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The Other Geography: Representations of the Turkish Landscape in English Travel Writings

Year 2007, Volume: 71 Issue: 261, 721 - 744, 20.08.2007
https://doi.org/10.37879/belleten.2007.721

Abstract

During the Renaissance and in the post-Renaissance period, the European idea of travel was based on two fundamental paradigms: exploration and cultivation. However, especially from the eighteenth century onwards, with the worldwide expansion of European imperialism and colonialism, in addition to these two paradigms, various other and often antagonistic paradigms, which were intrinsically associated with the imperial ideology, came to characterize European travellers' attitude towards other peoples, cultures, and geographies in general and towards the Orient and Turkey in particular. It was in this context that a growing number of English travellers, who visited Turkey, began to write detailed and descriptive accounts of their observations and impressions of Turkish life, society, culture, history, institutions, and geography. On the one hand, by situating Turkey within the traditional myth of the exotic and mysterious East, and, on the other, by perceiving it as the inhospitable geography of alien others, most of these accounts display a blend of fact and fiction and embody a contradictory attitude of innocent romanticism and arrogant realism. In essence, they seem to exhibit a dichotomy arising from the opposition of the self and the other. This is most clearly seen, for instance, in Lady Montagu and Richard Chandler in the eighteenth century, in Alexander Kinglake in the nineteenth century and in Gertrude Bell and Freya Stark in the twentieth century. Since travel is essentially a confrontation of two cultures alien to each other and is informed through the cultural distance between the self and the alien other, in the writings of these English travellers this confrontation is voiced sometimes openly and sometimes implicitly with reference to various aspects of Turkey. One important aspect, which has not yet received full critical attention, is the dichotomic depiction of the Turkish geography. So this paper, which mainly focuses on Montagu, Chandler, Kinglake, Bell, and Stark, is an exegetical and critical study of the changing ways in which the Turkish landscape has been perceived and represented by English travellers.

References

  • A. Texts and Primary Sources
  • Bacon, Francis. Essays. 1625. London: Oxford UP, 1962.
  • Bell, Gertrude. The Letters of Gertrude Bell. Ed. Lady Bell. Introd. jan Morris. 1927. Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin, 1987.
  • Chandler, Richard. Travels in Asia Minor, 1764-1765. Ed. and abr. Edith Clay. London: The British Museum, 1971.
  • Kinglake, A.W. Eothen. Introd. Jonathan Raban. [1844]. London: Century; Gentry, 1982.
  • Montagu, Mary Wortley. Letters. [Ed. Ernest Rhys]. Introd. Clare Brant. 1906. London: Everyman, 1992.
  • Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Ed. W. J. Craig. 1905. London: Oxford UP, 1964.
  • Stark, Freya. Perseus in the Wind. 1948. London: John Murray, 1949.
  • lonia: A Quest. London: Readers Union; John Murray, 1956.
  • The Lycian Shore: Along the Coast of Turkey by Yatch. 1956. London: Century, 1989.
