Dana Sajdi – författare

This book is about a barber, Shihab al-Din Ahmad Ibn Budayr, who shaved and coiffed, and probably circumcised and healed, in Damascus in the 18th century. The barber may have been a "nobody," but he wrote a history book, a record of the events that took place in his city during his lifetime. Dana Sajdi investigates the significance of this book, and in examining the life and work of Ibn Budayr, uncovers the emergence of a larger trend of history writing by unusual authors—people outside the learned establishment—and a new phenomenon: nouveau literacy.The Barber of Damascus offers the first full-length microhistory of an individual commoner in Ottoman and Islamic history. Contributing to Ottoman popular history, Arabic historiography, and the little-studied cultural history of the 18th century Levant, the volume also examines the reception of the barber's book a century later to explore connections between the 18th and the late 19th centuries and illuminates new paths leading to the Nahda, the Arab Renaissance.

This book is about a barber, Shihab al-Din Ahmad Ibn Budayr, who shaved and coiffed, and probably circumcised and healed, in Damascus in the 18th century. The barber may have been a "nobody," but he wrote a history book, a record of the events that took place in his city during his lifetime. Dana Sajdi investigates the significance of this book, and in examining the life and work of Ibn Budayr, uncovers the emergence of a larger trend of history writing by unusual authors—people outside the learned establishment—and a new phenomenon: nouveau literacy.The Barber of Damascus offers the first full-length microhistory of an individual commoner in Ottoman and Islamic history. Contributing to Ottoman popular history, Arabic historiography, and the little-studied cultural history of the 18th century Levant, the volume also examines the reception of the barber's book a century later to explore connections between the 18th and the late 19th centuries and illuminates new paths leading to the Nahda, the Arab Renaissance.

This book is about a barber, Shihab al-Din Ahmad Ibn Budayr, who shaved and coiffed, and probably circumcised and healed, in Damascus in the 18th century. The barber may have been a "nobody," but he wrote a history book, a record of the events that took place in his city during his lifetime. Dana Sajdi investigates the significance of this book, and in examining the life and work of Ibn Budayr, uncovers the emergence of a larger trend of history writing by unusual authors—people outside the learned establishment—and a new phenomenon: nouveau literacy.The Barber of Damascus offers the first full-length microhistory of an individual commoner in Ottoman and Islamic history. Contributing to Ottoman popular history, Arabic historiography, and the little-studied cultural history of the 18th century Levant, the volume also examines the reception of the barber's book a century later to explore connections between the 18th and the late 19th centuries and illuminates new paths leading to the Nahda, the Arab Renaissance.

Tulips and coffee are defining cultural products of the Ottoman eighteenth century, along with their related institutions of palace and coffeehouse. These cultural products hold multiple meanings in the history and historiography of the period. For example, scholars argue that the janissary coffee house was used variously for such diverse means as headquarters for rebellion, a Sufi lodge, police station and racketeering office. 'Ottoman Tulips, Ottoman Coffee' offers a critical exploration of a range of definitive cultural phenomena of the Ottoman 18th century, including the coffee house, print culture, imperial architecture, royal pageantry and festivals. Chapters explore previously untouched subjects such as the changing forms of imperial ritual in Ottoman public circumcision celebrations as well as unravelling the historiography of the so-called 'Tulip Period'. This has traditionally been characterised by the construction and eventual destruction of the famed palace of Saadabad and the reputedly failed project of the first Ottoman printing press. The book reassesses these failures as reflective of the general ill-preparedness of the Ottoman public for enlightened reform.Most importantly this book rejects the prevailing view that the 18th century was in political and cultural decline, and argues in fact it was a period of cultural dynamism and change. 'Ottoman Tulips' breaks free of the twin teleologies of Ottoman decline and Western-induced change, reassessing the impact of Westernization and modernization in the 18th century and revealing comparisons and interactions between the Ottoman court and its Safavid counterpart.

Tulips and coffee are defining cultural products of the Ottoman eighteenth century, along with their related institutions of palace and coffeehouse. These cultural products hold multiple meanings in the history and historiography of the period. For example, scholars argue that the janissary coffee house was used variously for such diverse means as headquarters for rebellion, a Sufi lodge, police station and racketeering office. 'Ottoman Tulips, Ottoman Coffee' offers a critical exploration of a range of definitive cultural phenomena of the Ottoman 18th century, including the coffee house, print culture, imperial architecture, royal pageantry and festivals. Chapters explore previously untouched subjects such as the changing forms of imperial ritual in Ottoman public circumcision celebrations as well as unravelling the historiography of the so-called 'Tulip Period'. This has traditionally been characterised by the construction and eventual destruction of the famed palace of Saadabad and the reputedly failed project of the first Ottoman printing press. The book reassesses these failures as reflective of the general ill-preparedness of the Ottoman public for enlightened reform.Most importantly this book rejects the prevailing view that the 18th century was in political and cultural decline, and argues in fact it was a period of cultural dynamism and change. 'Ottoman Tulips' breaks free of the twin teleologies of Ottoman decline and Western-induced change, reassessing the impact of Westernization and modernization in the 18th century and revealing comparisons and interactions between the Ottoman court and its Safavid counterpart.

A sweeping history of Islamic Damascus across eight centuries, following the itineraries of generations of Damascenes as they walked through their city describing it in text.Damascus is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It was a capital of the first Islamic empire, and it grew as a center of global trade, a celebrated producer of artisanal goods, a setting for magnificent architecture and monuments, a leafy landscape of outdoor diversions, and a hub of knowledge and scholarly exchange. Damascus inspired generations of its learned elite to write about their city, sustaining a continuous textual conversation and citation among them, from the twelfth through the twentieth century. With this book, Dana Sajdi carries forward that tradition of prose descriptions of Damascus, guiding readers through both the texts and the city they portray.Organized around literary walking tours through the built and natural environments of Damascus, this book explores eight hundred years of the Islamic city. With the authors of prose topographies as companions and their texts as guides, each chapter is a visit to a building or a part of the city, exploring the conditions of its emergence and development. The stories about these Damascene spaces also reveal the politics of the authors who described them, showing the scholars' roles as the city's representatives, guardians, and ultimately, defenders.Damascus: A City in Words is the first book in English that explores all the major features of the city from its central landmark, the Umayyad Mosque, to its verdant hinterland, al-Ghuta, while listening to how its inhabitants, over the centuries, wished us to remember their beloved city.

A sweeping history of Islamic Damascus across eight centuries, following the itineraries of generations of Damascenes as they walked through their city describing it in text.Damascus is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It was a capital of the first Islamic empire, and it grew as a center of global trade, a celebrated producer of artisanal goods, a setting for magnificent architecture and monuments, a leafy landscape of outdoor diversions, and a hub of knowledge and scholarly exchange. Damascus inspired generations of its learned elite to write about their city, sustaining a continuous textual conversation and citation among them, from the twelfth through the twentieth century. With this book, Dana Sajdi carries forward that tradition of prose descriptions of Damascus, guiding readers through both the texts and the city they portray.Organized around literary walking tours through the built and natural environments of Damascus, this book explores eight hundred years of the Islamic city. With the authors of prose topographies as companions and their texts as guides, each chapter is a visit to a building or a part of the city, exploring the conditions of its emergence and development. The stories about these Damascene spaces also reveal the politics of the authors who described them, showing the scholars' roles as the city's representatives, guardians, and ultimately, defenders.Damascus: A City in Words is the first book in English that explores all the major features of the city from its central landmark, the Umayyad Mosque, to its verdant hinterland, al-Ghuta, while listening to how its inhabitants, over the centuries, wished us to remember their beloved city.