Research Article

OTTOMAN CULINARY CULTURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY THROUGH THE EYES OF EUROPEAN TRAVELERS

Number: 119 September 28, 2026
TR EN

OTTOMAN CULINARY CULTURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY THROUGH THE EYES OF EUROPEAN TRAVELERS

Abstract

The sixteenth century is considered one of the most powerful periods of the Ottoman Empire. This political and military strength generated significant curiosity about the empire, leading many European travelers to visit Ottoman territories for various purposes. While historical records concerning palace members and the elite are relatively accessible, information about the everyday lives of ordinary people is considerably more difficult to obtain. This is largely because the daily experiences of common people were not systematically documented or regarded as historically significant. In this context, travelogues constitute valuable sources, as they provide detailed observations of the social and cultural lives of ordinary people. Although these journeys were primarily motivated by religious, political, or military concerns, nearly all travelers also commented on contemporary culinary culture. This study is based on a literature review and analyzes several travel accounts, including Dernschwam’s Travel Diary of Istanbul and Anatolia, Nicolay’s Navigations in the Empire of Suleyman the Magnificent, Schweigger’s Journey to the City of the Sultans, Stephan Gerlach’s Turkey Diary, Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq’s Turkish Letters, Giovan Antonio Menavino’s Treatise on the Life and Customs of the Turks, Jean Chesneau’s D’Aramon Travelogue, Memoirs of Baron Vratislav, Reinhold Lubenau’s Travelogue, Pierre Belon’s Travelogue, Breuning’s Travelogue, and Four Years in Turkey. The findings indicate that most of these travelers undertook their journeys with strong negative prejudices against Turks and Muslims, and they did not hesitate to reflect these biases in their writings. According to their initial assessments, Turkish cuisine consisted solely of soup and lamb. However, despite later describing dozens of different dishes—many of which they found to be quite flavorful and appealing—this early judgment was not easily abandoned.

Keywords

References

  1. Asiltürk, B. (2000). Türk Edebiyatında Gezi Kitapları Bibliyografisi 201-232. Türk Kültürü İncelemeleri Dergisi 2, 228.
  2. Belon, P. (2022). Pierre Belon Seyahatnamesi: İstanbul ve Anadolu Gözlemleri (1546-1549). Antakya, Adana, Konya, Afyon, Kütahya, Bursa. İstanbul: Kitap Yayınevi.
  3. Breuning, H. J. (2022). Breuning Seyahatnamesi: Doğu Ülkelerine Yolculuk; İstanbul 1579. İstanbul: Kitap Yayınevi.
  4. Busbecq, O. G. (2005). Türk Mektupları, Kanuni Döneminde Avrupalı Bir Elçinin Gözlemleri (1555-1560). İstanbul: İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları.
  5. Chesneau, J. (2012). D'Aramon Seyahatnamesi, Kanuni Devrinde İstanbul-Anadolu Mezapotamya. İstanbul: Dergah Yayınları.
  6. Dernschwam, H. (1992). İstanbul ve Anadolu'ya Seyahat Günlüğü. (Y. Önen, Trans.) Ankara: Kültür Bakanlığı Yayınları.
  7. Eyice, S. (1991). Aramon, Gabriel de Luetz, Baron d’. Retrieved 03 17, 2024, from TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi: https://cdn2.islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/dosya/3/C03001185.pdf
  8. Eyice, S. (1992). Busbeke, Ootgeer Giselijn van. Retrieved 03 14, 2024, from TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi: https://cdn2.islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/dosya/6/C06002458.pdf

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Food Culture, Food History, Turkish Cuisine, Ottoman Cuisine, Traditional Food

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

September 28, 2026

Submission Date

May 26, 2025

Acceptance Date

February 21, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: 119

APA
Kocabaş Güneşhan, Y. S., & Özkan, A. (2026). OTTOMAN CULINARY CULTURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY THROUGH THE EYES OF EUROPEAN TRAVELERS. Türk Kültürü Ve Hacı Bektaş Veli Araştırma Dergisi, 119, 631-662. https://doi.org/10.60163/tkhcbva.1706189
AMA
1.Kocabaş Güneşhan YS, Özkan A. OTTOMAN CULINARY CULTURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY THROUGH THE EYES OF EUROPEAN TRAVELERS. Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Veli Araştırma Dergisi. 2026;(119):631-662. doi:10.60163/tkhcbva.1706189
Chicago
Kocabaş Güneşhan, Yağmur Su, and Ali Özkan. 2026. “OTTOMAN CULINARY CULTURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY THROUGH THE EYES OF EUROPEAN TRAVELERS”. Türk Kültürü Ve Hacı Bektaş Veli Araştırma Dergisi, nos. 119: 631-62. https://doi.org/10.60163/tkhcbva.1706189.
EndNote
Kocabaş Güneşhan YS, Özkan A (September 1, 2026) OTTOMAN CULINARY CULTURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY THROUGH THE EYES OF EUROPEAN TRAVELERS. Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Veli Araştırma Dergisi 119 631–662.
IEEE
[1]Y. S. Kocabaş Güneşhan and A. Özkan, “OTTOMAN CULINARY CULTURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY THROUGH THE EYES OF EUROPEAN TRAVELERS”, Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Veli Araştırma Dergisi, no. 119, pp. 631–662, Sept. 2026, doi: 10.60163/tkhcbva.1706189.
ISNAD
Kocabaş Güneşhan, Yağmur Su - Özkan, Ali. “OTTOMAN CULINARY CULTURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY THROUGH THE EYES OF EUROPEAN TRAVELERS”. Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Veli Araştırma Dergisi. 119 (September 1, 2026): 631-662. https://doi.org/10.60163/tkhcbva.1706189.
JAMA
1.Kocabaş Güneşhan YS, Özkan A. OTTOMAN CULINARY CULTURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY THROUGH THE EYES OF EUROPEAN TRAVELERS. Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Veli Araştırma Dergisi. 2026;:631–662.
MLA
Kocabaş Güneşhan, Yağmur Su, and Ali Özkan. “OTTOMAN CULINARY CULTURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY THROUGH THE EYES OF EUROPEAN TRAVELERS”. Türk Kültürü Ve Hacı Bektaş Veli Araştırma Dergisi, no. 119, Sept. 2026, pp. 631-62, doi:10.60163/tkhcbva.1706189.
Vancouver
1.Yağmur Su Kocabaş Güneşhan, Ali Özkan. OTTOMAN CULINARY CULTURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY THROUGH THE EYES OF EUROPEAN TRAVELERS. Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Veli Araştırma Dergisi. 2026 Sep. 1;(119):631-62. doi:10.60163/tkhcbva.1706189

Articles published in this journal are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License. This license permits the non-commercial reuse of an open-access article, provided that the original author is properly attributed.