Dichtkunst, gives translated extracts from two thousand two hundred Ottoman poets. Comparatively few of these Ottoman versifiers are regarded as really great poets. Perhaps Aşık Paşa is not very far behind his great prototype, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, the author of the Mesnevi. The ghazals of Baki, in elegance of diction and depth of feeling, rival those of Hafez; and the romances of Lami'i yield not one whit in loveliness to the works of Jami or Nizami. The reason we do not count Ottoman poetry or poets among really great poets is that most of the works were not translated to European languages. // The poetry of the Ottoman Empire has many strata. ... Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by speakers of the Arabic language. ... Persian literature is literature written in Persian. ... Joseph Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall (June 9, 1774–November 23, 1856) was an Austrian orientalist. ... In poetry (and as the lyrics in songs), the ghazal (Arabic: غزل; Turkish gazel) is a poetic form consisting of couplets which share a rhyme and a refrain. ... Baki can be: The main character of an Anime and Manga named Grappler Baki about an unbelievably strong fighter (Grappler). ... Khwajeh Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi (also spelled Hafiz) (خواجه شمس‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی in Persian) was a Persian mystic and poet. ... Youth seeking his fathers advice Miniature illustration to the Haft Awrang of Jami, in the story A Father Advises his Son About Love See Sufi outlook on male love Freer and Sackler Galleries, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Persian youth playing chess with two suitors Illustration to the Haft... External links The Legend of Leyli and Majnun Nizami, Jamal al-Din Ilyas. ...

Music

Classic Turkish Music / Turkish Art Music / Turkish Chamber Music / Turk Sanat Muzigi

Public Music / Turkish Folk Music

Quite a few Ottoman Sultans themselves were musicians. Two musical cultures developed in the Ottoman society due to geographic and cultural differences between the Palace and the various regions.

In Istanbul, in the Palace, the Byzantine Orthodox Chants, Islamic instruments, Farsi Poems transformed into the what is called today, the Turkish Classical Music. Turkish Classical Music, is a form of music, which has specific rythmic rules that the song writer needs to abide, and these are called the "Makam". Kurdili Hicazkar [1], Rast etc.. are types of these Makams. A complex orchestra can be used for the background music, or it can be sung solo. Typical instruments are a combination of both Eastern and Western instruments: Oud, Davoul, Kanun, Piano, Violin... There are some adaptations of Western Music to the Turkish Makams as well such as a Waltz by Dede Efendi.

In the provinces, several different kinds of Folk music were created.The most dominant regions with their distinguished musical styles are : Balkan-Thracian Turkus, North-Eastern Turkus(Laz), Aegean Turkus, Central Anatolian Turkus, Eastern Anatolian Turkus, and Caucasian Turkus. Istanbul does not have any Turkus, because it has the Turkish Classical Music.

These regions are quite distinguished from one another by the rythm, the vocals and the instruments. The vocals involve the local dialect or accent, and usually 2-3 basic instruments are used. For example, the Northeastern Turkish Music use the Kemenche, and Davouls; the Eastern Anatolian Turkus use the Saz. The Balkan-Thracian Turkus use the Zurna, Davoul and Darbuka.

Calligraphy

The stylized signature of Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire was written in an expressive calligraphy. It reads Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious.

The Diwani script is a cursive style of Arabic calligraphy developed during the reign of the early Ottoman Turks (16th and early 17th centuries). It was invented by Housam Roumi and reached its height of popularity under Süleyman I the Magnificent (1520–66). As decorative as it was communicative, Diwani was distinguished by the complexity of the line within the letter and the close juxtaposition of the letters within the word. Image File history File links Tugra_Mahmuds_II.gif Animated Tughra Mahmud II showing the structure of the calligraphy. ... A sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. ... Mehmed II Mehmed II, Mehmet II, or Muhammed II, (also known as el-Fatih, the Conqueror, in Ottoman Turkish, or, in modern Turkish, Fatih Sultan Mehmed) (March 30, 1432 – May 3, 1481) was first the sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to 1446, and later... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (the Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Bursa (1335-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Ä°stanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40... Diwani is a calligraphic variety of Arabic script, a cursive style developed during the reign of the early Ottoman Turks (16th century - early 17th century). ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (the Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Bursa (1335-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Ä°stanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (November 6, 1494 – September 5/6, 1566); in Turkish Süleyman, (nicknamed the Magnificent in Europe and the Lawgiver in the Islamic World, in Turkish Kanuni) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 to 1566 and successor to Selim I. He was born... mary elline m. ... Events January 7 - Pius V becomes Pope Selim II succeeds Suleiman I as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Religious rioting in the Netherlands signifies the beginning of the Eighty Years War in the Netherlands. ...

