Olufs’ Odd Adventures or Marvellous Skirmishes in Turkey (1747) and Diversity of the Ottoman World

Authors : Hasan Baktır, Sümeyye Öztürk

Pages : 165-175

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Publication Date : 2025-06-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Edward Said’s Orientalism opened up new horizons for the interpretation of Europe’s view of the Orient. Said developed a new scholarship that examines the common view of the orientalist scholarship centering on European domination of the oriental world. This theory is popularized by critics such as Kim Hall, Emily Bartels, and Jack D’Amico, who generalize the European domination over the Orient even before European colonialism. Nabil Matar, on the other hand, presents a counterargument to the application of Said’s theory to early modern writings, emphasizing the necessity of conducting a comprehensive examination of the intricacies and subtleties inherent in Ottoman-European relations. He argues that the emphasis on supposed European supremacy over the Orient during this period is deceptive. Therefore, it is imperative to use a new methodology to investigate and elucidate the dynamics of Euro-Ottoman relations in the early modern period. As a result, Matar adopts a micro-historical approach, focusing on the examination of archival sources. This technique allows for the incorporation of a wide range of perspectives from various European travelers who visited the Ottoman world. Consequently, he adopts a micro-historical approach by studying archival sources in which he includes diverse experiences of the different European travelers to the Ottoman world. The diversity Matar uses includes the thick description of the rich and polyphonic narratives written between the 16th and 19th centuries. Additionally, it is crucial to examine in which ways the Dano-Norwegian observations differed from the other European influential nations, as these have been under-represented. For this purpose, the analysis of Hark Olufs’ Odd Adventures or Marvellous Skirmishes in Turkey (1747) has been conducted using Nabil Matar’s methodology. This analysis aims to delve into Olufs’ past and the underlying motivations that drove him to document and subsequently publish his captivity account. This article will argue for the significance of incorporating Nabil Matar as an alternative critic for elucidating the early Euro-Ottoman connections, instead of relying solely on Edward Said’s Orientalism.
Keywords : Edward Said, Nabil Matar, Hark Olufs, oryantalizm, erken modern çağ

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