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Imaret
Charitable institution in the Ottoman Empire / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the state, see emirate.
Imaret, sometimes also known as a darüzziyafe,[2] is one of a few names used to identify the public soup kitchens built throughout the Ottoman Empire from the 14th to the 19th centuries.[3] These public kitchens were often part of a larger complex known as a külliye, which could include hospices, mosques, caravanserais and colleges. The imarets gave out food that was free of charge to specific types of people and unfortunate individuals.[3] Imarets were not invented by the Ottomans but developed under them as highly structured groups of buildings.[4]
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