See also Arabic Diwani font This image is ineligible for copyright and therefore in the public domain, because it consists entirely of information that is common property and contains no original authorship. ...

• Arabic calligraphy
• Islamic art

See external links: The stylized signature of Sultan Abdul Hamid I of the Ottoman Empire was written in an expressive calligraphy. ... Islamic tilework of the Shrine of Hadhrat Masoumah, first built in the late 8th century. ...

• calligraphy
• manuscript illumination from the Turkish Ministry of Culture.

Decorative

Miniature

See external links:

• miniature painting
• portrait painting

Textiles

See external links:

• textiles

Carpet

Among the Ottoman Turks the art of carpet weaving have environmental, sociological, economic, and religious reasons, which all of these effected the daily life and the decorative structures of the carpets. Turks used the carpets not just on the floors but also walls and doorways. This protected them from the temprature fluctuations between day and night, and through out the seasons.

Hereke Carpets have very important place among world carpets. They are the best and finest silk rugs in the world. Carpets with Hereke designes look like magnificent cloths with fine weaving. There is an authentic Hereke designs and later carpet designers have influenced with the royal tastes and compositions. The first examples, found during the Seljuk period, were established in Usak, Gordes, Cairo, Bursa and Istanbul in 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. The Hereke factory, built through Ottoman industrial policy in 19th century, started to work on textiles, but later carpet weaving took the dominance.

Other significant designes include "Palace", "Yoruk" and "Turkmenian" carpets. They generally have the same functional characteristics, but differ in their styles. Stylised designs dominate "Yoruk" and "Turkmenian", whereas naturalism is prevalent in Palace due to the technological possibilities which gives way to more complex designs and motifs.

Jewelry

Architecture

Main article: Ottoman Architecture

See these examples of Ottoman Architecture: The Topkapi Palace The Dolmabahçe Palace The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii; also known as the Blue Mosque) The Suleiman Mosque (Süleymaniyye Camii) See also: Islamic architecture Mosques. ...

Performance

Dance

Competing—successfully—with the women of the harem for the affection of the Ottoman noble were young males in various functions, chief among whom were the entertainers, known as köçeks. They traveled in troupes and were skilled in music, dancing, and erotic pleasures. The average troupe—named after its leader—would have about thirty dancers, though some had several hundred. When not on stage, köçeks would work in coffee-houses and taverns, where they would serve drinks, flirt, and be available for trysts with the clientele. The köçek phenomenon is considered to be one of the most significant symbols of Ottoman Empire culture. ...

Dancing Köçek with a tambourine. Photograph, late 19th c. Private collection.

They were highly sought after by all nobles of all ranks, including the Sultan. Köçeks wore elegant and gaudy costumes, had long curly hair, and were immortalized in books discussing their qualities and ranking them by nationality, such as the Huban-nameh of Enderunlu Fazil. Download high resolution version (395x848, 162 KB)Dancing Köçek with a tambourine. ... Download high resolution version (395x848, 162 KB)Dancing Köçek with a tambourine. ...

Median (Open Stage Show)

Central - Median

Image File history File links The_Turkish_theater_1933_-_pishekar,_kavuklu,_three_zenne,_orchestra,_on_median_(open_space). ... Image File history File links The_Turkish_theater_1933_-_pishekar,_kavuklu,_three_zenne,_orchestra,_on_median_(open_space). ...

Meddah (One Person Show)

Istanbul - Story teller

Meddah or story teller was a single person show that played in front of a small group of audience like a coffee shop audience. The play is generally about a single topic which the meddah (story teller) plays different personalities within the story. Depending on the person the meddah is impersonating in the story, he used an umbrella, or an hancercife to signal the change of personality. The control of voice is the most important skill in this type of show. There is no time limitation on the shows. A good meddah has the skill to adjust the story depending on the interaction getting from the audience. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x854, 826 KB){{PD} the orginal image is dated befor 20th century. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x854, 826 KB){{PD} the orginal image is dated befor 20th century. ...

The stories are mostly conflicts between different parts of the society. Meddah were generally travelling artists that moved from one big city to another. The main path that used was the towns on the spice road. The dynamics of the tradition is supposedly goes back to the Homer's time. The methods of meddahs were same as the methods of that times artists who told the stories of Greek epics Iliad and Odyssey from one town to another, even though the stories were changed to Ferhat ile Şirin or Leyla ile Mecnun. Among the reportuars of the meddah also include true stories, that was modified depending the audience, artist and political situation. Bust of Homer in the British Museum For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ... The Iliad (Greek: Ιλιάς, Iliás) tells part of the story of the siege of the city of Ilium, i. ... Odysseus and Nausicaä - by Charles Gleyre The Odyssey (Greek Οδύσσεια) is the second of the two great Greek epic poems ascribed to Homer, the first of which is the Iliad. ...

