Abbreviations Used in Booth’s Journals

Glossary of Turkish, Armenian, and Arabic Terms

Aka. Unit of weight measurement.

Araba. A horse-drawn carriage or wagon.

Arabage, arabaji. Carriage driver.

Araki. Grape whiskey. See November 3, 1906.

Backshish, bakhshish, bakshesh. A tip or gratuity paid for services rendered or as alms to the poor. See March 13, 1899.

Bag, bagh, bog. Vineyard; also garden, orchard.

Bagjalar. Grape growers.

Baklava, paklava. A famous, flaky baked pastry throughout southeastern Europe (Greece), Turkey, and the Arab Middle East and North Africa, made with phyllo dough, butter, honey, and a variety of nuts (usually walnuts and pistachios).

Baljan, boljan, patlican. Eggplant.

Bastuk. Fruit leather made from grape juice. See Booth Journals, vol. 8, October 6, 1899, for a nice description by Booth. See more details at October 11, which mentions making bastuk, sojuk, and tarkana.

Bayram, byram. Holiday or festival. Two major ones in Turkey: one ending Ramadan (Sheker Bayram), and one ending the hajj (or pilgrimage) to Mecca (Kurban Bayram).

Bey, beg, bek. Title of respect for Turkish men, equivalent to “sir.”

Botman, batman. Unit of measure.

Budvillie, budvilli, budville. A minister or pastor. Also used as a title like Reverend.

Bulgur, bulur. A traditional food consisting of cracked whole wheat, eaten separately or mixed in other foods.

Buyurunuz. “Please,” “Come in,” “Sit down,” “Help yourself.”

Cawass, cawas, kawass, cavass. Attendant, assistant, guard for a dignitary, messenger from an embassy.

Charsha. Town square, marketplace, intersection.

Checkeidek. A mixture of salted dried peas and melon seeds.

Cherkess, Cherkez, Cherkes. Circassians, the Muslim ethnic minority who were transferred from Russia to the Ottoman Empire to escape persecution.

Chok Memnunum. “I’m very pleased” or “My Pleasure.”

Commissaire, comisere. Police chief.

Deftarji. One who keeps the official government books or accounts.

Dolma. Traditional food of grape leaves stuffed with rice, herbs, and sometimes meat.

Dragoman. A professional interpreter or translator.

Effendim, effendi. Title of respect for educated Turkish gentlemen, clergy, Ottoman princes, and army officers up to major.

Evsiheba, evsayheba. Owner of a house; landlord.

Fes, fez. Tarbush in Arabic. A tall, cone-shaped felt hat, usually red in color, traditionally worn by men in the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

Haleb. Arabic name for Aleppo, Syria. Halep in Turkish.

Hammal. A porter or baggageman.

Hammam, hammum. Public bathhouse.

Helwaw, helwa, helwassi. Arabic word for a sweet sesame seed paste with nuts, or just a generic sweet. A helwaji is a person that makes or sells helwa.

Iran, airan. A fermented, salty yogurt drink.

Kabab, kibab. Spiced chunks of meat roasted over hot coals.

Kababji. One who prepares and sells kabab.

Kala, kal’a. Arabic for tower or fortress, usually situated on a hill. Turkish, kale.

Katarji, katirji, katerji, khatirji. An animal keeper or muleteer, someone who rents out horses and mules and sells supplies to travelers; often accompanies them from one city to another.

Kawakluk. Willow grove.

Kawass, cawaass. An official messenger or guard. See cawass above.

Kaymakam, kimukam. Mayor of a large city or urban area called a kaza,smaller than a district, or sanjak.

Kebabjakhani. An establishment that served a double role as kebab restaurant and inn.

Khan. Caravanserai or inn providing food and lodging for travelers and provender for their animals.

Khanji. Innkeeper.

Khoji. Sufi mystic, holy man, or one who has completed the hajj (Arabic, hajji).

Khoshjakaliniz, hoşçakalınız. “See you later,” “goodbye.”

Kifti, kufta, köfte. Turkish spiced meat dish. See Booth Journals, vol. 8, December 25, 1899: “The meal was a dish of kifti—ie boiled meat with little balls of cracked wheat (bulgur) seasoned with ugurt (sour milk) and herbs.”

Kitabji. Bookseller, or proprietor of a bookstore.

Krekore Zadok. This Armenian holiday is in commemoration of Saint Gregory the Illuminator (Krikor), the patron saint of the Armenian Church (sometimes called Gregorian) because of his important role in converting King Tiridates III to Christianity and making Christianity the national religion.

