A CRITICAL READING OF THE OTTOMAN-TURKISH HAMAM AS A QUEERED SPACE A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY BURKAY PASİN IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ARCHITECTURE JUNE 2014 Approval of the thesis: A CRITICAL READING OF THE OTTOMAN-TURKISH HAMAM AS A QUEERED SPACE submitted by BURKAY PASİN in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture Department, Middle East Technical University by, Prof. Dr. Canan Özgen _________________ Dean, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences Prof. Dr. Güven Arif Sargın _________________ Head of Department, Architecture Prof. Dr. Belgin Turan Özkaya __________________ Supervisor, Architecture Dept., METU Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Ali Cengizkan __________________ Architecture Dept., METU Prof. Dr. Belgin Turan Özkaya __________________ Architecture Dept., METU Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elvan Altan Ergut __________________ Architecture Dept., METU Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şebnem Yücel __________________ Architecture Dept., Gediz University Assist. Prof. Dr. Nina Ergin __________________ Archeology and Art History Dept., Koç University Date: 30.06.2014 I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Burkay PASİN Signature: iv ABSTRACT A CRITICAL READING OF THE OTTOMAN-TURKISH HAMAM AS A QUEERED SPACE Pasin, Burkay Ph.D., Department of Architecture Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Belgin Turan Özkaya June 2014, 284 pages This dissertation analyzes the Ottoman-Turkish hamam as a queered space. I follow a combined research methodology in which oral history is the primary method of gathering knowledge, while literature review, questionnaire survey and case analyses are supplementary. In Chapter 3, I argue that in architectural history writing, the hamam is constructed as a desexualized archetype, while in art history, popular literature and media it is reduced to a sexual stereotype. In Chapter 4, I analyze how the hamam works as part of urban queer culture in Turkey for the past 40 years. The oral history interviews provides first-hand data regarding the spatial practices, sexual performances and experiences of the interviewees in particular queered hamams. In- depth analyses of these interviews show that there are similarities and differences between practices, performances and experiences of the users, which contribute to their identity constructions. I analyze these similarities and differences within a tripartite conceptual framework, in Chapters 5, 6 and 7 consecutively, each of which has been theorized as a particular spatiality: an urban closet, a performance stage, and a homosocial space. In Chapter 8, I conclude that the Ottoman-Turkish hamam is a complex problem field which can be read through three dualities: the traditional and the modern, the representational and the real, the commodified and the social. Keywords: hamam, queered space, urban closet, performance stage, homosocial space v ÖZ OSMANLI-TÜRK HAMAMININ QUEERED BİR MEKÂN OLARAK ELEŞTİREL BİR OKUMASI Pasin, Burkay Doktora, Mimarlık Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Belgin Turan Özkaya Haziran 2014, 284 sayfa Bu tez, Osmanlı-Türk Hamamı’nı queered bir mekân olarak analiz etmektedir. Sözlü tarihin öncelikli, kaynak taraması, anket çalışması ve alan çalışmasının ise yardımcı bilgi toplama yöntemleri olduğu kombine bir araştırma yöntembilimi izlemekteyim. Üçüncü bölümde, mimari tarih yazımında hamamın cinsiyetsiz bir arketip olarak inşa edildiğini, sanat tarihi, popüler edebiyat ve medyada ise cinsiyetli bir steryotipe indirgenmiş olduğunu tartışmaktayım. Dördüncü bölümde, hamamın son 40 yıldır nasıl Türkiye’deki kentsel queer kültürün bir parçası olarak çalıştığını analiz etmekteyim. Sözlü tarih görüşmeleri belirli queered hamamlarda görüşmecilerin mekânsal pratikleri, cinsel performansları ve tecrübeleriyle ilgili birinci el veri sağlamaktadır. Görüşmelerin derinlemesine analizi, bu pratikler, performanslar ve tecrübeler arasında görüşmecilerin kimlik inşaasına katkı sağlayan benzerlikler ve farklılıklar bulunduğunu göstermektedir. Bu benzerlik ve farklılıkları beşinci, altıncı ve yedinci bölümlerde her biri belirli mekânsallık olarak kuramsallaştırılan üçlü bir kavramsal çerçevede analiz etmekteyim: kentsel dolap, performans sahnesi ve homososyal mekân. Sekizinci bölümde, hamamın üç farklı ikilik üzerinden karmaşık bir problem alanı olduğu sonucuna ulaşmaktayım: geleneksel ve modern, temsili ve gerçek, ticari ve sosyal. Anahtar Kelimeler: hamam, queered mekân, kentsel dolap, performans sahnesi, homososyal mekân vi To All Those Who Are Othered vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to acknowledge appreciation