imaret
/ɪˈmɑːrɛt/
noun
- A public kitchen or soup kitchen in Ottoman times, often part of a mosque complex, that provided free meals to the poor and travelers.
- The imaret was an important part of the city's charitable institutions.
- The old imaret still stands near the mosque, though it no longer serves food.
- Travelers in the Ottoman Empire could always find a meal at an imaret.