Istanbul’s ordeal with disaster: the British embassy-house and Sir Henry Elliot in the Pera fire of 1870

MALHUT M.

British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 2025 (AHCI) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/13530194.2025.2451254
  • Dergi Adı: British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Periodicals Index Online, Geobase, Historical Abstracts, Index Islamicus, Linguistic Bibliography, Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Political Science Complete, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Istanbul has encountered numerous disasters throughout its history. Currently, there is an anticipation of an earthquake in Istanbul, and measures to address this concern are of utmost importance. During the 19th century, one of the primary challenges in Istanbul was fire. In this study, the impact of a fire that occurred in the Ottoman capital will be examined through the perspectives of modernization and mentality analysis. The primary aim of the study is to demonstrate how a building, believed to be highly secure and resistant against fires, becomes inadequate and helpless when urban transformation or restructuring does not take place comprehensively. The importance of engaging in a comprehensive, systematic, planned, decisive, and consistent effort against disasters will be discussed and analysed through the example of the British Embassy building during the Pera fire of 1870.