Kunefa, kunafa. A traditional dessert made with spun pastry, cheese nuts, and syrup.

Kurban Byram. The Feast of Sacrifice in Islam, marking the end of the pilgrimage. Muslims who can afford it sacrifice a sheep, goat, cow, or camel in commemoration of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ishmael (in Islamic tradition), in submission to God’s command.

Lahammajen, lahamagine, lahamagean. Armenian/Turkish pizza, flatbread with ground meat, tomato, and spices.

Lokanta. Restaurant.

Mangal, manghal. Arabic, portable brazier. A small sheet-iron pan filled with burning charcoal used to heat homes and tents and to cook food.

Mejidees. Turkish monetary unit.

Merjemek. Lentils.

Mezarluk. Graveyard, cemetery.

Muhtar. Leader of a village, karye, smaller than a nahiye.

Mütesellim, müdür. Head of a town, nahiye, that is smaller than a kaza (see kaymakam).

Mutasarif, mutesarrif, mutusaraf. Head government official of an administrative district called Sanjak, a subdivision of a vilaya, province.

Nufus memure. Registrar, recorder, civil servant. A government official dealing with visas and other official public records.

Osmanlı. Turkish language written in Arabic alphabet, which was the standard form throughout the Ottoman Empire until 1928 when Ataturk, as part of his effort to reform and modernize Turkish society, abolished Arabic script and mandated the use of Roman script to write Turkish.

Pasha. Highest title of civil and military officials in the Ottoman Empire.

Postaji. The letter carrier or postman.

Punar. Spring, fountain.

Rackie, rakı, rocki, arrack. A traditional strong liquor made from distilled grapes and flavored with anise.

Saatjı. One who makes, repairs, or sells watches.

Saray, seray, seri, serai, sari. Town hall, mayor’s offices.

Selametla, selametli. The social custom in which friends and family accompany a person to the outskirts of town to say farewell.

Selamlik. A public procession of the sultan to a mosque to perform Friday prayer.

Shapatji. Seventh-day Adventist. From the Turkish word for Sabbath, shapat.

Sheker Biram or Bayram. The Muslim feast day known for its sweets ending the holy month of Ramadan, the monthlong period of fasting.

Sojuk. Confection made of grape juice boiled and dried on strings of nuts. See Booth Journals, vol. 8, October 11, 1899: “The sojuk is prepared the same as the bastuk but instead of spreading it out on cloth to dry it is made up into knotty candles by first threading the ‘meat’ of walnuts on strings 15 or 18 inches long, and leaving the lumps from 1 to 2 inches apart.”

Stambul. Variant of Istanbul (Constantinople).

Sudja, sudji, sütçü. Milkman.

Taam. Food, meal.

Tändur, tander. See Booth Journals, vol. 6, January 1, 1899: “An article of household comfort consisting of a small tin case about 8 x 10 x 6 inches inside of which is placed a little box [see mangal above] containing a few coals and the whole thing set on the floor with a quilt thrown over it and as many as can sit around it, put their feet and legs under the cover and thus keep warm while they chat and smoke and drink their tiny cups of hot strong coffee.”

Tarkana. A traditional sweet made from grape juice and spices. See Booth Journals, vol. 8, October 11, 1899: “Tarkana is made by putting a little cracked wheat into the clearified grape juice and boiled for several hours when a few spices ginger, cinnimon & cloves, are added, and the mushy stuf dipped out and allowed to cool on plates.”

Teskara, teskera, tezkera, teskira. Official Ottoman document in which visas were stamped in order to approve and monitor individual travel to cities in the empire.

Vali, vally, valie, wali. Governor of an Ottoman province, vilaya or vilayet, the largest administrative unit of local government.

Vartabet, vartabed. Highly educated Armenian celibate preacher.

Vekel, vakil, wakil. Agent or representative of an official or institution.

Vezie. Visa. The word is sometimes used by Booth as a verb to mean “to obtain a visa.”

Yoghrutly küfta. Turkish meatballs with yogurt.

Yuzbasha. Ottoman military rank of captain.

Zadik, sadik. True, sincere, faithful friend.

Zadok Bayram, Zodok Byram. Armenian Easter celebration. See Booth Journals, vol. 7, April 29, 1899: “The Great Zodok Byram . . . commences tomorrow and lasts three days. The event is in commemoration of the death and resurrection of the Savior of the world.”

Zabtia. Police.