Could a kind soul versed in Turkish/Ottoman/Anatolian history vet this (possibly bad history) post for me?

by Gingerbomb

http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/2wpyby/turkish_men_wear_skirts_in_protest_for_victimized/cot9t6c This chap has claimed a myriad of things have Turkish origins (whether he means actually culturally Turkish or just found on the Anatolian peninsula, I have no idea) that I have never heard originated in Turkey before. I asked for sources for the whole spiel but it's been over 12 hours so I'm beginning to think he might not have any. I figured this would be the best place to have his post proved/disproved. Thanks!

jdryan08

Oh FUN! I love me some nationalist-inflected food and material history. I'm a historian of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, and here's some things to chew on for each of these:

Atatürk: Turks don't get credit for him? Huh, I never noticed. Despite some effort to complicate his legacy by numerous historians over the years, he's still pretty widely accepted as the most "benevolent" of the interwar period autocrats. He ruled much in the style of Mussolini, but without the imperialist edge that so often got that guy into trouble.

Kebab -- Meat on a stick is a universal, and universally delicious phenomenon. If this guy is concerned about Turkish ownership over this tradition, then he's just not been too many places. That said, there are Turk-specific varieties of meat on a stick, that are exceptionally tasty.

Yogurt -- Actually not sure where this first developed, but it's old enough to say that even if it did first appear in Anatolia, it was probably before "Turks" got there.

Mantı -- My favorite Turkish dish. It is not, however, unique to Turkey as the dumpling might be the second most ubiquitous foodstuff after meat on a stick. Many central and south asian cultures have a dumpling dish also called mantı, but the specifically Turkish variety emphasizes really tiny dumplings slathered in garlicky yogurt and pepper infused oil. It is comfort food par excellence.

Disbanding the Caliphate -- Yes, Turks were responsible for this (or more specifically Atatürk), but then again, I don't know if anyone would argue with this universally accepted fact.

Rakı -- Turkish national drink, is delicious, especially when accompanied with copious meze. That said, it is in the same family as other mediterranean anise-based liquors like Zambuca, Ouzo and Arak. The drinks are not that different from one another, but the rituals around each are distinct enough.

First country with women's rights -- this is a dubious one, and depends on what you mean by "rights". Based on this Wikipedia timeline you can see that Turkey was hardly the first modern nation to grant women's suffrage, though it did precede a few European nations including Spain and France. That said, women's equality and rights is still a very contested issue in Turkey, especially given some of the current government's policies.

Saving Jews from the Inquisition -- This is a sort of passive accomplishment. Indeed once the Inquisition began, all Islamic countries, by default, had more favorable policies towards Jews than Roman Catholic ones and indeed, a great many Jews migrated to the Ottoman Empire, where they were granted autonomy in personal legal matters in exchange for a special tax. But I don't know of any stories of Ottomans literally invading Catholic countries for the express purpose of evacuating Jews. Jewish history of the Ottoman Empire is a fascinating subject, I can recommend a lot of further reading on this if you're interested.

Coffee (founded after Siege of Vienna) and coffeehouses -- The discovery and use of coffee in the Middle East vastly predates the 1683 siege of Vienna. That said, it was during the Ottoman period that popular use of coffee proliferated there, mostly through coffeehouses (that also served tea, btw) which quickly became centers of social life in urban centers. Coffee was originally restricted to use by certain Sufi sects which incorporated it into their dhikr, or meditiation, practices.

There you go, a bit tongue in cheek, but if you want to know more about any of these subjects, I can recommend a lot of reading for you.