The photobook Neo Ottoman – New Turkey is now available.
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If we are to speak of the spirit of the times, how should we describe the era we are living through?
Nostalgia for the past, a desire for revival? “Crazy” projects and an obsession with grandeur? A continuity linking the present to the past, invented histories and manufactured epics?
All these, and more, are building blocks in the reconstruction of a conservative identity. The narrative woven around this identity draws its strength from a symbolic notion of the ancestors. It promises a “local and national” future equipped with the latest technology, while transforming trends with “foreign roots” into acceptable tastes.
Neo Ottoman – New Turkey is about the nationalist and Islamic-conservative wave that has become increasingly visible over the past two decades. From shop names to fashion, accessories to television series, it traces references to the Ottoman past and the symbolism created through flags, imperial monograms and architecture. It follows the struggle between the “Old” and the “New” Turkey as it unfolds through these symbols in public space, and ultimately asks:
What kinds of lives are lived within the dreams we encounter on the streets, in public squares, on television, in short, everywhere?
Photographs: Murat Bergi
Editor: Altan Bal
Texts: Nagehan Tokdoğan, Altan Bal
Book Design: Ekin Işım
Printing: Ofset Yapımevi
Languages: Turkish & English
Dimensions: 24 × 29.4 cm
Pages: 124
Edition: 500 copies