Mehmet II at the table

At the court of Mehmed II, meals are not served in successive courses "à la française" but around the *sofra*, a cloth or low tray placed on the ground or on trestles. The service follows Ottoman categories: *çorba* (soup-base), *pilav* (rice, heart of the meal), roasted or braised meats (kebab, kavurma), flaky börek, then sweets (tatlı, helva, baklava), and always *şerbet*, sweet drinks that replace the forbidden wine. Each dish arrives on a large communal platter, and guests eat with their fingers or a spoon; abundance and diversity signal the sultan's power.

Two markers of Ottoman palace cuisine. Saffron (from Persia and Anatolia) gilds the royal rice and signals rank; rose water and honey perfume drinks and pastries. Together with clarified butter (*sadeyağ*) and cinnamon, they create a sweet-spicy taste characteristic of 15th-century Istanbul, heir to Persian, Byzantine, and Seljuk cuisines.