The Alhambra at the crossroads of history : Eastern and Western visions in the long nineteenth century / Edhem Eldem.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Eldem, Edhem, author.

Standardized Title:

Alhambra à la croisée des histoires. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife (Granada, Spain)--History--19th century.

Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife (Granada, Spain).

Tourism--Spain--Granada--History--19th century.

Tourism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 384 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, 2024.

Summary:

A growing flow of visitors in the nineteenth century turned the Alhambra into a touristic destination and a major trope of Orientalism, created by Western authors and artists from François-René de Chateaubriand to Owen Jones and from Washington Irving to Jean-Léon Gérôme. Yet behind this Western infatuation lie scores of 'Oriental' observers of the monument, as revealed by its visitors' book, kept since 1829.<br><br>This book uses this untapped source to analyse the perceptions of the Alhambra by multiple actors, including Westerners, Spaniards, Maghrebines, Ottoman Turks, Christian Arabs and Muslim Arabs from the Mashreq. In doing so, it reveals the existence of significant variations in both Western and Oriental perceptions of the monument, from 'Oriental Orientalism' to Arab nationalism. Examining the contemporary press, memoirs, travelogues and photographs - as well as the visitors' book - it uses the Alhambra to build a history of the complex and entangled relations between East and West, North and South, Islam and Christianity, centre and periphery during the heyday of Orientalism and Western hegemony.

Contents:

Intro

List of Figures

Introduction: Trailing a Photograph

1 North: Western and Spanish Visions of the Alhambra

2 South: Visitors from the Maghreb

3 East: Ottomans at the Alhambra

4 Modernity: Dreams and Ideals

Conclusion: Connections, Entanglements and Influences

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

First published in French as L'Alhambra à la croisée des histoires in 2021.

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 07 Mar 2025).

ISBN:

1-3995-2490-9

1-3995-2489-5

OCLC:

1424745459