  • Alexander's Path: A Travel Memoir. 1958. Woodstock, NY: The Overlook P, 1988.
  • B. Secondary Sources
  • Armbruster, Karla, and Kathleen R. Wallace, eds. Beyond Nature Writing: Expanding the Boundaries of Ecocriticism. Charlotteville: UP of Virginia, 2001.
  • Barfoot, C.C. Introduction. Barfoot and D'haen 3-8.
  • Barfoot, C.C. and Theo D'haen, eds. Oriental Prospects: Western Literature and the Lure of the East. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1998.
  • Branch, Michael P. and Scott Slovic, eds. The ISLE Reader: Ecocriticism, 1993-2003. Athens, GA: U of Georgia P, 2003.
  • Caesar , Terry. "Romancing the Facts in American Travel Writing." Kowalewski 109-25.
  • Campbell, Mary B. The Witness and the Other World: Exotic European Travel Writing, 400-1600. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1988.
  • Clark, Steve, ed. Travel Writing and Empire: Postcolonial Theory in Transit. London: Zed, 1999.
  • Clay, Edith. Introduction. Chandler ix-xvi.
  • Daniel, Norman. Islam and the West: The Making of an Image. Rev. ed. 1960. Oxford: Oneworld, 1993.
  • Eisner, Robert. Travelers to an Antique Land: The History and Literature of Travel to Greece. Paperback edn. 1991. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1993.
  • Hilbert, Betsy S. "Beyond 'Thou Shalt Not': An Ecocritic Reads Deuteronomy." Armbruster and Wallace 29-40.
  • Izzard, Molly. Freya Stark: A Biography. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1993.
  • Kern, Robert. "Ecocriticism: What Is It Good For?" Branch and Slovic 258- 81
  • Kowalewski, Michael, ed. Temperamental Journeys: Essays on the Modern Literature of Travel. Athens, GA: U of Georgia P, 1992.
  • Langford, Paul. "The Eighteenth Century (1688-1789)." Morgan 352-418.
  • Mazel, David, ed. A Century of Early Ecocriticism.Athens, GA: U of Georgia P, 2001.
  • Milton, Kay. Environmentalism and Cultural Theory. London: Routledge, 1996.
  • Morgan, Kenneth O., ed.. The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain. Rev.ed. 1984. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1996.
  • Morris, Jan. Introduction. Bell vii-xiv.
  • Oppermann, Serpil. "Ecocriticism: [The] Natural World in the Literary Viewfinder." Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi XVI, 2 (December 1998): 29-46.
  • Porter, Dennis. Haunted Journeys: Desire and Transgression in European Travel Writing. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1991.
  • Raban, Jonathan. Introduction. Kinglake v-viii.
  • Said, Edward. Orientalism. 1978. New York: Vintage-Random House, 1979.
  • Culture and Imperialism. 1993. New York: Vintage-Random House, 1994.
  • Umunç, Himmet. "Civilizing the Other: Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and the British Imperial Ideology." Civilisation and British Literature: Interaction and Impact. Proc. of 21st All-Turkey English Literature Conf., 19-21 April 2000, Middle East Technical U. Ankara: METU, 2001: 110-15.
  • Wind, Edgar. Pagan Mysteries in the Renaissance. Rey. ed. 1958. Harmondsworth, Eng.: Peregrine-Penguin, 1967.
  • Winstone, H.V.F. Gertrude Bell. New York: Quartet, 1978.
Year 2007, Volume: 71 Issue: 261, 721 - 744, 20.08.2007
https://doi.org/10.37879/belleten.2007.721

