The contribution of Turkers book to landscape history generally, as well as to our understanding of the changing face of Istanbul, is immeasurable. She explores to effect the interplay between the personal taste of the sultans of the Ottoman nineteenth century and their imperial and political vision, humanizing them, and giving the royal women, and their gardeners, who all stamped their mark on Yldz, their place as historical actors.
Caroline Finkel Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies Every page contains revelations about the palace and the reign.
Philip Mansel Cornucopia Magazine . . . a careful reading of the book is rewarding, not only for its compelling portrait of an architectural project that is now mostly invisible, but also for its fearless depiction of the dynamism of late Ottoman artistic expression and production.
R. A. Miller Choice An erudite analysis, the first of its kind on a palace which, even today, remains poorly known both by historians and art historians as well as by Istanbul residents themselves.
Frédéric Hitzel Bulletin critique des Annales islamologiques This is a truly engaging, meticulously researched, and critically informed study that no one interested in late Ottoman architecture, or nineteenth-century visual culture at large, should neglect. The book offers a new perspective on the relationship between power and landscape, with materials, ideas, and discussions that should be of interest well beyond the sphere of Ottoman studies.
Paolo Girardelli Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians [ Türkers] book is a significant contribution to the analysis of visual and material cultures at large as a window into the evolving dynamics of gender, power, aesthetics, and landscape. . . . As Yldz opens to the public, The Accidental Palace will be the main source illustrating the relationships between its buildings, gardens, and their connection to the landscape of Istanbul.
Semra Horuz YILLIK: Annual of Istanbul Studies The Accidental Palace offers an erudite analysis of the nexus of artistic activity represented by Yldz Palace. It is one of the first English-language works of art or architectural history of the late Ottoman world that does not frame its importance through the prism of orientalism. Deniz Türker engages in a stealthy refutation of Eurocentric frameworks for late Ottoman visual synthesis by doing the archival work that allows the myriad actors involvedpatrons, gardeners, builders, diplomats, and moreto materialize their own artistic autonomy, resulting in a truly fresh look at artistic agency.
Peter H. Christensen, author of Precious Metal: German Steel, Modernity, and Ecology Through the prism of architecture and landscape, The Accidental Palace offers a rich ethnography of power and culture in the age of Ottoman reform, as well as a unique window on the expansion of globalized consumerism.
Mercedes Volait, author of Antique Dealing and Creative Reuse in Cairo and Damascus, 18501890: Intercultural Engagements with Architecture and Craft in the Age of Travel and Reform
