Becomingistanbul scrd-3

RABIH MROU
BECOMING
ISTANBUL
An Encyclopedia
PELN DERV BLENT TANJU UUR TANYEL
SALT015-RABIH MROU-A001
PREFACE
SALT015-BECOMING ISTANBUL-002
BECOMING ISTANBUL
This encyclopedia was conceived to accompany extent of ridiculing some expectations dependent
the exhibition of the same name, in the Autumn of on a longing to recreate Istanbul as a new traditi-
2008 at the DAM (German Architecture Museum) onal city. Dissolving the ideal of a metropolis that
in Frankfurt. Publications are destined to live their is non-cosmopolitan, homogenously populated,
own lives, beyond the original intentions of their built without noticeable divergences and desig-
authors. Six years after its publication, not only ned with a historicist imagination was our main
the contents of this encyclopedia but also and objective. This ideal seemed to us then, rather it
more radically the metropolis that is the subject still is today, a dangerous attitude destructive of
matter of the book, have changed. Thus, a large the newly emerging metropolitan pluralism, both
portion of the articles in it perhaps have become socially and architecturally.
out-of-date. We still believe that the book is still
readable beyond the doubtful actuality of its con- Five years after this encyclopedia was publis-
tents, since it is neither a statistical handbook of hed, Istanbulites, or an important part of them,
the facts regarding Istanbul, nor is it a compilation showed that they shared our anxiety about the
of brief historiographical texts. An innumerab- immediate fate of their city, at least in a single
le amount of similar books existed then and but important case: an almost unexpected event
still do. At the beginning of the exhibition-cum- shook Istanbul and Turkey in the peaceful riots
book project in 2008, our aim was to try to contest of Gezi Park in Taksim in 2013. With a high pro-
the clichs and stereotypes concerning modern portion of the younger generation and an unan-
Istanbul, which were prevalent both in Turkey ticipated density of urban middle classes, they
and abroad. We especially intended to shake the were involved in what came to be called the Gezi
conservatism guiding recent urban thought on Resistance. What they wanted to defend was the
Istanbul with irony and amusement, even to the plurality they thought to be under the threat of
BECOMING ISTANBUL
authoritarianism. Moreover, during these activi-

ties they placed urban issues at the forefront of
the protests. It was the first time in Turkey that
an architectural project became a cause of civil
disobedience. As the editors of this book, we felt
our positions verified and even justified by the de-
mocratic and pluralistic demands and behaviour
of the protesters. Like them, we too had intended
to set into motion an understanding in which
every city dweller was to be tolerant towards the
acts and thoughts of his/her fellow citizens wit-
hout being blinded by prejudices. In this respect,
we think this publication is still undoubtedly in-
formative and humorously inventive. However,
our original expectations are yet to be fulfilled.
This is why we are re-publishing this encyclope-
dia of the most architectural city in the world.
It is that most architectural city, where all of its
inhabitants build, speak of, write, fight for, and
destroy architecture on a daily basis.
Pelin Dervi, Blent Tanju, Uur Tanyeli
becomng stanbul
An Encyclopedia
BECOMING ISTANBUL
A D H
ADVERTISEMENT DEMOCRACY HAMAM
AKBL DEMOLITION OR THE WARPED CITY HAN
ALIENATION DISTRICT VILLAS HEADPHONES
ANARCHY DOLMU HOLIDAYS
ARABESQUE DRESS HOTEL
ASCENT HOUSEHOLD
ATM E HYBRID-ISING/ISATION
EARTHQUAKE
B ELECTRICITY I
BADAT CADDES EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN IDENTITY
BAKKAL EROTICISM IRANIAN IMMIGRANTS
BAKKAL SANDWICH ETHNICITY IRAQI IMMIGRANTS
BARGE EXPROPRIATION IRREGULAR URBANIsATION
BATHING/SWIMMING ISLE
BEACH F ISTANBULITE
BEAUTIFICATION FATH SULTAN MEHMET
BECOMING ISTANBUL FILLED GROUND
BICYCLE FIRE STKLAL CADDES OR BEYOLU
BIENNIAL FISH
BYZANTIUM FISH SANDWICH j
FLAG JUNK ECONOMY
C FLANUERIE
CAKE SHOP FOREIGNER K
CAR FERRY KANYON
CARETAKER G KAPAN WEIGHING OFFICE
CEMETERY GAS WORKS
CENTRE GATED HOUSING ESTATE L
CINEMA GECEKONDU LANGUAGE
CLEANSING GENTRIFICATION LEVANTINES AND NEO-LEVANTINES
CONTRACTOR GESTALT COLLAPSE LITERATURE
CRIMEAN CHURCH GLOBALISATION
GOLDEN HORN
GOLDEN HORN DOCKYARDS
BECOMING ISTANBUL
M PORNOGRAPHY
MAIN STREET POST-GECEKONDU RKET- HAYRYE CITY MARITIME LINES
MCDONALDS POST-SOVIET UNION MIGRATION
MIGRATION PRESERVATION BOARD T
MINIBUS PUBLIC SPACE TAKSM SQUARE
MINORITY TIME
MOAT/PIT R TNERC
MOSQUE RESERVOIR WATER LEVELS TOPONYMS
MUSEUM RESTORATION TOURISM
MUSIC PIRACY TRAM
MY IDEAL HOME S TWO-FACEDNESS
SCAFFOLDING 2010
N SCREEN
NEIGHBOURHOOD SECURITY u
NORTHERN ISTANBULITE SEWAGE URBAN FOLKLORE
NOSTALGIA SEWER URBAN TRANSFORMATION
SHOESHINER
O SHOPPING CENTRE V
ORIENTALISM SHORE ROAD VARO
OTHER SIDE, THE SILHOUETTE VIADUCT
OTTOMAN NEIGHBOURHOOD SMT VIEW
SMT SARAYI
P SKYSCRAPER w
PALIMPSEST SLOPE WATER
PANORAMA SPARROW WEDDING TOPOGRAPHIES
PAPERMEN STADIUM WOUND
PARK HOTEL STRAY DOGS
PARKING LOT STREET ANIMALS y
PARKS AND GARDENS STREET FOOD VENDOR YALI
PAVEMENT STREET MARKET YELAM
PEDESTRIANISATION SUBURB
PERFORMATIVE TRAFFIC SUMMER RESORT Z
PEYOTE STAGE SURVEILLANCE ZEPPELIN
POLITICAL SPACE SYNAGOGUE
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ADVERTISEMENT ity that counts, but the possibility of it. Thus, the
reality of an advertisement is the promise woven
THE RITUAL OF A MATERIALIST RELIGION STANDING
with symbols and images presented by the com-
FOR THE PROMISE OF EDEN.
modity emphasizing the possibility of attaining
the unattainable.
The spectator perceiving just the distance between
the image stuck to the commodity and her/himself
wants to reach and take hold of it. Advertising is a As life lived increases in value inasmuch as it
fiction that takes the viewer on a virtual journey is viewable, concerning the city advertising sur-
along this distance s/he cant overcome. It doesnt rounds it with symbols. The reality of the city is
produce dreams; all it does is continuously rep- perceived as the image it reflects. The city is how
roduce the distance between the viewer and the it is presented now, rather than what it actually
states s/he wants to achieve. Thus, advertising is. Each building, each project reflects the ideolo-
can find living space for itself in the gap between gies behind them. Thus, in the context of created
a state of desire and reality. images and ideologies, the appearance of the city
constantly renews itself.
Advertising stimulates the fragmentary areas
of the id and attaches artificial organs to them. It Advertisings promise of paradise material-
achieves its persuasiveness at the points where ized with Istanbul in the 1960s. Istanbul, city of
it overlaps with the dreams of the viewer. At the stony ground of gold, became advertisement,
points of intersection with dreams, it is not real- shop-window and promised paradise itself. Istan-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
bul attracted to itself millions with the promise anything is possible. Those who profit from this
of a paradise enriched with manufactured im- commodity are all the more happy as it continues
ages and began to produce the illusion that all the to reproduce its meaning to the extent that it is not
wealth it owned and the appearance it reflected taken seriously. Because they want their product
were possible for all. Behind this egalitarian prom- to keep selling, they want their product to wear out
ise of paradise lay poverty, inequality, exclusion, or be used up. At this point advertising functions
violence and profiteering. as a catalyst accelerating the process of renewal.
This is what happened in the case of Istanbul. In
When in the 80s advertising began manipu- the process in which Istanbul evolved from being
lating reality with images, splitting the percep- a paradise of stony ground of gold into the new
tion of reality, concepts, values, language, word virgin of global capital, Istanbul and everything
and culture all became tools in the marketing of that belonged to it either lost its meaning or was
a product. This was the inevitable consequence rearranged to fit the language of capital.
of the transformation into a consumer society
Istanbul received its share of this and began to be The presence of the market enables the mar-
commodified and presented as a site of spectacle. keting of the concept of innovation independently
The city became a show, both for its residents and of quality, meaning and values. Istanbul has be-
for those watching from outside. come a favourite of the owners of capital, who do
not want great, real, long lasting and enduring
Concepts are ready for redefinition when, as things, and it is replaced in the shop window every
part of a natural or artificial process, they lose day, voided of meanings and values through the
their historical and cultural meanings. For the constant repetition of the discourse of renewal
redefinition to take, the concept first needs to and regeneration.
be depleted and emptied of meaning and then
reshaped with new images. Once the said concept In becoming the subject of advertising, Is-
has been transformed into an image with no social tanbul is constantly being multiplied as image.
significance, in the aftermath of this redefinition The media, one of the most influential factors in
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Istanbul becoming solipsistic, narcissistic and possibility and therefore succumbs to commodi-
indifferent to the rest of the country, constantly fication, blinded by the light of the promise, Is-
reproduces Istanbul as an image to be viewed. tanbul no longer sees the hard fact of profiteering
The most popular site of incident in main news beneath the image. As the city and its concepts
bulletins, first in weather and road reports, now lose their own meanings and are recoded for the
the backdrop of nightlife is only Istanbul Win- market with slogans of renewal and change, Is-
ter doesnt start in Turkey before it snows in Is- tanbul is transformed into a gigantic illuminated
tanbul; Turkey isnt flooded before the sewers ad sign trying to cover up the dilapidated and
overflow in Istanbul. Made into subject of and for demolished reality, the poverty, inequality and
viewing through advertising, Istanbuls borders injustice, behind it.
as a spectacle constantly expand and the city is
transformed into a monolithic, all-encompassing
Ahenk Dereli
shop-window.
The transformation into spectacle of the > Urban Transformation

interventions into urban problems of regional
administration under an image of urban trans-
formation (see Urban Transformation) smells of AKBL
advertising and only serves to cover up the idea
of the management of profiteering. If the target LITTLE, SMART, CUTELY MUSICAL TICKET.
emphasized by the image is the urban transfor-

mation of shop-window Istanbul, the reality of Its a tiny little device. An accustomed part of
this image is, unfortunately, Istanbul as victim everyday tasks. Its real purpose is to make things
of local and global profiteering. easier for its owner when travelling from one po-
int to another. It often dangles from key rings; in
Although it hasnt yet fulfilled the promise some special circumstances, it is attached to the
of becoming a world city but is aware of the end of a card and placed in purses and wallets.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
There are approximately 5 million Akbil users s/he has only just made it to the ferry, bus, cable-
in Istanbul. Each of them takes their electronic car, train, underground, sea-bus, the tunnel, boat,
cylinder clad in steel armour and joins the queue tram or funicular, s/he wastes no time; since s/
at Akbil sales points. They hand over a certain he has contributed to the operation of the Akbil
amount of cash, lets say 20 YTL, to the employ- system s/he is awarded with a discount on every
ee at the booth, and have credit worth 20 YTL public transport vehicle s/he travels on and s/
added to their Akbil. Or they use the Akbil 24 he travels 8 % cheaper; the Akbil user is a person
credit top-up machines, and skip this particular who deserves an even greater reward when s/he
exchange and with it this being the reason to gets off one public transport vehicle and takes
use this system the queues. another, one such change increases his/her total
profit by 21 %; whats more, if the Akbil user sud-
This is a transaction commonly encountered denly craves chocolate, soda pop or salted nuts, s/
in Istanbul. You repeat it every time your daily he can use the Akbil operated vending machines
credit runs out. Still, its best to make a strict cal- of the municipality.
culation at the beginning of the month and invest
from your salary or your pocket money the exact S/he is instantly informed of the consequenc-
amount that will be enough for Akbil. To be left es of these everyday movements. There are pres-
without cash but a lot of credit, or without either ently two parallel systems to this end. The first is
cash or credit will be annoying. As a result, those the information that appears on the small screen
travellers of Istanbul who suffer the greatest obli- of the toll machine, indicating at every passing
gation and have seriously long distances between the amount of credit deducted and remaining.
their homes and work places prefer the monthly This information is reserved for the Akbil owner,
ticket option, which gives two for the price of one. whose eyes are fixed on the screen during this
brief instant of passing. The other system utilises
There are strong incentives for making such penetrating melodies that allow everyone around
careful calculations: The Akbil user is exempt the booth to form an indirect relationship with
from the trouble of buying tickets or tokens when the Akbil owner.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The A-E sound heard at the ferry port in the These short bites of monotonous melodies
early hours of the morning suggests two possibili- turn into new and dynamic compositions per-
ties. Either the owner lives nearby and is getting formed jointly by passengers at the beginning
on their first public transport vehicle of the day; of every inner city journey in Istanbul. In fact, it
or to get to the port, s/he has travelled by dolmu is rather silence that is frightening for the Akbil
or minibus, neither being a part of the system as owner. You will understand if you see someone
yet. But if the sound is B-A sharp-B-C sharp and standing in front of a
is heard coming from a key-ring type Akbil, then
it is certain that the owner began her/his journey booth blocking the queue and rummaging
on another public transport vehicle at the most and rustling around her/his bag in panic. This
within the last 90 minutes, and is now making concern is not unwarranted, since wherever the
their first change of the day. However, if the same Akbil itself is, that is where all the other private
sound comes from a card type Akbil, it is impos- and indispensable things are too.
sible to guess how many changes the owner has
made, since the discount melody is standard on Meri ner
these. And when the B-E-A flat-B-E-A flat-B-E-A
flat melody ascends from one of the booths, it is
not that difficult to imagine the owner swearing ALIENATION
under their breath, for his/her Akbil has just run
out. It is quite probable that the queue for tokens THIS CONCEPT, DEVELOPED BY KARL MARX TO
is long, the Akbil sales point far away, the Akbil EXPLAIN A CONDITION RELATED TO THE INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION AND WORKING LIFE, IS NOW CENTRAL TO
24 out of order and the ferry just departing. Its a MODERN URBAN LIFE AND EXPRESSES A SENTIMENT
shame, since if this had happened on a bus, s/he FELT THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF EVERYDAY LIFE.
could have benefited from the drivers service of
lending his Akbil for use, provided for indolent, For example, if an Istanbul resident who doesnt
absent-minded passengers in return for cash. usually have to use public transportation vehicles
BECOMING ISTANBUL
travels standing on the CevizlibaTuzla bus, s/ groups in the Ottoman Empire of the 19th century
he may become alienated from her/himself, from were organized in Istanbul and they brought out
the people on the bus, the bus itself, the journey their own publications using the then means for
and the city. Or, if an Istanbul resident who ma- publishing available in Istanbul. It is impossible
intains a household of 4 with the minimum wage to prevent this type of dangerous organisation
finds herself/himself in a restaurant in Nianta that can occasionally form in a capital because of
where a family of 4 pays a bill equal to his salary the metropolitan structure of the city; and that
may become alienated from her/himself, her/his is why one may say that Istanbul is a zone where
surroundings, the place and in fact, everything. anarchist ideas, and xenophobic ideas that appe-
ar in reaction to these, are constantly generated.
lkay Bali Therefore Istanbul constantly defines a zone whe-
re, on one hand, an attempt to bridle and bring
ANARCHY (I) order goes on, where the public sphere is closed
off for a certain section of society and then reope-
A TERM USED TO CONDEMN ALL TYPES OF POLITICAL ned, and, on the other hand, a zone that possesses
AND CULTURAL DEMANDS FOR DIFFERENTIATION AND dynamics with a tendency constantly to violate
THE WILL TO ABANDON THE HERD. THE TERM MAY EVEN
BE USED WHEN THE DEMAND RELATES TO A POTENTIAL order. It is for this reason that anarchy in Turkey
THAT HASNT EVEN BEEN VOICED YET. [ED.] can almost never be explained by the political
structure it represents. It constantly contains a
Anarchy corresponds to pre-coup conditions in malicious meaning equated with terrorism. As
the collective Turkish memory. When we look at long as the fear developed unintentionally against
a wider historical interval from a further vantage the production of change and difference is not
point than that defined by this particular event, dispelled, in other words, as long as the demand
we find anarchy to be used to define almost all to control change is not questioned, it is difficult
manner of opposition outside the basic structu- to expect a transformation of this meaning.
re. Istanbul has been an important locality for
anarchy throughout history. Almost all separatist Ersin Altn
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ANARCHY (II) People who blame the emergence of chaos in

society on the absence of authority indicate their
A SHORT DEFINITION OF THE DESIRE TO DE- belief that people cannot establish order of their
ISTANBULIFY ISTANBUL AND RETURN IT TO A
PASTORAL CALM. [ED.] own accord in the absence of an authority. It fol-
lows from this that the moment central authority
It isnt hard to guess that the term anarchy is of- in society disappears is also societys moment of
ten used in Istanbul to mean the prevalence of collapse. Anarchists do not actually represent
chaos in the city. As is known, the word anarchy the exact opposite of this view. That is to say, the
comes from the Greek word meaning without moment central authority disappears isnt neces-
ruler. For those who regard the absence of the sarily the moment of redemption for society. They
sovereign as the end of order, the collapse of the do not claim that the absence of authority is the
pyramidal and hierarchic structure of society sufficient condition leading to the ideal anarchis-
can be summarized in a single word: chaos. This tic state. Therefore, they do not operate with the
authoritarian (or authoritydependent) perspec- assumption that the disappearance of authority
tive sees the absence of authority as the end of is a spontaneous step taken towards a utopian
order. On the other hand, those who have yearned future. Anarchists rather bring up the annulment
for societies based on solidarity, where the sove- of authorities in order to establish another order
reign has withdrawn and vertical relationships organized around the principle of solidarity.
have been replaced by horizontal relationships
and authorities representing others are not re- We must envision three things when anarchy
cognized, have read a positive meaning into the is mentioned in the context of Istanbul: the pres-
word anarchism, forming political beliefs and ence of anarchists who combine the absence of
the movement known as anarchism. The sign authority in Istanbul with an ideal of society; an
with the letter A in a circle, which you might often acephalic anarchy in the sense used by those who
come across on the streets of Istanbul too, means associate the present appearance of chaos with the
Anarchy is Order. absence of a central structure of governance; and
the relationships and mechanisms people form
BECOMING ISTANBUL
as they perpetuate their everyday lives amidst When complaints about such chaos are
various layers of tyranny under the same scene voiced, the dominant tone is often a certain re-
of chaos. proach against the failure to modernize. Thus, ac-
tual disorder is followed by a disorder of concepts.
A lot has been said about a type of anarchy When they get the opportunity, Western figures
unique to Istanbul, of which Istanbul anarchists take their part in this disorder of concepts too.
are a part. Its true, Istanbul is an unorganized For instance, when they say Anarchy in Istanbul,
city in many respects, and its residents do not they sometimes mean the push-carts of kfte
by any means appear to be an organized bunch. vendors wandering the streets unrestrictedly.
Rules and laws are not respected, exceptions In this sense, in comparison to a Western city
prevail, unwritten rules and the infamous law of where a greater number of the details of life are
the jungle prevail. Things get done with various regulated, they find different arenas of freedom,
shenanigans, failing to meet the expectations originalities as well as chaos in Istanbul (in fact,
of a civilised society; therefore it is often dif- in many other lively cities they visit too). I am
ficult to predict the flow of events. The people of thinking here of the last ten years for instance,
Istanbul are used to this, managing to swim amid and Western friends we have hosted (no, I will
this abundance of criteria and recognizing the not question the political engagements behind
signs that will help them get about. You know the concepts like WestEast that appear to be geo-
famous saying, when something is not done ac- graphical). A Western artist dedicated himself
cording to the book, the warning sounds, Youre to taking photographs of baskets dangled from
in Turkey, my brother! That is to say, this is not windows, another swooned over the car/shop
a place where laws as they occur in the book hold front station wagon that pulled up in front of the
sway; other, unwritten rules prevail here. Istanbul mosque, opened its boot and proceeded to sell
is not the capital of Turkey, but it is the capital of slippers. Another friend recorded the sound of
these other rules. Istanbul is the capital of Youre the streets using a sound recording device and
in Turkey, my brother. then sold these recordings to a radio station in
his country. From such perspectives, Istanbul is
BECOMING ISTANBUL
a place beaming with life worthy of admiration Remind me which writer of ours it was who
for its unsystematicity and which deserves to be said you had to live in Istanbul and write else-
constantly recorded; it somehow offers various where. The regime of chaos of Istanbul that forces
unexpected options within its boundless chaos. It and absorbs your lifes energy is often thought to
thus produces many things beyond the boundar- deliver topics, but not the written article. After all,
ies of a Western city which cannot be imagined. writing is considered the sign of a settled society.
They photograph, examine or love this anar- In fact, there are critics whose vociferous analysis
chy in Istanbul. In addition to the alien eye that claims we have failed to skip from the oral stage
reaches the same conclusion but looks on with to the written stage.
contempt, there is also an indigenous anxiety
caused by the failure of modernisation embar- Istanbul: a monster, constantly simmering
rassed at this anarchy. with stories, constantly giving birth to stories,
only to strangle those stories in the process of
Life is full of coincidences. When I took a them being written
break from writing these sentences and went
out for a stroll around the small English town In the early 2000s, when debate about the
I am in now, I met a Turkish Cypriot (I realize possibility of Turkeys membership of the Euro-
the curiosity of the expression Turkish Cypriot pean Union was at its liveliest, do you remember
as I write it). Having just met, the conversation how this possibility was often mentioned along
revolved around basic questions. He asked me with the possibility of the banning of kokore (sea-
where I was from; I answered, Istanbul. He has soned and grilled lamb intestines sold by street
been to Istanbul a few times. Suddenly he opined, vendors and specialist restaurants). It was as if
But Istanbul is a bit too chaotic to live in, isnt kokore represented the intestines of Turkish
it? I laughed, Yes, I said, thats what we always culture resisting Western-type modernisation. It
say. But, he said, it must be good for you, even led to a pop song reflecting the subcultures
referring to my being a writer, you must keep of resistance defending the right to eat kokore,
finding new material! in which pop singer Mirkelam cried out, Kokore,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
I cant live without you, lets get together in spite In the beginning, arabesque was the condescen-
of those foreigners. When I asked a kokore vending name randomly given to every type of music
dor his view on the subject his answer was clear: and the sentiment aroused by their practices.
They cant ban it cause its too good! It is related that this sentiment first appeared
in the minibuses used to transport this random
The beauty of Istanbul is like that for many of crowd from the gecekondu neighbourhoods (see
its lovers. And in the face of this love runs a certain Gecekondu) the crowd had built everywhere to
yearning for a modern Turkey, whose realisation other parts of the city. Later, despite the resistan-
requires the prohibition of Istanbul: Istanbul must ce of the owners of property (because previously
hang with all its anarchy, in Taksim Square. See this crowd could not present their identification
then if it dares cause chaos again documents when the police asked for them!) both
the minibus (see Minibus) and arabesque senti-
Sreyyya Evren ment became the norm (it could also be phrased
thus: it emerged that the police asking for iden-
tification travelled on minibuses and listened to
ARABESQUE arabesque). Arabesque sentiment occupied some
kind of critical agenda with intensity towards the
THE GENERAL TERM USED FOR THE SOCIAL/CULTURAL end of the 1970s and in the 1980s, but after it was
PRACTICES OF CROWDS MIGRATING FROM THE RURAL
AREAS TO THE CITY, BUT ESPECIALLY TO ISTANBUL, normalized, it was no longer mentioned. On one
WHICH EMERGE AS A RESULT OF THIS ENCOUNTER. hand, the normalisation of arabesque sentiment
A CONCEPT WHICH IS USED TO CONDESCENDINGLY as an ordinary type of eclecticism that releases the
EXPRESS A CONTRADICTORY AND COMPLEX SET OF
SENTIMENTS WHICH HAS BEEN USED INCREASINGLY desire for a genuine and consistent cultural integ-
LESS FREQUENTLY SINCE BEING ON COURSE TO ration, becoming a part of Istanbul and the city
BECOME A GENERAL ADJECTIVE COVERING ALMOST (see Istanbulite), is positive. On the other hand,
ALL TYPES OF CULTURAL/SOCIAL PRACTICES FROM
MUSIC TO GASTRONOMIC PRACTICES, FROM DRESS although it is formed of nine dissimilar elements,
SENSE TO FORMS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, FROM it would be useful to keep in mind that arabesque
SPATIAL ORGANISATION TO POLITICAL PRACTICES. sentiment, like all other cultural mechanisms of
BECOMING ISTANBUL
desire in these lands, carried its own obsession tail end of two slender peninsulas meeting at the
with sameness within itself. Therefore, it may Bosphorus, it is unfortunate in terms of its hinter-
be claimed that both the writing of the history of land. There are no wide expanses of arable land in
arabesque sentiment and its critical reading are its immediate vicinity. The provision of water to
now needed more than ever. the city has been a problem since Late Antiquity
because there are no rivers of high, regular rates
Blent Tanju of flow in its immediate vicinity. Both peninsu-
las are too narrow to host significant rivers. It
> Gecekondu, Istanbulite, Minibus became apparent, as the 20th century came to an
end, that there wasnt enough land to speculate
on either in order to form an area of expansion
ASCENT for the city. Therefore, when rapid expansion and
growth began in the 1990s, it soon became clear
A REGULAR MEANS OF CONGESTION THE CITY that there were serious obstacles. For instance,
HAS INEVITABLY BEEN FORCED TO USE IN ITS
TRANSFORMATION INTO A METROPOLIS ON THE the northern strip of the Thracian peninsula in
NARROW LANDMASS ON TWO SLENDER PENINSULAS the west and the Kocaeli peninsula in the east
STRETCHING OUT TO THE EAST AND THE WEST. comprised the forested land of the city. The same
ALTHOUGH A WIDE GROUP OF URBANITES APPEAR
NOT TO APPROVE OF IT ON A DISCURSIVE BASIS, THEY areas also contained the most significant water
EXPLOIT THE OPPORTUNITIES IT CREATES WITH resources in the immediate vicinity. This meant
SIMILAR DETERMINATION. that the most advantageously located areas for the
expansion of the city were paradoxically the areas
Istanbul is positioned on a landmass which is where expansion had to be checked. The result
simultaneously both very suitable and very unsu- was the elongation of the Istanbul metropolitan
itable for the emergence of a metropolis. It stands zone along the eastwest axis. Centralizing de-
at the crossroads of important sea and land ro- mands, thus, were forced up. However, the shor-
utes, therefore it is geographically advantageo- tage of land made it necessary not only for central
us. On the other hand, since it is founded on the areas, but for housing settlements to rise higher
BECOMING ISTANBUL
too. Thus, land supply was restricted in Istanbul height for their respective areas and develops
again until the 1990s and, instead of generating expectations related to this, surveys reveal that
land for new settlements, developed expansion a large majority of urbanites actually want single
of the city was restricted almost to the area of the family homes with only a few floors. Yet wealthy
late 19th century city. This, for instance, led to groups who actually own such homes constantly
the rise in the average height in the area around seek to enlarge these houses with unauthorized
Badat Caddesi (see Badat Caddesi) from two sub-roof storeys and sub-basement construction.
storeys in the early 1960s to over ten in the 2000s. Even the demand on domestic space of the wealthy
In distant suburbs like Beylikdz, land was trans- nuclear family is increasing putting pressure on
formed from agricultural use to accommodating vertical restrictions. Still, this source of specula-
between ten and fifteen storey apartment blocks tive profit, to which almost all income groups
in only ten years. Along with high demand, the participate in accordance with their means, is not
possibility of speculative profit brought on by this granted legitimacy. Those who actually benefit
demand and a series of other factors provoked a from it describe the ascent of the city as a seri-
constant expectation of ascent in the urban area. ous threat. Highrise constructions become the
Land and property owners in almost all districts of easiest target of reports in the press. Almost all
the city created political pressure for an increase urban problems are imagined as a function of as-
in the maximum construction height or the bu- cent. For instance, traffic is congested because of
ilding zone in their districts. The demand for an these buildings, urban infrastructure falls short,
increase in height is great even in old gecekondu and the silhouette is destroyed (see Silhouette). It
districts (see Gecekondu; Post-gecekondu). As the is never easy calmly to discuss the ascent of the
city grows economically and demographically, city because of this general crisis of legitimacy
ascent becomes increasingly inevitable. and rarely possible to discuss each instance of
ascent in terms of its own urban and architectural
However, Istanbul has a rather problematic complications. Urbanites constantly draw upon
relationship with the reality of ascent. In this city the material benefits of ascent and continue to
where almost everyone demands an increase in express their desire to live in a two-storey city.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
This urban group does not even discuss the is- the old recording of the musical play would be
sue sincerely and honestly with itself and does broadcast over the radio and Hazm Krmk,
not realize it is producing the same contradic- with that crackly voice of his, would number the
tion each passing day and therefore their chance furniture one had to have in such a flat. I have seen
of informing public opinion on urban change the slightly crude, square-ish Art Deco furniture
and inspection is naturally quite low. Like every unique to Istanbul houses in various films and
other remonstrance in this city, the one against photographs and in homes of relatives. However,
ascension drops from the agenda the second it is when such furniture is mentioned, I still conjure
voiced, never becoming a noteworthy reaction. up a mental picture of some science-fictionesque,
The reason for this remonstrance is, perhaps, not quasi-technological objects unique to the city. So
an expression of reactions, but the removal of the when I discovered an ATM in ili several years
possibility of its potentially forming an element ago, I wasnt surprised at all. Apparently, I had
of pressure before it even turns into a reaction. expected to come across such a thing in ili all
along. This ATM, or cash machine, was on the ma-
Uur Tanyeli in street coming from Taksim, between Osmanbey
and ili, on the right side of the road where there
>Badat Caddesi, Gecekondu, Post-gecekondu, was once a famous shirt maker. It was more than
Silhouette an ATM, it was a squat piece of furniture, the ghost
of an abandoned ATM. The keyboard, the slits to
insert your card and take out money remained
ATM intact for a long time. But what it really possessed
was that horrid look of desolation that permeates
AN ELEGANT PIECE OF URBAN FURNITURE. [ED.] discontinued technological gadgetry. Even more
strangely, it had nestled in the lower right corner
According to the operetta Lks Hayat [The Posh of an old, large ili townhouse where it was for-
Life], a reclaimed classic of our Republic, the thing gotten. (Who used to load it up with money? Why
one had to have was a flat in ili. In the seventies was it positioned so low? Did it sink when the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
road was elevated? Had there once been a bank has no value of association. It is the road east,
branch there? I have no idea.) On some Sunday towards cities of the distant east, and Baghdad
afternoons, on my way back home from Akmerkez is not so much the actual city of Baghdad itself,
(see Shopping Centre) overcome with that strange but a symbol-name: like the Baghdad in the song,
calm that comes from staring into shop windows theres no point in asking the amorous about
full of stuff I never buy, it would be waiting there, Baghdad Its name connotes symbolic remote-
guarding its spot as a piece of urban furniture. ness, reminding us of another road, the name of
Then it completely disappeared. It became a wall. the inner city section of the European motorway
That was five or six years ago. Just past the spot extending west in the 50s and the 60s: Londra
where it used to be, there is a Simit Saray [Simit Asfalt [London Asphalt], the road that headed off
Palace] now. (see Simit Saray). to the city at the distant limit of the West. Asfalt
[Asphalt] was also how its residents referred to
Fatih zgven
Badat Caddesi in the 40s and 50s.
This old Byzantine trail, the road to Niko-

