Travellers in Ottoman Lands: The Botanical Legacy

This collection of around twenty papers has its origins in a two-day seminar organised by the Association for the Study of Travel in Egypt and the Near East (ASTENE) in conjunction with the Centre for Middle Eastern Plants at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh (RBGE), with additional support from Cornucopia magazine and the Turkish Consulate General, Edinburgh. This multi-disciplinary event formed part of the Ottoman Horizons festival held in Edinburgh in 2017 and attracted a wide range of participants from around the world, including several from Turkey and other parts of the Middle East. This splendidly illustrated book focuses on the botanical legacy of many parts of the former Ottoman Empire — including present-day Turkey, the Levant, Egypt, the Balkans, and the Arabian Peninsula — as seen and described by travellers both from within and from outside the region. The papers cover a wide variety of subjects, including Ottoman garden design and architecture; the flora of the region, especially bulbs and their cultural significance; literary, pictorial and photographic depictions of the botany and horticulture of the Ottoman lands; floral and related motifs in Ottoman art; culinary and medicinal aspects of the botanical heritage; and efforts related to conservation.

Table of Contents

Foreword – by Semih Lütfü Turgut, Turkish Consul General in Edinburgh

Preface – by Sabina Knees

Introduction to Travellers in Ottoman Lands: The Botanical Legacy – by Paul Starkey

Acknowledgements – by Paul Starkey

THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

1 The Ottoman Empire: an introduction to its history and heritage – by Ines Aščerić-Todd

THE OTTOMAN GARDEN

2 Presenting and re-presenting Ottoman imperial gardens in manuscript illustrations: the case of the Oxford Dilsūznāmah, dated AH 860/AD 1455–1456, Edirne – by Susan Scollay

3 Ottoman fruit cultivation as reflected in Evliya Çelebi’s Book of Travels 43

Priscilla Mary Işın

4 Gardens of Istanbul in Persian hajj travelogues – by Güllü Yıldız

5 The public space of the Bakewell Ottoman Garden – by Radha Dalal

BOTANIST-TRAVELLERS

6 Dioscorides’ legacy: a classical precursor to travellers in Ottoman lands – by Alison Denham

7 Botanical explorations by Frederik Hasselquist (1749–1752) and Pehr Forsskål (1761–1763): Linné’s apostles in the Holy Land – by Tobias Mörike

8 From Ottoman Aleppo to Edinburgh: the botanical legacies of Adam Freer MD and his colleagues – by Janet Starkey

9 The botanist Carl Haussknecht (1838–1903) in the Ottoman Empire and Persia (1865 and 1866–1869): a biographical sketch and itinerary of his expeditions – by Frank H. Hellwig & Kristin Victor

10 In honour of Professor Asuman Baytop (1920–2015): a tribute | On Georges Vincent Aznavour, the last Ottoman plant collector and his herbarium held in the Robert College (Istanbul), Turkey – by Necmi Aksoy

11 Violet Dickson, Umm Saud, the last grande dame of Arabia – by Irene Linning†

BULBS AND CONIFERS

12 Bulbs of the Holy Land: diversity, conservation, and cultivation – by Ori Fragman-Sapir

13 George Maw (1832–1912): his Crocus monograph, travels, and correspondents from the Ottoman Empire – by Alison Rix

14 Decline of the conifers in former Ottoman lands – by Martin Gardner & Sabina Knees

15 The cedars of Lebanon in literature and art – by Paul Starkey

ART AND BOTANY

16 Botanical art in Turkey from past to present – by Gülnur Ekşi

17 The interpretation of Ottoman garden culture through miniatures – by Gürsan Ergil

18 Richly decorated textiles and Ottoman court dress – by Jennifer Scarce

19 Taking ‘stalk’ of Turkey red in Ottoman flora, fabric, and fibre – by Lara Mehling

20 Roses, carnations, and ‘Prophet’s eggs’: Turkish needle lace flowers between decoration and non-verbal communication – by Gérard J. Maizou & Kathrin Müller

Dr Ines Aščerić-Todd Is A Teaching Fellow In Islamic And Middle Eastern Studies At The University Of Edinburgh. Her Research Interests Include Social And Cultural History Of The Middle East And The Ottoman Empire, Sufism And Dervish Orders. She Is The Author Of Dervishes And Islam In Bosnia: Sufi Dimensions To The Formation Of Bosnian Muslim Society, In The Brill Series ‘The Ottoman Empire And Its Heritage’ (Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2015).