Papers by Kathrin Machinek
Evliya Çelebi: ein türkischer Blick auf die mittelalterlichen Wehrbauten des Orients im 17. Jahrhundert
Ägyptens Wehrbauten und die Restaurierungsarbeiten des Comité de Conservation des monuments de l’art arabe
Fortifications of the Ottoman Period in the Aegean, Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, 2021
Under Ottoman rule, Alexandria was located within the empire and thus less exposed to invaders. T... more Under Ottoman rule, Alexandria was located within the empire and thus less exposed to invaders. The city had lost its former rank due to the discovery of the sea route to India via the Atlantic Ocean by the Portuguese in 1498. The reduced danger of attacks lead to the creation of a new town outside the city walls on the peninsula between the two harbors, closer to the landing stages and international trading activities. Nevertheless, the city remained the “key to Egypt” for which reason the urban fortifications were maintained, renovated and completed. Janissary garrisons were placed in the fortresses by the Turkish rulers.
Alexandrina 5, Études Alexandrines 50, Marie-Dominique Nenna (éd.), 2020
The paper presents an architectural and historical study about the ancient water tanks in the Mam... more The paper presents an architectural and historical study about the ancient water tanks in the Mamluk Qaitbay Fort in Alexandria.
Das Fort Qaitbay in Alexandria - Baugeschichte und Architektur einer mamlukischen Hafenfestung im mittelalterlichen Stadtbefestigungssystem von Alexandria
In dieser Arbeit wird einleitend die Genese der mittelalterlichen Stadtbefestigung Alexandrias be... more In dieser Arbeit wird einleitend die Genese der mittelalterlichen Stadtbefestigung Alexandrias beschrieben, in die Sultan Qaitbay im 15. Jh. ein Hafenfort einfugte. Der Baugeschichtsteil erlautert die diversen Bauphasen des Forts. Die einzelnen Fortbereiche wie Bering, Hauptturm, Betsaal und Zisternen werden beschrieben und in Bezug zu vergleichbaren Bauten gesetzt. Ein umfassender Abbildungsteil sowie ein Katalog der Vergleichsbauten werden durch den Anhang mit Schriftquellen komplettiert.
Le Sérapeum d'Alexandrie - Résumé
Das Serapeum in Alexandria. Untersuchungen zur Architektur und Baugeschichte des Heiligtums von der frühen ptolemäischen Zeit bis zur Zerstörung 391 n.Chr. , 2008
Sur un plateau rocheux dans la partie sud-ouest de la ville d'Alexandrie se dresse une colonne mo... more Sur un plateau rocheux dans la partie sud-ouest de la ville d'Alexandrie se dresse une colonne monumentale connue aujourd'hui sous le nom de colonne de Pompée. Elle indique les maigres vestiges du Serapeum, sanctuaire principal de la métropole égyptienne durant les époques ptolémaiques et romaine.
Alexandrie (actions du Centre d’études alexandrines)
Bulletin archéologique des Écoles françaises à l’étranger
Alexandrie grecque, romaine, égyptienne, Mar 2016
Du Nil à Alexandrie – Histoires d’Eaux, 2009
Du Nil à Alexandrie – Histoires d’Eaux, 2009
ABORTE im Mittelalter und der Frühen Neuzeit - Bauforschung, Archäologie, Kulturgeschichte, 2014
Difference between hygienic habits in Orient and Occident; baths and places for ablution in Islam... more Difference between hygienic habits in Orient and Occident; baths and places for ablution in Islamic fortifications
Der Wandel der Stadtbefestigung Alexandrias vom Mittelalter bis in die Gegenwart, 2010
in: vmbringt mit starcken turnen, murn – Ortsbefestigungen im Mittelalter, Beihefte zur Mediaevis... more in: vmbringt mit starcken turnen, murn – Ortsbefestigungen im Mittelalter, Beihefte zur Mediaevistik 15, Olaf Wagener (ed.), Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt a.M. 2010, pp. 431-450
La guerre dans le Proche-Orient: Etat de la question, lieux communs, nouvelles approches., 2015
in: La guerre dans le Proche-Orient : Etat de la question, lieux communs, nouvelles approches, M.... more in: La guerre dans le Proche-Orient : Etat de la question, lieux communs, nouvelles approches, M. Eychenne, A. Zouache (ed.), RAPH 37, Ifao, Ifpo, Cairo 2015, pp. 363-394
The present paper describes the genesis of the medieval fortifications of Alexandria that were cr... more The present paper describes the genesis of the medieval fortifications of Alexandria that were created after the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs in 642 AD and subsequently modernized since. In 1477, this urban defence system – consisting of city walls and several detached fortresses – was completed by a castle on the Eastern Harbour, which the Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Qaitbay had constructed on the ruins of the ancient Pharos lighthouse.