The Istanbul meddahs were known integrate musical instruments to their stories. That was pointed as a difference to the east anatolian Dengbejin.

Karagöz (Shadow Play)

Karagoz

Costumes

Main article: Costumes of the Ottoman Empire

The fashion during the ottoman empire was covered in these pages. The fashion was more of expression of ones feelings and cultural values during the ottoman period than what is represented through modern fashion values. Turkic people emigration from Asia to Anatolia caused many cultures to integrate. ...

For more details on this topic, see Ottoman Clothing.

Old Costumes The earliest sources found in the history of Turkish clothing date back to the miniatures and wall pictures uncovered in Central Asia. ...

Lifestyle

Main article: Lifestyle of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman court life in many aspects assembled ancient traditions of the Persian Shahs, but had many Greek and European influences. Goverment life Economic Life Category: Ottoman Empire ... For other uses of this term see: Persia (disambiguation) The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... Shah is an Iranian term (Persian and Kurdish) for king, and has also been adopted in many other languages. ... This article is about the continent. ...

Traditions

Constituents of Ottoman Culture

The Court (Palace) Saray The culture that evolved around the court was known as the Ottoman Way. To get a high position in the empire, one must be skilled in the Way. It included knowing both Persian, Arabic and Ottoman Turkish and how to behave in court, in front of the sultan, and in formal and religious occasions. The Ottoman Way also used to separate the nobles from the lower classes. Peasants and villagers were called Turks, while nobles were Ottomans. Persian (فارسی = Fârsi . ... Arabic (; , less formally, ) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Ottoman Turkish is the variant of the Turkish language which was used as the administrative and literary language of the Ottoman Empire, containing extensive borrowings from Persian, which in turn had been permeated with Arabic borrowings. ...

Food The Ottoman court employed cooks from different backgrounds and they were responsible of producing innovative foods for the Sultan. There was a "Cheshnidjibashi" (taster) who tried the food before the sultan to prevent him from getting poisoned by his enemies. Dolma, Shark Soup, Fish Marmelade, Tavuk Gogsu (chicken breast pudding), were inventions of the Ottoman palace.

Language The Ottoman court spoke a version of Turkish, innundated with words from Arabic and Farsi. The grammar was still Turkish, but a lot more elaborate than the Turkish people spoke in the streets and villages. The language became so differentiated that people had to hire Arzuhaldjis (request-writers) to be able to communicate with the government, as the request had to be translated to Ottoman.

The Sultans had a very mixed ethnic lineage because the Sultans married women from various backgrounds, so they spoke their mother tongue, Ottoman, Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, Greek and some european languages.

All ethnicities who had their own language continued to speak their own language in their family, in villages where two populations lived together, the two populations would often speak each other's language (Cyprus:Greek/Turkish, the Balkans: Albanian/Greek/Serbian/Bulgarian, Eastern Turkey: Kurdish/Turkish/Armenian, Northeastern Turkey: Laz, Georgian, Greek, Turkish).

In compolitan cities, people often spoke their family languages, some Ottoman if they were educated, and some Arabic if they were Muslim. In the last 2 centuries, French and English emerged as popular elite languages where the elite learned French at school, and used European products as a fashion statement.

Life The Turks were the warriors and the peasants and the Greeks, Armenians, Jews, Latins (Catholics), Bulgarians and Slavs were considered to belong to their own "nation" within the Ottoman Empire and an elected or selected community religious leader was responsible of collecting taxes, running the courts, and managing these nations-within-the-nation. The non-Muslims were exempt of military service, but they had to give up their children as janissaries and pay more in taxes. They were judged by their own courts and were first responsible to their own religious leaders then to the Ottoman government, which allowed them to keep their religious and linguistic identities in tact during 600 years of rule.

The Capital City

Tolerance and Diversity as an Ottoman State Policy

After the conquest of Bursa, in 1326 Orhan Gazi issued a Royal Decree for the building of a synagogue, the "Etz Ha Hayim" synagogue which was in service until 50 years ago. The oppressed Jewish community, thanks to Orhan Gazi could breathe again. When Bursa was declared the capital, Jewish tradesmen were invited to Bursa and thanks to the climate of freedom, Jews came even from Arabia.

Istanbul, was reborn after the conquest in 1453 and it quickly became a melting pot / confluence of all known cultures, religions, cultures, food, languages, music, art and innovation.

