Ottoman Camera

From the moment it was born in 1839, photography both became and symbolized modernity. This new technology, with its capabilities for recording and displaying, and its claims to precision and reality, became intimately intertwined with the dynamism of the modern world. The Ottoman Empire embraced photography with great enthusiasm. The impact and meaning of photography converged and merged with the modernization and Westernization drive of the Tanzimat movement. By the early twentieth century, photography had become a common part of daily life, the press, and the state apparatus in Ottoman lands.

This book addresses the most striking aspects of the close relationship between photography and modernity in the context of the Ottoman Empire. A significant portion of the material it contains is about the display of modernity through photography, as seen in the photographs and albums commissioned by the sultan to introduce his empire to Western audiences. Modernity became part of the art of photography, turning it into a common, ordinary practice.

With illustrated press, postcards sent to family members or anonymous collectors, portraits given to friends and acquaintances, and photographs of employees or prisoners, photography began to occupy all areas of public and private life. The visual world we live in today was born approximately 150 years ago. Camera Ottomana is both an expression of interest and respect for photography, and a critical evaluation of its local dimension as one of the most influential technological inventions with transformative power in the recent past.