[Sca-cooks] Phyllo/greek dishes

[Martha Oser]

> So, my history is a bit fuzzy here - but didn't the Byzantine Empire cover parts of (if not all of) Turkey and Greece during part of our time period?  Or am I confusing the Byzantines with the Ottomans? 
> 
> Kateryn

Indeed, what we call the Byzantine Empire is basically the eastern half of 
the old Roman Empire, from approximately Rome/Ravenna east into Greece, 
Turkey and the Holy Land.  The borders of this area varied tremendously over 
the thousand years or so that the Byz. existed, sometimes including only a 
tiny area around the city of Constantinople itself. 

The Ottomans come in later - their empire was established in approximately 
1280 A.D., and after several attempts, they managed to overrun 
Constantinople in 1453, transforming it into an Islamic capital. 

The Ottoman empire lasted until 1922 and encompassed not only Turkey, but 
much of southeastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.  This is not 
to be confused with the Ottonian Empire, which was part of the Holy Roman 
Empire in Western Europe in the 10th century. 

Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul in 1930. 

And of course, there's the classic song recorded in 1990 by They Might Be 
Giants - "Istanbul(Not Constantinople)". 

Best, 

 -Helena