Geographies of Revival and Erasure: Neo-Ottoman Sites of Memory in Istanbul, Thessaloniki, and Budapest
In: Die Welt des IslamsSearch for other papers by Jeremy F. Walton in
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In this article, I draw on Pierre Nora’s concept of “sites of memory” to explore the material textures and political effects of neo-Ottomanism in three locations: Miniatürk, a theme park in Istanbul that features scale replicas of many prominent Ottoman structures; Thessaloniki’s New Mosque, a former place of worship for the syncretic religious community of the dönme; and the Tomb of Gül Baba, a 16th-century Sufi dervish and saint, in Budapest. My exposition moves in two directions. On the one hand, I emphasize how sites of memory frequently serve to bolster dominant, politicized discourses of neo-Ottomanism. On the other hand, I trace how sites of renascent Ottoman memory – especially those outside of Turkey – undermine and contradict the premises of neo-Ottomanism in unanticipated ways. Over the course of my article, I develop the concept of “disciplined historicity” as a method for approaching sites of memory that integrates both historical knowledge and appreciation for the material and aesthetic qualities of the spaces in question.
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2
P. Nora, “Between Memory and History: Les Lieux de Mémoire”, Representations 26 (1989): 8.
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3
E. J. Zürcher, Turkey: A Modern History (London & New York: I.B. Tauris & Co., 1994), 194ff.
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4
M. Meeker, A Nation of Empire: The Ottoman Legacy of Modern Turkey (Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2002), 3. See also N. Gürbilek, Vitrin’de Yaşamak. 1980’lerin Kültürel İklimi (Istanbul: Metis Yayınları, 1992).
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6
S. Boym, The Future of Nostalgia (New York: Basic Books, 2001).
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8
M.R. Trouillot, Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (Boston: Beacon Press, 1995).
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11
D. Chakrabarty, Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000), 23. See also W. Benjamin, “Theses on the Philosophy of History”, Illuminations, trans. H. Zohn (New York: Schocken Books 1968), 253–64.
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14
W. Benjamin, “A Berlin Chronicle”, Reflections: Essays, Aphorisms, Autobiographical Writings, trans. Edmund Jephcott (New York: Schocken Books, 2007 [1978]), 3–60.
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15
W. Benjamin, “A Berlin Chronicle”, Reflections: Essays, Aphorisms, Autobiographical Writings, trans. Edmund Jephcott (New York: Schocken Books, 2007 [1978]), 8.
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17
İ. Türeli, “Modelling Citizenship in Turkey’s Miniature Park”, Orienting Istanbul: Cultural Capital of Europe?, eds. D. Göktürk, L. Soysal and İ. Türeli (Routledge: New York & London, 2010), 108.
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18
M. de Certeau, “Walking in the City”, in The Practice of Everyday Life, trans. S. Rendall (Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1984), 91–110.
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19
L. Bildirici, “Miniatürk için Anıtkabir’in Yeni Maketi Yapılıyor”, memleket.com.tr, 1 March 2015 (accessed online, 20 April 2016, at <http://www.memleket.com.tr/miniaturk-icin-anitkabirin-yeni-maketi-yapiliyor-563353h.htm>).
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20
S. Stewart, On Longing: Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984), 48.
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23
W. Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, Illuminations, trans. H. Zohn (New York: Schocken Books 1968), 242.
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26
See also M. Baer, The Dönme: Jewish Converts, Muslim Revolutionaries, and Secular Turks (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2010), 36–43 and 247.
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27
M. Mazower, Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews, 1430–1950 (New York: Vintage Random House, 2004).
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29
Mazower, Salonica, City of Ghosts, 437. In 2013, for instance, the New Mosque served as an exhibition hall for the fourth Thessaloniki Biennale. See E. Neumeier, “From Dönme to Biennale: The “New Mosque” in Thessaloniki”, Stambouline 13 December 2013 (accessed online, 19 April 2016, at <http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2013/12/from-donme-to-biennale-new-mosque-in.html>).
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37
A. Leach, “Why the Tattooed Mayor of Thessaloniki is a Beacon of Hope for Greece”, The Guardian, 30 December 2014 (accessed online, 19 April 2016, at <http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2014/dec/30/tattooed-mayor-thessaloniki-greece-yiannis-boutaris>).
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38
G. Knaus, “Cosmopolitan Visionary: Boutaris and Thessaloniki”, European Stability Initiative, 12 October 2014 (accessed online, 19 April 2016, at <http://www.esiweb.org/rumeliobserver/2014/10/12/cosmopolitan-visionary-boutaris-and-thessaloniki/>).
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49
V. Orsolya, “Magyar műemlékvédelem a két világháború között”, Örökség Figyelő, 31 July 2015 (accessed online, 20 April 2016, at <http://oroksegfigyelo.blog.hu/2015/07/31/magyar_muemlekvedelem_a_ket_vilaghaboru_kozott>). I thank Melinda Harlov for drawing my attention to this reference and translating it for me.
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50
Associated Press, “Suleiman the Magnificent’s Tomb Believed to Have Been Found in Hungary”, The Guardian, 9 December 2015 (accessed online, 20 April 2016, at <https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/dec/09/suleiman-the-magnificent-tomb-hungary>).
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51
R. Smith, “After 450 Years, Archaeologists Still Hunting for Magnificent Sultan’s Heart”, National Geographic, 20 June 2014 (accessed online, 20 April 2016, at <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140620-ottoman-empire-suleyman-hungary-turkey-sultans-heart/>). The story of the aftermath of Süleyman’s death during the Siege of Szigetvár, which Smith relates at length, is fascinating. According to a longstanding rumor, the Sultan’s heart was buried at the site of the battle, even as his Grand Vizier, Sokullu Mehmet Paşa, concealed the news of his death until the Ottoman forces were able to return to Istanbul and Süleyman’s successor, Selim II, acceded to the throne. Süleyman’s body was eventually conveyed back to Istanbul, where he was entombed in the cemetery adjacent to the eponymous Süleymaniye Mosque, but the legend of his heart’s burial near Szigetvár went on to inspire generations of treasure seekers, and, later, archaeologists. See also C. Imber, The Ottoman Empire, 1300–1650: The Structure of Power (New York & London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002), 39ff.; and P. Norbert ed., Szülejmán Szultán Emlékezete Svigetváron/Kanuni Sultan Süleyman’ın Sigetvar’daki Hatırası (Pécs: Mediterrán és Balkán Fórum, 2014).
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Geographies of Revival and Erasure: Neo-Ottoman Sites of Memory in Istanbul, Thessaloniki, and Budapest
In: Die Welt des IslamsSearch for other papers by Jeremy F. Walton in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
In this article, I draw on Pierre Nora’s concept of “sites of memory” to explore the material textures and political effects of neo-Ottomanism in three locations: Miniatürk, a theme park in Istanbul that features scale replicas of many prominent Ottoman structures; Thessaloniki’s New Mosque, a former place of worship for the syncretic religious community of the dönme; and the Tomb of Gül Baba, a 16th-century Sufi dervish and saint, in Budapest. My exposition moves in two directions. On the one hand, I emphasize how sites of memory frequently serve to bolster dominant, politicized discourses of neo-Ottomanism. On the other hand, I trace how sites of renascent Ottoman memory – especially those outside of Turkey – undermine and contradict the premises of neo-Ottomanism in unanticipated ways. Over the course of my article, I develop the concept of “disciplined historicity” as a method for approaching sites of memory that integrates both historical knowledge and appreciation for the material and aesthetic qualities of the spaces in question.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1271 | 245 | 48 |
| Full Text Views | 304 | 16 | 4 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 223 | 34 | 5 |