to numerous individuals who contributed to this dissertation in many different stages and ways. First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge my deepest appreciation to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Belgin Turan Özkaya for her patience and understanding from the initial stages of the study to its completion. It would not have been possible to complete this dissertation without her contributions and guidance in theoretical and practical terms. I also would like to acknowledge appreciation to Prof. Dr. Ali Cengizkan and Assist. Prof. Dr. Nina Ergin, both of whom kindly allocated their time and effort to monitor my thesis development process. Prof. Dr. Ali Cengizkan not only provided me with new research perspectives but also helped me to take critical decisions on the main focus and methodology of the dissertation. Assist. Prof. Dr. Nina Ergin not only shared her invaluable knowledge in history of art and architecture but also made several detailed proof-readings of my text throughout the process. I would like to acknowledge my third appreciation to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elvan Altan Ergut and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şebnem Yücel, both of whom kindly accepted to take part in my defense exam and shared their invaluable comments on the dissertation. My dissertation has deeply benefited from personal testimonies and experiences of individuals as well as those who took part in the questionnaire survey. I would like to thank to my friends in LGBT organizations such as KAOS GL, Izmir Siyah Pembe Üçgen and Pembe Hayat, who helped me to contact those people. Finally, I would like to thank to my family, my friends and my colleagues in Izmir University of Economics for their moral support. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...………………………………………………………………………. v ÖZ ………………………………………………………………………………….. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………….……….……….………………………… viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ..……………………………………………………... ix LIST OF TABLES …...…………………………………………………………. xii LIST OF FIGURES .…………………………………………………………….. xiii CHAPTERS 1. INTRODUCTION ....…………………………………………………….. 1 1.1 Problem Field ……...……………………………………………….. 1 1.2 Scope of the Dissertation ….……………………………..………… 6 1.3 Aim of the Dissertation …………………………………………… 13 1.4 Significance of the Dissertation ……………………………….….. 16 2. METHODOLOGY ………………………………………………….….. 23 2.1 Introduction: Combined Research Methodology …………….…… 23 2.2 Questionnaire Survey ……………………………………………... 24 2.3 Oral History Research ……………………………………….……. 26 2.3.1 What is Oral History? ……………………………………… 26 2.3.2 Types of Oral History ………………………………….…... 27 2.3.3 History of Oral History ……………………………..……… 28 2.3.4 Significance of Oral History ………..……………………… 32 2.4 Oral History Research in this Dissertation ………………………. 33 2.4.1 The Preparation ……………………………………….…… 34 2.4.2 The Interview …………………………………………..…... 39 2.4.3 The Transcription ……………………………………….…. 44 2.4.4 Analyses and Interpretation ……………………………..… 44 2.5 Case Analyses …………………………………………………..… 46 2.6 Conceptual and Theoretical Framework …………………………. 49 ix 3. (DE)SEXUALIZED CONSTRUCTIONS AND REPRESENTATIONS OF THE HAMAM ……………………………………………………... 51 3.1 Introduction …………………………………………………….… 51 3.2 The Hamam in Architectural History Writing …………………..... 52 3.3 The Hamam in Art History ……………………………………..… 63 3.4 The Hamam in Travel Literature …………………………………. 73 3.5 The Hamam in Ottoman-Turkish Literature …..……………….…. 80 3.6 The Perception of the Hamam in Global/Local Discourse and Popular Media ………………………………………………………….….. 84 3.7 Concluding Remarks ……………………………………………... 89 4. THE HAMAM IN URBAN QUEER HISTORY AND CULTURE IN TURKEY ………….………………………………………………….… 93 4.1 Introduction: Queer History …………………………………...….. 93 4.2 Transformation of Hamam Culture within the Urban Modernization Process in Turkey ………………………………………………..... 97 4.3 Hamam as Part of the Urban Queer Culture in Turkey ………….. 104 4.4 Concluding Remarks …………………………………………….. 113 5. THE HAMAM AS AN URBAN CLOSET .….………………………. 117 5.1 Introduction: Closetedness …………………………………….… 117 5.2 Queer Space as an Urban Closet ………………………………… 121 5.3 Constructing the Hamam Closet ………………………………… 126 5.3.1 Exploring the Hamam .….………………………………… 133 5.3.2 Access to the Hamam ……………………………………... 135 5.3.3 Commodification of Sex in the Hamam ………………….. 143 5.3.4 Threats inside the Hamam …………………………………150 5.3.5 Claiming Space in the Hamam …………………………… 154 5.4 Concluding Remarks ……………………………………………. 156 6. THE HAMAM AS A PERFORMANCE STAGE ……………………. 159 6.1 Introduction: Queer Performativity ……………………………… 159 6.2 Queer Space as a Performance Stage ……………………………. 165 6.3 Performers on the Hamam Stage …………………..…………. 169