{{Short description|Concepts in Ottoman and Turkish culture}} [[File:Istanbul general post office 1909.jpg|thumb|This postcard of the Constantinople General Post Office in 1909 features two clocks, one in Turkish time (starting at sunset, {{lang|tr|alaturka saat}}) and another in Western European time (starting at midnight, {{lang|tr|alafranga saat}}).|alt=Ten men in suits, most in red fezes, wait before three ticket windows. Over them, two clockfaces. The postcard has the French text "Constantinople. Poste Impériale Ottomane.]] '''Alafranga and alaturca''' are musical and cultural concepts specific to the Ottoman Empire and its people. The terms describe a distinction between Western culture and Eastern culture in the Balkans. The labels are now considered outdated, but are useful in understanding Ottoman and Turkish cultural history.<ref name=masters>[http://ericederer.com/ethno/Thesis_on_Cumbus_EEderer.pdf Eric Ederer, ''The Cümbüş as Instrument of “the Other” in Modern Turkey'']</ref>
Historically, alafranga and alaturca were adjectives to differentiate between Western culture and Eastern culture in the context of things such as clothing, food and decor. During this time food fusion had some of its most pivotal years because of alafranga and alaturca being so intertwined. <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/opinion/aylin-oney-tan/alla-franca-versus-alla-turca-128939|title=Alla franca versus alla turca|website=Hürriyet Daily News|date=19 March 2018 |language=en|access-date=2019-05-18}}</ref> {{Listen | filename = Mozart - Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major - III. Allegro (Turkish March).ogg | title = III. Allegro | description = Composed by W.A. Mozart, performed by Bernd Krueger | pos = right | header = Piano Sonata No. 11. The last movement is marked {{lang|it|Alla turca}} | type = music }}
Alaturca and alafranga were also competing music genres in the Turkish Republic in the 1920s and 1930s, after the Ottoman Empire was dissolved. Alaturka was associated with the classical music of the Ottoman Empire, while alafranga was associated with European classical music, along with other western music forms penetrating the country.<ref name=masters/><ref name=Morgan>[https://archive.today/20130624214759/http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/music/degreeprogrammes/postgraduate/supervisors/oconnell.html Cardiff University School of Music, ''Meet our PhD supervisors: Dr John Morgan O'Connell'']</ref> * ''Alafranga'' is music or other cultural expression in an adopted western or European style (with its own tradition). The term comes from Italian "alla franca". * ''Alaturka'' is music or other cultural expression in a traditional Turkish style. From Italian "alla turca".<ref name=masters/><ref>{{cite web|title=Rediscovering Dave Brubeck|url=https://www.pbs.org/brubeck/theMusic/davesStyle.htm|author=Hedrick Smith |publisher=PBS}}</ref><ref name="O'Connell">[https://www.jstor.org/stable/20174375 University of Illinois Press, ''Ethnomusicology'', Vol. 49, No. 2 (Spring/Summer, 2005), pp. 177–205, John Morgan O'Connell, ''In the Time of Alaturka: Identifying Difference in Musical Discourse''.]</ref>
The contrast is also found in toilets: {{lang|tr|alaturka tuvalet}} is a squat toilet, {{lang|tr|alafranga tuvalet}} is a flush toilet.<ref name="Demirbilek">{{cite book |last1=Demirbilek |first1=Oya |title=A Friendly Rest Room: Developing Toilets of the Future for Disabled and Elderly People |chapter=Alla Turca: Squatting for Health and Hygiene |series=Assistive Technology Research Series |date=2011 |page=271 |doi=10.3233/978-1-60750-752-9-271 |publisher=IOS Press |language=en|doi-access=free }}</ref>
==Ottoman references== * Ahmet Mithat: ''Felatun Bey and Rakım Efendi'': This Ottoman novel defines alafranga and alaturka as, "The term alafranga is French-Ottoman composite of the French "à la" and "franga", meaning "Frank" or "European" more generally. Alafranga thus means "in a European mode". The term alaturka follows the same French-Ottoman composite pattern and conversely means "in a Turkish or Ottoman mode".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Felâtun Bey and Râkım Efendi: An Ottoman Novel|last=Mithat|first=Ahmet|publisher=Syracuse University Press|year=2016|isbn=978-0815610649|pages=3}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==See also== * ''Alaturka: Style in Turkish Music'' (1923–1938) by John Morgan O'Connell, Cardiff University, UK, SOAS Musicology Series
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alafranga And Alaturca}} Category:Culture of the Ottoman Empire Category:Cultural history of Turkey
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