The Ladino Community in Turkey Part 1

One question about Turkey came from a friend who wondered about the Ladino community here in Turkey (and no, that's not a misspelling), which, in her words, was a "vibrant and culturally rich Jewish community in the Ottoman Empire" and then in Turkey, when it became an independent nation in 1922. My friend wondered about the state of the Ladinos in Turkey today.

What a great question! I hadn't known about the Ladinos actually, but after a little research through the Ladino museum in Turkey (and one in the U.S.) and several websites, here's what I found. First though, a little background about this historically fascinating community.

In 1453, the Ottoman Turks--under Mehmet the Conquerer, a beloved Sultan in Turkish history--conquered Istanbul. Sultan Mehmet the II, as he was also known, helped liberate the oppressed Jews living under the Byzantine Empire (also known as the Roman Empire), which primarily practiced pagan Catholicism and later Eastern Orthodoxism. Mehmet's inclusive call to the Jews encouraged them to "...dwell in the best of the land, each beneath his vine and fig tree, with silver and with gold, with wealth and with cattle." This wholehearted acceptance of Jews in Turkey during a time when so many were turned away, demonstrates the Ottoman Empire's legendary inclusiveness towards all people, regardless of race, religion, or background.

In order to understand how the Ladino community established itself in Turkey, we have to pull away from Turkey for a moment and turn our gaze to Spain. In 1492, Isabella and Ferdinand issued two important edicts. Americans are quite familiar with one of them--the order to Christopher Columbus to put an expedition together and head off in search of the Indies. But another important edict was issued as well: The entire Jewish community--over 200,000 people--was expelled from Spain as part of the Spanish Inquisition.

During this horrifying exodus, the most fortunate Spanish Jews, also known as Sephardim, escaped to Turkey, where they were embraced by the reigning sultan, Sultan Bayezid II, with open arms. "How can you call Ferdinand of Aragon a wise king," he was quoted as saying, "the same Ferdinand who impoverished his own land and enriched ours?"

It was an adept observation. Many of these Jewish citzens were doctors, lawyers, scholars, and diplomats, and they truly added so much to the economic, intellectual, and cultural richness of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire, in turn, was much kinder than the Byzantine Empire had been. Ladino communities were allowed to have their own laws, schools, and other independent freedoms. The Ladino Jews also created the Ottoman Empire's first printing press in 1493, in what was then Constantinople. In 1843, Ladinos began publishing a well known newspaper titled Shalom that is still in circulation today.

Photographs taken from here and here. The first is a remnant of the oldest synagogue in Turkey, dating back to the 4th century C.E. (A.D.). The second is of Sultan Bayazid II.

Sources:
The Sephardic Studies Website
The Istanbul Ladino Center
The Jewish Virtual Library
Time Magazine