Examines the perception and reception of the Alhambra by Oriental travellers and intellectualsReverses the conventional view of the Alhambra as a target of the Western gaze by studying Oriental" visitors of the monument and proposes a multi-layered study of perceptions and interactions between...

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Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Eldem, Edhem (Author)
Format:	Electronic eBook
Language:	English
Published:	Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press [2024]
Subjects:	Islamic Studies HISTORY / Middle East / General
Online Access:	Volltext
Summary:	Examines the perception and reception of the Alhambra by Oriental travellers and intellectualsReverses the conventional view of the Alhambra as a target of the Western gaze by studying Oriental" visitors of the monument and proposes a multi-layered study of perceptions and interactions between multiple actors: Westerners, Spaniards, Andalusians, Arabs from the Maghreb, 'Turks', Christian and Muslim Arabs from the MashreqBased on original and mostly untapped sources: the Alhambra's visitors' book; the Spanish and especially Granada-based local press; personal mementos and studio photographs of Oriental visitors; Ottoman archival sources; personal accounts and traveloguesAttempts to treat the image of the Alhambra and the heritage of al-Andalus throughout the 'long' nineteenth century in a comprehensive and exhaustive manner, from art to literature, from architecture to history, and from international politics to ideologyReveals the existence of significant variations in Western perceptions of the monument and, more importantly, it shows that Oriental visions are no less heterogeneous, ranging from awkward silences to laments, and from 'Oriental Orientalism' to Arab nationalismDe-exoticises and problematises Orientalism by revealing its multi-layered nature, especially with respect to the "Russian doll" effect observed in Spain and in the Ottoman Empire, and by carrying the debate into a wider framework by adopting a longue durée approach, spanning up to two centuriesA growing flow of visitors in the 19th century turned the Alhambra into a touristic destination and a major trope of Orientalism, created by Western authors and artists from François-René de Chateaubriand to Owen Jones and from Washington Irving to Jean-Léon Gérôme. Yet behind this Western infatuation lie scores of 'Oriental' observers of the monument, as revealed by its visitors' book, kept since 1829.This book uses this untapped source to analyse the perceptions of the Alhambra by multiple actors, including Westerners, Spaniards, Maghrebines, Ottoman Turks, Christian Arabs and Muslim Arabs from the Mashreq. In doing so, it reveals the existence of significant variations in both Western and Oriental perceptions of the monument, from 'Oriental Orientalism' to Arab nationalism. Examining the contemporary press, memoirs, travelogues and photographs - as well as the visitors' book - it uses the Alhambra to build a history of the complex and entangled relations between East and West, North and South, Islam and Christianity, centre and periphery during the heyday of Orientalism and Western hegemony.
Item Description:	Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 06. Mrz 2024)
Physical Description:	1 Online-Ressource (384 Seiten) 23 B/W Illustrationen 32 colour Illustrationen 55 Illustrationen (32 colour & 23 b/w)
ISBN:	9781399524896
DOI:	10.1515/9781399524896