Photography and other Media at the Service of Ottoman Archaeology

Abstract

From its earliest days, photography was linked to material remains of the past. Western pioneers of the medium were attracted to photographing Ottoman lands, especially the land of the Pharaohs, and the Holy Land. The Ottomans also seized upon photography themselves, turning the lens upon monuments and artefacts within their own Empire. The literature on archaeological photography in the region has focused on European travel photography, and on the upper echelons of state officialdom. This article shifts attention to Ottoman bureaucracy, and to the societal level. It discusses the relationship between photography and the daily tasks associated with the Ottoman administration of antiquities. Additionally, it looks at the ways that an important learned society, the Hellenic Literary Society at Constantinople, used photography. The article treats Ottoman archaeological photography in its own right, largely on the basis of primary material in Ottoman Turkish and Greek. The article argues that photography was a new, technologically advanced medium that - in tandem with other visual reproduction techniques - was instrumental in promoting visions of modernisation. Photography, and other visual media, helped the Ottoman state promote state centralisation and modernisation, while enhancing the Hellenic Literary Society’s civilising mission.