Occidentalist Perceptions of European Architecture in Nineteenth-Century Persian Travel Diaries In the midst of Europe’s nineteenth-century industrial revolution, four men embarked on separate journeys to the wondrous Farangestan – a land of fascinating objects, mysterious technologies, heavenly women, and magical spaces. Determined to learn the secret of Farangestan’s advancements, the travelers kept detailed records of their observations. These diaries mapped an aspirational path to progress for curious Iranian audiences who were eager to change the course of history. Two hundred years later, Travels in Farangi space unpacks these writings to reveal a challenging new interpreta- tion of Iran’s experience of modernity. This book opens the Persian travelers’ long-forgotten suitcases, and ana- lyzes the descriptions contained within to gain insight into Occidentalist perspectives on modern Europe. By carefully tracing the physical and men- tal journeys of these travelers, the book paints a picture of European archi- tecture that is nothing like what one would expect. Vahid Vahdat is an architect, urban designer, and historian of architecture and urban form. His primary field of research is the theory and history of modern architecture and urban space, with an emphasis on non-Western experiences of modernity. Occidentalist Perceptions of European Architecture in Nineteenth-Century Persian Travel Diaries Travels in Farangi Space Vahid Vahdat First published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2017 Vahid Vahdat The right of Vahid Vahdat to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Vahdat, Vahid, author. Title: Occidentalist perceptions of European architecture in nineteenth-century Persian travel diaries : travels in farangi space / Vahid Vahdat. Description: New York : Routledge, 2017. | Based on the author’s thesis (doctoral—Texas A & M University, 2014) under the title: Imagining the modern : an Occidentalist perception and representation of farangi architecture and urbanism in 19th-Century Persian travel diaries. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016037864 | ISBN 9781472473943 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315547510 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Space (Architecture)—Europe—Foreign public opinion, Iranian. | Europe—Civilization—19th century. | East and West. | Travelers’ writings, Persian—19th century—History and criticism. | Iranians—Travel—Europe—History—19th century. | Iranians—Diaries. | Iran—Intellectual life—19th century. Classification: LCC NA2765 .V34 2017 | DDC 720.94/09034—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016037864 ISBN: 9781472473943 (hbk) ISBN: 9781315547510 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents Acknowledgments vii A note on the text viii List of figures ix 1 The first brick 1 Prologue 1 Modernity, distorted 3 The inception of modernity in Iran 5 The research odyssey 8 A cross section through the book 9 Notes 10 References 12 2 Modernity in a suitcase 14 Innocents abroad 14 Abolhasan 15 Mirza Saleh 21 Rezaqoli 27 Farrokh-Khan 31 Modernity as a souvenir 35 Notes 39 References 43 3 When worlds collide 46 Verbalizing space 46 Quantifying space 49 Journey from the center of the earth 51 Farangestan as a wonderland 57 Virtual realities 60 vi Contents Representing the representation 63 The reincarnated image 68 Notes 71 References 75 4 Imagining the modern 78 Mapping modernity 78 A kucheh-bagh to progress 80 Refashioning the Farangi house 82 Rediscovering Eram 85 Reflecting a different sky 89 The kingly palace 91 The bridal chamber 94 The nightless city 98 Space that belongs to nobody 102 Touching the Milky Way 108 Constructing the magical 110 Aesthetics of rationality 114 Spatial lacunae 115 Notes 121 References 133 5 Tajaddod as a discourse 135 League of extraordinary gentlemen 135 Building the future 140 Epilogue 144 Notes 146 References 148 Appendix A: Abolhasan’s itinerary 151 Appendix B: Mirza Saleh’s itinerary 160 Appendix C: Rezaqoli’s itinerary 166 Appendix D: Farrokh-Khan’s itinerary 172 Glossary 177 Bibliography 180 Index 187 Acknowledgments Books, like architectural projects, are the culmination of many individual efforts. They cannot be constructed without a great deal of assistance and support. During the course of my research I have been accompanied by many colleagues whose enthusiasm and encouragement made the adventure enjoyable and fruitful. I would like to extend my profound gratitude to my doctoral advisors at Texas A&M