Muhabbet is an initiative aiming at bringing together scholars, students, and people interested in the shared social history and cultural heritage of the East Mediterranean. We wish to hold discussions about our common legacies in an informal and friendly environment, like that of the coffeehouses, which originated in the Ottoman East Mediterranean, where people used to come together to develop amicable conversations called muhabbet.  

The study of Ottoman history, considerably enriched in recent years, has been read mostly as a prologue to Turkish history, thus leaving the diversity of ethnic and religious groups under its umbrella at the margins of the political, intellectual, and cultural history of the empire. They were much more than that. They not only participated in the everyday life of the imperial state, but contributed considerably to the making of the empire’s multicultural heritage. Our initiative aims especially in creating dialogues for the study of the Ottoman and post-Ottoman worlds, considering the contributions of both the Ottoman elite culture as well as the various ethnic and religious groups of the empire to the historical and contemporary societies of the East Mediterranean.

We intend to hold informal conversations on a variety of topics that will bring together people with mutual interests into an open dialogue in the spirit of a friendly chat or Muhabbet. The conversations will facilitate a “safe space” for discussing aspects of the East Mediterranean peoples’ experiences and encourage the understanding of Ottoman history as part of the history of peoples of the region. 

 

Venue                     The Demos Center, 17 Ipitou St., Plaka, Athens and

     The Gennadius Library, Souidias 61, Kolonaki, Athens

Organizers:            Ilay Romain Ors (PhD in Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University), Catherine Boura (PhD in History, King’s College, University of London), Elias Kolovos (Research Director in Ottoman History, Institute of Historical Research, NHRF).

Our initiative has been endorsed by the Institute of Hellenic Culture and Liberal Arts, Deree College, ACG; the Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation; the Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

Format:       Conversations by two experts on selected topics, discussion to follow

 

Program

Monday, January 27, 2025, 19:00
Intercommunal Musical Legacies of Late Ottoman Istanbul
Merih Erol and Panagiotis Poulos

The Demos Center - The American College of Greece, Ipitou 17B, Plaka, Athens

 

Wednesday, February 5, 2025, 19:00

Writing on the City: Politiki Literature of Istanbul

Petros Markaris and Iraklis Millas

The Demos Center - The American College of Greece, Ipitou 17B, Plaka, Athens

 

Wednesday, March 5, 2025, 19:00

Greek Revolution in Ottoman History

Şükrü Ilıcak and Elias Kolovos 

The Demos Center - The American College of Greece, Ipitou 17B, Plaka, Athens

 

Wednesday, March 19, 2025, 19:00
Greek-Turkish Literary Encounters in the 19th - early 20th centuries
Natasha Lemos and Catherine Boura

Pia Zombanakis Conference Room, Gennadius Library, Soudias 61, Kolonaki, Athens 

Wednesday, April 9, 2025, 19:00
On Culinary Cultures and Diasporic Identities
Alexander Kitroeff and Ilay Romain Ors

The Demos Center - The American College of Greece, Ipitou 17B, Plaka, Athens

 

Friday, May 23, 2025, 19:00
The Banality of Good and Evil: a conversation between two historians
Cemal Kafadar and Anthony Molho 

Cotsen Hall, Gennadius Library, Anapiron Polemou 9, Kolonaki, Athens