»Ottoman Tulips, Ottoman Coffee« provides thoughtprovoking reading both for professional scholars
and for amateur readers interested in cultural studies. When keywords such as »Ottoman
modernization« and »cultural studies« are used, the first book that comes to mind is Edward Said’s
»Orientalism« (1978)1, the founding text of Postcolonial theory. Said attempted to deconstruct the
myths of »Orient« and »Oriental culture« as essential categories manufactured by French, English and
American scholars, travellers, and artists; particularly from 18th century onwards. He asserted that
Orientalism was a discursive mechanism of cultural domination over the Middle East. Hence, it was an
attempt of »cultural colonization«.
