HOSPITALITYANDLAYING A TABLE IN TURKISHCULTURE (SAMSUN SAMPLE)

Hospitality is a significantpart of Turkishcultureandtradition. Islamreligion has attachedgreatimportancetoguestsandhospitality. ProphetMuhammad’s (pbuh) sayingswereinstructive in thisrespect. Since ourguestswereimportantforourancestors, theybuiltinns, publicbaths, andcaravansaries on theroadsandtriedtohoststrangers, passengersandguests in theseplaces. Turkishpeopleshowedexamples of hospitalitythroughouthistory. Thisstudyaddresses Samsun as an example of Turkishhospitalityandlaying a table. The works of Kavak and ？ar？amba were tried to be uncovered in order to reveal the hospitality and table culture of the local people. It is seen that the local people exhibited hospitality examples seen in the Old Turks.Culturalandtraditionalaspects of hostingguestsandlayingtablearediscussed. Generosityandskills of thelocals in laying a tableareimportant in terms of showingTurkishhospitality. Servingtheguests has beenconsidered as a requirement of Turkishcustomsandtraditions. Boththedisappearance of guestcultureandtheweakening of traditions in time havecausedchanges in attitudestowardguests. However, it has beenfoundthatthecustom of layingtablestillcontinues in ruralandsmallresidentialareas. Thefactthattraditionalculturewasreplacedwith urban culture in time has causedtheculture of hospitalityandlaying a table, someplacescompletelyforgottenwhichhave a significantplace in Turkishcultural life, toweakeneveryday. This has led to the absence of a culture of hospitality and hospitality in the construction of a new generation that is growing naturally