The Muslim Country That Still Has Jews

For centuries, Jewish life vanished across the Muslim world — but Turkey was the exception. Shaped by Romaniote roots, Sephardic arrivals, and centuries under Ottoman rule, Turkish Jews survived upheaval, nationalism, and pressure to assimilate. At the crossroads of empires, the community was held together by Ladino culture and a quiet code of survival. Today, their numbers are small and the future is uncertain. Still, Ladino melodies echo, old recipes live on, and their centuries-old community continues to endure.