> Shopping Centre, Simit Saray
media, was in the Ottoman era also the route of
passengers pausing at overnight stops or places of
prayer, caravans staying the night at roadhouses
BADAT CADDES (I)
from Gebze on, armies going east on expeditions
MORE THAN A STREET, BADAT CADDES IS A CONCEPT
and pilgrimage processions, but its development
ENGRAINED IN OUR MINDS, LIKE THE STKLAL in the modern age as an artery of an area of settle-
CADDES AND DREKLERARASI, IN ITS DAY. ment was a process parallel to railway and mari-
time transport in the 19th century. The ports, the
Although its geographical, urban presence is ve- steamboats, the paddle steamers of the Hazine-i
nerable, it has no significance for the resident of Hassa company founded in 1843 and the compa-
Istanbul today as the old Byzantine trail stretching nies that came after it stopped at Kalam, Cad-
out east, just as the road to Nikomedia (now zmit) debostan, Suadiye, Bostanc, Maltepe, Kartal and
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Pendik and, in parallel to this, the settlement for a while, between summerhouses and excur-
that developed along the stations on the new sion spots. In the 1930s the first bus and in 1935,
route completed in 1888 of the railway that had when the rails were laid, the tram were added to
reached Bostanc by 1872 added a new function public transport alongside the ferry and the train,
to the street. From 1918 on, the name, at first of a with the horsedrawn carriage becoming a short
section, and later the entire street that stretched distance vehicle moving across these three main
east between the railway and the coast, the sta- transport routes, eventually giving way to the mo-
tions and the ferry stops, and parallel to both was torcar. In the 80s, interim ferry stops apart from
Badat Caddesi. In the 1910s when development Bostanc were closed and the train increasingly
picked up, it was a dirt road wide enough for two became the means of transport serving neigh-
carriages; after the 1930s it was paved with as- bourhoods north of the line and to the east of
phalt. The street was widened in the 1940s, and Bostanc. The opening of the coastal road meant
then again, beginning in 1958. The coastal landfill that Badat Caddesi became a one-way artery; it
after 1985 and the opening of the coastal road was now coursed with a non-stop, twenty-four hour
the most recent development that formed the stream of motorised traffic.
environment and look of Badat Caddesi for the
early 2000s. Overnight stops, places of prayer and drink-
ing fountains have gone, many of them leaving no
The raison dtre of streets is transport. Trans- trace apart from some names, and the same going
port at the turn of the century along Badat Cad- for broad vineyards extending from the street
desi was by horsedrawn carriage, continuing up to the sea. The possibilities offered by sea and
and down the streets and the surrounding neigh- railway transport allowed Ottoman dignitaries,
bourhoods until the 60s: between the coast, the wealthy foreigners and some Levantines to live in
ferry stops and the inland areas, between the sta- villas they had built around Badat Caddesi in the
tions and the houses, in the summer between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A location out
beach and the nightclubs, in the winter to and fro of sight and scrutiny, the availability of various
between home, school and market places, and, means of transport and the natural environment
BECOMING ISTANBUL
made neighbourhoods along the street attractive. and continued to spread outwards, the scheme
From the 1910s on, the number of wooden villas of streets parallel and at right angles to the coast
in the wide lots of land between the street and and the main street, Badat Caddesi. Both sides
the coast and the street and the railway began to of some of these streets are arrayed with plane
increase. Badat Caddesi formed the spine of a trees, and sometimes the carriage road aligned
popular residential area including Kzltoprak, with chestnut trees once connecting an old, grand
Fenerbahe, Feneryolu, Gztepe, Erenky, Suadi- villa to its distant entrance gate became a narrow
ye and Bostanc. The waterside mansion of Hu- street known by the name of the old owner of the
guenin, the director of the Eastern railways, was ruined villa, the way the narrow railway that cut
in Bostanc, followed by the waterside mansions across Badat Caddesi, branching from the main
and villas of other men of renown: the Ragp Pa- line and extending to Fenerbahe where wealthy
sha mansion, the Cemil Topuzlu villa and the European families lived, in time formed another
villas of Botter, Degucis, Rizzo and Oppenheim. street Today the railway and the names of the
Sometimes a large property, an old vineyard or villa owners have gone, but as the centre and the
vegetable garden would be divided into lots. The spine of these transformed and erased tracks and
best known actor of this particular type of devel- orientations, Badat Caddesi carries, channels,
opment was Ttnc [Tobacconist] Mehmet Ef- restructures and expounds this faint memory
fendi, who bought the wide piece of land between and texture: it is undoubtedly a vein, rather than
the street and the railway in Gztepe at the end of an artery.
the 19th century, divided it into lots, formed the
road system and had the mosque and its annexes This vein has a beginning: Kadky or, like its
built to form the nucleus of a neighbourhood cen- older inhabitants used to say, Kadky, the vil-
tre. Large properties were divided, some wooden lage of the cadi, the judge. On city maps, in name
villas were burnt down, and, in their place on ever Badat Caddesi actually begins a bit further on,
decreasing lots of land, new ones would be built, from the west of the bridge over Kurbaaldere
while the modern gridiron road plan of Ttnc [Froggy Brook] and extends along a linear track
Mehmet Efendi preserved its general validity until it reaches another old bridge in Bostanc.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
On maps, city guides and in the place-mem- of building, and then even taller, multi-storey
ory of some, the street continues after the old blocks will rise beyond them. Three to four gen-
Bostancba bridge towards Maltepe, Kartal, Pen- erations of construction will take place within
dik and Tuzla, but from the bridge on, this route the fifty years after the 50s on Badat Caddesi
which follows the ancient Nicomedian route has and in its environs. This process is differentiated
already undergone an identity change, and the in terms of life-style, status and architecture in
history stretching back to villas, mansions, past parallel strips from the south to the north along
lives and the contemporary meaning and images a WestEast axis parallel to the coast between
it bears are focused on the main body of the street Kzltoprak and Bostanc. Between the coast and
which connects Kzltoprak to Bostanc, between coastal driveway and Badat Caddesi, between the
the two bridges. In this geographical interval, the street and the railway and then further north, the
vein is also an artery: social concentration forms new urbanisation continued with incremental
life-styles, images and social codes. loss of status and prestige with every new seg-
ment towards the E5 urban carriageway, and then
The wooden villas of the 1910s were replaced towards the new neighbourhoods between the E5
by the modern stone villas of the 30s and the 50s. and the TEM motorway and reached the oil slicks
The bureaucrats of the Republic, the post-war further north, the satellite cities and the site,
bourgeoisie and petit-bourgeoisie share the area or estates. This movement, first sign of modern
between Badat Caddesi, the coast and the rail- urbanisation, began with Badat Caddesi and the
way with the second generation of the old elite development scheme of Ttnc Mehmet Efendi,
families, the remaining Levantine and foreign old suburbs and resorts transformed into a popu-
merchant families and the local Greek (Rum) lar and hygienic housing zone, starting out from
and Armenian communities of the district. The this axis with the main street still the spine of
summer crowd, smaller merchants and Jewish the prestigious strip in the south. The apartment
families join in. From the 50s on, villas along block architecture surrounding this spine does
the street are replaced with four-storey apart- not resound with superior quality or assiduity,
ment blocks with gardens. First the same kind but this does not affect the urban status value of
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the area. The secondary veins that historically land-filled, transformed and reopened as marinas.
fed the main vein from north to south are streets The number of cinema complexes, cafs and bou-
that pass over or under the railway with bridges to tiques replacing the old nightclubs and open-air
connect the now less significant stations to Badat cinemas has gradually increased, and Badat Cad-
Caddesi and the coast The chequerboard contin- desi, where they are concentrated, has continued
ues with the capillaries, alleys lined with trees and to be the centre, conveyor of a lively street-long,
tall apartments with gardens, with the artery-vein street-side activity. Along this track people go out
the centre, unifier and backbone of them all. to the shops, go window-shopping and brand
spotting, sometimes fashion brands, sometimes
The residential area along this backbone and cars. Badat Caddesi is a space of consumption,
its surroundings has evolved from summerhouses shopping and contemplation; it hosts the watch-
to villas, and then to apartment blocks, but this ers and the watched. On Sundays, the youth of the
multi-storey and gardened bourgeois or petit-bour- upper neighbourhoods from the north and along
geois living space has never become a dormitory- the E5 motorway come down south and the street
city. Although the residential zones are quiet, the becomes the space of an imagination freighted
main street preserves its dynamism, its accessories with a different eroticism.
feeding this dynamism of the district. The flower
and vineyard culture, where in the 30s and 40s From as early as the 1930s, when the old road
smart ladies and gentlemen went horseback riding was asphalted, this activity has been called going
in elegant and formal dress, played tennis in the out on to Badat or going out on to the asphalt.
courts in the back gardens of the summerhouses The neighbourhood resident from Erenky or
and villas and went swimming from the waterside Suadiye goes out on to the asphalt, but goes down
mansion embankments, with street ends leading to the city by taking the ferry. One goes out on
to the sea and the beaches that opened after the to Badat, just like one goes out on to Beyolu.
1930s, has been replaced by landscape design or This linguistic expression, rather than a mere
car parks, gardens with pools replaced by swim- geographical activity, signifies a prestige attached
ming pools or fitness centres, the beaches now to the status symbols of modernity.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The road means a distance. Its length, width, English emanating from a summer cinema. After
its relationship with the buildings and trees the 30s, and the 50s, this history and its crumbs
around it, the flow of the vehicles on it and the of memory carried the imperceptible traces of
life on its pavements affect its spirit and its scale, what was once natural, new intersections and
while other perceptions are added to this. The interfaces, togetherness and oppositions to the
Ihlamur Road of the 1910s, not officially Badat new, and increasingly condensed, urban space:
Caddesi yet, possessed a world of space and exclusiveness and ordinariness, particularity and
perception defined by the traces of sound and reproducibility, concrete and the landscape, the
light of nature, the wind, or lodos [the regional spontaneous and the constructed. Neighbour-
south-westerly wind], the dirt road whose sound- hood meetings, from the 30s continuing into the
scape and referential distance was reformed by 60s, moonlight celebrated like a pagan ritual on
the distant sound of the train from the railway landing piers on nights of the full moon, football
and the ezan (the call to prayer) emanating from matches played on ball pitches, the houses of
the mosque in the station square, the sea at the acrobatics gave way to to pre-paid parking places,
end of steep narrow roads leading to the beach, Republican Holiday parades and the delirium
its topography softened in the early 60s where of fanatical supporters after Fenerbahe victo-
it had previously ended with sharp ridges, with ries. These changes, however, were also a sign of
villa silhouettes and lines of plane tree along the modernisation and a specific urban formation
road. In between there were empty areas, islets of and they didnt destroy the attractive force, dyna-
plum trees, fragrant lilacs and blackberries, China mism and stimulus of the street for individuals or
Roses, Bleeding Hearts, aromatic with fireflies on small groups. The body and the vehicle can still
summer nights, and tree cricket concerts in the coexist together in this space, curiosity and con-
day. The rhythm of the seasons, summer and win- templation continues, petit bourgeois everyday
ter, and the hours of both day and night; a natural life trying to open virtual or momentary horizons
and settled area where this rhythm could be felt. for itself, while also being a space of desire for
Then the sound of the tram, sirens from the sea so-called black youth, alien to the street scene.
on foggy nights or blizzards, conversations in Pavements where objects of consumption are dis-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
played in attractive shop-windows, well-groomed Istanbul is being rediscovered. Some neighbour-

bodies move and luxurious sports cars park pres- hoods and areas are designated historical; these
ent both reality and a dream-world. And amid all areas are modernized to attract first of all foreign to-
its attentive, purposeful, gentle, ordinary and urists and then the locals who follow and are in awe
deceptive appearances, Badat Caddesi is a street, of them. (In the meantime the poor are excluded
both the outdoors and a space of consumption: from the rewritten version of history.) Modernitys
a 3 kilometre long, open-ended shopping mall attempt to recreate its past renders the past a pro-
with gaps and thoroughfares thrown in, whose fitable field. Lowenthal says that nostalgia is me-
entirety cannot be grasped but, within its diffuse mory with the pain removed and today in Istanbul
and combinative texture, an area of socialisation nostalgia has not only become cultural capital with
and modernisation of rarely encountered inten- the pain removed but is also sprinkled with sugar
sity in Istanbul. for added effect. In this context the first striking
aspect of the modernity of Badat Caddesi is its
Atilla Ycel (with Hlya Hatipolu)
indifference towards history. It is probably one of
the few rich and famous areas that doesnt celeb-
rate its past and does not have a sense of nostalgia
regarding itself. Although its shops do, its style
BADAT CADDES (II)
of modernity does not resemble that of Nianta
WITH ITS FLASHY SHOPS, COFFEE-HOUSES, CAKE for instance, the area of an elite culture. Badat
SHOP AND RESTAURANTS LINED UP SIDE BY SIDE Caddesi is served by a different kind of capital: what
ALL SPILLING OVER ONTO THE SIDEWALK, AND renders it different is the direct sanctification of
TALL APARTMENT BLOCKS, BADAT CADDES IS THE
SYMBOL OF A CERTAIN LIFE STYLE IN ISTANBUL, AND
modernity, without recourse to any external ele-
EVEN IN TURKEY: RICH AND MODERN. BUT WHAT KIND ment, such as history or high culture, which would
OF MODERNITY IS THIS? gentrify or classicise it. In this respect, it is an area
that reflects most directly the fact that Turkish mo-
Today, during processes of restructuring and dernisation is essentially capitalist development.
ruthless profiteering, the multicultural past of Therefore, the nouveau riche on Badat Caddesi
BECOMING ISTANBUL
have nothing to be embarrassed about, because, stands amidst the tall apartment blocks erected in
although there are established families among its garden, mute and lifeless. Because the coastal
them, as long as Badat Caddesi residents mana- driveway covers the old beaches and nightclubs,
ge to fall in step with the requirements of the day, there are rowing boats and sailing boats towed
they qualify as nouveau riche and for this reason onto the concrete; they lie there watching the sea
in particular as exceedingly modern. from afar. Along the coastal driveway, people of
all ages jog for a longer life, without looking back
Geographically, Badat Caddesi is far from or paying any attention to the cars driving past.
the centre of Istanbul, on the Asian continent and
very close to the sea. It used to be known as a sum- It is claimed that in the 19th century a man
mer resort. Forty years ago there were beaches, called Mustafa opened a grocery store in a di-
nightclubs, summerhouses with gardens and a lapidated hut to sell provisions to people going on
bit further out vineyards and gardens, say those trips towards Suadiye, but was met with responses
who remember past times. No one bothers to think like whats a grocery store doing in the middle
further back anyway. Many people do not men- of nowhere and got called the akn bakkal [the
tion the Armenians, Greeks, Jews (who still reside daft grocer]. (aknbakkal is a neighbourhood
there) and the Levantines who used to live in the along Badat Caddesi). Today, you dont go for a
area in the late Ottoman Empire. The history of stroll along Badat Caddesi, because the act has
Badat Caddesi embedded in the dominant nar- a name for itself, i.e. going out on the piyasa, or
rative, if one can speak of such a history, is a story market. The piyasa of the street livened up in the
of transformation. Upper middle class Turks have 1970s and since then has developed its own culture
settled and modernized in Badat Caddesi the of consumption and showing off. One dresses up
way a young woman who arrives from Anatolia to go out on the market, goes window-shopping
as a village girl becomes modern the moment she at the shops which arent daft at all anymore, and
dons her new attire. This is a rapid transforma- in fact follow international trends closely, shops,
tion that progresses without looking back. Even if eats ice-cream, drinks coffee, flirts with girls and
the old summerhouse hasnt been demolished, it boys and most importantly, draws inspiration
BECOMING ISTANBUL
from what other people are wearing to keep up Of course, there have to be far more ordinary
with fashion. Fashion, which renews itself con- memories related to the street. About the ennui
stantly but as Simmel says, is sentenced to death within households, dreams of becoming a mil-
the moment it appears, seems to be the guide for lionaire which ended in frustration, the struggle
living only in the present tense, by consuming to preserve neighbourhood relationships in the
commodities of the Badat Caddesi market. face of rapid transformation, or memories about
the daisies in the fields that hadnt met with the
But the market also creates its own traditions. concrete yet Among the most important places
One of them is the sports car racing that has been of evening entertainment on Badat Caddesi in
going on for years on Badat Caddesi. Groups of the 1970s were the open air cinemas. On summer
youth gather in Fenerbahe in the late hours of nights concerts would often be held in their gar-
the night with the newest sports cars and organize dens. Modernized folk songs were as popular as
ruthless competitions. The car races, which often adaptations with Turkish lyrics back then. I recall
end in accidents and deaths, are blamed on the that at one of those concerts where it was the cus-
degeneration of Badat Caddesi youth in the tom to pop chickpeas into soda pop bottles, the
media and they have transformed the blind com- young men determined to be madly entertained
petition of the piyasa on the street to a passion. were shouting the refrain of a song that went ne
Sevim Burak wrote about the bestial passion of gzelsin ay gz [girl youre so beautiful] as ne
the Badat Caddesi car races in her novel Mach gzelsin Aygaz [Aygaz, (Turkish gas company),
1, where she dramatically describes the violent youre so beautiful] at the top of their voices. The
modernity of Badat Caddesi: story of modern transformation on Badat Cad-
desi indifferently brought together the deadly
The two enemies left the ambush passion for cars with the practicality of canister
Jaguar-Ford Cobra (a tiger-a snake) gas to continue at top steed and with all its might.
The Rolls Royce Phantom hit the snake In the same way that Bostanc, a neighbourhood of
mercilessly from behind Badat Caddesi, used to be a border region where
The snake died past entries into Istanbul were supervised, Badat
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Caddesi itself reveals the borders of Turkish mo- white cheese or sucuk brought in from some special
dernity from within capitalist development. region. From nylon tights to stationery, toothpaste
to safety pins, almost everything would be available.
Meltem Ahska Just how this wide spectrum of goods was fitted
and stowed in those rather small spaces occupied
by the old bakkal shops and how the information
BAKKAL as to what was where was maintained depended
on the talents of the person in charge. This would
THE FORMER FOOD RETAILER OF A CITY WHERE generally be either the owner of the shop, his wife
ALMOST EVERYONE MOURNS ITS DEMISE BUT SHOPS or one of his children, and these people would not
FROM THE SUPERMARKET. [ED.]
only know their inventory of goods, but would also
act as the directory of the neighbourhood. Probably
In days when supermarkets had not yet evolved to
because of the credit registers, bakkals would have
what they are today, in addition to street markets knowledge of people and buildings almost on a par
set up on specific days in specific neighbourhoods, with the muhtar [the elected, executive officer of a
on every street there always used to be one or more neighbourhood] and passersby would also often ask
small bakkal [grocers]. Bakkals would regularly pro- them the way. People would sit on the miniature
vide first and foremost those products that wouldnt stools in front of the shop, catch their breath, ask
keep, like milk and bread, along with daily newspa- for a cold gazoz [soda pop] in the summer heat; or if
pers. And for the guest who turned up unannoun- in a strange neighbourhood, ask for a kaar cheese
ced, one could shop for biscuits if it was tea time, sandwich (see Bakkal Sandwich), with the bakkal
and eggs or pasta if it was dinner time. Sometimes serving as a buffet. In this sense, bakkals, just like
the bakkal would assist in emergencies by providing any market place, have an essentially economical
replacements for a washing line that broke or a bulb but also a social constitution. Another significant
that burnt out. One would often encounter bakkals characteristic of the bakkals was the efficiency and
who claimed they had higher quality products than flexibility of the service they provided. In the past,
that sold in the street market boasting of butter, shopping was collected by dangling baskets from
BECOMING ISTANBUL
windows, then it went on to being ordered by phone. of toy, some children would answer the frequently
But from the customers point of view, there was still posed question, What will you be when you grow
a lot to complain about bakkals. They were prone up? by saying, I will become a bakkal. It is known
to sell bad goods at high prices, some were stingy today that a section of the immigrant population
and one even got into fights with them every now in Europe overcame the absence of bakkal services
and then. Talking of a greedy person, people were they couldnt find when they first arrived by ope-
known to exclaim, well, his father is a bakkal after ning their own small-scale supermarkets. And even
all, must have experienced poverty amidst wealth in the most remote high plateaus of the Black Sea
and was brought up hungry, some would refuse to region does the indispensable bakkal shop await
wed their girls to a bakkals son while others saw the us, ready to supply us with toothbrushes, soda pop
bakkal as a sign of wealth. Once one would come and paper tissues.
upon these cure-all enterprises at every 200300
metres on the same street, but a serious threat arri- Arzu ztrkmen
ved in the form of the supermarket. The slogan The
Hero Bakkal Against the Supermarket, which was > Bakkal Sandwich
also made into a theatrical play, remained in use for
a long time. Bakkals at first blamed the supermar-
kets but in time they coped by supermarketising BAKKAL SANDWICH
themselves. Chain supermarkets which opened,
especially in the 1980s, in centres close to the citys MATURE OR FRESH KAAR CHEESE AND SALAMI
public transport hub were followed by neighbour- BETWEEN A QUARTER, HALF OR WHOLE LOAF OF
BREAD. AND AN AYRAN OR A COKE TO GO WITH IT.
hood supermarkets established from the 1990s on. ALL BAKKALS (SEE BAKKAL) WHO SELL CHEESE AND
Whether big or small, bakkals also became the he- SALAMI WILL DO ONE.
avenly repository of childhood memories of many
people of Istanbul. Since the product range of these When you ask for a sandwich the bakkal asks you
shops where wafers, chewing gum and pencils were what you want in it (you can ask him to put plenty
bought was always more attractive than any kind in) and takes his place at the marble counter
BECOMING ISTANBUL
behind the glass display where the deli products BARGE

are kept. With the big bread knife he uses to cut
many other things, he first splits the bread, and ALTHOUGH IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO THINK OF ISTANBUL
then he cuts thick and formless slices off the reel WITHOUT IT UNTIL THE 1970S, THERE REMAINS NOT
A SINGLE EXAMPLE OF THIS SEA TRANSPORTATION
of kaar and the salami. He weighs these slices by VEHICLE. [ED.]
placing them on the cellophane sheet he spreads
out on the scales. Then in one hand he takes the
My daughter doesnt know what a barge is.
piece of bread (or sometimes the whole loaf) and
in the other the knife, and splitting open the bre-
Shes in her twenties and, although she knows
ad, he inserts the ingredients on the scales into
Istanbul well, she hasnt managed to work out a
the bread. While some bakkals take care to spread
mavna [barge].
out the ingredients equally, with others you may
feel the need to rearrange the ingredients.
If I could explain to her just what a barge re-
A bakkal sandwich made without hygienic minded me of, I might succeed in passing on to
gloves and presented to the customer wrapped her something from the Istanbul of my youth.
in paper is acceptable. They are available at all
bakkals in Istanbul, while ingredients may vary Although the image of the barge is wearing
according to the scope of the bakkals deli section off by the day, its sound still resounds in my ears.
(white cheese, sucuk [Turkish chorizo], kavurma
[braised meat]); but the classic bakkal sandwich I remember so well the deep sound of the
must be made from the ingredients listed above. barges in the wilderness of the night.
Sandwiches made at home using the same ingre-
dients are no substitute. Bon appetit. There are three distinct sounds I have re-
corded in my memory from the years I spent on
lkay Bali Bykada and then on Knalada (see Isle) in my
youth: the sound of the seagulls, the sound the
> Bakkal
BECOMING ISTANBUL
small pebbles made when the waves rolled them Theres a scene featuring flour sacks I remem-
up the beach and the sound of the barges. ber from my childhood.
You could hear the sound of the seagulls at The barge had docked at the port, and the
all hours of the day. sacks on it were being off-loaded by men who had
turned all white because of the flour sticking to
But the other two, the pebbles rolling in the their bodies.
water and the barges, were sounds heard more at
night and at daybreak. These white men would often wear the point-
ed end of an empty sack like a hood on their heads.
Some nights, when I awoke from my sleep,
I couldnt tell exactly where the deep and inter- I havent worked out the reason to this day.
rupted sound of the barge breaking the silence of
the night was coming from. Perhaps to protect their heads from the sun,
or to stop flour getting in their eyes.
It could have been far from the island I was And if you ask me what suited the barge most,
staying on, or very close. Only when I saw a barge my answer is ready: watermelons.
docked at the port in the morning would I realize
that the sound I heard in the night belonged to it. Barges would often be red, or green, some
were blue too. And the red and green of barges
What did the barge carry in their night runs? was best complimented by watermelons which
Often everything. were the same colour.
Everything from construction material to There would be watermelons sliced in to on

