Lauren Booth – Jewish Ottomans – Islamic Heritage Series
AI: Summary ©
The video discusses the history and culture of the Asian side of Istanbul, including the settlement of Joyce City and the arrival of Dutchman Heyder. It also describes the cultural and political dynamics of the region, including the use of Dutch language and the importance of religion in the community. The video ends with a brief advertisement for a beauty tour.
AI: Summary ©
As-salamu alaykum, I pray this 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 Kuzguncuk, a place of
colourful houses, of beautiful coffee shops and a
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 is 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.
Miss Miller, let's explore Kuzguncuk.
So there are two Orthodox churches here in
Kuzguncuk and there were Jewish communities here from
the 1300s when Orhan Bey arrived.
He befriended them and looked after them and
the first recorded grave of a Jewish person
here in Kuzguncuk 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
had thrived 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.
Bayezid II 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 Kuzguncuk 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 whilst socially seeing the benefit
of the refugees as a blessing, not a
burden on the state.
What a lesson to Europe today.
Kuzguncuk 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 synagogue's former members have
relocated within Istanbul, the synagogue is visited on
the weekends.
It's known that Kuzguncuk was accepted as the
last stop before 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 Ottoman's multicultural and non-discrimination mentality kept
many different cultures alive, an attitude ingrained in
the laws of the time.
Many cultures lived 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 this stunning village.
So this is the surprise that I wanted
to share with you.
This is the Bostan of Kuzguncuk and what
is a Bostan?
Well, it's an urban garden and for 700
years, the Ottomans were excellent at feeding their
inhabitants with hundreds of farms, agricultural centres like
this in the city.
So panela, the agricultural experts in medieval Istanbul
knew their stuff.
They had a mastery of how to use
the space around them and a really, really
good understanding of the seasons.
And did you know, you probably didn't know,
Bostan's gardens like this were the third biggest
employer of the Ottoman state for cities underneath
what was number one, coffee shops and barbers.
When you come to Istanbul and you go
to a park or if you're blessed to
come to this Bostan, never stop at the
first tier because these places tend to go
up and up and up and get more
glorious the higher you go.
They just don't stop, so panela.
It's a bit of a climb, but I
made a mistake for many months of just
going, okay, a couple of tiers, not as
grand as London parks.
And then all the good stuff, the 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 wanted to build a primary school
here and their neighbours in the neighbourhood, 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 centre of a traditional and distinctive community,
mashallah.
This is the hub in Bradford University.
Oh, Bradford, mashallah, mashallah.
Well, eight of you, eight of you.
Always respect women who can do this, mashallah,
may Allah bless you.
So anyway, enjoy your stay, take care.
I hope you've enjoyed today's video and walking
around Kuzguncuk with me and learning more about
the beautiful legacy of the Muslims, subhanAllah.
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.
And let's all keep applauding the beauty of
our deen and our Islamic heritage.
Asalaamu Alaikum.