100509 Turcica49 09 Dossier Eldem.Indd
EDHEM ELDEM OTTOMANS AT THE ALHAMBRA, 1844-1914 AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE PERCEPTION OF AL-ANDALUS BY OTTOMAN SUBJECTS IN TIMES OF MODERNITY A PHOTOGRAPH It all started with a photograph a friend showed me years ago, and which I came to seriously study only very recently. An albumen print pasted on cardboard, with no indication of the photographer, depicted a slender bearded man wearing a dark cloak and a white turban, standing in the corner of a Moresque courtyard. The back of the photograph bore inscriptions in both Turkish and Arabic, starting with a legend for the photograph, in the former language (fig. 1): “An apartment in the palace of the Alhambra, located in the city of Granada in Al-Andalus.” Followed a dedication to a certain Hasan Tahsin Bey, described as “prosecutor at the Beirut court of appeal.” This mention was dated 22 January 1327, which corresponds to 4 February 1912, and signed by “Khalīl Jawād al- Khālidī, former naib (deputy kadi, or judge) of Diyarbekir.” The author then proceeded to introduce the six verses that ended the inscription: “A copy of the poem I wrote in the visitor’s book of the Alhambra.” Department of History, Boğaziçi University. Chaire internationale d’histoire turque et ottomane, Collège de France. Turcica, 49, 2018, p. 239-359. doi: 10.2143/TURC.49.0.3285083 © 2018Turcica.Tous droitsréservés. 240 EDHEM ELDEM Fig. 1. (opposite page) Photograph of Khalīl Jawād al-Khālidī, taken in the ‘Arab courtyard’ (patio árabe) of Rafael Garzón’s studio, Granada, probably on 28 May 1904; (left) On the back of the photograph is his dedication to Hasan Tahsin Bey, dated 22 January 1327/4 February 1912.
[Show full text]