watermelons, from flour sacks on their way to the top of the watermelon pile, for those who wanted
oven to tomato carts. to taste them.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Red and green. BATHING/SWIMMING
Imagine a slice of watermelon. A CHILDHOOD FAIRYTALE.
Its shape is exactly like the barge my daughter Dont go bathing until you see the watermelon
doesnt know. rind floating on the sea. This may not be one
of the 10 commandments, but it is holy wisdom
The vividly coloured barges that sometimes for someone who has spent their childhood in
had nave drawings on them have disappeared like Istanbul. The waters of the Bosphorus are cold
some other sea-going vessels of the Marmara Sea. and warm up rather late in the summer. (I refer,
of course, to the temperature before the sewage
The fishermens boats, the sympathetic mo- of 15 million people flowed into the sea). The se-
torboats with onboard engines and the humble ason when watermelons have hit the market and
sailboats have been replaced by sea-buses and are consumed in abundance was back then the
stylish yachts. time when children could go bathing without
I cant say I know how watermelons, flour catching a cold. The well-behaved children of the
and construction materials are transported to the Bosphorus would sigh and gulp in early summer,
Islands nowadays. but their mothers would have them wait, until
the good news would arrive, Watermelon rind
In the same way that all the beautiful things spotted!
about Istanbul are changing at the speed of light,
perhaps they too are beamed to the Islands. In the past, garbage was dumped in the sea
because it was not collected regularly by the city.
Gila Benmayor Or, the municipality would collect the garbage
and dump it collectively in the sea themselves.
> Isle Since the waste did not contain non-degradable
materials like plastic, it rotted quickly. So, the wa-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
termelon rinds would not sink, but float like boats from a yal, the Bosphorus is a vast swimming
on the surface of the water, becoming even more pool. The joy of running along the timber quay
meaningful with the good news they brought. and jumping into the waves is an incomparable
Istanbul was always a large city, but until recently joy known to those who have experienced it. In
it was possible to bathe from anywhere accessible the past, not as many ships as today used to pass
to the sea. People who were born in one of the vil- through the straits and you had to look out for the
lages along the Bosphorus knew each other from ships making waves. Long before the government
childhood on. The sense of neighbourhood was privatized all its assets and squandered the ships
important but living on the Bosphorus had many of the Turkish Maritime Bank, passenger ships
advantages over the inland neighbourhoods. sailing to the Black Sea would produce ideal waves
as they passed. Children would tell each other
Children shared their daily activities, playing, when these appeared in the distance and they
swimming, rowing and catching fish together and would all enjoy jumping together into the wave
as they approached adulthood they took the public rushing to shore behind the ship.
ferry to go to college and eventually to work. Those
who proudly proclaimed themselves the children It didnt matter if you didnt know anyone
of the Bosphorus spent the entire summer in the from a yal. Especially on the Anatolian side, the
sea. The grown-ups would take a dip in the sea gaps left along the embankment for fire safety
on return from work or would go fishing with the were priceless locations to go bathing. The girls,
rowboat. There were many ways of bathing. The boys and adults of the neighbourhood would go
best way of benefiting from the sea was of course bathing from these points. Of course, the rather
residing in a yal (see Yal), the waterfront sum- upright residents of the adjacent yal would get
merhouse unique to the Bosphorus. An alternative terribly disturbed because the kids made a lot of
was to know the owner or the children of the yal so noise when they dived into the sea. At Rumeli
as to have access to the sea. In the past, the owners the yal are not built right on the waterfront, and
of yal were not necessarily wealthy but families people who wanted to go bathing here would lie
local to a Bosphorus village. For people bathing along the roadside.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Another way to go swimming was the boat. days at work in some dark repair shop as an ap-
Renting boats wasnt expensive, and besides, Bos- prentice. But the moment they gained the atten-
phorus kids either had small boats themselves tion of hundreds of pairs of curious eyes on the
or one of their acquaintances definitely had one. boat, the quay and even in the summer houses
Not diving from the boat, but climbing back on would make them proud and compensate for all
board may prove difficult at first for not so sporty the hardship of the day.
types. Since the sea belonged to everyone, the
neighbourhood men would get as close as they The biggest obstacle for a boat ride or swim-
could to the waterside mansions with their boats ming in the Bosporus is the strong current. Bos-
and try to prove their athleticism to girls sunbath- phorus children steer clear of Kandilli, Kanlca or
ing on the porch by diving into the sea exhibiting Arnavutky and other promontories where the
extraordinary acrobatic moves; when their dads current is strong when they go swimming. But that
werent around, obviously. is not the only place where the current is strong, it
follows swimmers almost like a ghost, sometimes
Another type of the group of young men try- so strong that it prevents the swimmer returning
ing to attract attention by diving was those return- to the point s/he started. Sometimes swimmers
ing home from work on summer evenings on the dont manage to move at all, despite swimming
ferry. As the boat approached land to dock, they with all their might.
would begin to undress; they would already have
their swimming trunks on, pass on their clothes to Ghost currents are not the only unpleasant
their friends and climb atop the roof of the boat, feature, with the long well-known, unpopular
and jump headlong into the white foam produced and recently proliferating jelly fish. There is no
by the ships propeller. This was actually quite real use for them in Turkey other than perhaps
dangerous because one might easily get caught for little boys amusing themselves by throwing
by the propeller. These nameless heroes gener- them at their little sisters to frighten them. The
ally lacked the luxury of slacking off for the entire disgusting feeling of having a jellyfish splattered
summer and probably passed the hot summer between your fingers while swimming has an im-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
portant place in the memory of everyone who has in the real summer resorts of Kadky, Yeilky,
experienced it. The currents not only brought Florya, Kumkap, Suadiye and Moda, where natu-
the much anticipated watermelon rinds, but also ral sandbanks were made into plaj. During the
other waste. People on boats or at the quay would pre-Republican period, Muslim men and women
be heard calling out loud: Move quickly, a patch could not swim together at a public beach, so the
of oil spill is approaching, and swimmers would first customers of the Russian beaches were the
quickly return to the boats or the quay. allied occupation forces and their families at the
end of WWI. Only after the declaration of the Re-
One has to love the deep sea to swim like this. public did it become possible for men and women
The Bosphorus deepens fast, but there are some to enjoy the beaches together.
natural sandbanks at the mouths of streams flow-
ing into the Bosphorus, for instance at Kksu. There were other ways of swimming in the
These sandbanks were made into beaches in the sea long before the beaches became fashionable:
30s, and the French word plage, or plaj as Sea Baths (see Hamam). (The idea of the so-called
it is spelled in Turkish, was borrowed from this Sea Baths was also borrowed from the French
dominant language of the time, to mean public Bains de Mer.) It is reported that there had been
beach (see Beach). People who were bored of the sea baths in Istanbul since the mid-19th century.
city and couldnt swim well would have fun on the These were wooden constructions in the water,
beaches. One could spend the entire day here for relatively close to the shore, attached to a wooden
a small fee and the cabins, tea houses and eater- pier and built around a rectangle framing the sea
ies of the plaj were amongst the indispensable like a pool, preventing bathers from being seen
destinations of Istanbul in summer months. The from outside. People would undress in the cabins
tradition of the plaj for both women and men was in the barracks and relax on platforms around the
introduced by White Russians who fled from the pool of the sea. As in the original Turkish baths,
Russian revolution and settled in Istanbul in the people would bathe covered with a towel. Though
early 20th century. The main locations of these the first sea baths were made for men, some oth-
new beaches were not along the Bosphorus but ers were later constructed for women too. Even
BECOMING ISTANBUL
in times when mixed beaches were long accepted a strong reaction and the topic was discussed for
as normal, women who did not want to be seen weeks in newspapers. Headlines included: Pity he
in swimsuits for a long time preferred these sea cant buy a swimsuit, Swimming in underpants
baths, but they eventually disappeared with mod- democratic right?, Loutishness, A man shows
ernisation. what he owns, Does the bikini display less? and
Indecency. Of course there was no conclusion to
The growth of the city brought more pollution these discussions, but eventually the municipality
through sewage that changed the colour, density banned wearing underpants on public beaches.
and taste of the sea water, and increased the quan- Some cartoon magazines inaugurated I want my
tity of jelly fish and coliform bacteria. The brooks white underpants back campaigns, without suc-
which once created the sandbanks today smell so cess. Although the municipality is still far from
bad that one doesnt even want to pass nearby. But solving Istanbuls sewage problem, it did make a
did swimmers disappear completely? For a long good-will effort and reopen some of the beaches
time the number of people who went swimming that had been closed due to pollution. However,
dropped and the social profile of the swimmer it is difficult to say that these beaches are really
changed. Once an activity exclusive to middle clean. Anyhow, once refined places, beaches are
and upper class people, it spread to the masses. nowadays perceived as hang-outs for common
Since a certain section of these masses is not ac- people. The lite places of the past meanwhile
customed to bathe with women, women prefer have followed the current American trend and
not to bathe at the corner of the street they live on become beach clubs.
or in the gaps between the waterside mansions.
Such social changes provoked significant crises A new bathing costume, echoing the white
in the history of beaches and bathing in Istanbul. underpants, has recently come into view. Due to
The crisis of the men in white underpants is one the increase in number of women who, for reli-
of them. Men who did not wear swim trunks and gious reasons, dont want their here and there to
chose to dip in the sea in their white underpants be seen when they go bathing, tesettr [Islamic
or wandered around on the shore or beach drew dress] bathing suits have appeared in the service
BECOMING ISTANBUL
of the people. And for religious women who do Although the municipalitys sewage and pu-
not want to sunbathe in a plastic bag but to make rification work continues, it will probably take
deliberately sure that they display their expensive quite a time to clean the water. And even if some
bikinis, beaches with female and male segregation day it is cleaned, we may never be able to tell the
have been created. Sea Baths might just make it right time to swim anymore, because watermelon
back on to the agenda one day. rinds no longer float on the Bosphorus, as the city
waste management collects the garbage regularly.
Due to pollution, people no longer swim in
the Bosphorus, which has strong currents and, Zeynep Kuban
ironically, a lot of yal owners have had swimming
pools built on the waterfront. However, the growth > Beach, Hamam, Yal
of the city did not only bring along sewage waste,
but demographic changes in Bosphorus villages
too. The Bosphorus Child is history and neither BEACH
the children nor the adults know each other any-
more, because no one can bathe together. Since AN INSTITUTION WHICH TAUGHT WESTERNISATION
IN THE EARLY REPUBLICAN YEARS. TODAY, A SHORE
the old owners of the yal had to sell their houses LOCATION WHERE PEOPLE GO BATHING. [ED.]
to the nouveau riche because they were not able to
afford the expensive restoration costs or the high From the early years of the Republic until the
inheritance taxes, they have turned into places 1980s, visiting the summer resorts and beaches
protected with cameras and armed guards. People of Istanbul was a summer tradition. Apart from
today know the yal inhabitants only through the summer resorts (see Summer Resort) on the
paparazzi reports in newspapers, because they Princes Islands, inner city settlements of today
dont go to the bakkal or for a walk. There is no like Yeilky, Florya, Bykekmece, Erenky,
longer anyone to turn up on the doorstep to say Suadiye, dealtepe and Tuzla were once renow-
Ive just come for a swim. ned for their summerhouses for rent or beach
BECOMING ISTANBUL
estates. In time, these places became perennial es brought on by increasing population and de-
residential areas and their worn out buildings mand. The first desire of many immigrants settling
were replaced with new ones. In addition to the in Istanbul in this period was to see and experience
summer resorts, the city also had beaches whe- the sea. However, due to the fact that the section of
re families could go swimming together (see this immigrant population that was able to show up
Bathing/Swimming). The most famous among on beaches was mostly composed of men who were
them were no doubt Moda, Caddebostan, Tarabya alien to a more urban experience, these areas failed
and Kksu beaches. Some of these beaches to sustain their status as family environments.
scheduled women-only slots, and became impor- Today, almost all of these beaches have been closed
tant socializing areas for middle and upper classes while there are now hopes to revitalise them. Still,
spending the summer months in the city. In fact, the shores of the Bosphorus and Yenikap are still
according to some memoirs, they even fulfilled the used in summer months by men who have no other
function of the older Turkish bath tradition (see place to swim. Another consequence of this class-
Hamam) of choosing brides or creating a space for based change in the context of the city shores might
show. These beaches had special changing cabins, be the replacement of old Istanbul beaches by the
the families could bring their own food from home pools of big hotels (see Hotel).
and rowboat trips could be arranged. Looking at
family albums from the early Republican period, Arzu ztrkmen
one can see that photographs depicting beach
and rowboat trips occupy a prominent position. > Bathing/Swimming, Hamam, Hotel,
Summer Resort
In times when the population of Istanbul was
smaller than today, the decent nature of these en-
vironments was maintained and they were seen as
areas where people could enjoy the sea in safety.
However, the situation changed significantly from
the 1970s on with the differentiation of social class-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
BEAUTIFICATION (I) in the distance ahead when going down the stre-
et next to the Galatasaray Hamam or Bath are
ALL TYPES OF INTERVENTIONIST PRACTICES among the sudden revelations of beauty in this
INVENTED TO DESCRIBE A COMMON URBAN REALITY
OR PHENOMENON AS UGLY. [ED.] city. In the short intervals of time when the city
possesses a unique harmony whether a city can
I dont know if it was the same in the past; but be completely calm and harmonious is another
beautification always arrives in Istanbul sud- matter that brilliantly shimmering thing is not
denly and exactly in the manner that the word allowed to last long. Having no tolerance for and
implies, ending up spoiling something in the act being repressive of the unbridled nature of these
of transforming it into something else by force. harmonies, which come about of their own accord,
Just when a city view, say a street corner with its may be part and parcel of the general lack of tole-
wall overgrown with ivy, its small bakkal [gro- rance of those who rule the country and the city.
cery store] and bus stop, begins to develop a har- It is as if beauty must be immediately reported to
mony of its own and really become beautiful, authorities wherever it is seen and then subjected
it will often incur the wrath of beautification. to beautification.
Especially if it is in full view of everyone A huge
monument-sculpture, park benches in the shape Fatih zgven
of open poetry books with, on their backs, images
of poets and lines of poetry, an ugly fountain, a
PVC-clad white pavilion made to look exactly BEAUTIFICATION (II)
like the original are just a few examples of the
thrust of beautification this city has witnessed. THE CONCEPT OF BEAUTIFICATION, WHICH WAS FIRST
DISCUSSED AS A PLANNING CONCEPT IN WESTERN
Some corners, some moments, some coinciden- EUROPEAN AND NORTH AMERICAN CITIES IN THE
ces of Istanbul are, though, spontaneously still LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES, TAKES
very beautiful. The view that suddenly appears ON NEW MEANINGS AND DIMENSIONS IN THE
CONTEXT OF ISTANBUL. CONTEMPORISATION AND
when one takes a turn in Balat towards the Hali MODERNISATION WERE EMPHASIZED WITHIN THE
Dockyards, the small bit of Topkap Palace visible FRAMEWORK OF WESTERNISATION PRACTICES;
BECOMING ISTANBUL
RENOVATION, SANITISATION AND SOMETIMES A gradual improvement in local services can

SHAVING AND CLEANSING (SEE CLEANSING) WERE
THE CONCEPTS THAT STOOD OUT ACCORDING TO THE be observed in the last 25 years in a globalizing
SCOPE OF THE HISTORICAL URBAN TEXTURE. ON THE Istanbul. When considered within the context of
OTHER HAND, A CONCEPT OF PLANNING DEVELOPING the process of beautification, work focusing on the
IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE IMAGE OF A RELATIVELY
BEAUTIFUL CITY NEEDS TO BE UNDERSTOOD AS AN physical environment is in the foreground of these
INCREASINGLY COSMETIC TOUCH TO THE PHYSICAL local services: construction of 50 centimetre-high
ENVIRONMENT. pink stone pavements, regular changes of pavement
stones in the city centre and squares, arranging
Considering the movement of Westernisation, beauty contests among buildings, reserving six or
early progress in infrastructural development, be- seven digit annual budgets for flowers planted at the
ginning around the same time with the undergro- sides of roads, finishing the instalment of paving in
und railways in the capitals of Paris and London, the city centre in two years and beginning the repav-
was later downgraded to easily manageable pro- ing immediately after that are the most significant
jects of beautification of progressively lower budget, stages in the beautification work which has left its
with a strong emphasis on visibility. In this context, stamp in recent decades in the city. The most im-
even first master plan still in use defining the portant transformation in contemporary beautifica-
main transport axes and functional regions of the tion practices are actually scale-related: practices
city, may be viewed as a beautification project for it which have jumped from flowers, pink stone and
included 18 parks. The activities of the central and beautiful buildings to an urban scale, transformed
regional administrations in the master plan are into cleansing operations of 1000-year old neigh-
described, in print media, as targeting beautifica- bourhoods in the citys historical and social texture.
tion. In a similar manner, regional administrations Accordingly, beautification includes projects (of
have spoken of their own activities within a vision course) that touch on the surface of the physical
of beautification for the last 50 years; they almost environment and, increasingly, projects (of course)
conceal and hide from society the critical deficiency that wound the social structure. In other words,
of infrastructural investments with the discourse the concept of beautification connotes disintegra-
of beautification. tion within the operation of contemporary social
BECOMING ISTANBUL
cleansing too. Beautification in globalizing Istanbul Constantinus would now be known by his na-
may be seen as a renewal of concepts of social and me. However, this re-foundation also meant the
cultural cleansing and gentrification (see Gentrifi- symbolic transfer from the imperial capital Rome
cation) as much as the retouching of the physical of the functions and references of the capital.
texture of the city. The city was to be called the Second Rome. And
consequently, some members of the earlier Senate
pek Yada Akpnar moved here too. Even the topography of the city
of the Seven Hills was symbolically transferred
> Cleansing, Gentrification to Istanbul, although it actually has a different
topographic structure that doesnt fit with the
number seven. It became, like Rome, the City
BECOMING ISTANBUL of Seven Hills.
ISTANBUL WASNT ALWAYS ISTANBUL. IT HAS BEEN During the mid-Byzantine period, it evolved
BYZANTION, CONSTANTINOPOLIS, THE SECOND ROME. into a peerless centre, so much so that it was known
IN THE MID-BYZANTINE PERIOD IT WAS SIMPLY POLIS,
IN THE OTTOMAN PERIOD IT WAS KOSTANTINIYYE,
simply as Polis (or city). From that time on, no
SLAMBOL AND DERSAADET, AND MANY OTHERS; BUT other settlement within the Byzantine zone of sov-
IT WAS NEVER JUST ISTANBUL. DURING THE FIRST ereignty would be known by this term. While they
HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY, THESE OTHER NAMES
WERE ALMOST COMPLETELY WIPED OUT. THE CITY
were all kastron, only Istanbul was the polis.
BECAME ISTANBUL. THIS, AS ALWAYS, SIGNIFIES MORE Interestingly, this name was transferred to the Ot-
THAN JUST A NAME CHANGE. toman era. The word Istanbul may be traced to the
Greek polise. The Ottomans, even when they had
Each toponymic change is a manifestation of ra- long forgotten and/or didnt care who Constantinus
dical differentiation in urban space and a change was, chose to call their capital Kostantiniyye, a
in its social meaning. During these changes, the name derived from his name. But they also called it
city of Antiquity evolved into the imperial capital Istanbul, Islambol and Dersaadet. A world of names
of Late Antiquity. The rural city re-founded by and meanings was constructed, each bringing up
BECOMING ISTANBUL
a different constellation of references. Moreover, was formed from the sum of a series of fixed sin-
the world of toponymies and meanings constructed gularities, faced erosion. Cosmopolitan rapidly
here was not retrospective, but a world of coeval became a dirty word and homogeneity was defined
validity. Undoubtedly, for the person who called the as the goal in the emerging environment. Almost
city Islambol, the Islamic identity of the city was to every ethno-religious group had begun to construct
the fore. Those who preferred the name Dersaadet its own nationalism and its modern imagined
(gate of happiness) emphasized the fact that the identity. This meant almost every ethno-religious
city was the centre of Ottoman sovereignty. Kostan- group forming the will to detach itself from that
tiniyye indicated political continuity deemed im- plurality, although, with the great plurality it host-
portant by the Ottoman central administration. ed, Istanbul suggested otherwise. When the First
The use of the name Constantinopolis reflected the World War ended and the Ottoman State was dis-
dream of an Orthodox and Greek (or more generally solved, however, the new Republic of Turkey borne
Christian) city. A series of different names valid in out of the struggle of rival nationalisms set out with
Eastern Europe and the Near East should be added its decision to shape Istanbuls fate in that direc-
to these names. All of these names illustrated the tion. This place now had to become a Turkish city
largest city of a family of cosmopolitan settlements with an ethnically singular identity. This target was
in the Eastern Mediterranean basin that once had easy to attain. The Great Economic Depression of
many members. This was a type of cosmopolitan- 1929 took the population of European origin away
ism which allowed for differences, but only when along with European capital. The local components
they were contained within the rigidly defined sta- of Ancient Eastern Mediterranean cosmopolitan-
tuses of ethno-religious groups. It could be argued ism deserted the city step by step in an interval
that each difference was considered normal as long stretching from the 1920s to the early 1970s. The
as it had been accepted as the general characteristic singularisation foreseen by nationalist imagina-
of a certain group. tion appeared to have been established. However,
despite ideological engagements pointing in the
From the beginning of the 19th century on, tra- opposite direction, a new cosmopolitanism of the
ditional cosmopolitanism, the plurality of which city was slowly being constructed in place of the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
crumbling traditional cosmopolitanism. The city the city became an empty category where count-
of fixed communities and statuses, where inflow less existences and meanings could be produced,
and outflow was strictly controlled, now set out categorised under a single name, yet never filled.
to become a city shaped by countless parameters In the same manner that this metropolis itself has
of individualities, preferences, expressions, inter- turned into an empty space which can contain
ests, groupings and separations. After the 1980s different lifestyles, different existences, different
in particular, a common metropolitan pluralism preferences, is open to all manner of expression,
emerged, and continues to, in the city. It became or at least has this potential more than ever, and
an environment of spontaneous freedom where more than any other place in the Eastern Mediter-
the oppression of recurrent totalitarian orienta- ranean Becoming Istanbul is about the process
tions collides with the common pluralism of the where the city lost its traditional cosmopolitanism
metropolis. This characteristic of the city is be- and started producing modern cosmopolitanisms.
coming increasingly evident. The ironic aspect It defines a semiotic discharge.
of the process is how this modern metropolis sin-
gularized its name although it opened itself up Uur Tanyeli
to the outward expression of pluralities. Today,
for everyone, it is only Istanbul. The dream of na-
tionalist pioneers has been realized almost in an BICYCLE
instant. They had wanted to put Kostantiniyye out
A TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE THE RESIDENTS OF
of use because of its link to the Byzantine era and ISTANBUL HAVE NEVER MANAGED TO ACCEPT AND
Dersaadet because it evoked the Ottoman past. MAKE PEACE WITH. [ED.]
They succeeded on a universal scale. During the
phase of homogenisation beginning in the 1920s, A European would never imagine riding a bicycle
the city forgot its countless old names. It general- in the streets of Istanbul (locals wouldnt either, as
ized the name Istanbul, which was the least po- a matter of fact). The flow of traffic in the streets is
litical, least religious and least ethnic among the so overpowering that it is impossible to conceive
names in use. It became Istanbul. The name of of the bicycle as an alternative to a four-wheeled
BECOMING ISTANBUL
vehicle, or even the motorcycle. Reckless car dri- seriously as a transport vehicle in 1914: bicycles
vers lack a sense of civility and also appear comp- crossing the bridge had to pay a higher toll than
letely ignorant of traffic rules and the meaning pedestrians.
of traffic signs. The topography of the city is not
very inviting to the cyclist either. Still, the bicycle Women only began to ride bicycles after the
is not unknown to the streets of Istanbul, nor is it proclamation of the Republic. Popular magazines
unfamiliar to its people. from the 1930s called for the modern Turkish
woman to be active in sport and ride the bicycle.
Newspapers of the period record that the visit Photographs from the period showing women in
of an American cyclist in the late nineteenth cen- shorts riding bicycles prove that the demand did
tury attracted hordes of people and the traveller exist. However, it was probably not widespread
was deemed important enough to be introduced among women and the women in the pictures
to the governor. In fact, there are reports claiming were probably the daughters of a more elite sec-
that almost thousand people flocked to the streets tion of society. The literature of the period fea-
of Ankara where he arrived on the latter part of tures short stories approving of women practicing
his journey. Sales adverts in newspapers reveal sports and especially riding bicycles. After all,
that shortly after this event bicycles did come into cycling revealed the athletic figure of women,
demand in Istanbul. Vlocipde, the French word and this presented an advantage when looking
for bicycle, was adapted into Turkish as velospid, for a partner. The first bicycle race for women in
and the sons of wealthy families who preferred a Istanbul was held somewhat later in 1955.
Western life style became the first to ride them.
A young man called Ahmet Tevfik published the Before the automobile industry boom and
journals of a trip he made with a friend to the Mar- especially after the Second World War, the bicycle
mara region in 1900. The Ottoman army, a pioneer was used as a vehicle of transportation. Sadly, the
of modernisation, featured a bicycle brigade at the bicycle gradually lost its place in the daily life of
turn of the century. A regulation implemented on Istanbul and the minds of people because of the
Galata Bridge shows that the bicycle was taken increasing use of the automobile, the extreme
BECOMING ISTANBUL
expansion of the city and the transformation of owners. Nevertheless, bicycles are still on the wish
comfort into a symbol of luxury and status. Today list of children and are among the favourite gifts
the motive for most cyclists is sport or physical for good school reports. Especially in the first days
exercise. The number of bicycle shops and repair of summer, it is still possible to catch a glimpse
stations is on the increase and these places have of children proudly riding their brand new shiny
become meeting points for people who love rid- bikes on pavements or calmer roads.
ing their bikes. Most cyclists ride at the weekend,
along the limited cycling routes designed by the It would still probably be correct to say that
municipality or at the Princes Islands. Some other bicycle use has dwindled. Many people and espe-
groups meet on the outskirts of the city and tour cially mothers are afraid of everything, in which
in the woods or in the countryside. One sees only cycling may be included. They may allow their
a few cyclists in the city, and they greet each other kids to cycle in the presumably safe gated com-
with real enthusiasm. It is turning into a mission munities, but many children dont even learn how
for cyclists to promote the bicycle. Moreover, it to ride a bicycle because of the danger of falling
will soon become a necessity to place the popu- off. Therefore, when you say you cycle to work as
larisation of bicycles back on the agenda, since it a woman you get mixed reactions ranging from
will soon become impossible to get to work and envy to praise, because people do have bicycles at
back home on time judging by the increase of the home but do not possess the courage to ride them.
number of vehicles on the roads, and the number One sometimes also comes across an expression
of bicycles and scooters will inevitably increase, of pity, because for them one has to have lost their
if, of course, idleness doesnt win the day. The mind, and would soon also lose their lives in at-
municipality claims it plans to build a 630 km tempting such a thing. Whats more, they think, it
network of cycling routes. In fact, according to sur- is impossible to understand why one would waste
veys, 80% of people stated they would be willing so much energy outside the gym.
to cycle to and from work if more cycling routes
were available. Unfortunately, exisiting cycling But what is the actual truth? Are cyclists who
routes are mostly used as parking spaces by car go out in traffic really mad? Wont the drivers in
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Istanbul feign to run over a woman cyclist just eye-level, you may accidentally depart with your
to have fun? In fact, women might even be at an right eye on the end of a hook.
advantage, considering driving and cars are status
symbols and matters of honour for men. For male The heroic acts of the female cyclist alone will
cyclists are no different than male drivers. When of course not be enough, the citys steep slopes
cyclists rapidly overtake cars both from the left really not being best suited to constant cycling up
and the right, the male drivers pride is hurt and and down. City bikes with only a few gears arent
he may immediately want to remind the cyclist suited for the hills, and racing bikes with slender
of her vulnerability. But if you dont feel humili- wheels are not the best idea because of the holes
ated, follow the right lane at a normal speed and in the roads. Helmets are strongly recommended
let cars pass, you might just be surprised how not only for safety or because of regulations; but
polite macho male drivers, including taxi and bus because the helmet provides the cyclist with the
drivers, can be. One of the best strategies which image which drivers and police officers take se-
saves lives in traffic is not to make a move before riously. After all, presenting the right image is
establishing eye contact with the drivers. far more important in Turkish society than the
essence of the matter.
Another group as dangerous as car drivers
demands attention when cycling along the coast Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go
or the now expanded pavements: fishermen with before the bicycle is regarded as a respectable
their long rods. They occupy the entire pavement vehicle by all. Until then, the bicycle and the cy-
as if it belongs to them, and they are careless clist will continue to be taken as seriously as Don
enough to sling out their rods without checking Quixote and his horse Rosinante.
their backs, and thus the hook may easily catch
in the cyclists helmet. The danger carries on even Zeynep Kuban
if you cycle on the street, because some of their
rods stick out too far when they are leant on rail-
ings out towards the traffic. And since they are at
BECOMING ISTANBUL
BIENNIAL manent, created by the juxtaposition of projects,

