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Ottoman Turkey: Islamic Architecture
Islamic Ottoman Turkey by Goodwin, Godfrey
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
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December 5, 2017
a lightweight offering
Though it's a nice collection of (often old) pictures---of mosques, villas, inns, palaces, and kiosks---the text of this book is woefully lacking. You don't get a well-organized approach; it seems most haphazardly put together. Example: the last sentence of a paragraph reads "This central dome had inevitable significance because it was the grandest." Then there's a new title "Palaces and Homes". The first sentence reads "It was a plan used for the palaces and sumptuous tents of Timur." Huh ? It may make sense if you re-read the whole paragraph before, but it is mighty poor editing. A lot of things like this left me scratching my head. However, the pictures, and some fairly interesting comments beside each picture saved the book for me, and I felt it could be worth three stars. But, if you want to get some insight into the evolution of Ottoman architecture, the architects, the uses of buildings, the source of materials, and so on, you'd better find some other book. I am unable to recommend any, not having enough knowledge, but the same author has written a more extensive volume. I had hoped to glean more from this one.
Though it's a nice collection of (often old) pictures---of mosques, villas, inns, palaces, and kiosks---the text of this book is woefully lacking. You don't get a well-organized approach; it seems most haphazardly put together. Example: the last sentence of a paragraph reads "This central dome had inevitable significance because it was the grandest." Then there's a new title "Palaces and Homes". The first sentence reads "It was a plan used for the palaces and sumptuous tents of Timur." Huh ? It may make sense if you re-read the whole paragraph before, but it is mighty poor editing. A lot of things like this left me scratching my head. However, the pictures, and some fairly interesting comments beside each picture saved the book for me, and I felt it could be worth three stars. But, if you want to get some insight into the evolution of Ottoman architecture, the architects, the uses of buildings, the source of materials, and so on, you'd better find some other book. I am unable to recommend any, not having enough knowledge, but the same author has written a more extensive volume. I had hoped to glean more from this one.
Displaying 1 of 1 review