Characters in traditional Ottoman shadow puppets culture are known as Karagoz and Hacivat and reflect its political legacy

There was once a Turkish tradition of shadow puppets that children and adults would watch throughout the Ottoman Empire. The characters were called Karagoz and Hacivat, the former meaning “Black Eye” in Turkish after the character’s dark and haunting look. Over time, in Lebanon and elsewhere, the term went on to mean a clown or joker,…