art works and real urban situations. Research into
INAUGURATED TO GRANT ISTANBUL THE STATUS OF A the spatiality of most Istanbul biennials would
BIENNIAL-CITY, BUT GRADUALLY TRANSFORMED INTO
A STATUS DEFINITION WITH ITS SINGLE REFERENCE reveal the urban transformation of Istanbul and
REMAINING ISTANBUL. A FORTUNATE CHANGE. [ED.] the strange, indescribable situations involved in
this process of transformation. In this context,
The question Im most frequently asked by another aspect of the Istanbul biennial is the fact
visitors within the exhibition and project areas that it has shifted into reverse contradicting the
of Istanbul biennials is, Where is the biennial? claim that biennials mainly serve as accelerating
Ironic, but actually asked navely, I wonder if this catalyst of the citys culture, its festivalisation, as
real question is about the visitors point of view they contribute to the branding of the city and be-
regarding contemporary art or about defining come instrumentalized in urban transformations.
the production of art at the biennial in the midst
of Istanbuls chaos. I can say that among all the Compared to other biennials across the world,
biennials of the world, the Istanbul Biennial fo- the Istanbul Biennial stands out for its spatial
cuses most on urban space and reflects urban proposals for the exhibition other than the main
problems. Istanbul, in contrast to biennials real- exhibition area, Antrepo (a warehouse on the Bos-
ized in other geographical zones, lies amid such phorus). In fact, these proposals are given such
zones, hosts various urban cultures and reflects importance in the foreign press that a renowned
contemporary street-level and urban problems English art critic wrote in his article in Artforum
in a sprawling, multiple way, thus presenting the that he had difficulty finding the Kadky Public
Istanbul Biennial with a multitude of materials. Education Centre, an exhibition site of the 10th
The most attractive dimensions of the art proj- Istanbul Biennial (2007) on the Anatolian side,
ects in the biennial, apart from presenting and even though he took a taxi. Another example of
opening to discussion a representation they have the disturbance the elite viewer felt took place at
worked towards is the temporary surreal states, a book launch for a biennial project (Oda Projesi
which also possess the potential to become per- and Otto Berchem) at the Tobacco Warehouse in
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Tophane during the 9th Istanbul Biennial, where regarding the city and modern life styles (Solmaz
contemporary art viewers were juxtaposed with Shahbazis video), the chaos between the life-strata
the local men from Siirt spending all day in the of Istanbul was placed on the agenda with proposals
coffee house next door. These examples are the from artists to include the unremarked perceptions
kind of disturbances we would not come across of the city of street children and the youth of the
in exhibitions like the Venice Biennale, which has city (Otto Berchems project). The 10th Istanbul
now merged with romantic urban tourism. Biennial (2007), focusing on the use of urban space
and its transformation by global neo-liberal strat-
In previous Istanbul Biennials Ottoman and egies, as a first course of action directly defined
Byzantine structures were predominant; and the spaces like the AKM (Atatrk Cultural Centre) and
works of art generally referenced the medium of the M (the Istanbul Textile Traders Market) under
work (video, object, painting, installation, etc.), the threat of demolition and transformation by local
space and the memory of the space. These space- administrations as exhibition spaces. These build-
and installation-focused presentations took a dif- ings and the social heritage they represent, their
ferent turn with the 9th Istanbul Biennial (2005). status as modernist proposals, were opened up
With Istanbul as its main theme, the 9th Bien- to public discussion along with the interventions
nial shifted from the historic peninsula towards of contemporary artists. The use of many exhibi-
Pera and the streets of Istanbul, that is to say to tion and project spaces in various parts of Istanbul
spaces that would touch upon social and cultural during the biennial drew attention to the recently
differences. The 2005 Biennial put on view Istan- much-debated definition in the public sphere of
buls potential, relations between individuals and the city in transformation. Video screenings made
particular aspects of the city, through artists re- not only at city art centres but also on its outskirts,
search and proposals. In addition to topics like the on the periphery, in different neighbourhoods and
global phenomenon of the secure settlement areas on the streets (Nightcomers) were proposed so as
which proliferated on the peripheries of cities in to examine public and private spheres in differ-
the 2000s, the gated housing estates, (see Gated ent corners of the city. The Dutch artists Bik Van
Housing Estate) the view of various individuals der Pol, who carried out research on everyday life
BECOMING ISTANBUL
in neighbourhoods and districts under the threat too. Bilbao-Guggenheim and other such artistic
of privatisation, observed 59 areas in Istanbul in catalysts, many artistic spaces and large-scale
their project. The Sulukule neighbourhood where global activities, all have shown potential to trig-
Roma live is under pressure from urban renewal ger or contribute to specific outcomes in urban
and transformation. The neighbourhood has been transformation. The exact opposite is happening
putting up a struggle against regional administra- in the context of the Istanbul Biennial.
tions in a joint initiative of its inhabitants and the
Sulukule Platform, an independent formation. The Pelin Tan
Chinese artist Wong Hoy Cheong communicated
the problems of the people of Sulukule under threat > Gated Housing Estate
of displacement by creating a collaborative video-
animation work with the inhabitants and the ini-
tiative active in the neighbourhood. BYZANTIUM
On the other hand, many initiatives and col- TO CONTEMPORARY ISTANBULITES (AND TURKS IN
lectives which took part in activities affiliated GENERAL), IT SIGNIFIES FAR MORE THAN AN OLD
NAME OF THE CITY AND CULTURAL ACCUMULATION
with the biennial, produced research projects at OF A THOUSAND YEARS.
various opportunities to actively make their voices
heard and to struggle against the state-supported The word itself didnt exist in the Turkish langua-
marketing of Istanbul and the increase of profit- ge from the conquest of the city by the Ottomans
seeking behaviour. until the late 19th century. For example, when
Mehmed II (see Fatih Sultan Mehmet) added
Will the instrumentalisation of art and ar- Caesar among his titles after conquering the
tistic production in the name of privatisation and city, he meant he was the successor of Rome, not
normalisation serve cultural transformation with- the continuation of the Byzantine Empire. After
in the processes of urban transformation? The Mehmed II, to a large extent this claim lost its
question may be asked for the Istanbul Biennial importance. Istanbul continued to be known as
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Kostantiniyye in official texts until the end of which was begun in the 1780s. For the first time,
the 19th century, clearly indicating the link of a Muslim Ottoman intellectual eliminates the
its origin to Constantine. However, 15th to 18th legends from the history of Hagia Sophia to give a
century Ottoman texts on the history of the city brief history. A process which may be termed the
never mention that it was the centre of a different normalisation of Istanbuls past was perhaps
civilisation and that in fact it was the focal point about to begin. However, with the foundation of
of a specific political organisation for a thousand a sovereign Greece as a result of the Greek inde-
years. There is not a single Ottoman period text pendence movement after the 1820s, the climate
that provides a full list of Byzantine emperors. changed. The era of nationalisms had arrived on
For example, the world history written by Nianc the agenda and there was a section among the
Mehmed Pasha in the 16th century ends the se- subjects of the Empire that considered itself the
quence of Roman sovereigns with Herakleios in continuance of Byzantium and a strong Orthodox
the early 7th century, in other words, at the time Church which underlined this claim. Therefore,
of the spread of Islamic sovereignty into Syria just when the Ottoman ruling elite was introduc-
and Egypt. The Ottoman intelligentsia is not in- ing itself to modern historiography and also to
terested in the pre-Ottoman past of Istanbul and Antiquity and the periods that followed, it also be-
they conduct no research into it. When the topic gan, paradoxically, to generate suspicion towards
comes up they immediately revert to the field of its Greek subjects. For instance, the publication of
legends, not of history. This persistent ignorance the first Greek history in Turkish, Tarih-i skender
could be said to be oriented towards the cultural bin Filipos [History of Alexander Son of Philip]
Islamisation and Ottomanisation of the city. The is all but concurrent with the independence of
pre-Ottoman past is never evoked and forgotten. Greece.
The first indication of a change in this field is Ottoman intellectuals begin to use the term
seen in the book titled Hadikatl-Cevami [Garden Byzantium as the name of a culture and a great
of Mosques] which is an alphabetical historio- Christian empire in the last quarter of the 19th
graphic encyclopaedia of all Istanbul mosques and century. The term was transferred from Europe
BECOMING ISTANBUL
and in particular from the French cultural milieu. paranoiac levels. For example, a periodical with
They confined themselves to acquiring basic histo- the Ottoman term Kostantiniyye [Constantinople]
riographic data regarding Byzantium until the end in its title was closed by court decision in the early
of the First World War. When the First World War 1990s.
ended with defeat for the Ottoman State and the
Greek military action to capture Western Anatolia The climate did not really allow for the emer-
began, the perception of Byzantine civilisation in gence of even an intellectual interest in Byzan-
Turkey underwent a rapid change. With their gaze tium. So much so that even now, there isnt a
set on taking over the country, the occupation of Museum of Byzantine Art or a Centre of Byzantine
the Greek army that extended almost into Cen- Studies in this city, the capital of the Byzantine
tral Anatolia transformed architectural remains Empire. There are a handful of specialists who
of Byzantine civilisation into contemporary en- work on Byzantine history, art and architecture
emies. Buildings over a thousand years old that in Turkey, a country where there are more than 70
had continued to exist in many Anatolian cities up universities. A series of symbolic initiatives were
until then were deliberately destroyed during this also invented to enlarge the historical interval sev-
period. For instance, the Eflatun Mesjid in Konya, ering Istanbul from Byzantium. The conquest of
the Saint Clementus Church in Ankara and the Istanbul by the Ottomans, which no one thought
Koimesis Church in znik fell victim to this reac- of celebrating for centuries until 1953, is celebrated
tion and were dynamited. Bizans was now loaded today with an emphasis that increases annually.
with negative connotations in Turkish. Clashes A significant percentage of people expect a con-
between the Turkish and Rum communities in stant repetition of the fact that Istanbul belongs
Cyprus in the early 1960s expanded further the to the Turks. Wide segments of the population
fields of this fight which even went on to include suffer from a nationalist fever they have devel-
historiography. Efforts at forgetting and denial oped which encourages the belief that a signifi-
continued into later decades. There were also cant international conspiracy may be devised to
times when the psychosis of seeing Turkey and all reclaim it. This suspicion can also be observed
Turks in general surrounded by enemies reached in certain administrative organs. For instance, at-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
tempts to study and restore Byzantine structures stanza of social and human weaknesses. In brief,
in Istanbul in collaboration with European and both Istanbul and Turkey still have a Byzantium
American specialists are frowned upon. Use of problem.
exclusively national resources and specialists is
preferred. To say the least, this type of collabora- Uur Tanyeli
tion is not encouraged. However, such collabora-
tions take place at countless Ancient Greek and > Fatih Sultan Mehmet
Roman sites across Anatolia. On the other hand,
there are also Islamist and/or nationalist social
groupings that demand the re-conversion into CAKE SHOP
a mosque of Hagia Sophia, the most important
Byzantine church, converted into a mosque in A PLACE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE IN THE CULTURAL
1453, becoming a museum in 1935. NURTURING OF THE CITY.
In such a cultural-political atmosphere, popu- Istanbul pastaneleri [cake shops] The words
lar media embarked upon the ethical condemna- may not evoke a response on a world-scale, consi-
tion of Byzantium in novels from the 1920s on dering other western metropolises are rightfully
and in historical films from the 1960s on. In such famous in this matter However, it was the pe-
narratives, Byzantium is characterized by means ople who once took part in the urban life of them
of a series of ethically degraded, unreliable and that renders the phrase significant. I dont mean
deceitful actions. It is illuminating enough that marron de guis, bavaroise or profiterole. More
the name of a feature film made in the 1990s which than these, it is the loss of an Istanbul experience
partially criticized and partially exploited this with its local character and the variety it brought
psychosis was titled Kahpe Bizans [Backstabbing to neighbourhoods.
Byzantium]. In this sense, Byzantium was not a
city, a political organism or a cultural field. It is Whichever period one takes, the place to look
constructed in the popular imagination more as a to understand the eating and drinking culture in
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Istanbul is stiklal Caddesi (see stiklal Caddesi or shops named after a neighbourhood in Istanbul
"Beyolu"). Beyolu, which began to form from or Istanbul itself in many of the bigger boroughs
the 18th century on around foreign embassies, and smaller provinces in Anatolia. For it is easier
with its bon march shop windows, theatres and to keep that object of desire alive via eating and
restaurants and cake shop established during the drinking.
current of modernisation, triggered the forma-
tion of the profile of a new urbanite, different It wouldnt be wrong to say that cake shop are
from the traditional inhabitant of Istanbul (see loved most by writers. This tradition continued
Istanbulite). For people coming from different from the 30s to the 80s, flaring up and dying down
neighbourhoods, looking at the fashionable shop from time to time. Many did go to Baylan in the
windows lining the gaslit illuminated Grand Rue 50s and the Divan Patisserie in the 80s just to see
de Pera was a European experience. One could Attila lhan. From the second half of the 60s on,
claim that the golden age in the chronology of cake Istanbul became crowded through migration but
shop, which preserved their 19th century tea and was deserted by the non-Muslims, and the cake
cake room characteristics until the Republican shops were replaced by muhallebi (a type of milk
Period, among eating and drinking places was pudding) shops as meeting places.
the 30s and the 50s. The cake became the source
for augmenting, inscribing in memory a spatial When the people who keep culture alive
experience through the senses of taste and smell. change, places change too. This is the reason we
The slice brought home from a cake shop was also have the simit palaces (see Simit Saray) belea-
a slice of Beyolu, and/or a slice of Europe. guering stiklal Street. Patisserie Markiz, the vet-
eran of the street, can only be kept alive by being
Read from Anatolia, the cake shop is a place transformed into a branch of an international
that symbolizes the West, just like Istanbul. From coffee chain.
this perspective it is possible to propose that if Is-
tanbul was the name of something to eat, it would Today, some cake shops are still the place for
be a cake. This is the reason why there are cake meeting with special nostalgic Istanbul flavours
BECOMING ISTANBUL
(see Nostalgia). Special Jewish, Greek, Armenian as well as their passengers. The first ever car ferry
and Syriac festival pastries and the kandil [a holy ever was produced for the Bosphorus. Hseyin
night in Islam] festival pastry are included in the Haki Effendi and his friends skender Effendi and
product range of the same cake shop. On the other Chief Architect Master Mehmed designed the first
hand, the cake shop has lost its uniqueness, its car ferry in the world. The outstanding features
pull as a place, its character along with its rooms of the design were the ramps at both ends of the
to host its customers. Baklava and other tradi- ferry that could be lowered to the shore and its
tional pastries with erbet have long taken their ability to travel at full speed in both directions.
place next to the cakes in the window. Madeleine The main deck was reserved for vehicles and the
chocolate and lokum are side by side. It could be upper deck for passengers. The name of this first
said that Istanbul has Istanbulified the cake shop. car ferry in the world was Suhulet. Suhulet was
produced at the Maudslay Sons & Fields Shipyard
Funda Uz Snmez
in London by the order of the irket-i Hayriye
(see irket-i Hayriye City Maritime Lines), the
Ottoman maritime company; the ferry making its
> Istanbulite, stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu",
first scheduled trip between skdar and Kabata.
Nostalgia, Simit Saray
Sultan Abdlaziz awarded Hseyin Haki Effendi
medals for his achievement.
CAR FERRY
Despite the bridges connecting the two con-
A SEA VESSEL THIS CITY DIVIDED BY THE BRANCHES
tinents, the car ferry is still widely used today, as
OF THE SEA CANNOT DISPENSE WITH DESPITE THE sea transport continues to have advantages over
EXISTENCE OF COUNTLESS BRIDGES. [ED.] transport by land. As long as adverse weather
conditions like fog and storms do not create an
Often referred to as arabal vapur [ferry with obstacle, the car ferry offers a quicker and more
cars], the correct phrase for it is the araba vapuru enjoyable journey compared to that by land. Peo-
[car ferry]. It is a ship designed to carry vehicles ple step out of their vehicles to sip their tea while
BECOMING ISTANBUL
enjoying the Bosphorus view from the deck of the air formed by the ferrys tailwind thus transports
car ferry. In addition to travelling across the Bos- other living creatures along with you too.
phorus, the schedule of the car ferry also includes
trips to some of the islands in the Marmara Sea Car ferries are more familiar with the sea than
such as the Marmara Island. other ferries, because they have been designed to
carry vehicles, not people. As such, they are more
If you board a car ferry operating between Ha- open to the wind and the view of the sea than
rem and Eminn, you will witness varying de- other ferries. Perhaps this is why some of us like
mographic features such as the age and gender of them the more for it.
passengers at different times of the day. For instance,
in the mornings and evenings, you will meet with Blent Usta
commuters. Indeed, these passengers often know
each other because they board the ferry at the same
> irket-i Hayriye City Maritime Lines
times. But at other hours the passenger spectrum
varies greatly. The reason for this is the two centres
the car ferry ferries passengers to: Harem, where the
CARETAKER
bus terminal is located, and Sirkeci, a cosmopolitan
and touristy area of Istanbul. On the car ferry to CARETAKERS IN APARTMENT BUILDINGS CLEAN
islands in the Marmara, you come across domes- COMMON AREAS; OPERATE THE CENTRAL HEATING
tic and foreign tourists in the summer and mostly SYSTEM, IF THERE IS ONE; COLLECT RUBBISH; FETCH
AND DISTRIBUTE BREAD, MILK AND NEWSPAPERS;
residents of the islands in the winter. An interesting SHOP FOR RESIDENTS FROM THE SUPERMARKET; AND
surprise awaits you if you get the opportunity to UNDERTAKE SMALL REPAIRS IN THE APARTMENT.
climb up to the upper bridge of the ship, especially
in the summer. Various insects, carried by the wind The job description of the caretaker, who attained
over the sea from one landmass to another, fly over official worker status in the 1970s and is included
the ferry and, in fact, sometimes collide with you in the Commonhold Ownership Law, has been de-
and continue their travel on board. The corridor of termined by the TSE [Turkish Standards Institute].
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Accordingly, a caretaker must speak Turkish in groups live, create a form of social hybridisation
a comprehensible manner, possess the capacity in the area they settle in. At the point where the
properly to fulfil at least 4 tasks, have sufficient private and public are distributed, the care-
knowledge of mathematics and be in possession taker is the shield guarding the intimacy of the
of such fundamental traits as being trustworthy apartment/the family. The caretaker prevents
and confidential. the entry of a foreigner not perceived as an en-
emy in smaller towns, but potentially the evil
Caretakers often live on the basement floor of from beyond in Istanbul entering the building.
the apartment they work in and the conditions of The caretaker is also a tool for middle and upper
their flats bear no resemblance to those upstairs. middle income groups to crystallize their class
This means that the caretaker is expected to be at position. In the way that it was presented in the
the ready 24/7 to several employers on the border Caretaker Cafer character in the Bizimkiler [Our
between the public and the private, in his low- Lot] television series or the Seyit character in the
comfort living unit, waiting on the call of a direct film Kapclar Kral [King of the Caretakers], the
bell-entryphone system. In some Istanbul neigh- caretaker was an important actor in the changing
bourhoods, the job of the caretaker has expanded dynamics of Istanbul in 80s Turkey.
to take in the cleaning, the daily newspaper and
bread distribution and the rubbish collection of The job of a caretaker job is not advertised in
more than one apartment. any job advert and is rather published by word of
mouth, echoing community relations and pat-
Caretakers, who entered our lives with the terns of migrant settlement in particular areas.
process of apartmentalisation and whose rights Caretaker jobs in Istanbul are often all but shared
were legally defined in the 70s, foreigners inside out even when the apartment is still being con-
to use the phrase coined by Gl zyein, are often structed. Homogeneous districts form in neigh-
members of low income groups, having migrated bourhoods according to the places caretakers
to the city. Caretaker families, who because of the come from. The news, information transmission
job settle in areas where middle and upper income and support network formed by caretakers in Is-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
tanbul facilitates their existence in the city in a CEMETERY

manner unseen in the yellow pages. The lifestyles
and expectations of caretakers change, while on OUTDOOR SPACE WITH BOTH TEMPORARY AND
PERMANENT USERS. NECROPOLIS-BURIAL GROUND-
the other hand they interact with and transform CHURCHYARD - CHARNEL HOUSE-SEPULCHRE-
the social structure they inhabit. GRAVEYARD-BONEYARD-ETERNAL RESTING PLACE.
The caretaker has brought about the deroga- The word for grave in Turkish, mezar, comes from
tory definition caretaker family, indicative of the word ziyaret in Arabic, meaning to visit. Its
a lower social stratum. The caretaker often per- dictionary definition in Arabic is a place which
forms his tasks with the help of other members of one visits, but in Turkish the word changed its
the family. His children go to pay the bills of the meaning to become the place where a person
residents and distribute newspapers and bread. is buried. One could say that there hasnt been
The wives of caretakers often earn money from that much of a shift in the meaning of the word,
domestic cleaning in the apartment they live or in given that, in addition to the fact that one can
the vicinity. The accelerated increase in the post- visit a grave for commemoration and remem-
2000s of gated communities (see Gated Housing bering whenever one wants, new developments
Estate) and high-security inner-city apartments have taken place (!) in our time which allow grave
where upper income groups live transforms the visits to be made via the Internet too. When gra-
concept of the caretaker as we know it into an veyards contain streets and dead-ends, squares,
apartment attendant and the caretaker family is fountains and entrance buildings and are found
increasingly replaced by more professional service adjacent to a religious site or the garden of some
units in upper-middle class residential areas too. other building, they begin to outline an urban
space. On the other hand, sometimes one passes
Evren Uzer through cemeteries to reach a coffee house with
a view, and sometimes they are obscure areas one
> Gated Housing Estate passes by silently without wanting to see whats
behind the high walls. Its a dark, frightening,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
tense, cold, distant and withdrawn image, created However, the historical significance of cem-
over the years by various books and films calling eteries has often not been known or acknowledged.
up an alien place arousing curiosity. Partly for this For example, the Early Period of the Republic is
reason, the relationship between the inhabitants fraught with examples of this lack of awareness.
of the city and cemeteries that are a part of urban During this period, when urban development was
culture and everyday life is broken. Ordinary pe- on the agenda, cemetery sites provided fertile stag-
ople are content to know that the city has its share es for the formation of strong symbols in the devel-
of greenery with the cypress, plane and even Judas opment of the city like stadiums, opera buildings
trees taking root within their grounds. However, and recreational areas. Cemeteries made into plots
cemeteries are open-air museums for researchers of land became areas which could be changed and
from various disciplines. Reflections of culture transformed just like the city itself and upon which
and modernisation to the concept and rituals of the central authority could exercise its will. Surp
death may be examined in cemeteries. Cemeteries Agop, Ayaspaa, Abbasaa, Kasmpaa Aklar and
have variously, at different times, played a role in the Kadky Rum Cemeteries are just a few of these.
the transmission of change and modernisation It was the Municipality Law, which contained the
and at times in the creation of tradition. decision to transfer cemeteries from the General
Directorate of Foundations to municipalities that
Gravestones and their inscriptions reflect the accelerated efforts to clear cemeteries within the
worlds of thought, emotion, belief and understand- city. The municipality was given the right to use,
ing of the period they belong to. Their change in sell, rent, expropriate or release for construction
time is a social text that sheds light on history and the cemeteries, cemetery sites and, indeed, any
provides clues to the political, social and economic foundation property transferred to the municipal-
structure of their period. Gravestones also bear sto- ity under this law.
ries of the identity, social status, life story, events,
emotions and thoughts of the person buried be- The decision to turn cemeteries into plots of
neath them. The centre of this cemetery culture, land leaves authorities facing the problem of the
which was exported to the country from the end transfer of gravestones. The fate of gravestones
of the 15th century on, was Istanbul. sold uponreceiving no applications by grave own-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ers to notifications regarding their removal pub- within society. For example, one may claim that
lished in newspapers is to be stacked neatly in the transfer of the Surp Agop Cemetery to the
stonemasons workshops to be evaporated into municipality is a sanction applied to Armenians
use as construction material. During this process, in respect of economic means. By depriving the
grave owners do not object to the transfer and community of the revenues it could have obtained
there is no debate on the historical value of the in various ways from the plot of land, the idea
stones. Although some do stand up and say, The must have been to reduce their influence within
destruction of gravestones is nothing but a genu- a system where they werent considered a com-
ine act of vandalism, their voices are never heard. ponent in the first place anyway.
Among limited reactions to this process, some While, on one hand, cemeteries within the
non-Muslims do manage to get their voices heard. city are being removed entirely, the effort, on the
They defend their rights against the obligation to other, to create modern cemeteries outside the
transfer the cemeteries they claim as their own city is a reflection of the relationship with the
over to the municipality. The new national con- past. This is such that that the particular condi-
struct of the Republican period inevitably others tions and priorities of the period require the get-
certain social groups within the country in the ting rid of the old which bears the traces of the
process of the construction of the imagined social past and the construction of the new in its place.
structure. Within this context, the liquidation of The nation-state intending to integrate with the
non-Muslim cemeteries within the city can be Western-centred world system via Westernisa-
seen as an attempt at othering. According to the tion and modernisation aimed for a renewal of
belief that non-Muslims do not belong in the new Istanbuls image. Cemeteries received more than
national social , they have often been forced out of their share of this renewal.
the system they inhabit by being taken together as
a whole rather than as Armenians, Greeks or Jews Sla Durhan
(see Minority). The intervention mostly takes the
form of the narrowing of their field of influence > Minority
BECOMING ISTANBUL
CENTRE the sitting room. Strangers, in other words, guests,

