Europe and its Other (i.e. The Balkans)

Abstract

Although the label “Balkans” seems to be applied to a geographical area, in fact these Mountains do not represent neither the wide variety of territories of the Peninsula nor the peoples and cultures referred with this word. Through the study of the voyagers diaries to the area (among other historical sources), it is shown the different words used and that the label “Balkans” refers mainly to the “Other” Europe, the Europe under the ottoman rule.