Roland,
Turks actually encouraged production of weapons in their occupied areas. The entire Balkans during the Ottoman rule were a giant weapon forge. Not only did they manufacture “ Turkish looking” weapons but also develop their own styles: witness Epirus swords, characteristic Cretan yataghans, Grecian bichaqs, Bulgarian karakulaks, “naval” yataghans etc, etc.
The entire Elgood’s book is dedicated to them.
Egypt under Mohammed Ali was in reality a quasi-independent state that actually fought with the Ottoman Empire. They must have had a well-developed arms and armor production enterprise.
The puzzling fact is the virtual absence of Egyptian styles, not of actual Egyptian examples. That is what we are talking about.
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