are met with here. This is where one chats with
THE OLD PERSIAN PROVERB WHICH CLAIMS SAFETY them. The most valuable, most opulent things
IS ON THE PERIPHERY MAKES THE MOST SENSE IN are kept here and displayed in glass cabinets. The
ISTANBUL. [ED.] children of the house, in other words the rebel-
lious elements, are kept away from this part of
The centre of life in the middle class regions of the house. Therefore sometimes the door of the
my countrys structure is the sitting room. guestroom is even kept locked in some houses.
The centre for meeting the world in the house is
The sitting room is often small. Always the guestroom. But the guestroom is also the point
smaller than you expect. Close, but only very close of the house that is carefully concealed from life.
friends can be entertained here. The place is full
of worthless things, tawdry you might say, even An entire middle class in Turkey, both those
considering the host, but they still have their sto- who call themselves conservative and those who
ries and may be deciphered. The parents treat dont, have arrived at this division of home and
the children in an entirely different, relaxed and life. There is not one, but a thousand and one rea-
tolerant manner in the sitting room. Almost ev- sons for this holy compromise.
erything the imagination of the family can contain
is permissible in the sitting room. And the water And every city in Turkey, along with Istanbul,
finds its way in. Life always flows towards the tiny invests in the guestroom when the opportunity
sitting room in the house. The centre for meeting comes up. Meet one another there, makes sure to
life in the house is the sitting room. However, be seen by the other there, get together there.
the sitting room is also the point of the house that But still cant help returning, at the earliest conve-
is insistently concealed from the world. nience, to the sitting room and being happy there.
These houses also have a guestroom. The You will see, anyway you probably already
guestroom is, if possible, at least twice the size of have, that Turkey loves non-places, shopping
BECOMING ISTANBUL
centres (see Shopping Centre), airports more than The cinmatographe (1895), an invention of
the rest of the world. the Lumire brothers, entered not Istanbul, at
first, but the imperial palace of the Ottomans to-
Because in Turkey they take those who dont wards the end of 1896. A private journal reveals
hide from life, and dont hide their life to the that Bertrand, an artist of performances charged
police centre. with introducing the latest innovations in France
to the palace, had exhibited the ingenuities of the
In Turkey the centre is not the place where cinematograph with the magical screen he set up
you express yourself, where you can express your- in a room in Yldz Palace. Bertrand introduced
self. In Turkey the centre is where you are exam- the first film screening to Sultan Abdlhamid II as
ined. a show like Karagz [traditional shadow puppet
show] with photographs. The spectators were to
Im writing this in the sitting room. It would see the shadow of reality on the screen with the
be impossible to come up with it in the guestroom, dimming of the lights in the room; the trick was in
even under torture. the light trapped in the box; and he translated the
words, LArrive du Train en Gare de la Ciotat
Gkhan zgn [Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station], reading
them out loud as mendferle Seyahat [Train
> Shopping Centre Journey]. As this journey in time and space came
to an end within a few minutes, only fearful looks
remained in the eyes of the spectators from the
CINEMA reality of the shadows. Once they perceived that
what they had seen consisted only of appearances,
THE MECHANICAL REPRESENTATION OF ANY the device was dignified as the truth box. How-
MATERIAL REALITY. A FORM OF REPRODUCTION
WHICH BOTH REPRESENTS AND CONSTRUCTS URBAN ever, the loyalty the device showed to the truth was
IMAGINATIONS, PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES. slightly threatening for Abdlhamid II, especially
when the city needed monolithic order.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The possibility of the cinematograph entering Yet a series of optic viewing devices which
the Ottoman capital may be linked with an envi- formed the genealogy of cinema had already en-
ronment of chaos and turbulence; a time when tered the Ottoman capital from its Western gate,
wars and mutinies which followed in the wake Pera, and had been present here for over 50 years.
of the First Constitutional Monarchy were sup- The cosmopolitan Pera, gathering the heimat-
posedly suppressed and when the socio-political los, the marginal, the others and aliens within its
problems created by the Capitulations were being frame, was under occupation by moving images
covered up by the precautions of istibdat [autoc- which brought hoodwinking and modern science
racy]. In fact, if it wasnt for the official application together. The Microscope Solaire (Sun Microscope)
of the French Embassy for the use of the device show at a circus set up in Galatasaray (1843) was
in the city, Istanbul could have been introduced followed by the show of Le Grand Diorama, the
to the cinema at a far later date. In line with the moving-image device of Daguerre, the inventor
modern state seeking to institutionalize itself, of photography. The Cosmorama which exhibited
Abdlhamid II forwarded the application with its ingenuities at the Naum Theatre in 1855, intro-
a demand for an examination to the Ottoman duced audiences to phantasmagorical devices like
Science Consultancy and received a reply stating the panorama (see Panorama), georama and ne-
it was in scientific terms, a beneficial device for orama where nature, city and war images painted
humanity, although he remained anxious. The on a revolving cylinder could be observed. The
roots of this anxious regard were perhaps in Pan- moving image, evolving with the phenakistoscope
Islamism, which he conceived as the sole way of and the zootrope, approached the cinematograph
preserving the integrity of state and land. The with the representation realised by French physi-
production of images is prohibited in Islam; did cist Doumlier with the Magic Lantern (1882);
not this similarity between what the cinemato- semi-documentary, semi-fantastic images cover-
graph reflects upon the screen and reality as it is ing the screen were almost like Georges Mliss
seen mean attributing a partner to the eye of the films. Three years later, the famous Verdi Theatre
all seeing-and-knowing Allah? What would this was the stage of the illuminated painting show
European invention record and show in Istanbul? and the French legerdemainist Louis Thierry in-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
troduced his Thatre Franais de Diapanorama for Cinematograph shows which they sensed to be
with a Fountains of Turkey theme. The Karagz a profitable tool of commercial entertainment. On
Shadow Play that Bertrand had introduced as a 12th December 1896, photographer Sigmund Wein-
precursor to cinema had already become a vic- berg realized the first public film screening at the
tim of the delirium of modernity. Pera was now Sponeck Beerhouse in the Avrupa Pasaj [Europe
a phantasmagoria, a world of phantasms, where Arcade] on the street known as Grande Rue de
flaneurs obtained new visual experiences among Pera to non-Muslims and Cadde-i Kebir to Mus-
the crowd of universal commodities; whereas for lims. This historical moment was documented with
the Ottoman State it was a pseudo space-time handouts featuring the words PHOTOGRAPHE
mechanism articulated with world capitalism. VIVANTE in capital letters in French. After 1908,
according to the spatial genealogy of all optical
The move of the cinema from the illusion viewing devices, cinema viewing-rooms took over
rooms of the palace to the dream spaces of the city the street, in fact the public eventually began call-
was made possible by carving it a niche among the ing Cadde-i Kebir the cinematographers street.
other western cultural elements (music, opera, and Until the 1930s, the names of cinemas, which had
theatre) forming the intellectual universe of the begun to take over from theatres, were often, like
sultan. A cinema hall was opened in Yldz Palace their handouts and posters, in French; the Cinema
following the first screening and the state organized Path (in Tepeba, 1908) and Eclair (1909), cinemas
its own film shooting and screening activities (29 opened by the two rival French companies in the
March 1903). This date is paradoxically before the film industry, were followed by Cin Central (1910),
cinema viewing-rooms that began to be established Oriental (1911), Magique (1914), Palace (1914), Elektra
in the city after the declaration of the 2nd Constitu- (1920), Elhamra (1922), Opera (1924) etc. Cinema was
tional Monarchy (1908), because electricity could the most Western, modern and universal threshold
only be supplied across the whole of the European of the Ottoman Empire.
side in this period, providing the technological
infrastructure necessary for the cinema. Western Although the films at first consisted only of
tradesmen and businessmen did not wait until then stock films of the Lumire brothers, short cin-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ematographic experiments about world cities were cities (the poor, the unemployed and the idlers
added to them in time. Filming of the Bosphorus etc.), in Istanbul it was Western minorities and
and the Golden Horn by cinematograph operators the new Ottoman bourgeoisie. In fact, this meant
from various countries meant that Istanbul was in- that, for a certain period, cinema would be held
cluded in the film catalogue (1897) of the Lumire responsible for spatial and social divisions like
brothers. The whole city was being filmed by this western/eastern, modern/traditionalist, urban/
point; images of Istanbul travelled from one place villager. Private and public spaces became the sign
to another in the entertainment/recreation areas of the clash taking place between the Ottomanists
such as theatres, coffee houses, restaurants and representing the traditionalist wing and the elites
hotels (Htel Particulier and Pera Palas in particu- carrying out the project of modernity in the city,
lar) of Pera and even in private villas. Film began defining the characteristics of the viewer in the
to permeate the whole city following the opening meantime; the viewer was the non-Ottoman
of the Silahtaraa Power Plant (1911) but no place (see Public Space). Parallel to this, both the first
in its history would overthrow the dominance in imported feature films and their local adaptations
cinema of the land where it first flourished, i.e. of triggered changes, transformations which defined
Pera. This Bohemian civilisation on Ottoman land, class and spatial divisions like the shaping of indi-
defined, until the proclamation of the Republic, vidual rights and the institutionalisation of prop-
the borders of the westernisation-modernisation erty. Modernity became synonymous with the
of social experience as the space of sign/spectacle clich of a Western life style and the behavioural
where all types of western objects began to float. patterns, furniture and fashion synonymous with
Thus, on one hand, it led to the emergence of dif- that. The pastiche of modernity, from the 1930s on,
ferent types of people than the subjects of the is the most important reason cinema remained an
Ottoman Empire; on the other, it coded the quan- amusement of the middle and upper classes that
titative and qualitative position of the cinema adopted the westernisation project.
viewer and the viewed object. Whereas the people
who flocked to the cinema in Europe were the European cinema, in the meantime, had al-
masses most affected by the traumas of industrial ready acquired the features of an avant-garde art
BECOMING ISTANBUL
with urban readings constructing the perception of city also witnessed the emergence of domestic
modernity. Instead of this type of cinematographic production companies institutionalized under
experiments, Turkish films preferred adaptations of the name Cinema Works and a few large-scale
commercial American melodramas and were shaped film studios known as Cinema factories. Film
by their clichs. Domestic film production began created the media of the era on one hand, while
only with the move of the state to Ankara. Ironically, on the other it became an object of information
in the demographic, social and politico-economic shaping the relationship of the urbanite with cin-
dissolution process Istanbul faced after losing its ema. In addition to magazines and newspapers
status as the capital, film production helped the like the Ottoman Ferah (1914), Sinema Postas
city regain its standing and magic. No doubt the (Le Courrier du Cinema, 1923), Opra-Cin (1924),
universal equation of cinema, in other words, the Sinema Yldz (192426), Sinema Mecmuas (1924)
three constants of cinema viewer, viewing space and Trk Sinemas (Le Cin Turc, 1927) magazines
and the object (film, spatio-temporal production) including engineering journals also pioneered this
were definitive in this recovery. On the other hand, development by publishing articles on cinematic
the fact that the city allowed for the occurence of screening and the architecture and engineering of
this trio was not enough to render cinema a cultural cinematic spaces. Likewise, the worldwide cin-
institution as in Europe; for film had become an ema equation became quite important for the
intellectual and independent art form insofar as it regional administration of the city the Cemiyet-i
constructed and represented urban spatial experi- Umumiye-i Belediye with the municipality claim-
ences and experiments. Although one had to wait ing patronage of public art, culture, recreation and
until the 1950s for this when Istanbul suffered the entertainment, and starting to collect a spectacle
pangs of urbanisation, early signs of cinema shap- tax for both the construction and restoration work
ing the experience of modernity across the country of cinema buildings (see Restoration). Both because
emerged with the declaration of the Republic. of the narrow building plots and vagueness of their
ownership, Cadde-i Kebir posed problems for the
These Belle poque years when cinematog- construction of independent cinema buildings, the
raphy penetrated almost all corners of the capital municipality demanded a license for the determi-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
nation of suitable buildings from the building stock mercial films; and, taking into account strong
and their redesign for equipment for film screening competition with imports, local film output began
purposes. Despite this understandably difficult to emerge as a significant politico-economic is-
process, theatre buildings were transformed into sue. Blocking this, for a while, the Osmanl Merkez
cinemas according to the increase in demand. For Ordu Sinema Dairesi [Ottoman Central Military
instance, it is known that a white screen was Cinema Bureau] (1915) founded by German spe-
set up in the centre of the Cirque de Pra in the cialists, echoes the activities of the German Film
Halep Arcade in Beyolu for screenings; the space Corporation (Universium Film Aktiengesellschaft,
was later redesigned to host various shows and UFA, 1918), organizing itself as a collaboration of
transformed first into Varyete (1906), and then the state, army, industry and art. European cinema
French Theatre. The Skating Palace performance in general and German cinema in particular re-
hall would be transformed into the Melek Cinema garded film not only as a product for consumption
in 1924 (the Beyolu Emek Cinema of today); the but as both a discursive practice of avant-garde
media of the period report that the cinema was movements and as a scientific form of culture.
equipped with the latest marvels of science. Even Unfortunately, attempts by the Ottoman state,
in its period of infancy in Istanbul, film technology intellectuals and entrepreneurs to improve the
allowed the realisation of functions like drama, quality of film did not prove fruitful, and the end
dance, music and film screenings in the same space product was a combination of thematic Western
and total art (Gesamtkunstwerk) as Richard Wag- clichs and adaptations from domestic literature.
ner had imagined it, established itself in the city The most significant event the institution brings
thanks to the cinema. In the same period, the new to mind today is the first Turkish film shot by
Opera Cinema, opening opposite Melek, reveals founding filmmaker Fuat Uzknay in 1914 entitled
the role cinema played in the transformation of Demolition of the Russian Monument in Ayastefa-
urban space (see Urban Transformation). nos (Yeilky). Shot to document the destruction
of this difficult memory symbolizing the defeat of
The increase in number of cinema halls re- the Ottomans by the Russians in the War of 1893,
flects a demand increasing year by year for com- the film has not been preserved.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
In the same period, the German Film Corpora- Berlin, the spatio-temporal perception of which
tion produced a series of masterpieces as part of had been fragmented by transportation and com-
the movement today known as Weimar Art Cin- munication networks. Many films in this genre
ema. The significant characteristic of these films, became tools metaphorically and/or metonymi-
like many other experimental avant-garde films, cally questioning urban phenomena. On the other
was their working with the architectural aspects of hand, the reproduction of urban space using the
the process. This enabled the films to decipher the design tools of cinema (sound, light, scenery, cos-
influences of both modernism and industrialisa- tume, camera frame/angles, editing) meant that
tion on the human subject, registering the critical film developed not only in the contextual sense
view of modern art. New forms of perception of but also in terms of formal characteristics. Every
urban space, which they saw as a laboratory out of film which designs a network of time, space and
which cinematic experiment could be generated, event (or narrative) is ultimately an experience
were generated thanks to such films. Providing a of modernity translating the relationships of the
series of declarations, articles and programmes individual with the city, creating new channels
remarking films contribution to architecture and of experience and perception: both a design dis-
the city, and architectures contribution to film, course and a discursive design.
the Corporation thus resulted in theoretical work
on the interaction between film, architecture and By contrast, in place of such cinematographic
art. Films became diagrams of truth revealing how experiments and experiences expanding the reach
the problems capitalism creates in industrial cities of design practices, Istanbul became the object of
and the new forms of production-consumption a pseudo economic-politics and perhaps for this
they impose are understood. For instance, two reason never really became immanent to a culture
pioneering films by Danish-German director of modernity. Therefore, the image of the city pre-
Urban Gad, Poor Jenny (1912) shot in a worker sented in the first thirty years of the 20th century
neighbourhood in Berlin and Front Door-Back was just a touristy landscape floating on the screen
Door (1915), rendered visible how socio-economic or a sequential series of postcard views. This was a
and political issues reshaped the industrial city of consequence not simply of quantitive or technical
BECOMING ISTANBUL
inadequacies of the cinema factories as is often Istanbul] (1922), Boazii Esrar [The Mystery of
claimed, but the underdevelopment of intellectual the Bosphorus] (1922) stanbul Sokaklarnda [On
and critical views regarding the superimposed phe- the Streets of Istanbul] (1931) and ehvet Kurban
nomena of Westernisation and modernisation. In [Victim of Lust] (1939), focused on the opposition
the subsequent Republican era, the production of of the modern and the traditional in the city. For
its image, like the production of urban space, was instance, in ehvet Kurban, an adaptation of The
shaped by an ideological vision: the first related Way of All Flesh (Victor Fleming, 1927), also shown
to the construction of an mmet [community], in Pera cinemas, Istanbul is almost a symbol of the
the second, of a nation. The understanding of the perfection penned by Immanuel Kant; concepts
dream of modernity integrated with the West as like modernity, Westernness, universality and or-
the modernisation of only a certain public or a der form the spatio-temporal context of the film.
certain social class led to spatial and social struc- From the first sequence on, which opens with the
tures being formed by ruptures which could not advertisement of a bank founded along with the
be ignored. Cinematographic vision is the sign Republic, western icons compete with each other.
of this perception; urban images, after Ottoman The railways, clocks and streets painted by hap
modernisation, showing discriminatory views of Hulusi, the first Turkish graphic artist, on the win-
non-Muslims as urban and Muslim Turks and dow of a bank teller represent this ideal of national
even Armenians as villagers, forming a back- modernity. Apartment blocks, arcades, hotels,
ground to idealizing images. Cinematic narratives public buildings etc. in neighbourhoods such as
were thus constructed at times with images that Nianta, the Bosphorus, Kadky and Yeilky
were unprecendentedly modern and, at others, which developed in parallel to citys new road,
with fairy tale-like and even carnivalesque images street, block and plot organisation swim through
in the mould of orientalist hedonism. the film as if they were positive metaphors of the
negative readings attributed to the image of the
Despite being a specialist in theatre, the metropolis. We know from sources of the time
cinema of Muhsin Erturul, known for films like the film itself was lost that the city was traversed
stanbulda Bir Facia-i Ak [A Disaster of Love in by a tourist guide in stanbul Sokaklarnda [On the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Streets of Istanbul] (1931), which, despite being the The representation of the city via such films
first sound film made in Turkey, was advertised marketed abroad no doubt determined the cinemat-
in theatrical parlance as a Fantastic Show on its ic future of Turkey with the city playing a significant
promotional poster. The interior spaces designed part in every period of Turkish cinema. Although
by Vedat mer Ar who studied Fine Arts in France taking a different route to European cinema, this
and the posters which resembled the cubist lines cinematic significance of the city has also enabled
of Le Corbusiers modulor design emphasize the accumulation of archaeological, anthropologi-
the dominance of a modern language in the film. cal and ethnographic documents important for all
In shots of Galata, Topkap Palace, Haydarpaa kinds of research. In contrast to architecture, the so-
train station, Dolmabahe and the shores of the cial sciences often conceptualize cinema as a plane
Bosphorus and the Golden Horn comprising the of remembering which forms urban memory in
locations of the film, this language is replaced by ways beyond the formal or the linguistic art work.
mysterious-legendary tourist images. The spec-
tacular images of various urban icons immediately However, as many theorists have shown, the
make it clear that the film served the dream of relationship between the modern city, architec-
breaking into the European market. During his ture and cinema was based not on a simple rela-
visit to Istanbul which he called the paradise of tionship of representation but more interactively.
cities, Le Corbusier said that there were terrify- Cinema, both for its viewers and in its narrative
ing places in the heart of the city which concealed and formal characteristics, developed in Europe
a terrifying dragon, as if suggesting those zones as a phenomenon related to the production, per-
which these films concealed and left out of frame. ception and experience of the modern city. In
Cosmopolitan Istanbul is in the foreground, with other words, the relationship between the city and
its orientalesque dcor as described by Corbus- cinema is a sharing of a common fate rather than
ier in his Voyage to the East of 1911, in writer Paul some common points; this fate has been deter-
Herigos film Russian Fire (1918) set in Istanbul and mined by a series of different and variable dynam-
in The Mysterious East (1922), a film by engineer ics shaping both the ontology and epistemology
Anderes, who was a resident of Istanbul. as well as the phenomenology of metropolises.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
As early as the first decade of cinema, the frag- visibility of the modern city became such that it
mentation of the city by modernist and capitalist could only be perceived by means of technologi-
practices such as transportation, communication, cal instruments. The urban dweller has become
capital-monetary movements, information flow a spectator who can only perceive sequences
and political discourses meant that urban per- of urban space from vehicles like the train, ferry,
ception became transitive. In other words, the bus or plane.
image of the rapidly growing city in the wake of
the Industrial Revolution is actually a product of As Walter Benjamin stressed, the dreams of
the chaos, psychological shocks and challenges viewers experiencing this psychic space where
caused by dynamics such as mass-production, phantasmagoria and desire intersect with the
mass-transportation, migration and demograph- cinema and modern urban fantasies coincide
ic redistribution. The modern urban utopias of precisely because the city is both the space of
the 20th century attempt to substitute for this diverse space-time transitions, like film, and also
threatening and fragmented image a comprehen- an arena of spectacle created by the imaginary-
sible, manageable, transparent, harmonious and symbolic nature of commodities: hence, phan-
eligible ideal urban image. Physical space was tasmagoria. The cosmopolitan urban wanderer
organized according to the panorama the city (the flaneur) is the product of this image which
would present visually, and was thus defined as prevails in the city; s/he marches across the city
a series of regular zones serving functions such to its most remote corner, observes and classifies
as shelter, work, recreation, just like fragmen- the images s/he collides with and saves them in
tary film sequences. Istanbul also adopted this his/her memory; addiction to idle time and the
systematic, Hausmannian planning approach time imposed by the urban machine are su-
after 1839 following the Tanzimat [Re-/ Organ- premely contradictory since the phenomena of
isation] reforms. The transitiveness of blocks of time have now become spatial. Movement/rhythm
urban space is shaped according to surveillance is related to duration, as in cinema. In eternal har-
and the circumambient viewing of Haussmann. mony with the space-time of the urban machine
This multi-cellular and/or fragmented field of and the arteries of transportation which course
BECOMING ISTANBUL
through the city, commodity flows, transparent experiences. Towards the end of the 1920s, poetic
faades and concrete buildings destroy the urban representation of the new urban perception led
phantasmagoria of the flneur, while creating a to filmic urban symphonies bringing together
new and modern subjective experience of looking- document and editing; movement and speed of
observing, a fragmentary aesthetics. The moving the machines building the city; striking sequences
image is the product of this aesthetic which, in- which combined human eye with the mechanic
deed, served to create the optical viewing devices eye of the camera and music echoing the rhythm
that form its genealogy; film being the technical of these sequences.
and aesthetic montage of diverse time-space frag-
ments. While photomontage and collage found Modernist vision as investigated in German
a role in art, montage, as well as being a design expressionism, Italian futurism, Russian con-
tool of cinematographic production, organizes structivism and suprematism, French cubism,
mass-production. Through editing, the fragments surrealism and Dadaism embedded itself in the
that come together to construct the film form not design tools and techniques which created the
singular images but singular sequences. As language of cinematography. The aim of all such
Russian director/theoretician Sergei Eisenstein avant-gardes is to capture an abstract aesthetics
proposed, the order of montage is a phenomenal- which yet manages to expose the spatio-temporal
aesthetic construction closely resembling the practices shaping everyday urban life as it is lived.
coming together of the buildings and their struc- For the tension between abstract-concrete urban
tural components that produce the urban context. images aestheticizes the experience of the visual-
This construction manages to shape new aesthetic aural, oscillating between the fictional and the
experiences only so long as it harmonizes with the documentary. This is why urban symphonies are
possibility of the perception and reception, the also, in a sense, modern urban manifestoes.
experience of the shocks the viewer experiences
in the modern city. Avantgarde cinematographers Although somewhat neglected within the
took on the modern city as formed in this geneal- modernisation project of Republican Turkey, the
ogy as their source and began to construct urban modernisation process of Istanbul, beginning in
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the 18th century, could no doubt have produced experiences such as Guy Debords notion of psy-
although it failed to create or, at least, protect cho-geography outlined, if not of avant-garde
its own avant-garde a series of multi-layered, cinematographic experiments. 60s cinema, which
multi-semantic manifestoes. However since the aimed to bring the viewer face to face with Istan-
cinema of Istanbul could not be formed indepen- bul as it had become, was still, both thematically
dently of the citys route to westernisation and, and formally, something of an imitation; but films
lacking infrastructure and with the damage to its of the era did pioneer forms of contemporary cin-
fabric of changing politico-economic phases, it ema by discovering issues such as the city, the city
remained in a floating state. Some ersatz Istanbul dweller, urbanisation and becoming urban which
cinematic symphonies were produced, but they had not been touched upon at all before. Until the
fail to rise to the level of manifesto and consist of end of the 80s, melodramas mimicking the Ameri-
little more than one image after another and are can dream, hoping for box-office success, formed
perhaps more meaningful in the documentary the main vein of production. In the 90s cinema
category. The Symphony of Istanbul, a film shot readopted intellectual concern of 60s films; these
in 1934 by Nazm Hikmet, an important poet of films elaborating on the pressures and troubles
the Republican era who had received a cinematic caused by the then economic-political regime and
education in Russia, was noteworthy as an urban urban life constructed a critical distance in rela-
experiment although it consisted only of Istanbul tion to then current urban policies, also generated
images edited according to Russian aesthetics of a cinematic language demonstrating aesthetic
the period. concerns. Films like Zeki Demirkubuzs C Blok
[Block C] (1994), Masumiyet [Innocence] (1997) and
The city began to be transformed into an 3. Sayfa [3rd Page] (1999), Tabutta Rvaata [Som-
Anatolian mosaic with the accelerating migra- ersault in a Coffin] (Dervi Zaim, 1996), Gemide
tion of the late 40s, and, as another Istanbul poet [On Board] (Serdar Akar,1998), Lalelide bir Azize
Orhan Veli says, the centre of Istanbul became [A Patroness in Laleli] (Kudret Sabanc, 1998), the
cinema. In the 1960s, the city was the object of multi-award winner Uzak [Distant] (Nuri Bilge
films that began to become a laboratory of urban Ceylan, 2002), Anlat stanbul [Speak, Istanbul]
BECOMING ISTANBUL
(mit nal and others, 2004) conveyed images technologies simultaneously across the whole
which were veiled in urban space onto the inner world. Despite their development at a rather late
field (of the screen) and (re-)invented Istanbul as stage, there is a series of works of superior qual-
a visual experience and a field of visibility. ity in the category of film that hasnt reached the
masses or formed a relationship with the pub-
This change in cinematic language was related lic. Still, whether in these popular, commercial
to the decades-long period of incubation of global pseudofilms or in films produced as art, Istanbul
capitalism which began to take over the city in the continues to code Turkish cinema.
2000s and the urban alienation, fear, violence, pov-
erty and deprivation it caused. As for the viewers Il Baysan Serim
involved, it seems they still held Hollywood films
or their domestic derivatives in esteem. The space > Panorama, Public Space, Restoration, Shopping
of viewing is no longer the cultural climate cinema Centre, Urban Transformation
first captured in Beyolu, rather it has shifted to
the entertainment centres of global capitalism,
in other words, those controlled structures that CLEANSING
are the shopping centres (see Shopping Centre).
Multiplexes, rapidly penetrating the city, define CLEANSING IN ISTANBUL MEANS THE PURIFICATION
both the new position and the product of cinema, OF A CERTAIN AREA OF CERTAIN SIGHTS AND PEOPLE.
which is still seen as an object of entertainment-

consumption of the middle class. With the excep- Cleansing operations are often carried out under
tion of a few independent directors who follow names such as urban transformation (see Urban
in the footsteps of the design cinema of the 60s, Transformation), improvement, hygienisation
domestic films have become products of an in- and urban renewal. A typical cleansing operati-
dustry that comes up with postmodern popular on is based on the proposition that the people in
entertainments in the name of film in order to the targeted neighbourhood, district or area are
compete with films released by means of electronic living in unhygienic conditions and that these
BECOMING ISTANBUL
conditions have to be improved. This area will CONTRACTOR

usually be close to the city centre with a majority
population of immigrants and tourism potential AN URBAN ACTOR WHOSE IMPORTANCE IS NOT
APPRECIATED IN ISTANBUL.
(see Tourism), often a historical residential area.
The local administration will demolish the houses
The recent history of the contractor in Istanbul
of the people living in the area in order to improve
begins in the mid 1950s. Developments which
their living conditions and usually present them
shape the social perception of the contractor be-
with the opportunity to buy houses in a residential
gan at this time. However, one ought to take into
area on the outskirts of town whose construction
consideration the existence of antecedents of this
is about to be completed. The cleansing process is
social type in Istanbul in the late 19th century.
completed when new buildings are constructed
They used to develop and sell the plot they had
after the people living in the residential area befo-
bought into small, equal rows of houses formed
rehand have all moved away. Hereby, the area, now
presented to foreigners, is purified of sights like of a few units. The contractor-type that emerged
women washing carpets and children playing in in the mid 1950s was also an entrepreneur with
the street, women wearing headscarves, transves- little capital like them. However, in contrast to
tites, washing hanging from lines, shoes in front his antecedents, he didnt sell rows of houses but
of the door step or shabbily dressed men sitting apartments. In pursuit of his business, the sub-
in the coffee house and a clean area is created. contractor took over the plot of land from the
landlord by agreeing to give the landlord a specific
lkay Bali share from the apartment he was to build on it and
began selling the apartment flat by flat from its
> Tourism, Urban Transformation construction stage on. Sales had to begin at the
foundation stage, because this type of contrac-
tor-developer had only very restricted capital to
work with. Completion of the construction with
their own resources was out of the question. They
BECOMING ISTANBUL
brought about the cheapest urban housing supply the insufficient capital of the contractors, played
(along with the even cheaper alternative defined an important role here. Those who sought to buy
by the gecekondu) appropriate for an economy houses with few resources would apply to build-
which suffered from a permanent lack of capital and-sellers who themselves had to build houses
but which wanted to grow at a time when bank lo- with few resources. In such an environment, it
ans were still at a very early stage of development. was only natural that the contractor was made the
Without encouraging congestion, they expanded scapegoat. By the early 1960s, it was common prac-
the metropolitan housing stock in the interval tice to blame the contractor as the sole cause of
between 1950 and 1980. all urban defects and lack of architectural quality.
Apart from the few architects and engineers Contractors of public buildings formed a dif-
among them, these contractors of the 1950s and ferent group than these build-and-sellers. How-
60s, known as build-and-sellers, were once con- ever, they suffered from a lack of capital too. In
struction workers. They had often arrived in the a tender system regulated by the custom of un-
metropolis as common labourers, were trained derbidding, this lack of capital would have even
here in practical construction and become fore- worse consequences than for the build-and-sell-
men. Since a majority of them were from the East- ers. Contractors with no capital had to drag their
ern Black Sea region, they brought the phrase prices down to illogical levels to survive in an
Laz [an ethnic group of the Eastern Black Sea increasingly competitive environment.
Region] contractor into Istanbul Turkish. They
developed the city with very few resources, meet- And since it was impossible to complete the
ing the housing demand of the middle class, but work with real construction prices, they both had
the urban environment that emerged would bear to reduce quality as much as possible and exploit
the traces of the shortcomings of their capital and various legal loopholes to extend the completion
specialisation. The technical and aesthetic qual- period of the work, asking for repeated pricing
ity of their construction was low. However, the revisions. In brief, it was impossible to achieve
restricted budget of their customers, as much as better quality architectural outcomes and they
BECOMING ISTANBUL
didnt. More significantly, it was also difficult to they condensed and concretized the city in line
accumulate capital in a system where the system with their own advantage. Besides, since their
was dominated by constant underbidding of in- former contracting practices were not forgotten,
comprehensible proportions. To sum up, until the they presented targets that were easy to shoot at.
1980s, the stage was left to the small contractor For instance, the overlapping of the developer and
in public development programs too. the contractor in the housing industry in Istanbul
going back to the mid-19th century still hasnt
It is evident that the ideas both contractors been solved. Almost as a rule, the provider of the
would inspire in urban residents would be nega- land, the financing, the construction and market-
tive. Over time, all drawbacks in the urban en- ing company (and sometimes the planning com-
vironment and shortcomings in construction pany) still continue to be the one and same. This
quality came to be understood as solely the fault means that conflicting roles are performed by the
of contractors. The large-scale damage and large same actor unified in the person of the contractor.
number of deaths caused by the Marmara Earth- Therefore, too, attacking the contractor means
quake in 1999 led to an increase in the antipathy attacking everything one doesnt like about the
felt towards contractors. However, paradoxically, urban sphere. Since their fields of action and the
from the early 1990s on, a contractor type with urban terrain over which they exercise influence
greater capital resources had begun to throw his have expanded considerably, the legitimacy ratio
weight around with a momentum which began to of the criticism is even higher than the past. But
be all the more clear around that time. This type still, it is not difficult to read other urban actors
came to dominate the housing and development wishes to vindicate themselves in the almost hate-
business of Istanbul especially. Companies con- ful criticisms aimed at the contractor. A significant
structing settlement zones of thousands of units section of the urban population in Istanbul man-
were born. However, grabbing the lions share ages not to think about their share of responsibil-
of income from rent in the city, contractors now ity thanks to the existence of this scapegoat.
became the target of attacks not for low-quality
construction as in the past, but this time because Uur Tanyeli
BECOMING ISTANBUL
CRIMEAN CHURCH to Sri Lanka, an ex-British colony and the scene of

a bloody civil war, to seek refuge and he restored
AT THE BEHEST OF SULTAN ABDLMECID, IN the church with their help.
COMMEMORATION OF SOLDIERS WHO TOOK PART
IN THE CRIMEAN WAR, THE CRIMEAN CHURCH WAS
CONSTRUCTED IN BEYOLU BY THE STATE OF GREAT The new transnational social space formed
BRITAIN. IT IS ALSO KNOWN AS THE ANGLICAN around the churches in Istanbul after 1990 can
CHURCH.
be observed at the Crimean Church. The cosmo-
politan structure of the churchs congregation on
Its construction took around 10 years, and it was
Sundays reflects the striking diversity of waves
dedicated in 1868. Around a century later, in 1972,
of globalisation affecting the city: on the one
it was closed due to a lack of congregation and
hand, the English, Americans, Irish and Scots
remained closed until 1990. Valuable objects di-
who work for very high salaries at multinational
sappeared from the church during the closure.
companies in Istanbul or teachers who teach at
English-language schools, and on the other hand,
Ian Sherwood, the Irish priest of the chapel
the mostly Sri-Lankan or sub-Saharan African,
in the British Consulate who came to Istanbul in
poverty-stricken asylum seekers who live in the
1989, played an important role in the reopening
dormitory of the church. The Crimean Church,
of the church for worship. The attempts of the
which enables people of different lifestyles and
Greater Istanbul Municipality in 1990 to trans-
socio-economic profiles to come together, turns
form the derelict church into a concert hall came
into a unique arena of social interaction. For the
to nothing when the Reverend Sherwood slept
immigrants, who have only limited access to pub-
for forty days with the pigeons in the abandoned
lic spaces and official services since most have
building. The emergence of a new congregation
fled here, the church becomes a space for meet-
began with the arrival in Istanbul in transit of Sri
ing and contact (see Migration). Services like
Lankan workers who had to abandon Kuwait after
English courses, shelter, food and clothing sup-
the Iraqi invasion of 1990. The priest allowed the
port organized by the IIMP (Istanbul Interparish
workers, who couldnt or didnt want to return
Migrant Program), formed by various churches
BECOMING ISTANBUL
in Istanbul, facilitates the adaptation of the mi- DEMOCRACY

grants, a great majority of whom have irregular
DERIVED FROM THE GREEK. (DEMOS = PEOPLE,
status, to life in Istanbul. KRATOS = RULE, STRENGTH)
Kratos: Bring me an architect, I will build a
Among the reasons behind the cultural diver- democracy.
sity evident in the congregation of the Crimean
Church are both relations remaining from the Demos: Bring me a democracy, I will build
English colonial period and the transformation of an architect.
churches in the post-Cold War period into global
non-governmental actors across the world. Like Istanbul: Lets go to the city. Lets go to meet
the Crimean Church, other churches in Istan- the future. Lets go to my place.
bul serve cosmopolitan congregations formed of
people brought in by waves of migration that di- Turkey: Im coming with you.
versified after 1990. Although it provokes reaction
from ultranationalist groups, the revitalising Istanbul: No, dont you come. It doesnt work
effect of new migration on churches presents an when you come.
interesting example of the heterogenizing effect
of the globalisation process in Istanbul. Turkey: But if I dont come, it doesnt work
at all.
Didem Dan
Ankara: Stop arguing you two. We cant sleep

> Migration for the noise youre making.
And it cant either.
Gkhan zgn
BECOMING ISTANBUL
DEMOLITION OR THE WARPED CITY out the city. Moreover, such a proposal would
have to declare its impossibility from the word
DEMOLITION IN ISTANBUL IS THE KEY TO A LOT OF go, since the straight city, as a plane of transcen-
CHANGE BUT TRANSFORMS LITTLE, OR IT IS THE
EXPRESSION OF THE DESIRE TO ELIMINATE THE dence, cannot be produced by the worldly mind.
CONDITION RESIDENTS CALL THE WARPED CITY. Therefore, the only possible option is to wait for
the revelation and the faithful representation
Cities change constantly. However, while some of the straightened city to reveal itself. The only
cities only change, some others are transformed: thing to be done before the revelation is to dest-
cities which face up to change in one way or the roy what is warped. Here, the meaning of urban
other, and eventually manage to form some kind transformation in practice is demolition. This
of affirmative relationship with this regular chan- city which prides itself on its history is actually a
ging, change quantitatively but also transform, very new city, which was built almost yesterday:
producing qualitative difference too. Istanbul the warped city is the city that is demolished to
changes too, and very quickly at that, but it has prevent qualitative transformation.
great difficulty in producing qualitative differen-
ce. Warped City names for this city which changes Blent Tanju
quickly but fails to produce qualitative difference.
Istanbul residents call their city warped, obvio-
usly not because they demand that qualitative DISTRICT VILLAS
difference, rather because they seek integrity and
THE HISTORICIST PUBLIC BUILDING SYMBOLIZING THE
sameness but realize it is not and cannot be made SOCIAL ENGINEERING IDEALS AND AIMS OF PUBLIC
possible. Therefore all Istanbul residents who find ADMINISTRATION. [ED.]
themselves with suitable authority or position will
set out to rectify this warped city in one way or the Constructed using wood and in a specific archi-
other. However no one who actually attempts this tectural style, Ottoman city villas represent the
task has a consistent and comprehensive propo- residential structure of a certain elite. This type of
sal regarding how to integrate, how to straighten housing, relinquished in previous centuries, has
BECOMING ISTANBUL
made a comeback as social centres, founded in cer- present state discourse, which leans on conserva-
tain neighbourhoods on the initiative of the AKP tive neo-liberal strategies and enables the resur-
government, incorporating the neighbourhood rection of an Ottoman-Islamic identity polished
muhtar [elected heads] office and providing a pla- with conservative nostalgia (see Nostalgia). These
ce where neighbourhood residents meet and their new villas, based on some kind of philanthropy
basic needs (nursery, cleaning, washing, language and produced by construction activities on the
learning, childrens education) are catered for. neighbourhood scale (see Neighbourhood) by the
municipality in line with this discourse, aim to
Tophane, known as a slum area where various improve the local peoples quality of life accord-
poor and ethnic groups (Kurds, Arabs, Roma) live, ing to the internet page of the municipality. These
and incidentally my neighbourhood, is facing a neighbourhood villas where social aid, educa-
slow process of change. Change began with the tion, health and counselling services are offered
transformation of the tiny ordinary house in our to neighbourhood residents free of charge, have
neighbourhood where the muhtar worked into been and continue to be erected in the manifestly
an Ottoman-style wooden house. This took place poor neighbourhoods of Istanbul.
in the course of a few weeks. The Ottoman-style
wooden house, from one moment to the next sat- Pelin Tan
isfying the desire for the revival of an unadulter-
ated and hygienic Turkish identity, now shimmers > Neighbourhood, Nostalgia
brilliantly in Tophane Park. It is obviously rather
difficult for me to understand this situation as a
person living in an old style Ottoman-Greek apart- DOLMU
ment block on a street occupied and taken over
by the Romany after the Greeks desertion of their ORIGINALLY, SHARING THE TRANSPORTATION
PROVIDED BY A TAXI BETWEEN A FEW PEOPLE
homes following the pogrom of 6th-7th September
TO LOWER THE PRICE PAID PER PERSON. TODAY,
1955. District villas are an example and a tool of MINIBUSES HAVE COMPLETELY REPLACED TAXIS
spatial legitimisation in the reproduction of the WORKING AS DOLMU. [ED.]
BECOMING ISTANBUL
In times when the population of Istanbul was less the face of the expanding routes of the developing
than today, the dolmu was a mode of transport city, while new routes have also been introduced
increasing the capacity for rapid movement for the for the same reason.
middle-upper class. Since the 1960s it has been a
compromise between inner-city public transport Another version of the dolmu, which stops
which only called at designated stops and the once and picks up passengers arbitrarily and offers
difficult-to-find and expensive taxi. They would the practicality of a personal car to the user at a
often serve between two places which werent ser- reasonable price, is of course the minibus with
ved by public transport and werent too far apart its higher passenger capacity. However, it is also
from each other (like TaksimTevikiye or Kadky known that there exists a class difference between
Moda) or quickly and effectively to traverse the route the minibus serving the lower classes and the
between destinations which were further apart but dolmu oriented towards a more refined passen-
involved a troublesome journey. Dolmu, which ger (and especially women). Mention must also
provided transport from a stop in one neighbour- be made of dolmu drivers for they are as unique
hood to another via a designated route, used to ad- as the dolmu themselves. Just like ship captains,
here to the principle of dropping off passengers at dolmu drivers are imbued with an authoritarian
any desired point en route, like taxis. It is known streak. Some are grumpy, some would enjoy hav-
that old original American cars or their customi- ing a chat, while others like to voice their objec-
zed versions that had greater passenger capacity tions to being asked to stop too frequently and for
remained in use as Istanbul dolmu until the early the passengers they carried each would thereby
1990s. They presented interesting sights for many become the protagonist in a drama at times funny
years especially for tourists in the harbourside squ- and at other times infuriating. Dolmu routes that
ares of Kadky and Beikta. Some dolmu routes operated from the 1960s to the 1990s were elimi-
still exist; though due to municipality incentives nated by increasing levels of population and traffic
in the mid-1990s the old American cars have been in Istanbul and were shadowed by the increasing
replaced with yellow minibuses, and many others efficiency of public transport. They changed like
have been abandoned after proving inadequate in the changing people of Istanbul, they turned yel-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
low, they assumed the form of minibuses (see neighbourhood, is known for its covered women,
Minibus), and the older social texture has sur- wearing sleeveless clothes with thin straps might
rendered its place to a new metropolitan Istanbul provoke a social reaction. By contrast, in Nianta
transport system. In this sense, dolmu continue and Moda, a more liberal dress sense is considered
to be an indispensable component of the discourse normal and creates no tension. In various centres
of nostalgia (see Nostalgia) in Istanbul. of the city like Beikta, Taksim and Kadky, cont-
rasting dress senses exist together in great variety.
Arzu ztrkmen
The jeans and t-shirt combination arriving
> Minibus, Nostalgia on Istanbul markets from the 1970s on in a sense
democratized class differences in senses of dress
which previously betrayed themselves at first
DRESS glance. Now, one needed a lot more than dress
to analyse sociologically the young population
EXPRESSION OF DIFFERENT VALUE SYSTEMS IN THE not wearing coats, be they female or male, low
CONTEXT OF THE BODYS VISIBILITY. [ED.] or high income. Another important dimension
of dress sense and living in Istanbul is the neigh-
Narratives of the demographic transformation bourhood markets (see Street Market) where ex-
of Istanbul from the 19th century until the 1970s port surplus goods easily reach the consumer.
when immigration accelerated feature promi- Istanbul, the most important market for the grow-
nently tales of how people used to dress minding textiles industry of Turkey, hosts places like
fully and in a Western style when going out the Perembe Pazar [Thursday Market] in Ulus,
in Beyolu. In fact, certain neighbourhoods of Sal Pazar [Tuesday Market] in Kadky and the
Istanbul are today still defined by dress codes. Cumartesi Pazar [Saturday Market] in Beikta
Here, the conservativeness or liberalness where all kinds of quality clothes can be bought
of neighbourhoods is read more from female cheaply and enable the middle class to get some
dress. In Fatih, recognized as a more conservative satisfaction from shopping for clothes. Nightclubs
BECOMING ISTANBUL
are, no doubt, another very important platform EARTHQUAKE

for the exhibition of Western and branded cloth-
ing. Here the freedom to dress is experienced at POSSIBLE EVENT THAT HAS BEEN A REALITY OF
NATURE SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE CITY BUT
its limits, and in fact can create fashion trends by HAS GRADUALLY BECOME THE OCCASION OF MORE
making the rating charts in celebrity news pro- PARANOIA AND HYSTERIA. [ED.]
grams. Looking at the picture neighbourhood
market consumption provides, it can be deduced Istanbul is situated precisely above the North
that men are dressed by women in Istanbul, as Anatolian Fault (NAF), one of the fastest moving
they probably are in many other cities. In this and most active fault lines in the world. The NAF
great metropolis where social mobility is rapidly extends across the entire Northern Anatolian re-
developing, dress is also the most basic tool of gion from BinglKarlova in the east and the
social climbing. This is one of the explanations Mudurnu valley in the west passing under the
of how lower classes can sometimes spend their Marmara Sea, south of the historic peninsula and
entire savings at an expensive shopping centre, the Princes Islands to continue westward on to-
even risking getting into debt to buy clothes. wards the Aegean Sea. The part of the fault to
Knowledge of what to wear, where and when is the south of the Princes Islands which suffered
determined entirely by a system of values struc- a rupture as far as Glck in the 1999 Marmara
tured within oral culture. Surely the most direct earthquakes last caused an earthquake in the city
reflection of the rapidly changing value system in 1766, and is expected, with a possibility of aro-
in Istanbul is thus via dress codes. und 62%, to give within the next 30 years, creating
a violent earthquake.
Arzu ztrkmen
The North American San Andreas fault, which
> Street Market shows similarities to NAF in terms of age and
structure and produces earthquakes of similar
size and at similar intervals, suggests a paral-
lel between San Francisco and Istanbul. How-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ever, more than half of Istanbuls housing stock dences, earthquake certified and which are said
is partially or completely illegal and a significant to survive higher magnitudes than that of the an-
portion of it is vulnerable to damage because of ticipated quake, wait for their new residents with
its structural status but also as a focal point for their promise of prestigious, secure and modern
speculative investment, consequently Istanbul lives. The rest of us have long given up on even
is in far greater danger. occasional checking of our earthquake kits. The
earthquake is no longer even as important to us
Although the 1999 Marmara Earthquakes as the Cup Final
failed to create a breaking point in the earth-
quake agenda of Istanbul, they did engender some The slippage, liquidation and swallowing of
changes. The majority of work regarding earth- those above the ground beneath our feet, which
quakes and research on the anticipated Istanbul we are convinced is solid and immovable, will take
earthquake has presented a scale of risk which place within our life times, sometime between
decreases roughly from the south towards the now and 30 years later, at a possibility ranging
north of the city. In addition to other factors, data between 62(+/-15)%.
regarding the earthquake reinforced a dangerous
post-1999 deployment of especially upper and The forecasted earthquake will be the day
upper-middle income residential areas towards when the capacity to cope with the accumulat-
the northern regions of the city where drinking ed population of Istanbul, defined as one of the
water basins and forest areas are located. peerless visitor attractions of the last 60 years,
is tested.
The earthquake, which doesnt occupy much
space in our lives apart from the luxury housing Evren Uzer
ads in the real estate pages of Sunday newspapers,
has thus become one of the most fundamental > Gated Housing Estate
marketing tools of gated housing estates (see
Gated Housing Estate) in Istanbul. These resi-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ELECTRICITY generated by this station was first provided to

trams on 11th February 1914 and then to private
A FORM OF ENERGY STILL NOT SUFFICIENTLY users via three step-down sub-stations located in
AVAILABLE IN ISTANBUL. [ED.]
Beyazt, Tozkoparan and stinye on 14th February.
Illumination of city streets using electricity did
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th
not begin until the 1920s.
centuries, Istanbul was the only city among
Europes leading capitals which did not syste-
The characteristics of the Golden Horn were
matically generate its own electricity. The de-
the determining factors in the selection of the
cision to bring electricity to Istanbul was taken
location of the power plant. Its advantages, includ-
as late as 1908 during the period of the Second
ing the fact that it is a sheltered harbour with still,
Constitutional Monarchy. In Spring 1910, an inter-
wide and deep waters and that it opens up to the
national tender was announced for the constructi-
straits beyond, made the Golden Horn a preferred
on of the necessary facilities to provide electricity
zone of industrial production starting from the
to Istanbul. Eight firms tendered bids, the winners
end of the 19th century. (see Golden Horn Dock-
being the Belgian Ganz Company.
yards). It was the preferred location for building
the Silahtaraa power station as it was easily ac-
As there werent sufficient rivers in the city
cessible by sea and overland for the transportation
to build a hydroelectric power plant, the decision
of raw material; it was at a central location not
was taken to build a thermal power station. The
exactly outside the city nor inside and thus the
Silahtaraa Power Station, the construction of
network required to deliver electricity to Pera,
which started in 1911 at the mouth of Kathane
the old town and other parts of the city wasnt
and Alibeyky rivers on an area of 118,000 m2
stretched, while water used for cooling and in
and which began to provide electricity to Istan-
electricity generation was obtainable from the
bul in 1914, was both the first urban-scale power
river, with disposal of ash and clinker also very
plant in Ottoman State jurisdiction and the first
convenient.
thermal power plant operated by coal. Electricity
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Santral continued its operations extending dwellings new technologies were brought into
its capacity, run by the Belgian company un- the home.
til 1937. By the end of the 1930s, the capacity of
Silahtaraa Power Station alone was sufficient to Gl Kksal
provide electricity to the whole of Istanbul. The
electrical energy of the city was provided solely > Golden Horn Dockyards
by Silahtaraa until 1952; and, from then, it was
also used for the distribution of electricity gen-
erated by the atalaz Thermal Power Plant to EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN
Istanbul. This enterprise, which was transferred
over to the Turkish Electrical Authority (TEK) in PROPOSAL OF A SERIES OF PRECAUTIONS PREPARED TO
REDUCE THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE BIG ISTANBUL
1970, partially resuming full operation after this EARTHQUAKE ANTICIPATED WITH PARANOID
date, was closed down on 18th March 1983 as the ANXIETY. [ED.]
plant wore out and difficulties were encountered
in obtaining cooling water. The first of two important studies prepared for
Istanbul by the Greater Istanbul Municipality is the
With electricity, horse-drawn trams were Istanbul City Disaster Prevention and Reduction
replaced by electric ones, local transport speed- Basic Planning Study Including Seismic Micro-
ed up, longer distances could be travelled and Regionalisation Study prepared by the Japan
thus mobility of locale increased. Transporta- International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The
tion between the two sides of Istanbul became JICA report was completed in September 2002.
integrated and the volume of industrialisation In addition, the Istanbul Earthquake Master Plan,
increased. Furthermore, electricity triggered commissioned from ITU, YTU, BU and METU
fundamental changes in peoples daily lives, as [Istanbul Technical, Yldz Technical, Boazii
it enabled the use of public areas such as streets and Middle East Technical Universities] by the
and squares at night; new movie theatres and the- Greater Istanbul Municipality was put before the
atres opened up; and with the use of electricity in public in August 2003.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The JICA study was prepared, for Istanbul necessary reinforcement of existing buildings in Is-
and the surrounding area, in order to: 1) integrate tanbul in view of the threat posed by an earthquake
and develop seismic micro-regionalisation work and also regarding legal, organisational, technical
within the scope of disaster prevention and re- and financial issues within the framework of eco-
duction planning; 2) propose a general disaster nomic, social and spatial dimensions as required
prevention and reduction programme for the city by a comprehensive transformation.
concerning any damage or danger that may befall
buildings or infrastructure; 3) bring forward pro- The plan examines the entire technical, ad-
posals for disaster prevention for issues includ- ministrative and legal structure regarding earth-
ing land-use planning and earthquake-focused quakes in order to increase earthquake security
legislation proposals etc. measures in Istanbul, while it determines all
authorisations, responsibilities, principles and
The JICA study has calculated that an earth- fundamentals regarding this issue and related
quake of the magnitude 7.5 in Istanbul, which regional and national strategies.
has approximately 750,000 buildings, 3,040,000
households and a population of approximately IDMP proposes the preparation of an action
9,000,000, would result in 50,00060,000 se- plan for the determination and obviation of earth-
riously damaged buildings, 500,000600,000 quake risks in Istanbul within the framework of a
families left homeless, 70,00090,000 deaths, programme beginning with priority being given
120,000130,000 seriously wounded, 400,000 to highest risk areas.
minor injuries, and a financial loss in the region
of 50 billion US dollars. The JICA study proposes the formation
of local eviction zones to minimize loss of life
The IDMP study, which was prepared in line and reduce damage. The insufficiency of exist-
with the proposals of the JICA report, brings forward ing parks and open spaces necessitates priority
proposals concerning the assessment of current decision-making regarding the obtainability of
earthquake security measures (see Earthquake), the these spaces.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The first condition of reinforcing Istanbul in EROTICISM

the short term against the risk of earthquake is
the development of strategy and implementation ONE OF THE CITYS FORMS OF EXISTENCE.
models regarding the clearance and reconstruc-

tion of high-risk buildings and the preparation of In languages where names are gendered and in
the Emergency Action Plan (ACEP) for the provi- the world of concepts and imagination, the city
sion of public security. is feminine. History, itself a masculine form of
writing, perceives place and place-ment, like
ACEP, which aims to minimize possible earth- language and culture, as the other: a space ho-
quake risk in Istanbul, is a planning approach mogeneous with the opposite sex, a geography
outlining short-term precautions as well as criteria one treads upon and passes through, to be con-
for the clearing of high-risk buildings, the open- quered, to be invaded, which surrenders, which
ing of corridors for clearance and the creation of is made to reproduce itself by intervention, by
spaces of assembly. Its goals may be listed: clear- establishing sovereignty, through planning The
ing and demolishing high-risk buildings; offering reproduction of space entails ploughing the soil
permanent or temporary proposals to residents and spreading seeds. The city is productive and
of demolished buildings; opening corridors for fertile; in addition to its sites of nobility, centres
clearance; creating spaces of assembly; preparing and neighbourhoods of splendour, monuments
temporary settlement areas; reinforcing impor- and palaces, stories and legends, it also gives birth
tant public buildings; removing sites which stock to bastards and crippled children. Archetypes
flammable-combustible materials; and forming reaching back into the depths of history and a
emergency help points. memory connected to them continuing to be the
spine of this fecund body, stories of birth, life and
Faruk Gksu death wander together in the labyrinths of space,
the symbolism of architecture and the ambiguo-
> Earthquake us and mimetic world of language providing its
geography.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The body metaphor has multiple meanings As with Venice, New York and other port cit-
for Istanbul. The Bosphorus divides the main body ies seen from afar, approaching from the sea, the
of the city in two, the waters of the deep tectonic silhouette is the most impressive aspect, though
rift flowing between two continents. Meanwhile, in Istanbul the perspectives offered by geography
the Golden Horn, a more docile recess, has come and architecture are diverse (see Silhouette). This
to separate out various characters, cultures and silhouette has always been a source of dreamlike
life styles of the European part of the city. And fictions for people arriving in the city by sea, with
these divided sectors are always trying to get back train stations added to this from the last quarter
together, by means of rafts, rowboats, peremes of the 19th century on: meadows, outlying dis-
(gondola-like boats), ferries, bridges and tunnels. tricts, the corridor of old suburbs provide striking
Further, alien organs that do not belong to the city views that open onto two different silhouettes on
constantly travel the waterways: the long unin- either side of the city. In a manner again similar
vited body of a huge oil tanker or battleship splits to Venice, but even more clearly, the train station
the waters of the Bosphorus as it passes. doesnt lead onto the street or the square but onto
the city beyond the water, its apparently timeless
To refer to the metaphor of the body to talk about silhouette spreading out before you. Such an il-
Istanbuls eroticism would be to seek an escapist lusion, however, will evaporate in the first street
anthropomorphic connotation also valid for other one steps into. The supra-temporal existence of
cities of water, however strong that connotation the silhouette is fed by topography and monu-
might be for Istanbul. However, the division by water, ments, but this image has, since the invention
then by valleys, then other fragmentations caused of photography, also also become variable. The
by the difference in lifestyles and the differences fog, the lodos [the regional south-westerly wind]
in memory, depth, forms and symbols provides a with its blizzards and the changing light reflect-
multitude of data which multiplies the ambiguity of ing on the sea differently at different hours alter
the city and the discontinuous and tense relations of the perception of the silhouette lens and photo-
its fragments Such discontinuity threads its way graph reflecting the desired illusion rather than
from Kemerburgaz to the Princes Islands. an objective slice of life, just like the Orientalist
BECOMING ISTANBUL
views depicted in earlier engravings printed on oriental dream Alain Robbe-Grillet presents in
pale vellum. Limmortelle is different from Lotis. Istanbul, in
recent times, is the stimulator and multiplier of
The representation is not the city or the sil- these too.
houette itself, but that which is desired to be seen
and shown, as with all representation. The West- And this city lives at night too. Its bridges
ern voyager and the Levantine look at the same connecting the two continents are jammed even
view through the lens of exoticism and Oriental- in the dark hours of the morning. The city offers
ism, and sees, thinks they see the mysteries of the up possibilities of prolonging plans, scheduled
East, its heat, its scarlet hues, its seduction and appointments that might end up at a different ad-
passion; whereas the Muslim Turk of the late 19th dress, down some street never before discovered,
and early 20th centuries, looking from the dis- beyond dim lights yet in its own urban colours,
tricts south of the Golden Horn towards the north, and such possibilities continue to multiply thus
towards Pera, developed Occidentalist fantasies in recent times. The city has a beyond; the border
driven by a different sensuality and the search for between the known and the beyond gradually be-
a modernity which legitimises it. The structure comes indistinct and spreads throughout the ge-
is symmetrical and always fictitious. ography the city occupies. Curiosity is legitimate
in this city; distinct locales in which to find what
But the city stimulates the imagination, in is being sought are always waiting somewhere.
verbal as much as iconic representation The Daytime hours, but especially night hours pres-
literary corpus of Istanbul contains images, di- ent places and experiences open to the curiosity
lemmas, cul-de-sacs, labyrinths of discourse and of urbanites and urban wanderers What lies
further, mysterious touches: Abdlhak inasi beyond the known, that which has not yet been
Hisar, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpnar, Sait Faik, Asaf experienced.
Halef elebi, Ece Ayhan, Latife Tekin and Orhan
Pamuk wander in different Istanbuls, all picking A city where discrepancies are experienced
up different vibrations. The surreal and modern together, Istanbul is formed of spreading zones
BECOMING ISTANBUL
that sometimes mingle and sometimes separate; meeting of disconnections, discontinuities and
urban historians claiming that this was the case in variations. There is no single direction, no single
the pre-modern period too. This plural existence measure, single spatial or architectural scale and
has continued since the second half of the 19th order. What seems familiar and defined carries
century despite all efforts at modernist unifica- the other, the unknown and a different state of
tion. The metropolis of the 20th century, in accor- belonging in its immediate wake, units along this
dance with its status, has been a space of ruptures axis undefined with unplanned gaps allowing for
and differentiations. The specificity of Istanbul differences.
when compared to other western metropolises
is not these ruptures, but the indefiniteness of Whereas the East-West axis stretching out
borders and forms of interpenetration of different towards Asia is formed of a parallel structure of
zones. Istanbul is the city of the ambiguous and railway and sections of motorway, bridges and
the obscure; nothing ends or begins in the full a few wide avenues, different life styles and us-
sense here. Even definite borders such as the city ages, different architectural zones exist without
walls or the coast sometimes lose their absolute entering into contact in parallel sectors inwards
nature: the landfill areas of Eminn, Karaky from the coast, though sometimes, they unexpect-
and Kadky are areas where geographical and edly intersect at points where changes reache
archaeological definitions have dissolved and be- high velocity: districts like kitelli, Maslak and
come cloudy in modern times and are constantly Kavack are spaces of finance where multi-storey
open to change and shifts in image. The historical structures host the decision making, transfer and
peninsula follows a flickering route, nebulous mechanisms of association of global capital, but
continuation of ancient Roman traces, over the labyrinths of disorder, illegal building develop-
Galata Bridge, hesistantly climbing a Genovese ment and marginality also preserve their exis-
slope to skip on to Beyolu, heading off, from the tence around these spaces of splendour. You may
end of the 19th century on, to ili and then to gravitate towards either when you emerge from a
Maslak. Even this axis that bears the most distinc- metro station exit which opens up onto an unde-
tive economic and spatial changes of the city is a fined vacuum, its your choice. Many things may
BECOMING ISTANBUL
blur just when you think they have clarified. Such discourse. And it is never completely achieved.
uncertainty can be startling, but it also presents The effort to create an accessible and control-
possibilities, it opens up onto discovery and ad- lable city which began in the 19th century with
venture for those who are curious and seek what fire regulations and with attempts to extend
is different. roads and give the city a geometrical order never
managed to transform the Ottoman capital into
Changes since the mid-19th century have cre- a Paris or Barcelona, and what remains of the
ated new flows; usages open to differentiation and Menderes expropriation of the 50s is a few short
new areas of uncertainty within the city. These boulevards and the memory of a few demolished
are sometimes areas that are used very intensive- monuments. Coastal infill produced by the ur-
ly but preserve their undefined and ambiguous ban hygiene operations of the 80s have still not
nature: Taksim, Karaky and Aksaray squares, achieved an aesthetic or practical consistency
for example. Sometimes they are where new po- and Tarlaba Boulevard, first laid out in plans of
tential for utilisation is identified and they are the 1800s, twenty years later and ever since has
transformed into arena of urban struggle, endless failed to conform to this vision. No project is ever
debate, sanctification and damnation, hollow completed in this city, and Tarlaba Boulevard
promises and hollow slogans: ports, old industrial and Beyazt Square are not the only examples.
areas or slums. The constant change in the social The small Galata Tunnel is one of the first under-
topography of the city forms maps of uncertain grounds in Europe, but a large portion of the citys
ownership and use even in the most central areas. underground network remains incomplete even
Uncertainty is a weakness of order and inspec- into the 2000s. The most modern and fashion-
tion for some and a chance to wrest living space able city in the country resists the rationales of
for others. modernity, to a certain extent as a consequence
of the inertia of poverty. Engineering proposals
The organisation the city hasnt been off of hygiene, order and positivism never manage
the agenda of 19th century modernisation, 20th completely to dominate the metropolis. In this
century planning or of todays prevailing urban context, elitist urban discourse which repeats the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
same positivist themes and, sometimes, nostalgic ugliness. This gives it a potential to delay, and
refrains is also the discourse of an unconfessed therefore a future, excitement and hope. Istanbul
impotence. The organizing intellect which wants is ready for the unexpected, for experimentation;
to rule the city experiences the drama of its im- that is why the city attracts the masses. It has been
potence with every new experience, as in Fellinis a polis since Byzantium, some of its one-time
Casanova. The city resists, dissolves, clouds. The residents continue to speak of it thus: Istanbul is
power of its waters nourishes its complexity; its the polis, City, therefore Medina, but a Medina
walls may be broken, but an aspect of the city of uncertain civilisation. In this dilemma between
itself remains unconquered, protecting its ruins, Eros and Civilisation, the city has always taken
its monuments surrounded with poverty, where sides with Eros and wont surrender to masculine
every numberless thing that lives is the work not reason. That is exactly what makes it attractive
of total and perfect design but of slight move- and worth living in.
ments, through which the city lives.
Temples were erected in Apollos honour dur-
The power of Istanbul lies precisely at this ing the early years of the foundation of the city, but
conflicting intersection, in these interfaces where it still maintains its loyalty to Dionysus. Its eroti-
globalism touches marginality and capitalist cism is nurtured not by a readable, reasonable and
mechanisms come into contact with poverty. Jos- orderly beauty but by such careless, ambiguous,
tling identities try to find space, legitimacy and a equivocal and provocative murmurings.
future in this chaotic existence. The bazaar, the
market place, the passage, the store and the mall Atilla Ycel
(see Shopping Centre) are experienced simultane-
ously. Istanbul is the space and text of multiple > Shopping Centre, Silhouette
lives and multiple readings, from which it gets
its force of gravity and its attraction. It resists
aesthetics and aestheticisation, its charm is in-
terwoven with slovenliness, clumsiness and even
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ETHNICITY The second largest ethnic group, at least since

the massive waves of economic migrants and in-
A SOCIAL ACTUALITY ISTANBUL IS TRYING TO LEARN ternally displaced people in the 1990s, consists
TO DISCUSS WITH NEW TERMS AS IT EVOLVES FROM
BEING A TRADITIONAL EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN
of Kurds. The smallest group is that of the Istan-
COSMOPOLITAN CITY TO THE PLURALITY OF A bul Greeks, or Rum (from Romioi, Romans) as
MODERN METROPOLIS. [ED.] they are referred to in Turkey. They have shrunk
from well over 200,000 in the early years of the
Ethnicity denominates a social group whose Republic in the 1920s to less than 3,000 today.
members identify with each other based on a Armenians are the largest non-Muslim commu-
perceived common ancestry or genealogy (see nity, with around 70,000 members. The owners
Minority). Members of an ethnic group often share of CD shops on and around stiklal Caddesi, who
a common language or an awareness of a lingu- like to share their musical tastes with that of the
istic heritage. Istanbul has many ethnic groups passers-by, now and then play music by Djivan
and language communities, old and new. A non- Gasparyan or the Istanbul-Armenian folk group
exhaustive selection of such groups in strictly Knar. Otherwise, Armenian is not very audible
alphabetical order: Abkhaz, Albanians, Arabs, in Istanbul. Too many waves of Citizen, speak
Armenians, Bosniaks, Bulgarians, Circassians, Turkish campaigns throughout the republican
Georgians, Greeks, Kurds, Laz, Pomaks, Roma, years, rising anti-Armenian sentiment and the
Tatars, Turks. 2007 murder of Hrant Dink have left their mark.
Very little is known about the population Ethnic identification and memory have been
numbers of most groups, as the Institute of Sta- very much discouraged throughout the republican
tistics does not disclose data regarding ethnic years with the exception of Turkishness yet
affiliation. It goes without saying that Turks are even so, members of an ethnic group are generally
the largest ethnic group, especially since there is aware of their heritage. Many are now rediscover-
an overlap of Turkish ethnicity and the Turkish ing the wealth of folkloric traditions and histori-
nation, and all other ethnic groups are obscured. cal memory, which their parents were advised to
BECOMING ISTANBUL
un-remember. Even if few of the young speak the EXPROPRIATION

languages of their forefathers and mothers, these
EXPROPRIATION IS THE EQUIVALENT IN LEGAL
languages are not at all dead: Bosnian Sevdalinka TERMINOLOGY OF THE INTENSE CLEAN-UP
are heard on private radio stations, Kurdish is now OPERATIONS APPLIED TO ISTANBULS URBAN TEXTURE
out and loud in all but the most upmarket districts IN THE 1950S AND 1980S.
of town (when heard there, it sounds almost like

