Five hundred years of urban food regimes in Istanbul

Abstract

Candan Turkkan’s Feeding Istanbul: The Political Economy of Urban Provisioning begins with an intimate anecdote about her grandmother’s experi­ences of hunger during the Second World War and the centrality of bread in her family. She reflects on the fragility of food systems that belie appearances of food abundance in urban areas and the lasting psychological impacts of hunger. This personal story introduces the focus of the book: the political economies of urban food provisioning in Istanbul. Feeding Istanbul chronologically discusses food provisioning in Istanbul from the 16th century to the present. Turkkan uses an impressive range of sources, including secondary historical materials, archival documents and collections, and ethno­graphic research, to suggest that Istanbul has experienced three food regimes, each with unique relationships between the central authority, economics, and food supplies.