This multi-disciplinary volume is the first collective effort to explore Istanbul, capital of the vast polyglot, multiethnic, and multireligious Ottoman empire and home to one of the world's largest and most diverse urban populations, as an early modern metropolis. It assembles topics seldom treated together and embraces novel subjects and fresh approaches to older debates. Contributors crisscross the socioeconomic, political, cultural, environmental, and spatial, to examine the myriad human and non-human actors, local and global, that shaped the city into one of the key sites of early modern urbanity. Contributors are: Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano , Zeynep Altok, Walter G. Andrews, Betul Basaran, Cem Behar, Maurits H. van den Boogert, John J. Curry, Linda T. Darling, Suraiya Faroqhi, Emine Fetvaci, Shirine Hamadeh, Cemal Kafadar, Cigdem Kafescioglu, Deniz Karakas, Leyla Kayhan Elbirlik, B. Harun Kucuk, Selim S. Kuru, Karen A. Leal, Gulru Necipoglu, Christoph K. Neumann, Asli Niyazioglu, Amanda Phillips, Marinos Sariyannis, Aleksandar Shopov, Lucienne Thys-Senocak, Nukhet Varlik, N. Zeynep Yelce, Gulay Yilmaz, and Zeynep Yurekli.

Preface Note on Transliteration List of Figures and Tables Abbreviations Contributors Maps 1 Early Modern Istanbul Shirine Hamadeh and Cigdem Kafescioglu 2 The City Opens Your Eyes Because It Wants to Be Seen The Conspicuity and Lure of Early Modern Istanbul Cemal Kafadar Part 1: Istanbulites of City and Court 3 Istanbul: A City of Men Selim S. Kuru 4 Women in the City Lucienne Thys-Senocak 5 Elites' Networks and Mobility Christoph K. Neumann 6 Palace and City Ceremonials N. Zeynep Yelce 7 Courtly Spaces: Visual and Material Culture Emine Fetvaci Part 2: Spaces and Landscapes of Production 8 Volatile Urban Landscapes between Mythical Space and Time Gulru Necipoglu 9 Merchants and Global Connections Maurits H. van den Boogert 10 Artisans and Guilds Practices, Negotiations, and Conflicts Suraiya Faroqhi 11 When Istanbul Was a City of Bostans Urban Agriculture and Agriculturists Aleksandar Shopov 12 Water for the City Builders, Technology, and Private Initiative Deniz Karakas Part 3: Everyday Lives and Spaces of Habitation 13 Neighborhood and Family Lives Leyla Kayhan Elbirlik 14 Communal Matters Karen A. Leal 15 Crafts and Everyday Consumption Amanda Phillips 16 Death in Istanbul Plagues, Fires, and Other Catastrophes Nukhet Varlik 17 Crime, Violence, and Urban Policing Betul Basaran Part 4: Streets and Publics 18 Sociability, Public Life, and Decorum Marinos Sariyannis 19 Sufi Spaces and Practices John J. Curry 20 The Sultan, His Monument, and the Critical Public Zeynep Yurekli 21 Urban Protests, Rebellions, and Revolts Gulay Yilmaz 22 The 18th-Century "Istanbul Tale" Prose Tales and Beyond Zeynep Altok Part 5: Spaces of Thought and Imagination 23 Science and Technology B. Harun Kucuk 24 Music and Musicians in the City Cem Behar 25 Poets, Sufis, and Their City Tours Asli Niyazioglu 26 The Poetics of Istanbul: The City of Cities Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano and Walter G. Andrews 27 Istanbul Elites and Political Writing Linda T. Darling Select Bibliography Index