When Diplomacy Shapes the City: The Consular District of Ottoman Cities (17th–19th Centuries)

Research seminar with Adnen El Ghali

Adnen El Ghali, Postdoctoral researcher at the ERC CoG 2023 Project REDMIX Unpacking Mixedness for an Inclusive History of the Red Sea, 1800s-2000s and Visiting Academic at the C²DH, will present his research on the urban fabric of Ottoman cities, examined through a distinctive lens: the genesis and development of consular quarters and the evolution of their associated populations. By reconstructing the presence of consulates, the lives of consuls, their interactions with local authorities, and their relationships with diverse local populations, Dr. El Ghali endeavors to spatially transcribe the diplomatic and human dynamics in which the consul – acting as a cultural intermediary and keen observer – plays a pivotal role.

Moving from the scale of individual monuments to that of the consular quarter and the city at large, and drawing on the case studies of Tunis (17th-19th centuries) and Jeddah (19th-20th centuries), the lecture will explore questions concerning the evolution of human morphology in relation to the development of consular quarters. In doing so, it will interrogate the concepts of diasporas, religious, ethnic and cultural mixity, and Mixedness.

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