Istanbul Turkish). Lazuri, the eastern Black Seas The common element of urban planning inia-
distant cousin of Georgian, has come back to life in tives during these periods was the erasure and
folk songs, rock ballads and in Horon folk dances, sweeping away of layers of Istanbuls identity.
buzzing with energy at festivals, weddings or politi- Expropriation is back on the agenda today with
cal events all over the city. the regional administrations activities to cle-
an up (see Cleansing) Romany neighbourho-
After decades of state-administered ethno- ods in the name of urban beautification (see
linguistic monochrome, many Istanbulites are Beautification).
re-negotiating their ethnic and linguistic identi-
ties within the public sphere. In the near future, The concept of expropriation in this city,
some ethno-linguistic groups will be more visible which has been constantly reshaped and rede-
and their languages will become louder and more fined by immigration for 2700 years, can also be
proudly expressed, and Kurdish is surely one of considered with a view to the urban culture of
them. Other groups will have to struggle for sur- regional administrators, who are mostly of im-
vival and might lose their voice in the hubbub of migrant origin, and their perception of urban
Istanbul. The latter, however, is unlikely to ebb heritage. Expropriation in Istanbul can also be
away soon. described as the effort of a group of administra-
tors, failing to perceive the wealth of the urban
Kerem ktem layers of a multilingual and multifaceted Istan-
bul, who carelessly and recklessly seek to bring
> Minority the city into line and trample it underfoot to
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the sound of the slogans of beautification and in it too looks so timeless, and so redeemed
modernisation. from the sentence of architectural and geographi-
cal fates of decay, collapse or abandonment and
pek Yada Akpnar so proudly emanates the sense of having been
seen always and by everyone in the same way, the
> Beautification, Cleansing Istanbulite (see Istanbulite) encountering it now
and then feels as if all their troubles about belong-
ing to the city have, for that moment, evaporated.
FATH SULTAN MEHMET For to feel that one is seeing something the way
everyone has always seen it is like seeing it at the
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MEHMED II FOR ISTANBUL same moment with everyone, or like watching the
AND TURKEY IS PARALLEL TO THE SIGNIFICANCE OF
WILLIAM CONQUEROR FOR ENGLISH HISTORY. THE same film together in a darkened hall loneli-
ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT MEHMED II CONTINUES ness or unhappiness sets in only after one leaves
TO LIVE ON. [ED.] the cinema.
The average Istanbulite, whichever part of the Before loneliness and unhappiness set in,
city and under whatever conditions they may while the view still extends before her or him, the
live, now and then feels indebted and grateful Istanbulite knows to whom they owe the rapturous
to the genius and courage of someone who in a feeling of belonging. The seventh Ottoman sultan
semi-mythological, distant past achieved incred- according to the majority of Ottoman historians,
ible things. These now and thens are those mo- and the tenth according to a few who include a few
ments when they find themselves facing, rarely in ehzades [princes] who managed to take hold of
a planned way, often by chance, the historical power for short periods, Mehmed the Conqueror
view of Istanbul (see Panorama, Silhouette, View). was nineteen when he succeeded to the throne,
The view, consisting of the sea, the ferries and and although he had matured early and was very
the palace and, depending on the generosity talented in painting, music, language, etc. in
of chance, sometimes with the Maidens Tower view of the task he attempted was still something
BECOMING ISTANBUL
of a little child. This bit of information, mixing feelings of transience, mortality, worthlessness
a certain wonder with the gratefulness the Istan- and the meaninglessness of life, for a moment
bulite taking in the view feels, adds not only an they sense the utmost clarity of comprehension of
element of innocence to the past, the roots, or the things like time and history; only to think that
moment of birth of the city, but also becomes likely not much will be as long lasting as this, but
the occasion to draw a moral about success and that being part of this wider thing well perhaps,
happiness regarding the present: If you go after that is to say, imagining that the opportunity to
your dreams with courage you too will one day look at this view, the view itself, has been given as
surely attain success. a gift such that gratefully to claim it in memory
of those who generously presented it, may be the
Arent what Mehmed the Conqueror went cure for the dismay that now sweeps them away.
after, and the things he did in the course of it,
slightly overblown dreams that we have always Wanting to be able to see themselves as a
been warned against? Attempting to conquer a meaningful and acceptable outcome, they strive
city famous for being unconquerable is one thing, to uncover the centuries-old, and therefore rath-
but what must we make of the decision, on seeing er murky cause, and to imagine him a bit more
the entrance of the Golden Horn blocked with hale and hearty. However, as evening falls and
shipwrecks and a boom threaded under them, the time to return home approaches, the view is
to roll his ships overland? The Istanbulite, not rapidly withdrawn from view, and realising that
knowing the exact route by which the ships were the child sultan cant be pictured apart from one
moved, scans the view for possible shiprolling or two remembered portraits, a tiredness, an ex-
routes, then suddenly thinks, and trembles, when haustion sets in. They begins to feel that they will
they realise that the view was just the same back never be as smart, courageous and imaginative as
then when completely different lives were being Mehmed the Conqueror. Didnt have the means,
lived, with long surpassed technology and a long circumstances werent favourable, they think.
forgotten language, and would continue, long The stagnancy and the rather useless beauty of
after their life has ended. Almost caught up in the view angers them. Or they dont. They make
BECOMING ISTANBUL
them say, Whatever, it feels like theyll handle it, park roads filled ground is the definition of tem-
until the next encounter. Since it doesnt belong poral-spatial transformation in coastal cities; a
to anyone, the view belongs to everyone, that is to physical expression of the interface between the
say, although not like a watch, clothes, television city and the sea. The border of the sea-town can
or armchairs, in some sense, it belongs to them. be structured either in harmony or in conflict with
They makes this out from the fact that they oc- natural shore formations. Coastal filled areas that
casionally remember the view, miss it and want emerge through natural processes, geological and
to see it, but yet not without reservation. Alright, hydrological formations, might be mentioned
the kid was sharp, they think, but rolling ships first. In a second sense, filled ground is a structu-
over land what do I know. ral tool used to transform and shape natural shore
lines at the sea-city border and to obtain space at
Emre Ayvaz
a restrictive threshold; all filled grounds like pi-
ers, breakwaters, fortifications, shore roads, new
> Istanbulite, Panorama, Silhouette, View
settlements and artificial islands may be included
under this heading. Thirdly, related to the first and
in contrast to the second, the shoreline designed
by human hand may be transformed by the filling
FILLED GROUND
caused by natural or human waste; in this case,
BEFORE GROWING VERTICALLY FOR TWO CENTURIES
filled ground is a threat to the sustainability of
ISTANBUL GREW HORIZONTALLY, TOWARDS THE SEA the sea-city relationship. The transformation of
(AS IT NO DOUBT STILL DOES). [ED.] the shore into land is always an act against the
displacement of the sea; the displacement factor
The closed harbours of classical Antiquity, sea- is definitive in the formation and delimitation of
walls, the city wall-front, the dunghill and was- filled ground.
te dump ports, the Langa Gardens, Dolmabahe
and raan Palaces, Sirkeci, Salpazar and As a port-city, the criterion of urban transfor-
Haydarpaa piers, the Golden Horn and Marmara mation along the shores of Istanbul is the amount
BECOMING ISTANBUL
of filled ground; here, since Antiquity, the shore tions carried out in Yenikap as a consequence of
has been shaped in strata by natural formations, the Marmaray construction unearthed the infill
archaeological remains and historical and recent of the Byzantium port, an incomparable resource
buildings. The borders of the stratification are not concerning the commercial connections and ev-
on the same level for each seafront of the city; dif- eryday life of the city; ship remains found on site
ferentiations depend on sea depth, currents and provide a significant source of information for
the quality of infill as much as the historical den- Mediterranean coastal archaeology.
sity and continuity of the settlement and the area
where the sea-city interface has been structured. After the Marmara ports began to fill up, the
port functions of the city were mostly shifted to
The shore of ByzantiumConstantinopleIs- the Golden Horn and were configured with piers
tanbul hosts, in addition to many building types in old closed ports and filled areas in front of the
established through the history of the port, also city walls. The corroding effect of currents in the
the historical development of the phenomenon Golden Horn restricted the volume of infill. Port
of filled ground. The characteristic building style functions spread along the shore lengthways in
on the shores of the city from Antiquity until the relation to the gates, with structures in front of the
Middle Ages was a closed port defined by the city walls. From the 13th century on, on the other
closing off of the city walls and natural bays with side of the port, a similar city wall and city wall-
breakwaters. Thus, harbour basins architectur- front pier typology developed in Galata, defining
ally define the city-sea threshold and, once the a separate area of settlement. This coastal form
city border has been set, the formation of filled inherited by the Ottomans in the 15th century
ground again becomes a problem to combat; silt- was developed over four centuries. The increase
ing in the stagnant waters of harbour basins has of coastal infill at this stage was related not only
to be cleared. In the Middle Ages, the closed ports to architectural development but also to the dis-
left from Antiquity became unmanageable for posal of urban waste into the sea; rubbish, sewage,
economic reasons and the harbour basins began debris from fires and earthquakes were piled up
to fill up. In recent years, archaeological excava- on the shore to make space. In these incremen-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
tal expansions, the shoreline was either left as it Projects outlined included the demolition
was or supported by wooden stakes. Intense de- of sea walls, the construction of modern port ar-
velopment took place on filled ground and such eas with stone embankments and the inaugura-
structures were repeatedly rebuilt after frequent tion of railways and coastal avenues entailing
fires. More infill took place in front of doorways the formation of new infill ground. Although the
due to the density of urban flow and waste and, transformation of the entire port area was consid-
consequently, such sites can be distinguished as ered, the construction of modern embankments
squares with small promontories. Throughout in the late Ottoman Empire was restricted to the
this process, the volume of coastal filling on city area stretching from the Bosphorus to the Gala-
wall-fronts is limited despite high flow density ta Bridge. Here, the corrosive power of currents
on the city-sea interface. Outside the city, in the slowed down construction and increased costs;
building development of the classical Ottoman during the construction of the Sirkeci embank-
age along the Bosphorus, the definition of infill ment the coast fortification collapsed and had to
areas by waterside mansions and palaces built be reconstructed. In other areas of the port, the
on wooden stakes with a very narrow seafront coastal line continued to be shaped according to
threshold is unique to Istanbul. Beyond urban existent buildings. Outside the Golden Horn, the
infrastructural functionality, infill for this type train station and port construction at Haydarpaa
of development was also related to the use of the required infill areas too. In addition to these in-
shore as an area of recreation. fill areas reserved for urban services, Tophane
Barracks and Dolmabahe and raan Palaces
The increase of export trade in the Ottoman on the Bosphorus were constructed on embank-
Empire following 19th century reforms placed the ments; these and similar buildings helped pro-
transformation of the ports of the city according vide a linearity along the Bosphorus coast akin
to international standards on the agenda. Espe- to European cities.
cially after the Crimean War, the restructuring of
ports was stipulated as an obligation at the Paris In the Republican period, especially after the
Congress. 1950s, infill as a tool of modern planning once
BECOMING ISTANBUL
more transformed the sea-city line with the con- from buildings on infill ground liquefied in the
struction of shore roads. Roads constructed in 1999 earthquake spilled into the sea. Infill ground
front of the Marmara sea walls are a striking exis marked with red on seismic maps.
ample; embankment roads were also constructed
at certain intervals along the Bosphorus. Infill In Istanbul, in addition to forming a func-
parks and roads began to form a generic image of tional threshold between the city and the sea, infill
urban coasts after the 1980s. The Marmara coast of was used, especially after the Ottoman period, for
the Istanbul metropolis is united almost entirely individual or public recreation. However, here
by means of infill. This is the inevitable result of infill has been applied as a thickening, a lining
a planning mentality where the use of the sea for the existing shoreline; in a sense, the ground-
for urban transport is limited. The move of port form relationship between land and sea has been
functions away from the Golden Horn led to the structured in narrow and thick layers. Today, there
partial reformation of the historical shoreline here are fantasies of infill beyond this historical form
with the debris of demolished buildings. Coastal of building between natural and human develop-
park roads open the sea-city interface to circula- ment, the most striking examples of which are
tion and recreation functions, but at the same the infill zones in the Persian Gulf referencing
time interrupt the relationship of old buildings the shape of a palm, or the world map, where a
with the sea. different ground-form relationship between land
and sea is being constructed.
Today, a high percentage of the open spaces
in the city are coastal infills. In addition to the Namk Erkal
formation of coastal zones, on the new periph-
eries of the metropolis an increase in building
development on naturally infilled ground related
to real estate speculation can be observed. This
increase is dangerous when taken in the context
of Istanbuls seismic risk. A portion of the debris
BECOMING ISTANBUL
FIRE ing point in terms of the urban transformation of

Istanbul. The 1865 Hocapaa fire that followed the
FIRE IS AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS IN Aksaray fire, apart from being the greatest fire in
CHANGES IN URBAN TEXTURE. IN THE CONTEXT OF
ISTANBUL, IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON FOR Istanbuls history, also became the reason for urban
THE TRANSITION FROM WOODEN HOUSES LINING planning work which went on for years. In addition
WINDING AND TWISTING STREETS TO AN URBAN to the widening and reorganisation of streets and
TEXTURE PLANNED ON A EUROPEAN LAYOUT.
regulations supporting the use of stone materials
in new buildings, the removal of buildings from
The scores of fires throughout Istanbuls history areas around monuments to create a city in the
paved the way for the municipality, newly foun- western sense brought forward the idea of the pro-
ded in the second half of the 19th century, with tection of historical monuments even though this
work under the heading of city planning among wasnt yet systematic as the monuments began to
its duties, to transform a disaster in the city into stand out in the city. Still, as seen especially in the
an opportunity to plan. In this context, the aim example of Divanyolu [The Street of the Council],
to provide fire safety was underlined and targets monuments along axes planned as main roads,
were defined, namely the expansion of roads and earmarked for widening, caused problems for the
the replacement of the established wooden resi- undertaking. Even so, a section of the emberlita
dence tradition with stone buildings. Hamam was demolished in order to make way for
the reorganisation of the square surrounding the
The many fires in the city during this time and Konstantinos Column. An important area outside
especially those which caused the destruction of the historical peninsula shaped by fires was Pera,
larger areas created the periods renewal areas the Europe of 19th century Istanbul. When the fire
and a new urban texture planned with a sense of of 1870 destroyed the entire area from Taksim to
western organisation was created there. The 1856 Galatasaray, a plan was commissioned but when
Aksaray fire paved the way for the first case of this the requirement of huge investments for the plan
type of practice. The mapping and urban scale plan- was combined with the opposition of the people,
ning work in the aftermath of the fire became a turn- a reorganisation of main arteries had to suffice.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Apart from all the damage they caused, the cation and social diversity, Istanbul cuisine was
fires of the second half of the 19th century paved nurtured throughout history by the various ci-
the way for the development of fire insurance as vilisations the city hosted and formed its own
a new business especially after the 1880s. Due cosmopolitan identity.
to difficulties in the provision of infrastructure
and urban services, presented as the reflection Every culture, from ethnic groups to big em-
of modernisation in urban area, fires continued pires, has left its trace in this mosaic; and this
to constitute a threat to the city until the first process of enrichment reached its peak with the
quarter of the 20th century. Nonetheless, from to- increase in number of immigrants after the con-
days perspective, the maps prepared by insurance quest of the city. Although the pace did drop in
companies against the threat of fires during that later periods, the process still preserves its variety
period, have now become extremely important and continues to evolve.
sources including a vast amount of data about the
city in the 19th century. Could this be the relativ- Since the city is surrounded by the sea in all
ity of damage? directions, fish has always held an important place
in Istanbul cuisine. From cold starter dishes re-
Yldz Salman ferred to as the ordvr taba [hors doeuvre
platter], which we inherited from Byzantine cui-
sine, to main courses using a variety of cooking
FISH methods, fish became included in all meals of
the day regardless of religious, economic class or
NOT A SOURCE OF FOOD BUT A RESIDENT OF THE CITY. cultural differences.
[ED.]
The pickled or brined fish dishes Byzantine

Cultural inheritance has always shaped the monastery priests preferred to eat with bread and
transformation of the cuisines of both countries wine are today served as meze or starters. As an
and regions. In view both of its geographical lo- example, the ingredients needed to prepare sea
BECOMING ISTANBUL
bass available all year round using this method the fish, cook over a low heat for about an hour. Set
are sea bass fillet, sea salt, black pepper, olive oil aside for a while covered with the lid before serving.
and lemon juice. To prepare, thinly slice the fish
you purchased from your fishmonger lengthwise Today, as a result of the diversity of this cul-
into fillets with a very sharp knife. After separately tural heritage, fish has become one of the most
placing the slices on a glass dish, sprinkle plenty popular dishes for Istanbulites both at home
of sea salt on them. After adding enough olive oil and when they eat out. With the popularisation
to cover the fish you have laid out on the dish, add of healthy eating and the emergence of fusion
lemon juice and pepper and gently shake the dish cuisine, the presentation on the same plate of
to make sure the sauce is equally distributed. The elements of various culinary traditions using the
dish will be ready to serve after it has been kept variety of regional cooking methods, fish is being
in the fridge for at least 2 hours. used in diverse ways and cooked in many ways.
Although the wide variety of and easy access to
Although yahnis [stews] in Ottoman Cuisine fresh seafood means many people prefer to eat
make us immediately think of lamb or mutton, fish either grilled or fried, fish dishes served with
fish stews and chicken stews are also an important sauce which we are familiar with from the world
part of the cuisine. You can prepare Papaz Yahnisi cuisine have also begun to appear at our dinner
[Priests Stew], one of the most popular, with either table. Fener Kapama [Stewed Angler Fish] is a dish
lfer [bluefish] or palamut [bonito]: the ingredients prepared in this way. To prepare, you will need
include approximately half a kilogram of cleaned, fillet of angler fish (a sizable one), carrots, cour-
skinned and filleted fish, onions, parsley, salt, pep- gettes, lemongrass, parsley, saffron, leeks, pepper,
per, tomatoes and olive oil. Peel the onions and salt, cream and fish stock. Chop the carrots and
tomatoes, slice them in rings, and chop the parsley. the zucchini in strips and the leek in round discs.
Lay the fish, onion rings and the tomatoes in the Place the fish in the pot, cover entirely with the
casserole in that order and add salt and freshly vegetables and add the fish stock. Bring to the
ground pepper. Pour equal amounts of olive oil and boil, then reduce the heat and add the cream,
vinegar and, after adding enough water to cover lemongrass, salt and pepper. Once it thickens a
BECOMING ISTANBUL
little, add saffron and stir once. Add the chopped as any. The half-bread-fish sandwich sold from
parsley and serve it after draining the sauce. the boats costs 3 YTL.
Much as Istanbul has changed and evolved In 2003, the Preservation Board took the de-
through the centuries, we may insist that a concision to remove the balkekmek boats, who al-
stant in this evolution has been the importance of though they had no permit were still tax payers
the part played by fish in Istanbul cuisine. Whilst who paid a buoy or harbour tax to borough munic-
many civilisations erased the culture of the past ipalities, for damaging the historical texture and
to build their own, fish dishes in Istanbul cuisine natural structure of the Bosphorus, causing visual
managed to survive with very little change. pollution. The balkekmek boats were removed
and thus the historical texture was protected. In
Baak Sana Tanrverdi fact, it was claimed, this texture was renewed. In
the name of protecting the historical peninsula
with a site protection decree, the inhabitants of
FISH SANDWICH the city, and especially the poorer sections who
come to the centres of the city on weekends, were
THE COMMON NAME GIVEN TO THE GRILLED FISH deprived of a delicacy which was an important
SANDWICH (USUALLY BONITO OR OCEAN MACKEREL)
SOLD FROM BOATS IN BEIKTA, SARIYER AND part of Istanbul city culture, organically articu-
EMNN. lated with its urban texture and could be taken to
be part of its cultural heritage. The image of the
For about 150 years, fish has been grilled on Galata Bridge, which cannot be imagined without
tiny boats anchored along the Bosphorus and in balkekmek, was also somewhat damaged.
Eminn, placed between bread, with onion ad-
ded, and the sandwich is then eaten with relish. A Later, the Greater Istanbul Municipality put
balkekmek [fish sandwich] eaten here supplies out a boat location tender and leased two spaces
one course for the day. On weekends, especially for balkekmek boats for 55,000 YTL a year; so, in a
for families with children, it is a snack as cheap sense, the balkekmek sellers have been tied to the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
municipality. The old taste of balkekmek is gone, ensigns, projections of the diverse imagined com-
and the sellers in their faux-Ottoman dresses now munities that aim to proclaim their presence in
offer up a fake image. But its even more crowded the city: flags.
in front of the balkekmek boats now. The glass
of pickle juice that goes with it costs 1.5 YTL. I dont like flags. I never could believe in the
significance of what they stand for. The flag, to
Tangr Tan which we may so often be inattentive, and to-
wards whose symbolic presentation we can all
too easily be inadvertent, is far from being the
FLAG innocent and meaningful social device that it
declares itself to be. Whats the problem? The
NATIONAL SYMBOL WHICH IN RECENT YEARS HAS problem is with what flags expect from us, from
BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO A SIGN DEFINING URBAN us all, from us in our imagined national totality:
SPACE. [ED.]
that we should subscribe to the higher cause of
an imagined collective belonging. All of this flag
A city that has to accommodate flags. Many of business is grounded in a dreadful collective fic-
the many different flags that we see in Istanbul tion: in the totalising illusion of a fundamental
just stay in the background of our attention; they kind of collective belonging. The collective we
are the routine symbolic business of consular may present itself as innocent and idealistic: the
national declaration and advertisement. They are waving flags in the hands of little children on a
available daily: the patriotic statement of liberty, national holiday flags wave. But the flag also
equality and fraternity through the French tri- has its infernal Mr. Hyde face. This other counte-
coleur; the imperial and monarchical God save nance leads us into the theatrics of fundamental
the Queen of Great Britains Union Jack; or the belonging, which is ultimately and essentially the
modern, technocratic blazonry of yellow stars on theatrics of incorporation and possession by the
a blue field of the European Unions great com- imagined collective.
munity fiction. Declaratory symbols-in-bunting,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The Turkish national flag and its insistent coming more sensitive to cultural diversity issues.
communicative functioning in Istanbul: this is In my talk, I was far more cautious. Things are in
surely now an inescapable topic in the citys life, reality much more complicated, I suggested (not
and a vital topic in the context of the citys increas- actually such a controversial observation, I think).
ingly necessary metropolitan and cosmopolitan To underline my point, I referred to those gigantic
cultural trajectory. These days we are seeing Turk- flagpoles and flags that have come to be a new fea-
ish national flags in their millions, quite literally. ture of the Istanbul skyline. Imperiously erected on
Turkish flags, with all their patriotic-rhetorical carefully chosen sites, in order that they should be
thrust and force. Everywhere, they impose, insist visible for miles, they have clearly been conceived
and dictate. The flag has a renewed sense of urgen- as a kind of signalling chain across the city space.
cy, that urgency that flags have always aimed to A totalising chain. So what, I was reflecting, what
mobilise in fraught national times. Semiotic alert. is this proliferation of giant-sized flags all about?
Everywhere: high up on roofs, suspended from Of course, you will know this full well. And you
buildings, outside homes, in shop windows, on must surely be aware of just how far its message
car windscreens. Big flags, small flags; state flags is from the ambitions of interculturalism. At that
and corporate flags; and all the flags displayed conference, one of my co-panellists was moved
by the ordinary citizens of Istanbul too. National by indignation at what I had said. How dare I cast
flags in the citys space. What to think now of this a critical eye at the national flag? Above all, how I
flag in the rapidly changing metropolitan context dare I, as a foreigner, decide to do so? What right did
of Istanbul? I have? And thus we, both directly and obliquely,
came upon the matter of what it is that stands in
Last summer, I took part in a conference in the way of the possibility for intercultural dialogue.
the city. It was a conference on the theme of in-
tercultural and inter-faith dialogue. The general Writing about the flag isnt straightforward.
sentiment of the participants was clearly that good Here you enter a sensitive cultural zone. It makes
progress was being made in this direction; that you nervous (this is surely a vital capacity of the
we those at the conference, at least were all be- national project). The flag is a symbol of the na-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
tions pride in itself. The flag stands for all the had developed a fancy for the little Turkish flags
virtuous qualities that our historic imagined theyd just begun to sell at Alaaddinss shop, per-
community embodies. From out of the deep cav- haps capitalising on the nationalist sentiment then
erns beneath this prideful emotiveness, however sweeping the country; hed hung one in my uncles
and this is what really stirs up the nervous feel- Dodge, and that, we think, is why the angry mobs
ings there emerge deeper and far more basic passed without overturning it, and even spared the
emotions. Fearful and combative emotions. As windows. The truth of the flag: its incarceration
Cengiz Aktar observes, A flag is the shortest way within a bloody and vengeful narrative drama.
to atone the profound lack of confidence we feel
against any threat to our existence, to unwind Blood-painting, 15 January 2008: in the news-
ourselves by repeating many times in various paper I read about a group of twenty students at
ways that this land is ours (Turkish Daily News, a high school in Krehir who were pricking their
15 January 2008). Such profound anxiety is noth- fingers every day for two months in order to pro-
ing unique to us, he quite rightly adds. But Aktar duce enough blood to make a Turkish flag. When
then also invokes a particular local inflection of achieved the flag was framed and presented as a
these fearful drives, when he refers to the national gift to the head of the Turkish Armed Forces. And
flag said to be carried in the pocket of the young copies of it were then distributed as a promotion
man who murdered Hrant Dink. by Tercman newspaper. The flag is a blood sym-
bol, indeed for these patriotic students, right
Fear eats the soul. It can eat the soul anywhere. through to the ultranationalists of Ergenekon.
Though it will do so differently in the context of The brute fact is that an inarticulate blood sym-
different imagined national dramas. September bolism can have so much more social potency
67, 1955: angry mobs roam the streets of Istan- than social words.
bul, smashing Greek and Armenian shops. Orhan
Pamuk recounts this in his Istanbul book: From I am someone who is looking to the city space
time to time a group would gather outside our as a way out of all this blood-and-flag business. The
apartment, but it just so happened that my brother city offers, I believe, a better possibility space for
BECOMING ISTANBUL
cultural and by that I, of course, mean intercul- reinvent our spaces of culture in the spirit of ac-
tural, or cosmopolitan progression. A way for- commodation?
ward, a way beyond national cultural constructions
and constrictions. Istanbul: European Capital of Kevin Robins
Culture for 2010. Istanbul with its proliferating and

