History Talks: "Dairy Farming in Northeastern Turkey"

"A Historical Perspective on Local Cheesemaking Traditions and Scientific Knowledge”

History Talks are organized by İstanbul Bilgi University Department of History.

Speaker: Fatih Tatari 

Date: March 11, 2019 
Time: 17.00-19:00
Place: santralistanbul Campus, Seyfi Arkan building, Z-05

This talk explores the worlds of dairy farming and cheesemaking in the Kars and Ardahan provinces of Northeastern Turkey. Certificates like Geographical Indication of Kars Kaşarı and Boğatepe Gravyeri Presidium aim to preserve traditional techniques, local cheese recipes, and relations of dairy farming. They also require an alliance between dairy farmers, dairy owners, scientists, state officials and local initiatives in a designated space. Following an ongoing ethnographic research, this talk addresses historical and cultural transformations of dairy farming in Northeastern Anatolia, as well as practices of cheesemaking in the making of “local cheese” markets today.