7 ms·

Syria isnt 300 years old ? Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the world.....

toyg 3y ago
I think the parent poster meant that the specific modern countries are fairly new, and before they were all part of the same entities. Greece and Turkey were both part of the Byzantine Empire for centuries, and later part of the successor Ottoman Empire - together with Syria - again for centuries. Separate "national" identities for those areas didn't really exist until the XIX century, when Greeks started agitating for independence from Ottoman rule.
- _v7gu 3y ago
  I wouldn't really call past time Turkey a part of Byzantine Empire, Turks moved to Anatolia about a millenium ago with the Selcuks. Past time Turkey (before Anatolia) is more to the east.
- Alupis 3y ago
  Weird way to say it. The governments of these modern-day countries are not representative of the people of those regions. There has been a Greek culture (if not country) practically forever. Saying somehow the Greek people are a new people is just wrong. That would be like saying China was created in the 1950's. The current government maybe, but not the culture, history, cuisine, etc.
  - hot_gril 3y ago
    and France in 1945 edit: oh, 1958
  - balloonthief 3y ago
    Calling anything that came from before the 19th century a result of "Greek" culture makes things a bit murky, though. If, hypothetically, baklava was developed in what is now Istanbul, is it a result of Greek, Turkish, Byzantine, Roman, Persian, or Ottoman culture? The answer is that it's a silly question.
    - hot_gril 3y ago
      Not anything. Baklava is probably a silly question. Greek alphabet or most of Hagia Sophia, that was created by Greeks.
      - balloonthief 3y ago
        The Greek alphabet, sure, but Hagia Sophia? The one that was ordered to be built by a Roman emperor and consecrated by a Christian bishop from Antioch? I would describe it as Roman, Byzantine, or Ottoman before I would describe it as Greek.
        Alupis 3y ago
        Even so, we do have clear examples of Greek Culture, since practically the beginning of records, even if that culture has been influenced by other cultures over time (as most cultures are). Even conquered peoples generally maintain their culture as the culture or sub-culture of whatever society they live in. The governments might fall, but the people's culture usually lives on.
        hot_gril 3y ago
        I meant how both of its designers were Greek, and it was built in a majority-Greek city as an Eastern Orthodox church (which wasn't specifically Greek but was different from western Roman). I'm not sure about the emperor or the bishop, but they were born in Tauresium and Arabissos respectively, so I guess Thrace and Armenia Minor then.
- hot_gril 3y ago
  When we're talking about 500 years ago and say "Greek," we aren't referring to the modern nations. It means the Greek people. But I think with food it's usually an unsolvable mystery which exact culture invented it or whatever. The Ottoman Empire's own administration did categorize its peoples sorta based on religion and apply different laws to them. The millets were Muslims, Armenians, Greeks, Circassians, and more. These were meaningful designations at least because of how marriage tended to stay within the same religious sect. Besides that, I've heard the closest thing to a national identity back then was the nearest city, rather than the empire. The major cities in that region were ethnically diverse, so some of your culture specifically had to do with your city, while other aspects had to do with your ethnicity/religion. In this case, baklava supposedly originated in Antep. I don't know what the ethnic makeup was like in the 1500s there, but I'd wager it was picked up by multiple cultures around the same time there (someone can prove me wrong if not). So if you really want to give "credit" to some people for it, I think Antep is the most correct answer, and I don't just mean PC.
mminer237 3y ago
The Syrian Arab Republic was established in 1961, and its current form of government was only adopted in 2012. Damascus is old; Syria is not.
deleted 3y ago
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toyg 3y ago

I think the parent poster meant that the specific modern countries are fairly new, and before they were all part of the same entities. Greece and Turkey were both part of the Byzantine Empire for centuries, and later part of the successor Ottoman Empire - together with Syria - again for centuries. Separate "national" identities for those areas didn't really exist until the XIX century, when Greeks started agitating for independence from Ottoman rule.

_v7gu 3y ago
I wouldn't really call past time Turkey a part of Byzantine Empire, Turks moved to Anatolia about a millenium ago with the Selcuks. Past time Turkey (before Anatolia) is more to the east.
Alupis 3y ago
Weird way to say it. The governments of these modern-day countries are not representative of the people of those regions. There has been a Greek culture (if not country) practically forever. Saying somehow the Greek people are a new people is just wrong. That would be like saying China was created in the 1950's. The current government maybe, but not the culture, history, cuisine, etc.
- hot_gril 3y ago
  and France in 1945 edit: oh, 1958
- balloonthief 3y ago
  Calling anything that came from before the 19th century a result of "Greek" culture makes things a bit murky, though. If, hypothetically, baklava was developed in what is now Istanbul, is it a result of Greek, Turkish, Byzantine, Roman, Persian, or Ottoman culture? The answer is that it's a silly question.
  - hot_gril 3y ago
    Not anything. Baklava is probably a silly question. Greek alphabet or most of Hagia Sophia, that was created by Greeks.
    - balloonthief 3y ago
      The Greek alphabet, sure, but Hagia Sophia? The one that was ordered to be built by a Roman emperor and consecrated by a Christian bishop from Antioch? I would describe it as Roman, Byzantine, or Ottoman before I would describe it as Greek.
      - Alupis 3y ago
        Even so, we do have clear examples of Greek Culture, since practically the beginning of records, even if that culture has been influenced by other cultures over time (as most cultures are). Even conquered peoples generally maintain their culture as the culture or sub-culture of whatever society they live in. The governments might fall, but the people's culture usually lives on.
      - hot_gril 3y ago
        I meant how both of its designers were Greek, and it was built in a majority-Greek city as an Eastern Orthodox church (which wasn't specifically Greek but was different from western Roman). I'm not sure about the emperor or the bishop, but they were born in Tauresium and Arabissos respectively, so I guess Thrace and Armenia Minor then.
hot_gril 3y ago
When we're talking about 500 years ago and say "Greek," we aren't referring to the modern nations. It means the Greek people. But I think with food it's usually an unsolvable mystery which exact culture invented it or whatever. The Ottoman Empire's own administration did categorize its peoples sorta based on religion and apply different laws to them. The millets were Muslims, Armenians, Greeks, Circassians, and more. These were meaningful designations at least because of how marriage tended to stay within the same religious sect. Besides that, I've heard the closest thing to a national identity back then was the nearest city, rather than the empire. The major cities in that region were ethnically diverse, so some of your culture specifically had to do with your city, while other aspects had to do with your ethnicity/religion. In this case, baklava supposedly originated in Antep. I don't know what the ethnic makeup was like in the 1500s there, but I'd wager it was picked up by multiple cultures around the same time there (someone can prove me wrong if not). So if you really want to give "credit" to some people for it, I think Antep is the most correct answer, and I don't just mean PC.

mminer237 3y ago

The Syrian Arab Republic was established in 1961, and its current form of government was only adopted in 2012. Damascus is old; Syria is not.

deleted 3y ago

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