In Spain, the Catholic Spanish Kings reconquered Andalusia. They made public an edict during the week of April 29, 1492. The charter declared that no Jews were permitted to remain within the Spanish kingdom, and Jew who wished to convert was welcome to stay. The Jews expelled from Spain with the inquisition in 1492, were brought to Istanbul, to repopulate the city's empty Greek-fled houses. Bayezit II said: "King Ferdinand, I deemed a wise-man, is not so wise, as he does not see the value that Jews bring to his lands. We welcome them to live and prosper with our Empire."

The Greek Orthodox church who was considered to be the ecumenial patriarch for all Orthodox Christian, which also covered the Armenians. This created great displeasure with the Armenians. Sultan Mehmet II the Conqueror thus founded the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul by beautifying his friend, Archbishop Hovagim of Bursa with patriarchal dignity and authority in 1461.

The Bulgarians were under the jurisdiction of the Constantinople patriarchate as members of the Orthodox Rum millet, and the decades-long struggle for emancipation from the hegemony of the Greek clergy ended in 1870 with the recognition by the Ottoman Porte of an autonomous church, the Bulgarian Orthodox Exarchate, and of a separate Bulgarian millet.

The Provincial Capitals

Apart from the Ottoman court, there were also large metropolitan centers were the Ottoman influence expressed itself with a diversity similar to metropolises of today : New York, London, Paris. Sarajevo, Skopje, Thessaloniki, Damascus, Baghdad, Beirut, Jerusalem, Mecca were other cities that tasted the Ottoman diversity with their own small versions of Provincial Administration replicating the culture of the Ottoman court locally.

In general, Turks take their shoes off in the house. There are slippers that are designated to home use. This custom was carried through centuries as the Turkish babies have been free to move and adults can rest on the floor. This custom aimed in keeping the carpet and kilim clean. Women and girls take up carpet and kilim weaving as a means of earning money.

There is a religious holiday that families present candies to guests.

Seker Bayrami

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (829x672, 413 KB) From Constantinople settings and traits (1926) Seker Bayrami File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (829x672, 413 KB) From Constantinople settings and traits (1926) Seker Bayrami File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Household life at palace

The Harem was a small world in itself. Often the mother of the current sultan (Valide Sultan) was a politically influential person. She also selected the concubines for her son. The concubines could live in or around the palace for their entire life, and it supported them with whatever they needed. Women not found suitable for the sultan were married off to eligible bachelors from the Ottoman nobility or sent back home. Female servants did all the chores such as serving food and making the beds. Male (sometimes eunuch) white and black servants did the hard work such as shopping, guarding the palaces and maintaining the gardens and palaces. In traditional Arab culture, the harîm حريم (cf. ... The Valide Sultan was the mother of a ruling sultan in the Ottoman Empire. ... Chinese Eunuchs A eunuch is an infertile human male whose testicles have either been removed (deliberately or by accident) or are otherwise non-functional. ...

You can not see the face of the bride. Religious and political leaders are at the front.

1908 Royal Wedding

Every prince has his own place. It is a tradition to take the bride from her house and take it to where she will be building her new familiy. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (818x698, 445 KB) From Constantinople settings and traits (1926) Royal wedding File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (818x698, 445 KB) From Constantinople settings and traits (1926) Royal wedding File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

1908 Royal Wedding

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (824x690, 437 KB) From Constantinople settings and traits (1926) Royal Wedding File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (824x690, 437 KB) From Constantinople settings and traits (1926) Royal Wedding File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Sports

Turkish Wresling is very old tradition among Turks. Terrible and mighty Turk, Yusuf İsmail Pehlivan at Kirkpinar Yağlı Güreş is the Turkish national sport. ...

Turkish Wresling

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (832x616, 395 KB) From Constantinople settings and traits (1926) Turkish fair File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (832x616, 395 KB) From Constantinople settings and traits (1926) Turkish fair File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Cirit

Food And Drinks

Raki

Sherbet

-Logusa Sherbeti -Fruit Sherbets

Turkish Coffee (Turk Kahvesi)

Nargile (Narguile / Hookkah)

Lokum (Turkish Delight)

Sheker (Candies)

-Akide Shekeri

Macun (Majoon)

-Pestil Cevizli Sucuk (Walnut Sucuk)

Science and Technology

Timeline

18/07/1851 -Inauguration of the Academy of Sciences 6

Education

Timeline

• 01/04/1847-Institution of the Ministry of Education founded
• Civil Service School founded 1859
• Imperial Ottoman Lycée at Galatasaray founded 1868

1859 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... for Galatasaray High School, visit Galatasaray Lisesi Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (Galatasaray Sports Club, or Galatasaray SK) is a Turkish sports club based in İstanbul which is most famous for its football section. ... 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...

Social Issues

External links

• http://www.osmanlimedeniyeti.com Many articles about the Ottoman history and culture including art, culture, literature, economics, architecutre (in Turkish)