The lectures trace the web of economic and cultural relations associated with food. They present the role of basic Mediterranean products (wheat, oil, wine) in the economy, in the political arena and culture of everyday life in space and time, in the Balkans and Asia Minor from antiquity to the late Ottoman years.
Experts discuss issues concerning the handling and distribution of staple food products in the Eastern Mediterranean through market systems controlled by state mechanisms. They comment on the methods used by the central government in an attempt to avert explosive, social situations by making sure cities are supplied and the prices of basic products regulated, just as they speak about prohibitions imposed by religions. They present professions and traditional technologies, the industrial heritage, and they look at the dietary and culinary habits of the peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean through the ages.
An interdisciplinary discussion on food and the taste preferences of societies beyond national borders. A multilevel approach to diet as an element of culture.
