Neo-Ottoman Sites of Memory in Istanbul, Thessaloniki, and Budapest
First Statement of Responsibility
Jeremy F. Walton
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.
Leiden
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
Brill
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
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.