Şehr-i Sefa: 18. Yüzyılda İstanbul

by Shirine Hamadeh, İlknur Güzel (Translator)

Shirine Hamadeh, 16. yüzyıl klasisizmi ile 19. yüzyıl modernizmi arasında unutulduğunu düşündüğü bir dönemi, 18. yüzyıl İstanbulu’nu inceliyor.
Gündelik hayatta varolan ve yeni zuhur eden biçim ve üslupları betimleyerek décloisonnement olarak adlandırdığı dönüşümü anlatıyor.
Şehrin değişen mimari yapısına ve onun getirdiği açılımlara odaklanıyor.
Haşmetli saraylar, çeşmeler, sebiller, hasbahçeler, surlar ve kapılara bakıyor. Seçilen renkleri, süsleme tarzlarını, dizeleri, minyatürleri, seyahatnameleri, yasal düzenlemeleri ve çeşitli arşiv kayıtlarını izliyor.
Kamusal alanın dönüşümünü incelerken erken modernliği, Batılılaşma kavramını ve görsel kültürü İstanbul’a özgü koşulları hesap ederek irdeliyor.
Şehr-i Sefa, bir İstanbul kitabı. Siyaset, sanat, mimari, anılar ve kanunlar arasında gezinen nitelikli bir toplumsal tarih çalışması.

Genres: History

399 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2007

Reviews

[Barış · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shirine Hamadeh points out main dynamics of Ottoman society that eighteenth century Ottoman Istanbul experienced. She criticizes the old paradigms of Ottoman decline and western rise and suggests a much broader vision in which middle classes rise and Ottoman elites need to reemphasize their power. In other words, Ottoman elites' concern to preserve the established hierarchy became more crucial with the eighteenth century dynamic that boundaries between social groups became more and more permeable. She acknowledges that especially after the return of the court to Istanbul, elites' need to redefine their place in society grew up. She argues that luxury spent in architecture so that the display of luxury would trace the court's power more strongly in the capital, against emerging middle-classes.

Hamadeh argues that a reconstruction project take place in the eighteenth century Istanbul, especially in the Bosphorus and Golden Horn, she points out that new urban places emerge. Moreover, she adds that this projects could intersect with the islamization of urban places. She gives examples on the construction projects with which non-Muslims were relocated. However, she mentions also to relocated Muslims.Within this process she traces the relocation of non-Muslims to several neighborhoods as well as the emergence of some neighborhoods with either non-Muslim or Muslim charateristics. In other words, some newly developing neighborhoods appear as non-Muslim and certain others Muslim neighborhoods.

Hamadeh argues that eighteenth century Ottoman Istanbul experienced the Ottoman courts' “décloisonnement” from Topkapı Palace towards the city. In this “openning up”, Ottoman court members became more “public” especially with ceremonies and processions as well as with the new architectural projects. She points out that court architectural aesthetic derived to a certain extent from the non-elite architecture. The strenghtening middle classes not only interacted with court aesthetics but also started to create their own art according to their own tastes. Hamadeh illustrates this point with the increasing patronage activities of the middle classes. She gives examples of increasing fountain constructions patroned by men and women from middle-classes. She also mentions Bosphorus as a “via imperiale” like Divanyolu. Moreover, she argues that imperial processions serves as a force which restores the magnificience of the Ottoman Empire.

Hamadeh establishes a direct link between the development of public spheres and the increasing fashion of garden culture among middle classes. Furthermore, she argues that it was very difficult to distinguish “elite and popular spheres of recreation”. Moreover, she illustrates that some poets derived their themes from the city's social and recreational life. She links architecture, aesthetics and poetry with one and other. She theorizes the tensions between elite and middle-classes not only within a competition and conflict paradigm but also within a synthesis and interaction paradigm whcih helps us to understand the Ottoman society and culture of eighteenth century in a much more realistic way.

Hamadeh challenges the classical ideas of indifference towards Europe in pre eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as well as the concept of “influence” from Europe as a unidirectional and hegemonic paradigm. She theorize the concept of “décloisonnement” considering the interaction with western Europe as a cultural openning as well as a synthesis of local cultural and architectural traditions. Moreover, she challenges the idea of elite determining architectural culture considering the eighteenth century Istanbul. She acknowledges “pleasure” as a main element of Ottoman appreciation of architectural beauty. She criticizes that Ottoman historians for neglecting the poetry as a primary source and she uses poetry intensively as well as chronicles, court histories, travel accounts and memoirs.

Hamadeh also questions the intersectional use of concepts such as “westernization” and “modernization”. Moreover, she argues that novelty and originality were valid concepts for both European and Ottoman architectural vocabularies of the eighteenth century. Moreover, she demonstrates how the “Tulip Era” image is created and formulated by Yahya Kemal and Ahmet Refik, as well as how this image influenced our perception of the eighteenth century.

Hamadeh successfully theorizes the eighteenth century Ottoman social and cultural main dynamics, with questioning old streotyped accounts in historiography. Instead she suggests a much more sophisticated account in which middle-classes and elite interact and respond to one and other. Moreover, she suggests another perspeective considering the Ottoman and western interaction. She condemns one directional western “influence” interpretation and suggests a “décloisonnement, an “openning up” to western architectural and cultural norms as well as the increase of importance of concepts such as innovation and nocelty in arts and architecture. She adds also the trends of the developing public spaces and the process of increasing appearance of the state elites in Ottoman society, which intersects with the elites' need to retrace their position in the society. Furthermore, she presents pleasure and sensory pleasure as a key concept to understanding Ottoman arts of architectural world of the eighteenth century.

[Nilay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a good research about early modernism of Ottomans; especially Istanbul at 18. century.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfecto.