ABSTRACT
This chapter follows changes in the use of outdoor illumination and related forms of nightly socialisation from the return of the Ottoman court to Istanbul in the early 18th century, to the introduction of gas lighting in the second half of the 19th century. During the 18th century, outdoor illumination signalled the out-ofthe-ordinary. The gradual assimilation of the Ottoman Empire within the Europe-dominated global economy, the external and internal military challenges and the Ottoman reforms designed to cope with these new conditions all translated into sweeping changes in urban realities. This study followed changes in outdoor lighting, from individual portable lanterns and momentary demonstrations of power, to more systematic efforts to illuminate whole streets on a regular basis. Without falling into nostalgia, we should aim at a critical assessment of the demise of particular experiences of the night, of unique traditions of nightlife and culture-dependent arrangements and representations of darkness and light.
