In Constantinople, Alexandria, Beirut, and Thessaloniki, the Ottoman Empire's opening to European trade and influence gave rise to a new world. At the turn of the 20th century, these great port cities became worlds apart. People spoke several languages, practiced several religions, and business flourished. Merchants, diplomats, traders, laborers, and fishermen lived side by side in a vibrant but fragile cosmopolitanism. Not everything was perfect, but a balance existed. Until the tipping point. Wars, nationalisms, massacres, and exiles gradually swept this world away. Borders closed, identities solidified, and communities dispersed. The cosmopolitan Levant became a memory. Since then, its legacy has fueled enduring nostalgia. What existed, and what role does fantasy play in the narrative? Who were these Levantines, really, and what remains of their world? In this three-part series, L’Orient-Le Jour recounts the birth, contradictions, and disappearance of a universe in which one could be both from here and from elsewhere.
Published on 28 August 2026 09:01
