There is a great deal of discussion in today’s news regarding the nature of ties between Israel and Turkey. Relations between the two peoples date back to the days of The Old Testament.
The ancient Israelites were known to have imported honeybees from what is modern-day Turkey. A team of Israeli archaeologists recently found thirty intact hives made of straw and unbaked clay, with evidence that there had been over 100-200 more, on the site of the joint Israelite-Canaanite city of Tel Rehov. According to some evidence, the bees were probably imported from the region after the locals proved easier to handle than the Israeli bees, which had proved to be extremely aggressive.
The history of the Jews in Turkey encompasses 2,400 years. There have been Jewish communities in Asia since at least the 5th century BCE, and many Spanish and Portuguese Jews expelled from Spain were welcomed into the Ottoman Empire in the late 15th century. Despite emigration during the 20th century, modern-day Turkey continues to have a small Jewish population. I have several friends in Haifa who immigrated to Israel from Turkey at various times since we returned to our homeland in 1948. Many of them still share bonds that are both spiritual and cultural. My friend Danit Tubi helped me write this post. Her family came here from Turkey decades ago.
Turkey was among the first countries to formally recognize the State of Israel in 1948. Turkey and Israel have closely cooperated militarily and economically. The formal diplomatic relations between the nations has seen many ups and downs. However, there is a strong social-cultural bond between the peoples that I cherish and it shall continue to thrive.
I wrote this post at a Turkish café in the port area of my home city of Haifa. The “Namal” is a bustling area with ships both commercial and passenger bound for their destinations throughout the world. The owner of the café immigrated to Haifa from Turkey in 1970. We talked about the massage energy discoveries and proposed energy pipeline to connect the nations of this region. Eli still speaks the ancient language of Ladino which he learned in “The Old Country”. We enjoyed my favorite Turkish contribution to Israel - Borekas along with a strong cup of Turkish coffee.
Turkish coffee is a method of preparing coffee. Roasted and then finely ground coffee beans are boiled in a pot (cezve), usually with sugar, and served in a cup where the grounds are allowed to settle. Turkish Coffee is an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Turks confirmed by UNESCO.
Borekas is a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of a thin flaky dough known as phyllo (or yufka). It can be filled with cheese, often feta, sirene or kaşar; minced meat, or vegetables. It was most probably invented in what is now Modern Turkey, in the Anatolian Provinces of the Ottoman Empire in its early era, to become a popular element of Ottoman cuisine. A börek may be prepared in a large pan and cut into portions after baking, or as individual pastries. The top of the börek is often sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Börek is also part of Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish traditions. They have been enthusiastically adopted by the Ottoman Jewish communities, and have been described, along with boyos de pan and bulemas, as forming "the trio of preeminent Ottoman Jewish pastries". Please note that the picture below which was taken by my part time teacher and photographer Danit. The old Turkish market area in down town Haifa is now the new hot spot where young and old eat delicious Turkish food.
The hope that one day people in this region will live together in peace is widely discussed in the media. Conflict, very sadly, has been the nature of humanity since the beginning of time. Will political leaders and agreements bring Shalom? I have no idea. My strong conviction is that the nature of social, cultural, and spiritual bonds between nations holds the best answer. Food of course is the universal peacemaker.
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