University, Robert Warden and Peter Lang, for their unflagging support and advice during the early stages of this work. I am also sincerely grateful to Rola el-Husseini, whose guidance grounded my exploration, as well as my other doctoral committee members, Mohammad Ghanoonparvar and Michael Neuman. Thank you for provid- ing me with a strong foundation on which to build. This study has enjoyed generous fellowship support from the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research at Texas A&M University. I would like to extend my thanks to the staff of the center, who graciously supported me during my year-long residency. I am also indebted to the Office of Graduate Studies at Texas A&M for providing a dissertation fel- lowship that helped to sustain my work during parts of its extensive writing period. Finally, I would like to thank the staff and management of the Texas A&M University Library and the University Writing Center for their amaz- ing services, and particularly Thadeus Bowerman, whose editorial work has greatly enriched the work. I am also indebted to my professional editor Jesse L. Rester, for his valuable inputs. Many colleagues and friends provided advice on the book during the several stages of its draft. Farshid Emami, Ahmad Ashraf, Mohammad Gharipour, and Shima Mohajeri deserve my gratitude for their advice. This book would not have been possible without the support and encourage- ment of my friends and my family. I thank my wife, a creative architect, my mother, a passionate historian, and my father, a principled academician, who have been instrumental in the formation of this book as well as my interest in the topic. A note on the text The Persian terms that appear in this book generally follow the translitera- tion system laid out by Nasser Sharifi in his Cataloging of Persian Works, except in the following cases: (1) for historical figures and places, I have kept the most commonly accepted English spellings, (2) for quotes from English sources, I have used the authors’ preferred spelling, and (3) because different consonants are pronounced alike in Persian, I have avoided dia- critical marks, except for ‘ayn and hamza. I have been fortunate that among the four travel diaries that I have ana- lyzed, two have been already translated to English. When directly quoting from the diaries, I have used the already-translated material, so the reader will have the opportunity to easily refer to the books for additional informa- tion. In most other cases, I have used the original Persian diaries. In general, all the translations from Persian are mine, unless otherwise indicated. As a Persian reader of these travel diaries, 150 years after they were written, I have tried to maintain the original quality of the language and to faithfully represent the documents in my translations. Figures 2.1 An 1823 sculpture of Mirza Saleh by Robert William Sievier. 22 2.2 From left to right, Rezaqoli Mirza, Teymur Mirza, and Vali. Drawing by John Partridge, July 1836. 28 2.3 Farrokh-Khan Aminoddowleh, engraved in 1857 from a Persian miniature. 32 3.1 Vauxhall Gardens was a great source of wonder to the traveler, as they enthusiastically describe its symmetrical paths, lighting features, and public mingling of men and women. 61 3.2 Iran’s booth at the 1851 Great Exhibition in the Crystal Palace. 64 4.1 The Charbagh of Isfahan, an expansive version of the kucheh-bagh, was designed by Sheykh Baha’i in the early seventeenth century. 82 4.2 A view of the east nave of the Crystal Palace, showing the Persian booth in the bottom left corner. 87 4.3 Gustave Doré’s illustration of a crowded London street, for London: A Pilgrimage, published in 1872. The dense urban crowding of the city was sometimes described by Abolhasan as oppressive and stifling. 118 4.4 The travelers remain silent about the challenging urban conditions of the working-class quarters in major industrial cities of Europe, such as London. 120 Plate 1 Mother and child, attributed to Muhammad Hasan, second or third decade of the 19th century. Plate 2 An 1800 map showing Abolhasan’s course of travel. The blue lines show sea routes and the red lines show land trips. Plate 3 The Anniversary Meeting of the Charity Children in the Cathedral of St. Paul, painted by Robert Havell, Jr. in 1826. Plate 4 Mirza Abu’l Hassan Khan (Abolhasan) holding a book, painting by Sir William Beechey. x Figures Plate 5 An 1823 map showing Mirza Saleh’s course of travel. The blue lines show sea routes and the red lines show land trips.