Watercraft and culture in nineteenth-century Ottoman literature

The nineteenth century witnessed various political, social and economic developments in the Ottoman Empire. The characteristics of this period, which was also active in the cultural world, were reflected in Ottoman printed texts. Vehicles such as boats, dinghies and steamboats, which were indispensable in the life of Ottoman Istanbul, as well as the sea and the river, occupy a central position in many literary works. Nevertheless, it has been observed that waterways and vehicles have not been extensively studied in nineteenth-century literature. Studies of space have generally focused on land transportation and land-based places. However, waterways and vehicles are important in terms of the structure of literary texts. Moreover, they perform various functions and reveal meanings in the works. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the use and meaning of waterways and water vehicles in works written during the period in a holistic manner, taking into account the unity of time and space. In this context, this paper investigates the socio-economic, cultural, and psychological meanings, functions, and significance of Istanbul's inner-city waterways and water vehicles in fictional texts published in Turkish in different alphabets between 1851 and 1900. Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of chronotope is used to reveal the function of waterways and water vehicles in terms of narrative structure in 50 works identified according to various criteria from the defined period. In addition to the sea, rivers, and lakes, the chronotope value of water vehicles such as boats and dinghies was analyzed. The steamboat is introduced as a new chronotope. After discussing the functions of waterways and watercraft in the plot, their psychological, cultural and social meanings are evaluated. The results show that in the nineteenth century, waterways and watercraft were used in functions such as establishing the text, bringing it to a solution, uniting and separating people, making time tangible and visible, and influencing the order of the plot and the emotions and thoughts of the people. Keywords: chronotope, Bakhtin, climax, sea, steamer, boat, dinghy, time management.