scholarly journals Wild Food Thistle Gathering and Pastoralism: An Inextricable Link in the Biocultural Landscape of Barbagia, Central Sardinia (Italy)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Mattalia ◽  
Renata Sõukand ◽  
Paolo Corvo ◽  
Andrea Pieroni
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sheep Breeding ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Grazing Sheep ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

In Sardinia, pastoralism has been at the heart of cultural identity for millennia. Such activity has shaped the landscape by sustainably managing its elements over the centuries. We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews regarding the uses of wild plants as well as their contribution to sheep breeding over the last few decades in two villages of Barbagia di Ollolai. We recorded the use of 73 taxa belonging to 35 families. Over one-third of the vernacular food taxa were mentioned as raw snacks. Specifically, 22% were used only as raw snacks, while another 22% were used as raw snacks in addition to other uses. Indeed, there is a subcategory of raw snacks represented by thistle plants, named cardu, referring to thorny herbaceous taxa. Cardu are often related to the pastoral realm in the Mediterranean Basin as they are gathered, often with the help of a knife, peeled with the blade, and consumed on the spot while grazing sheep, but ultimately, their crunchiness provides a pleasant chewing experience. In addition, cardu may have been used as thirst quenchers. We conclude that pastoral activity has significantly contributed to the development of a distinctive food heritage and cultural landscape.

scholarly journals Traditionally used wild edible greens in the Aegean Region of Turkey

2012 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunus Dogan
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Diet ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Traditional Use ◽  
Aegean Region ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

Turkey has the largest coastal area in the Mediterranean, possesses an extraordinarily rich flora, and a great traditional knowledge. This diversity of plants naturally affects the traditional use of plants and is reflected in the rich Turkish cuisine. Consequently, the Mediterranean Diet (whose typical components are wild greens) constitutes one of the important elements of Turkish cuisine. For this reason, the aim of this study was to determine the consumption of wild edible green plants for the Aegean Region of Turkey and to establish the similarities to or differences from consumption in other regions and other cuisine in the Mediterranean Basin. This study compiles and evaluates the ethnobotanical data currently available. There were 111 taxa that were identified as wild edible greens in the study area belonging to 26 different families. Asteraceae (21 taxa) were the most commonly consumed as food. It was followed by Boraginaceae with 19 taxa, Apiaceae with 15 taxa and Lamiaceae with 7 taxa, respectively. <em>Rumex </em>and <em>Erodium </em>were the most represented genera with 4 species. <em>Tamus communis </em>and <em>Asparagus acutifolius</em>, Mediterranean elements and distributed in all of the Mediterranean Basin, are among the most widely consumed wild plants in the area. Wild edible plants are consumed in a variety of ways. The most common type of consumption (79 taxa) was in salads. The fact that the majority of the plants used in the area are consumed in salads shows the close relationship between the local diet and the concept of the Mediterranean Diet. As a result, very promisingly, there is a renewed or increasing interest in consuming wild food plants as part of this diet.

scholarly journals Mediterranean Architecture

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 152-154
Author(s):  
Tammy Gaber
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Built Form ◽  
The Social ◽  
Keynote Speech ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Architecture ◽  
Contemporary Architecture ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

Organized by the Faculty of Engineering on February 15-18, 2004 at MisrInternational University, one of Egypt’s leading private universities, theDepartment of Architecture and Dean Salah Zaky Said targeted a diverseaudience of architects and professionals. The varied responses and interpretationsof the conference’s title proved that this provocative subjectallowed for multilayered discussions. The dialogue between academics,students, and professionals from different backgrounds identified meaningswith respect to the Mediterranean basin’s architecture. The followingthemes were discussed: the social impact on Mediterranean architecture,technology and crafts, urbanism and development, landscape and environment,trends in current architecture, and heritage conservation.The conference started with the keynote speech delivered by SuhaOzkan (secretary of the Aga Khan Award), who traced the landmark worksof contemporary architecture in the Mediterranean basin. The solutionspresented addressed issues not only of regional aesthetics, but also of climaticand cultural relevance. The second keynote speaker was Italian academicand architect Attilio Petruccioli (dean, School of Architecture,University of Bari, Italy), who brought up themes of typology and specificityin architecture. A rich discussion followed, with one of the sessionchairmen, Aga Khan Award recepient Abdel Halim Ibrahim (architect andprofessional, University of Cairo, Egypt), questioning and provoking theaudience with respect to the meaning of the built form and material in thisregion.The presentation of papers started with the theme of “Social Impact onMediterranean Architecture.” Papers explored ideas of cultural identity in ...

Piracy and Law in the Ottoman Mediterranean

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua M. White
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Comprehensive Examination ◽  
Legal Space ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
First Time ◽  
Eastern Half ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

This book offers a comprehensive examination of the shape and impact of piracy in the eastern half of the Mediterranean and the Ottoman Empire’s administrative, legal, and diplomatic response. In the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, piracy had a tremendous effect on the formation of international law, the conduct of diplomacy, the articulation of Ottoman imperial and Islamic law, and their application in Ottoman courts. Piracy and Law draws on research in archives and libraries in Istanbul, Venice, Crete, London, and Paris to bring the Ottoman state and Ottoman victims into the story for the first time. It explains why piracy exploded after the 1570s and why the Ottoman state was largely unable to marshal an effective military solution even as it responded dynamically in the spheres of law and diplomacy. By focusing on the Ottoman victims, jurists, and officials who had to contend most with the consequences of piracy, Piracy and Law reveals a broader range of piratical practitioners than the Muslim and Catholic corsairs who have typically been the focus of study and considers their consequences for the Ottoman state and those who traveled through Ottoman waters. This book argues that what made the eastern half of the Mediterranean basin the Ottoman Mediterranean, more than sovereignty or naval supremacy—which was ephemeral—was that it was a legal space. The challenge of piracy helped to define its contours.

Unfinished and Less Authored Texts

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew D. C. Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Written Texts ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Jewish Writers

The concept of textual unfinishedness played a role in a wide variety of cultures and contexts across the Mediterranean basin in antiquity and late antiquity. Chapter 2 documents examples of Greek, Roman, and Jewish writers reflecting explicitly in their own words about unfinished texts. Many writers claimed to have written unfinished texts on purpose for specific cultural reasons, while others claimed to have written texts that slipped out of their hands somehow with their permission.

The Alphabet and its Legacy

2019 ◽  
pp. 240-255
Author(s):  
Madadh Richey
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Greek Language ◽  
Writing Systems ◽  
Present Contribution ◽  
Generative Power ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Alphabetic Writing ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

The alphabet employed by the Phoenicians was the inheritor of a long tradition of alphabetic writing and was itself adapted for use throughout the Mediterranean basin by numerous populations speaking many languages. The present contribution traces the origins of the alphabet in Sinai and the Levant before discussing different alphabetic standardizations in Ugarit and Phoenician Tyre. The complex adaptation of the latter for representation of the Greek language is described in detail, then some brief attention is given to likely—Etruscan and other Italic alphabets—and possible (Iberian and Berber) descendants of the Phoenician alphabet. Finally, it is stressed that current research does not view the Phoenician and other alphabets as inherently simpler, more easily learned, or more democratic than other writing systems. The Phoenician alphabet remains, nevertheless, an impressive technological development worthy, especially by virtue of its generative power, of detailed study ranging from paleographic and orthographic specifications to social and political contextualization.

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