Lahmacun row opens new front in Turkish-Greek culture war

Recent Greek Cypriot claims that lahmacun, a thin-crust snack food topped by minced meat, is a Greek dish have angered Turks, adding a new chapter to a long-running culinary battle about who invented what food.

Greek Cyprus attendants at the International Food and Drink Event in London this week presented “lachmazou” to visitors, defining the food as a “traditional Cyprus home-made pastry.” The culinary claim reportedly angered Turkish visitors to the fair.

“I won’t say anything about Greeks copying baklava and lahmacun from us [Turks] but they can’t manage to make either,” said businessman Hüseyin Özer, who was attending the fair. According to Özer, the “lachmazou” lacked taste in comparison to lahmacun made in Turkey.

Lahmacun belongs to the area from around the southeastern Turkish provinces of Şanlıurfa and Gaziantep, Özer said.

In addition to lahmacun and baklava, Greeks and Turks have both claimed cultural ownership rights of döner kebap, as well as the shadow puppet play, Hacıvat and Karagöz.

Source: here

si++, are you sure this isn´t "absurb?" 

Being involved in Turkish culture through my husband for as long as I have, I always find it so facinating when people argue about the origins of certain foods!  It seems that all the countries surrounding the Mediterranean have similar cuisines and each ethnic background brings its own twist to common dishes.  Most of the cuisine is similar because of the availability of similar ingredients.  In any case, I wonder how much it really matters.  Lahmacun, Baklava (or whatever) ...to me its wonderful from any country - if its made well.  Please just don´t share that with my husband! 

Before the repatriations Turks and Greeks lived in each others countries, so it is no wonder that there was "cross-pollination" of food. Does anyone know of a Turkish equivalent of Mousaka ?

Musakka is the Turkish name. Many of these dishes were broadly categorized under Ottoman cuisine. Some were transfered directly from the Byzantine kitchen, some from Arabic, Persian and Balkan kitchens and some were developed in the Ottoman Imperial Cuisine. Therefore, they are the common products of all the countries that are holding on to the tradition.

When I went to Athens, I thought the town is more Middle Eastern in its general outlook than being a typical European city. Their kitchen, music and lifestyle are also a bit oriental. That´s why they share a lot of things with us. 

So there´s a new entry in the long list of Turkish/Greek/Turkish/etc. foods...

Since we lived under the rule of the same big empire for long centuries, we can safely claim, the kitchens of these countries are essentially same with small local variations. We seem to have almost every single dish Greeks call theirs and vice versa.

The problem here is the fact that Greeks and Turks want to ethnically polarize themselves. This was made possible with the rise of nationalism in Europe and spreaded to the world through the relentless efforts of British, French and German intelligence and the political conjuncture.

I´d say it´s perfectly normal for neighbouring countries, especially those whose boundaries have been changing over the centuries to have the same or almost the same cuisine. The influence is so strong it´s impossible to say which dishes are whose. It´s the same with Slavonic cuisine, Polish, Russian or Lithuanian ones are very alike. Also, some elements of german and Polish ones are identical as well. Why bother insisting that baklava or lahmacun is Turkish if it´s actually impossible to prove it? Just enjoy them and let the Greeks enjoy them as well.