Addressing the Modern Regimes of Urban Spectacle: Revisiting the Ottoman General Exhibition of 1863 in Istanbul

TOZOĞLU A. E.

JOURNAL OF URBAN HISTORY, 2022 (AHCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2022
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1177/00961442221099831
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF URBAN HISTORY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Periodicals Index Online, American History and Life, EBSCO Education Source, Geobase, Historical Abstracts, Humanities Abstracts, Index Islamicus, International Bibliography of Art, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Ottoman General Exposition of 1863, Exposition Buildings, Nineteenth-Century Visual Culture, Urban Spectacle in Istanbul, Hippodrome of Istanbul, REPRESENTATION, EMPIRE
  • Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

One of the most spectacular events of the Ottoman experience of modernity was the inauguration of the Ottoman General Exposition in Istanbul in 1863. The ancient Hippodrome, which is one of the most prominent venues of the city and the setting of memorable celebrations and festivals for centuries, hosted the event and provided the visitors with the opportunity to become part of the modern regimes of gaze and spectacle. This article posits three observer roles to reveal the multilayered structure of urban spectacle in mid-century Istanbul, namely the sultanic gaze, spectacle of the ordinary citizens, and the mediated experience of the foreigner. To understand the particularities of each position, I utilize several visual and textual documents about the exhibition event. Though just a single case in Ottoman urban history, the exposition enables us to understand how the new manner of modern urban spectacle emerged during a spectacular public event in Istanbul.