Abstract

References

  • A. Texts and Primary Sources
  • Bacon, Francis. Essays. 1625. London: Oxford UP, 1962.
  • Bell, Gertrude. The Letters of Gertrude Bell. Ed. Lady Bell. Introd. jan Morris. 1927. Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin, 1987.
  • Chandler, Richard. Travels in Asia Minor, 1764-1765. Ed. and abr. Edith Clay. London: The British Museum, 1971.
  • Kinglake, A.W. Eothen. Introd. Jonathan Raban. [1844]. London: Century; Gentry, 1982.
  • Montagu, Mary Wortley. Letters. [Ed. Ernest Rhys]. Introd. Clare Brant. 1906. London: Everyman, 1992.
  • Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Ed. W. J. Craig. 1905. London: Oxford UP, 1964.
  • Stark, Freya. Perseus in the Wind. 1948. London: John Murray, 1949.
  • lonia: A Quest. London: Readers Union; John Murray, 1956.
  • The Lycian Shore: Along the Coast of Turkey by Yatch. 1956. London: Century, 1989.
  • Alexander's Path: A Travel Memoir. 1958. Woodstock, NY: The Overlook P, 1988.
  • B. Secondary Sources
  • Armbruster, Karla, and Kathleen R. Wallace, eds. Beyond Nature Writing: Expanding the Boundaries of Ecocriticism. Charlotteville: UP of Virginia, 2001.
  • Barfoot, C.C. Introduction. Barfoot and D'haen 3-8.
  • Barfoot, C.C. and Theo D'haen, eds. Oriental Prospects: Western Literature and the Lure of the East. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1998.
  • Branch, Michael P. and Scott Slovic, eds. The ISLE Reader: Ecocriticism, 1993-2003. Athens, GA: U of Georgia P, 2003.
  • Caesar , Terry. "Romancing the Facts in American Travel Writing." Kowalewski 109-25.
  • Campbell, Mary B. The Witness and the Other World: Exotic European Travel Writing, 400-1600. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1988.
  • Clark, Steve, ed. Travel Writing and Empire: Postcolonial Theory in Transit. London: Zed, 1999.
  • Clay, Edith. Introduction. Chandler ix-xvi.
  • Daniel, Norman. Islam and the West: The Making of an Image. Rev. ed. 1960. Oxford: Oneworld, 1993.
  • Eisner, Robert. Travelers to an Antique Land: The History and Literature of Travel to Greece. Paperback edn. 1991. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1993.
  • Hilbert, Betsy S. "Beyond 'Thou Shalt Not': An Ecocritic Reads Deuteronomy." Armbruster and Wallace 29-40.
  • Izzard, Molly. Freya Stark: A Biography. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1993.
  • Kern, Robert. "Ecocriticism: What Is It Good For?" Branch and Slovic 258- 81
  • Kowalewski, Michael, ed. Temperamental Journeys: Essays on the Modern Literature of Travel. Athens, GA: U of Georgia P, 1992.
  • Langford, Paul. "The Eighteenth Century (1688-1789)." Morgan 352-418.
  • Mazel, David, ed. A Century of Early Ecocriticism.Athens, GA: U of Georgia P, 2001.
  • Milton, Kay. Environmentalism and Cultural Theory. London: Routledge, 1996.
  • Morgan, Kenneth O., ed.. The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain. Rev.ed. 1984. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1996.
  • Morris, Jan. Introduction. Bell vii-xiv.
  • Oppermann, Serpil. "Ecocriticism: [The] Natural World in the Literary Viewfinder." Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi XVI, 2 (December 1998): 29-46.
  • Porter, Dennis. Haunted Journeys: Desire and Transgression in European Travel Writing. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1991.
  • Raban, Jonathan. Introduction. Kinglake v-viii.
  • Said, Edward. Orientalism. 1978. New York: Vintage-Random House, 1979.
  • Culture and Imperialism. 1993. New York: Vintage-Random House, 1994.
  • Umunç, Himmet. "Civilizing the Other: Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and the British Imperial Ideology." Civilisation and British Literature: Interaction and Impact. Proc. of 21st All-Turkey English Literature Conf., 19-21 April 2000, Middle East Technical U. Ankara: METU, 2001: 110-15.
  • Wind, Edgar. Pagan Mysteries in the Renaissance. Rey. ed. 1958. Harmondsworth, Eng.: Peregrine-Penguin, 1967.
  • Winstone, H.V.F. Gertrude Bell. New York: Quartet, 1978.
There are 39 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Araştırma Makaleleri
Authors

Himmet Umunç This is me

Publication Date August 20, 2007
Published in Issue Year 2007 Volume: 71 Issue: 261

Cite

APA Umunç, H. (2007). The Other Geography: Representations of the Turkish Landscape in English Travel Writings. BELLETEN, 71(261), 721-744. https://doi.org/10.37879/belleten.2007.721
AMA Umunç H. The Other Geography: Representations of the Turkish Landscape in English Travel Writings. TTK BELLETEN. August 2007;71(261):721-744. doi:10.37879/belleten.2007.721
Chicago Umunç, Himmet. “The Other Geography: Representations of the Turkish Landscape in English Travel Writings”. BELLETEN 71, no. 261 (August 2007): 721-44. https://doi.org/10.37879/belleten.2007.721.
EndNote Umunç H (August 1, 2007) The Other Geography: Representations of the Turkish Landscape in English Travel Writings. BELLETEN 71 261 721–744.
IEEE H. Umunç, “The Other Geography: Representations of the Turkish Landscape in English Travel Writings”, TTK BELLETEN, vol. 71, no. 261, pp. 721–744, 2007, doi: 10.37879/belleten.2007.721.
ISNAD Umunç, Himmet. “The Other Geography: Representations of the Turkish Landscape in English Travel Writings”. BELLETEN 71/261 (August 2007), 721-744. https://doi.org/10.37879/belleten.2007.721.
JAMA Umunç H. The Other Geography: Representations of the Turkish Landscape in English Travel Writings. TTK BELLETEN. 2007;71:721–744.
MLA Umunç, Himmet. “The Other Geography: Representations of the Turkish Landscape in English Travel Writings”. BELLETEN, vol. 71, no. 261, 2007, pp. 721-44, doi:10.37879/belleten.2007.721.
Vancouver Umunç H. The Other Geography: Representations of the Turkish Landscape in English Travel Writings. TTK BELLETEN. 2007;71(261):721-44.