Islamic Heritage – Jewish Ottomans

salam alayka my parents finds you well and blessed. Welcome back to my series and today we continue exploring the Asian side of Istanbul with a beautiful village called Quiz Gundlach. A place of colorful houses are beautiful coffee shops and and really important piece of the Ottoman social puzzle. So when I was researching for today's video, I thought it was all going to be on one particular theme which has to do with multiculturalism and the Ottoman social puzzle but actually I discovered something really dynamic and exciting and I can't wait to show it to you Bismillah let's explore because ganja.

So there are two Orthodox churches here in cause Good joke, and there were Jewish communities here from the 1300s when or Han Bay arrived, he befriended them and looked after them. And the first recorded grave a Jewish person here and because ganja was actually around the 1600s, but it has got one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Istanbul here today. The Inquisition was a powerful office set up within the Catholic Church to root out and punish what it considered heresy against Christian doctrine. It lasted 300 years, inflicting a severity of tortures and persecution upon Jews and Muslims, who thrive together for five centuries in Spain and Portugal. In 1492, the king of Spain

made the Alhambra decree and what did that do it expelled all of the Jews living in Spain and Portugal from those lands Bay is it the second had an immediate response. He called upon the Turkish Navy to go from the Bosphorus and collect all of the Jews that had been expelled and bring them here to Istanbul. Subhanallah many settled in because Ghandruk and he went further, he stated that these people were voluntary migrants, which meant they had rights as citizens and could become Ottomans. No one was allowed to refuse some shelter or a stay in their city, the Ottoman Sultan practiced Islamic tolerance for people of the book, while socially seeing the benefit of the refugees as a

blessing not a burden on the state. What a lesson to Europe today.

Because good joke is the first Jewish settlement in the Asian part of Istanbul. It's even referred to as a Jewish village by 17th century sources, ottomans applied the nationality system wherever they conquered. This means that there was no policy to turn people into Muslims, everyone continued with his or her own language and religion freely. Therefore, they continued their traditions in the same way, and that's kept them alive until today. Although many of the synagogues former members have relocated within Istanbul, the synagogue is visited on the weekends. It's known that because God joke was accepted as the last stop, for reaching the holy land by the European Jews, and those

who could not go to the promised land for any reason made it a will to settle there and die and be buried there. The Ottomans multicultural and non discrimination mentality kept many different cultures alive an attitude ingrained in the laws of the time, many cultures live together peacefully, and the Ottoman Empire was able to preserve itself with an inclusive sense of nationality. Today, Jewish and Turkish families still live together forming a cultural mosaic in the stunning village.

So this is the surprise I wanted to share with you. This is the Bustan of cars ganja and what is a Bustan? Well, it's an urban garden. And for 700 years, the Ottomans were excellent at feeding their inhabitants with hundreds of farms, agricultural centers like this in the city. Subhanallah the agricultural experts in medieval Istanbul knew this stuff. They had a mastery of how to use the space around them and

really, really good understanding of the seasons. And did you know you probably didn't know boss Dan's gardens like this. We're the third biggest employer of the Ottoman State for cities underneath what was number one coffee shops and barbers.

When you come to assemble, and you go to a park or if you're blessed to come to the spa, Stan, never stop at the first here. Because these places tend to go up and up and up and get more glorious, the higher you go. They just don't stop Subhanallah it's a bit of a climb. But I made a mistake for many months. I was just going Okay, a couple of tiers not as grand as as London parks and then all the good stuff. They're really spectacular stuff happens high up in the hills, and that's the story of Istanbul. Mashallah. So, like most of the urban gardens here in Istanbul, this one was threatened with closure this time just 10 years ago, when the local council wants to build a primary school

here and their neighbors in the neighborhood the people of this community they rallied together and they started a campaign saying don't take our breath don't take our gardens and they won. And today this is a beautiful hub where people meet the children can play and it's the center of a traditional and distinctive community Mashallah.

All right, Mashallah.

All eight of you, eight of you

always respect my women who can do this Masha Allah may Allah bless you. So anyway, enjoy your day. Take care. I hope you've enjoyed today's video and walking around because God joked with me and learning more about the beautiful legacy of the Muslims Subhana Allah if you like this, then make sure to subscribe to my channel. Don't forget to leave comments and tell me where you want me to visit next. Let's all keep applauding the beauty of our deen and our Islamic heritage. Salam Alaikum