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One of the most spectacular events of the Ottoman experience of modernity was the inauguration of the Ottoman General Exposition in Istanbul in 1863. The ancient Hippodrome, which is one of the most prominent venues of the city and the setting of memorable celebrations and festivals for centuries, hosted the event and provided the visitors with the opportunity to become part of the modern regimes of gaze and spectacle. This article posits three observer roles to reveal the multilayered structure of urban spectacle in mid-century Istanbul, namely the sultanic gaze, spectacle of the ordinary citizens, and the mediated experience of the foreigner. To understand the particularities of each position, I utilize several visual and textual documents about the exhibition event. Though just a single case in Ottoman urban history, the exposition enables us to understand how the new manner of modern urban spectacle emerged during a spectacular public event in Istanbul. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the construction and expansion of a less-known royal shore kiosk complex in Istanbul, namely the Shore Palace near the Cannon Gate (Topkapısı Sahil Sarayı) or Summer Harem, which was built on the outskirts of the royal palace complex in the eighteenth century, to interpret the changing features of royal residential culture and spatial practices. In this article, I aim to propose a new thematic frame based on the central role of the issue of visuality to examine the shifting cultural paradigm of eighteenth-century royal patronage. The eighteenth century witnessed the physical expansion of the complex and renovation of the furnishings several times and the official records of these activities provide us with invaluable information for the visual construction of these buildings, which were torn down after a devastating fire in 1862. Furthermore, the choice of location and all physical changes in the interiors and gardens demonstrate the spatial results of the changing codes of visual culture in the cityscape. In this respect, examination of this case enables us to discuss how the new visual culture was adopted and exercised in and around the royal palace gardens by the royal court members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]