Reflections of the 1944 Ahiska exile on Ahlat cuisine

Following the forced deportation of 1944 under Soviet rule, Ahıska Turks were dispersed across various regions, seeking to preserve their cultural identity despite repeated displacement. This study examines the reflections and continuity of Ahıska culinary culture within Ahlat (Bitlis) cuisine. Specifically, it investigates how traditional culinary practices have been preserved, transformed, and adapted through interactions with the local culinary culture of Ahlat, exploring how this community preserved its identity through foodways after exile.

Adopting a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory research design, data were collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Using purposive sampling, 18 participants of Ahıska ethnic origin residing in Ahlat were interviewed. The collected data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative content analysis across five predefined core themes: Migration, Food and Beverage, Culinary Practice, Events, and Tradition.

Findings reveal that Ahıska cuisine has largely preserved its traditional characteristics, with staple features centered around pastries, dough-based dishes (such as Hinkal, Kete, and Samsa), and dairy products. Steaming emerged as a distinctive cooking method, and Hinkal was identified as a paramount symbol of culinary identity and cultural continuity. The study found that Ahıska culinary traditions have adapted to and coexisted with local Ahlat food culture without replacing it. Additionally, meals serve as an essential medium for social solidarity and are deeply integrated into life-cycle rituals (e.g., weddings, funerals).

Ahıska cuisine functions as a "portable homeland," enabling displaced individuals to maintain collective memory, cultural identity, and social cohesion across generations. Traumatic migration memories are continually re-encoded into everyday culinary practices. Rather than static retention or cultural erasure, the interplay between Ahıska and Ahlat cuisines demonstrates a dynamic process of culinary adaptation and hybridization, underscoring the vital role of intangible food heritage in diaspora contexts.