Abstract
Mily Fyodorovich Dostoevsky was a versatile figure as an art historian, archaeologist, linguist and orientalist. In his work “The Daily Life and The Past in Central Asia” (Старина и быт Средней Aзии), he documented his observations of Turkestan in 1917, which included the cities of Gulbahar, Tashkent, Khiva, Merv, Bukhara, and Samarkand. This study examines the social structure, religious practices, architectural styles, artistic expressions, literary works, and small-scale crafts of the cities mentioned by the author, who adopts an Orientalist viewpoint. The objective is to determine the urban landscape depicted by the author. The study focused on the political climate of the region during that period, as well as the political-ideological mobilizations led by imperialist states with hegemonic aspirations. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, travelers to the region were provided with information about the “East,” a region that the “Western” states and Russia sought to colonize and regarded as the “other” in their perceptions. It has been determined that Mily Fyodorovich Dostoyevsky’s work also aligns with this perspective and opens a window for his readers by providing insight into the city’s geography and its inhabitants. The claim that travelers during that time frequently attempted to promote this perception has been reinforced by citing the discourses and methodologies of Edward W. Said, an “exiled Easterner living in the Western world,” who pioneered the field of postcolonial studies through his influential book Orientalism, published in 1978.
Keywords: Orta Asya, Oryantalizm, sanat, edebiyat, din
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