Iconographical and written sources as well as military reports illustrate how the new harbour fort underwent repeated structural alterations under the Mamluk, Ottoman and contemporary rulers. In July 1882 the castle was almost completely destroyed by a bombardment. It was not until the middle of the 20th century that a comprehensive reconstruction of the ruinous building took place.
The restored fortress is one of the few extant medieval monuments in today’s Alexandria and therefore of particular importance for its heritage. The main tower contains a small Mamluk mosque with a magnificent floor mosaic, some underground cisterns supplied water for the garrison, and the medieval double ring wall with the massive gate house gives an impression of the Mamluk defence art. By comparison with other monuments in the former Mamluk Dominion the role of this fort for the port and trade city of Alexandria become apparent.
Thesis Chapters by Kathrin Machinek
The Qaitbay Fort in Alexandria - History and architecture of a Mamluk harbour fortress in the city fefences of medieval Alexandria, 2014
English summary of the German-language doctoral thesis submitted at the Department of Architectur... more English summary of the German-language doctoral thesis submitted at the Department of Architecture at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in April 2014
Drafts by Kathrin Machinek
Congress Proceedings Mytilene, 2018
Conference Presentations by Kathrin Machinek
For the Ottoman context, compared to the number of works on religious or prestige architecture, f... more For the Ottoman context, compared to the number of works on religious or prestige architecture, fortified architecture remains largely outside the scope of the historiography, although generally prompt to link the Ottomans with their "predecessors" (Mamluks, Byzantines, Ayyubids, Seljuks...), whose military architectural achievements have been more investigated.
However, the quantity and quality of the remains (such as elevated structures, ruined buildings, planimetric or toponymic traces) invites us to reconsider the sole examination of Ottoman administrative or narrative sources, which has been widely favoured until now.
By using materiality studies and building archaeology, the panel papers will question the contribution of these approaches by relying on complementary case studies: taking place over the long term, the investigated contexts are milestones on the Ottoman European front as well, whether on the maritime façades or inland, from the outskirts of Istanbul to the borderlands.
More specifically, the chronological framework of the Early Modernity raises the question of the adaptation of military architecture to a new art of war brought by the artillery development. This panel will thus discuss the modalities of this adaptation in the Ottoman context through presentations dealing successively with new constructions, replacements and abandonments.
By bringing texts and remains together, this panel will consider the methods, results and limits for each of the presented contexts, with a view to a more general questioning of our relationship to materiality.
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Papers by Kathrin Machinek
Iconographical and written sources as well as military reports illustrate how the new harbour fort underwent repeated structural alterations under the Mamluk, Ottoman and contemporary rulers. In July 1882 the castle was almost completely destroyed by a bombardment. It was not until the middle of the 20th century that a comprehensive reconstruction of the ruinous building took place.
The restored fortress is one of the few extant medieval monuments in today’s Alexandria and therefore of particular importance for its heritage. The main tower contains a small Mamluk mosque with a magnificent floor mosaic, some underground cisterns supplied water for the garrison, and the medieval double ring wall with the massive gate house gives an impression of the Mamluk defence art. By comparison with other monuments in the former Mamluk Dominion the role of this fort for the port and trade city of Alexandria become apparent.
Thesis Chapters by Kathrin Machinek
Drafts by Kathrin Machinek
Conference Presentations by Kathrin Machinek
However, the quantity and quality of the remains (such as elevated structures, ruined buildings, planimetric or toponymic traces) invites us to reconsider the sole examination of Ottoman administrative or narrative sources, which has been widely favoured until now.
By using materiality studies and building archaeology, the panel papers will question the contribution of these approaches by relying on complementary case studies: taking place over the long term, the investigated contexts are milestones on the Ottoman European front as well, whether on the maritime façades or inland, from the outskirts of Istanbul to the borderlands.
More specifically, the chronological framework of the Early Modernity raises the question of the adaptation of military architecture to a new art of war brought by the artillery development. This panel will thus discuss the modalities of this adaptation in the Ottoman context through presentations dealing successively with new constructions, replacements and abandonments.
By bringing texts and remains together, this panel will consider the methods, results and limits for each of the presented contexts, with a view to a more general questioning of our relationship to materiality.