generative links to urban cultures elsewhere. May-
FLANEURIE
be this offers us a new cultural horizon, without the
diminishing compass of the flag. Olivier Mongin, FAR MORE THAN WANDERING AROUND WITH YOUR
the editor of the intelligent-spirited French journal HANDS IN YOUR POCKETS.
Esprit, has written about how the city in European
history has managed to stand for emancipation Flaneurie is a state of existence concerning fre-
from cultural servitudes. The historical nexuses edom, pursuit, the meaning of life and being in
of European cities has represented an alternative the modern city with others. It is an intersection
cultural space to that of the nation state: The net- where two acts, giving meaning to yourself and
worked city of yesterday, the city linked to other being named by others, clash. Flaneurie is unrest-
cities, corresponded to an open space, and not to raint, an intellectual lawlessness which distorts
an entity closed in on itself, a fortress city. This is the order of the modern, opposed to working and
to say that the resources of the city contradicted being like everyone else in the name of progress.
the possible constitution of a city conceived in the Flaneurs, voluntary viewers of the modern, those
mode of being of a state (centralisation and hierar- modern urban travelers enjoying the independen-
chy, closure and frontiers). (La Condition Urbaine, ce of being strangers, make keeping a distance
2005, p. 92) The city, according to Mongins ideal from the flow of modern life and looking at it from
and elevating conception, is an open city. It is a the outside their identity.
space open to symbolic circulation, confluence,
engagement. The flag stands for the entirely dif- Flaneurs and the modern city have a recipro-
ferent cultural logic: that of cultural insulation, cal relationship. Beyond the shared conditions of
introversion and protectionism. Is it possible to their birth, flaneurie is an inseparable part of the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
modern city, and the city is almost a condition of violate work-centred arrangements dividing every-
existence as the home of idlers. Flaneurs, brought day life into the two poles of work and free time.
into existence by modern cities, are the external
symbols of the experience of modernity, wander- Flaneurs emerged as the new urbanites of
ing urbanites who try to understand the new in a modernity in the 19th century deadlock of cre-
world of constant speed and transience who have ation and consumption, from a world of crowds. In
made it their job to observe change in a changing later periods, especially after the adoption of de-
life, unflaggingly in pursuit of new elements of at- veloping existentialist attitudes, they signify the
traction. Flaneurs are the epitome of the new gaze general meaninglessness of the system, the state
that seeks to experience and give meaning to the of being different and the refusal to what others
state of being modern and living in the modern feel they have to hold onto or attach themselves
city, rendering the subjective look valuable. They to, a refusal to conform. And they then become an
dont just gallivant around without purpose amid inseparable part of all societies where the modern
the crowds of people in the spaces of display that regime tries to realize itself.
modern cities have now become; they refuse to
submit to the division of labour and specialisation In line with this, flaneurie begins to create its
stipulated by rationalisation and opt to remain own field of experience from the Tanzimat [Re-/
spectators of the modern flow, their purpose Organisation] period on, when Ottoman moderni-
being exactly to gallivant around. Therefore, sation began to take hold and when the empire
spectator flaneurs possess an eccentric identity, entered a great period of change both in its institu-
keeping their distance from the crowds whose tions and society. During this process, the arena
flow consists of nothing but work and consump- of the life of the flaneur was again the city, and
tion, hurled as they are from one side to the other especially the modernizing capital, Istanbul.
in order to fulfill the never-ending wishes of the
capitalist system. In a world where people not only The winds of change brought on by mod-
earn money but free time too, flaneurs are heroic ernisation efforts determined urban planning in
spirits committing a fatal sin. They consciously Istanbul too. Restructuring operations aiming
BECOMING ISTANBUL
to change Istanbul began in areas where non- one of these types, slowly emerges and flaneurie,
Muslims formed the majority, as in Galata and an inseparable part of modern cities and modern
Pera. As a result of the operations implemented urban life, gradually begins its formation. The new
by the Sixth Municipality Office, Pera soon took Istanbul, with its wide roads, illuminated streets,
on a different appearance compared to other parts shops attracting crowds, entertainment venues,
of the city with different ways of life, understood passages and parks begins to transform into a
as European, automatically generated by this city hosting flaneurs, becoming a space in which
new appearance, with its modern shops, theatres modern flaneurie may be experienced, stepping
and European-style entertainment venues. Out- out on to the street from the privacy of the home,
side Pera, the first stirrings of the modern city wandering, walking, watching, being watched and
were felt across the Bosphorus, in the Princes losing oneself in the chaos of the crowd. In the
Islands, amlca and Kadky. With the influence same manner, changes in ways of thinking un-
of new types of consumption emerging as part of der the influence of the efforts to modernise and
this process, public spaces were reshaped by that the steps taken towards the organisation of work
conspicuous consumption which supplanted and free time under the influence of economic
traditional humilities. In addition to Taksim and policies, clear the way for the delineation of the
Tepeba Parks, the amlca Garden, villages on semantic frame of flaneurie, determining the
the Bosphorus and the Princes Islands became qualities that separate the flaneur from the rest.
important spaces of gathering and showing-off.
In this sense, flaneurs, the new inhabitants of
Under the influence of changes experienced Istanbul under modernisation, take on visibility as
under modernisation, both the appearances of new urban wanderers submerging themselves in
the city and urban life change. This rapid process the possibilities of new experience, the practices
of change creates new possibilities of experience, of modernisation at first-hand, making the city
new types of urban behaviour and new urban valuable through living it and by losing them-
types parallel to the qualitative differentiation selves in the contemplation of modernisation
and qualitative increase of stimuli. The flaneur, and separating themselves from the practices of
BECOMING ISTANBUL
work and progress. Flaneurs, bewildered by the a space of flaneurie open to degeneration, the
splendour of the changes brought on by mod- evil-other of Capital Ankara, now transformed
ernisation and in pursuit of what appears to be into a project to reflect the urban design of the
modern, are the new inhabitants of Istanbul who Republic and the everyday lifestyle immanent
jauntily wander the streets of Pera; flow into the to this design.
parks and gardens; identifying with strolling and
observation and adopting the city as their home, Only after the 1930s did Istanbul have the
with its restaurants, cafes, entertainment venues chance to regain its former dynamism. Bohemian
and walkways. tendencies emerging in the public space after
the 1920s need not be forgotten. These tenden-
However, as time goes by, the new began to cies, made visible especially by Fikret Adil and
lose its attraction and reveal its other face, hid- his circle, are expressed as the desire to transform
den behind its novelty. Incessant wars, shifting flaneurie into a lifestyle. The real rupture, how-
balances, toughening identity politics and social ever, is seen after the 1950s.
life, the borders of which were constantly being
redrawn, affected the relationship with the city The 1950s correspond to a turning point in the
too. Although flaneurs were left bruised, espe- context of the modernisation process and, after
cially after the declaration of the Republic, by the the World War II, the country entered a never-
image of acceptable citizenship taken over from before-experienced mobility brought on by its
the second period of the Constitutional Monar- own dynamics and a variety of outside assistance.
chy, they continued their existence despite the Istanbul is renewed by industrial development
demanding processes of identity construction and immigration, and the increasing population,
with the formation of the modern nation-state the transformation of the country into a market
and a society suitable to it, which simultaneously society and increasing American influence deter-
both claimed to be modern while also upholding mining new lifestyles. Again in this period, the
national values at its core. Yet they never gave up early signs of the process of ghettoisation begin
on Istanbul. For, during this period, Istanbul was to change the face of the city. Flaneurs were the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
voluntary observers of all these changes and they movements of thought, began to change the way
continued to be the principal characters of the on- in which flaneurie was experienced. A slightly
going nightlife of Beyolu, with its film matinees, pessimistic stance with existentialist overtones
patisseries and restaurants hosting intellectual was immanent to this new style of flaneurie. Along
conversations, warm days in summer resorts, with this stance, flaneurie began to experience
meetings on the Islands, ferry trips and dinners the conditions of modernism within the city and
on the Bosphorus after long walks. to emphasize idle rambling within the city along
with expressing a condition of existence signify-
However, flaneurie was then situated in a ing alienation, nausea, autonomy, eccentricity
new semantic frame especially as the empha- and non-conformity to values imposed by society.
sis on the acceptable citizen lost its potency; the
new generation internalized its relationship with However, the real eccentricity of flaneurie
modernisation and homogenizing cultural poli- emerged after 1980. To hit the streets without
cies began to lose their influence as the top down getting caught in the net of ossified capitalism
approach to modernisation took on a populist wrapped around everyday life with intellectual
air. Flaneurie was no longer a state of existence aims became an impossible dream or an illusion
in which a monotone politics was reassessed in with its own market. Although Beyolu contin-
one way; instead it adopted versatile character- ued to host subcultures, it gradually began to
istics, with different views assessed according to be transformed into a shopping centre and the
different interpretations. Similarly, the stability illusion of flaneurie imposed its own lifestyle
created by liberal economic policies within the especially in neighbourhoods like Cihangir and
context of working life, gave flaneurie an eccen- Galata. Those who werent satisfied with these
tric appearance within the process of capitalist illusions left Istanbul taking their own fictions
development. Urban intellectuals, acting, not to coastal kasaba [boroughs] like Bodrum. The
with the responsibility of the acceptable citizen Bosphorus, along with Beyolu, was transformed
of the first fifteen years of the Republic but as too and began to signify weekend time-out, with
modern individuals sharing in post-World War II its nostalgic breakfast spots between cars lined
BECOMING ISTANBUL
up along the roadside. But Istanbul still continues An adjective Istanbul residents could use to define
to invite urban wayfarers to the streets, because the novelties they come across every day. In this
even if it changes, the modern city is always a city which changes every day, you may find that
special kind of spectacle. If flaneurs continue to once you step out onto the street, the name of a
exist both succumbing to the colours of modern street has changed, signposts have been removed
life and feeling its dread and suffocation; if they and replaced by others, the bakkal (see Bakkal)
enjoy being different and being other and, at the you always shop at has folded, a building or a
same time, resent remaining strangers, this call neighbourhood has been completely demolished
is not in vain. in one night, a skyscraper has been erected some-
where else, bus timetables have changed or a road
Deniz Aktan Kk you always pass by has been closed. This is why
Istanbul residents are said to wake up to a new city
every day. Also, person or thing not belonging to
FOREIGNER the family or environment.
IN A CITY WHERE TALK OF THERE BEING NO REAL It is known that the vast majority of the popu-
ISTANBULITE IS NEVER ENDING, IT SHOULD BE
EVERYONES COMMON EPITHET, HOWEVER, IT IS lation of Istanbul are first, second or third gen-
RESERVED FOR PEOPLE COMING FROM ABROAD (FOR eration migrants. When you get in a taxi, order a
SOME REASON). [ED.] glass of tea in a coffee shop, while you go on your
endless errand from one official to the other in
A person from a different nation, a foreigner. It some public office or, if you are a talkative person,
is known that foreigners in Istanbul have lived in when you chat to the person sitting next to you
great numbers in Pera (Beyolu today) since the on a two hour journey on public transport, you
early 19th century. Today, foreigners who come to ask or are asked the same question: Where are
Istanbul to work or to live still prefer the Cihangir, you from, fellow country(wo)man? A possible
Galata, Asmalmescit and Tnel neighbourhoods answer to this question could be one that begins I
of the Beyolu area. Also, incongruous, unknown. was born and grew up in Istanbul, but actually
BECOMING ISTANBUL
and the other, Our family is from Istanbul. (this and Kuzguncuk primarily served the demand of
answer often wont satisfy the other person, and the palaces nearby. However, in the final quar-
questions regarding origins will continue). The ter of the 19th century gas was distributed from
question as to who is actually one of us, and who Dolmabahe to Galata, Beyolu, Beikta and
a stranger, is a complex question in Istanbul. A Ortaky. Gas works were established in Yedikule
comprehensive survey on the effects of the speech to supply gas to the historical peninsula and in
bubble proclaiming Im an Istanbulite (see Is- Hasanpaa to supply the skdar and Kadky
tanbulite) next to gigantic photographs of Sakp region. The Kuzguncuk Gas Works, on which the-
Sabanc, Rahmi Ko, Tan Satrk, Hlya Koyiit re is very little data, aside, different approaches
and brahim Tatlses as seen on billboards a few were implemented in the foundation of the other
years ago, has not been carried out yet. three. In this context, accounts of the foundation
and operation of gas works offer clues which can
lkay Bali
be used in discussions of the history of the utili-
sation of modern urban services in Istanbul. The
historian used to early modern urban services
> Bakkal, Istanbulite
usually being founded through capitalist initiative
for motives of profit encounters a more complica-
ted outlook in Istanbul. Here, for the most part,
GAS WORKS
demand is not to be related to contemporary ex-
COMPONENTS OF THE TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
pectations of comfort, nor can the form of supply
OF ISTANBUL WHICH ONLY MANAGED TO PLAY THEIR be described as a capitalist source of profit.
ROLE IN THE CITY AFTER BECOMING DISUSED. [ED.]
The most important headlines in 19th century

The history of Istanbul benefiting from the gas Istanbul newspapers feature, in addition to the
distribution service follows a different pattern hygienisation of urban life, the improvement of
compared to European metropolises. For examp- roads and the provision of vehicle traffic, the il-
le, the first gas works founded in Dolmabahe lumination of the city. The image of the city with
BECOMING ISTANBUL
illuminated streets is seen in all types of publica- one side of the street. The news item also stated
tions of the era and is constructed with reports that Pera residents were soon to be invited to a
including expressions yearning for the West. The meeting where fees for street and household illu-
priority is the illumination of the Palace and its mination would be determined; and that a second
surroundings. The first stirrings for the illumina- gas works was necessary to extend public illumi-
tion of urban areas outside the palace emerged in nation to a wider area.
1846, however the demand intensified in the 1850s.
It emerges that the plan was first to illuminate the It emerges that a gas works was founded on
TaksimTepeba line and to use the production Kuzguncuk hills, probably in the same years as
surplus of the Dolmabahe Gas Works. In early Dolmabahe, in order to illuminate the Beyler-
1857 a line was laid down between the Dolma- beyi Palace. A document from mid-1889 includes
bahe Gas Works and Taksim in order to illumi- a demand for the repair and activation of the gas
nate the area of the city known as the 6th Bureau works for the illumination of the Beylerbeyi Palace
and Grand Rue du Pera (stiklal Caddesi) became and skdar. It becomes clear from this docu-
the first street in Istanbul to be illuminated using ment that the plant was established but wasnt
public resources. With, according to some sources, run effectively. The dimensions and production
the special permission of Abdlmecid, that same capacity of this plant, whose lifespan we do not
year the Naum Theatre in Beyolu was also illu- know, was probably not that significant. Since
minated using gas produced at the Dolmabahe an appeal in 1911 for the lease of the gas works in
Gas Works. Gas use in households was not even Kuzguncuk then serving the Beylerbeyi Palace
on the agenda at this early stage. for the production of coke from coal was granted,
the plant cannot have been in use as such at this
The Journal de Constantinople newspaper date. In fact, shortly after, 2000 square metres
dated 2 February 1857 reports that the side streets of land from the Gas Works premises were taken
leading to Pera Street were being illuminated too, by the Ministry of Estates and Education for the
and that the street lamps were being installed at construction of a mosque and a school. There
a distance of 80 feet from each other and only on is no further record after 1915 regarding the Gas
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Works in Kuzguncuk. For a long time, the attempt the Poligon area of Kathane so as to gradually
to modernize urban services without taking eco- move the Dolmabahe Gas Works following the
nomic facts into consideration will be a common decision to expand the nn Stadium. On 15th
trait for Istanbul. Gas supply, an attractive area August 1960 production at the Dolmabahe Gas
of investment in Western and Central Europe, Works was aborted. The license of the Beyolu and
was often a losing business for the public sector Yeniky Bureaus Turkish Incorporated Gas Com-
in Istanbul. pany which had expired in 1964 was not renewed
but the Beyolu Gas Works which operated under
In the final quarter of the 19th century the the Beyolu Temporary Gas Company, a Turkish-
demand in the Beyolu area for modern urban French joint venture, until 1984 was connected to
services forced an increase in the capacity of the the IETT (Istanbul Electricity, Tunnel and Tram-
gas works and its renovation, to be undertaken way Authority) with regulations implemented at
quickly. To this end, first the Dolmabahe Gas this time.
Works, run by the Imperial Treasury, was trans-
ferred to the municipality in 1874. However, since The first license for gas lighting of the His-
it served the function of illuminating and heating torical Peninsula was granted in 1873 to a Belgian
the palace and similar important buildings, it was called Johans, but it was revoked the same year.
transferred back to the Office of the Field Marshal It was then tendered to the French contractor-
at the Imperial Arsenal, in other words the cen- engineer Jove, but the inadequacy of the plans
tral government, and was operated by the state made by the engineer who was to carry out the
for a while. In 1909 the Dolmabahe Gas Works work on his behalf and the infringement of the
was returned to the Municipality and in 1914 to contract interrupted the process once again. In
the BeyoluYeniky Turkish Incorporated Gas 1874, the Belgian engineer Leon Somoza was ap-
Company which belonged to the French for 50 pointed with an annual salary to establish the
years. The Republican government signed a collat- Yedikule Gas Works; but his appointment wasnt
eral contract with this company and their licence approved, his contract revoked, though his travel
was extended. A new gas works was founded in allowance was paid. Apart from Mehmed Effendi
BECOMING ISTANBUL
being appointed as director in 1880 as a knowl- tion costs. Therefore the Yedikule Gas Works had
edgeable person in the field, details of the work to abort its activities after a short period of time
carried out during this period are not available. because the company could not offer economic
outcomes and suffered from technological inad-
The Yedikule Gas Works was built on an area equacies and operational inexperience. A new
of 52,000 square meters by the sea to provide ease tender was invited in 1914 and the licence was
of access. It should be taken into consideration at granted for 50 years to another French company.
this point that coal used for gas production was
imported from Western Europe by sea and that Although gas production and distribution
coal wasnt mined in Turkey yet. From 1880 on work for illumination purposes in Beyolu and
the operating licence of the gas works run by the Istanbul began much earlier, it appears that only
municipality was granted to a French group, but it by the 1890s was the capital and technological
was transferred to a tradesman called Hasan Tah- know-how provided for all of the work across the
sin on 19th September 1887 for 40 years because of city to operate at a certain standard. The provision
the better terms he offered. In 1888 Hasan Tahsin of a service like gas, which entailed high produc-
transferred the license to the Istanbul City Illu- tion, operational and utilisation costs, to Kadky,
mination Company that he was a partner in and skdar and the Anatolian side was enabled by li-
the opening ceremony of the expanded gas works censing to foreign capital which showed increased
took place on 20th October 1890. As the name of interest in the market. The new gas works con-
the company reveals, gas was used only for street structed in Hasanpaa, close to Kurbaaldere and
illumination in Istanbul in the late 19th century. the railway in Kadky, was a result of the chang-
The fact that a significant proportion of the urban ing structure of the area and a location possessing
building stock was wooden prevented the use of the necessary features for the establishment of a
gas within households and it could not be used gas works. Foreign engineers, whose contribution
for kitchen operations and heating in particular. to the Dolmabahe Gas Works we have limited
Frequent fires especially in the historical penin- knowledge of, became more apparent with their
sula destroyed the system and increased organisa- undertaking in the foundation of the Yedikule
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Gas Works. A 50-year license for gas in Kadky, raw material needs and gas stock, changes had to
skdar and the Anatolian side was given in 1891 be applied to the construction and use of gas and
to engineer Charles George, a Parisian industrial- coal storage areas to meet this requirement in ad-
ist and a French-Belgian company was founded dition to production and cleaning plants. From
under the name The Ottoman Corporation for the time of the foundation of gas works plants,
Illumination with Gas and Electricity. many buildings serving the production, cleaning
and storage of gas and the needs of the plant and
In contracts made with persons to whom the workers were built. The normal lifespan for
gas licenses were given, the production method, materials used in production buildings is 5 years
the qualities of the factories to be founded or the for bricks, 10 years for the mechanical parts and 15
principles of operation were often not defined. years for the iron parts, however it is common for
The contract and specifications for the transfer these periods to expire earlier for various reasons,
of the operational license of the Dolmabahe Gas necessitating renewal.
Works in 1913 for a period of 50 years represent
the first instance where the rules in this field are The gas works experienced their most lucra-
defined: in other words, bureaucratic staff have tive years in terms of new investments in the first
reached a level of engineering know-how to define half of the 1960s. A serious demand for gas use in
the content of the technical services demanded. households of the city must have only emerged by
In the previous period technical services were this point. Plants were being criticized for their
demanded and inspected by a bureaucratic or- inadequacies. Although the service area was con-
ganisation unaware of the engineering content stantly expanding, the distribution never managed
of the service. to encompass the entire developed area of the city.
An interesting point is that as demand for natural
Developments in urban space and the in- gas increased in the early 1960s, the use of bottled
crease in the aress using gas necessitated the gas (LPG) began as well. By 1970, even places with
construction of new production plants. Since the gas hardware were using bottled gas. Even more
increase in gas production considerably increased interestingly, when production volume fell short
BECOMING ISTANBUL
at the Hasanpaa Gas Works in the 1970s, liquefied However, gas works which do not operate
petroleum gas, that is, bottled gas, was added to effectively and economically when they are in
natural gas. Still, until 1993, when natural gas pro- use, become the object of new capitalist demands
duction was aborted, the Yedikule, Kathane (Poli- when they are put out of use, while on the oth-
gon) and Kurbaaldere (Hasanpaa) Gas Works er hand they are transformed into educational
continued to be active within the ETT structure. areas of newly emerging non-governmental or-
The gasometre in Dolmabahe remained in use as a ganisations. In other words, their land is both a
gas depot connected to the Gas Works in Kathane mouth-watering prospect as a speculative profit
until the same date. opportunity and they define targets of struggle
for those who want to reintroduce them as pub-
Gas was an inefficient service in Istanbul from lic spaces. In brief, ironically, at this new stage
the beginning. The demand for gas was restricted of modernisation they can finally now play the
for many years to expectations of change in the social roles they were restricted from fulfilling
appearance of public space like street illumina- in the past.
tion. Use for heating was never even considered
because of the high price of gas in comparison to Glsn Tanyeli
the average income level. Foreign investors hoping
for profits from the provision of modern urban
services didnt immediately get what they were GATED HOUSING ESTATE
looking for either. For the same reason, almost all
investors tried to sustain the business with little A HOUSING SETTLEMENT TYPE CONSTRUCTED
further investment after the initial stage, or they TO EXCLUDE THE OTHER IN PHYSICAL, SOCIAL,
tried to transfer the business. The history of gas ECONOMIC, CLASS AND AESTHETIC TERMS. [ED.]
in Istanbul is the history of the proof that techni-

cal services requiring a high level of organisation Wall-wall-wall there is railing on the wall a
cannot be provided to a city that hasnt reached wire fence on the railing hard to see inside even
this level of capitalist organisation. if you jump not recovered but recreated green
BECOMING ISTANBUL
take-away water houses all the same all with caretakers estate-capacity as much as it takes
flower names the magnolia block isnt white if it doesnt fit here it will fit there it moves
sometimes nature is only in the name names Istanbul moves however far it moves away 15
in an incomprehensible language gardene- minutes to the city centre 10 minutes to the brid-
hir-citybahe-green green grass [in Eng. in origi- ge the ideal city its what it says in the colour
nal] using istanbul in a sentence divide-split catalogue; cant be described has to be lived will
up-destroy metropol-ist-anbul bul-imi-an-ist it be understood when its lived? and what else
new names can be found have been found does it say in the catalogue; for you especially for
satellite city fits us right city sleep city pa- you for you especially for you but the same
ranoid city defined eclectic entry gate security how special can cloned boxes be? independent
guard standing security guard walking secu- of place seek profit not sharing create sides
rity guard waiting how secure are the security inside-outside-the other side of the wall one-
officers? security camera the wall railing wire sided curiosity the one left out is curious about
fence must catch the infiltrator doors steel with the one inside why isnt the one inside curious
many keyholes motion detector see whos at about the other side in the housing estate-in
the door let them in magnetic contact fantastic capacity-in the gated housing estate (see My
observation locking yourself in? securing your- Ideal Home, Security, Surveillance)
self? neither me out nor him in newly defined
requirements newly defined neighbourhood Beyhan slam
relations not buying a house but a neighbour
asking about your neighbour when buying your > My Ideal Home, Security, Surveillance
house seeing your neighbour run seeing yo-
ur neighbour swim building a fence not to see
your neighbour an ideal environment to raise
a child babies growing up by themselves ba-
bies and their international caretakers they see
the grey walls all day an ideal environment for
BECOMING ISTANBUL
GECEKONDU facing urban reality, experiencing cultural dep-

ression and as a consequence, psychological and
ONCE IMAGINED AS A TRANSITORY SPACE AT THE social quagmire. Of course, this is only neces-
INTERSECTION OF COUNTRY AND CITY, IN REALITY
A SPECULATIVE URBAN HOUSING TYPE WHICH
sary for first generation migrants. Subsequent
ALLOWS FOR THE HIGHEST PROFIT WITH THE LOWEST generations are gradually assimilated into the
INVESTMENT. [ED.] process of urbanisation and within a couple of
generations they cease to live and think like their
From an anthropological viewpoint, it is possib- grandfathers at which point gecekondu no lon-
le to say that gecekondu operate as rehabilita- ger meet the demands of these new generations.
tion centres where people from rural areas are This situation actually displays a similar change
urbanized in the process of industrialisation and in terms of spatial experience as well. The first
therefore urbanisation. The incarceration in an generation migrant eventually renews the hastily
apartment block of someone who has just arrived built house, and as funds become available builds
from their village home, the cultural shock a vil- a further floor on top, eventually finding a way of
lager would suffer when isolated from nature and raising his social stature by renting this floor out
surrounded by restricted human relations will to a migrant who arrives after him. In the same
in most cases trigger both internal and external manner that the children and grandchildren of the
disaster. But the structure of gecekondu woven first generation are urbanized as they go to scho-
with regional relations, the existence of certain ol and work in the city centre, the house and the
facilities which can be considered to be, albeit neighbourhood are urbanized too. Zeytinburnu,
in a limited way, in touch with nature and the once a slum-neighbourhood, is a good example.
economic advantage of at least being able to raise Considered a slum area in the 1960s, an exami-
chickens or grow vegetables in the garden can be nation of Zeytinburnus present state provides a
seen as factors which ease the migrants life (see clearer picture of the pace of change.
Migration) in its early stages. And this in turn
enables villagers to lead a life similar to the villa- However, since today gecekondu are not areas
ge in the city and prevents them from suddenly of the city that can be as controlled as is desired,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
they are frowned upon by the state and regional around the fact that the socio-economic balance
administrations. In this type of area, the trends of continues to tilt to the disadvantage of the poor,
regionalism and being from the same social class and the anxieties of the upper income groups who
enable people to act in unison, and therefore it is fear this phenomenon. Another factor is that the
more difficult to establish authority over these ruling classes and interest groups have set their eyes
people than inhabitants of other parts of the city. on areas where the poor have settled and acquired
Although gecekondu have various negative effects property. Considering ventures concerned with
like unmonitored building development in the selling off parkland to various companies in order
city, the states reasons for wanting to disperse to obtain revenue, one cannot be blamed for har-
them are more control-related than related to the bouring suspicions of this sort. No doubt another
damage caused by building development. If the aspect of the problem is the anxiety created by the
authorities had been acting in order to provide structure of gecekondu which complicates inspec-
healthier areas of settlement, they would have tion and surveillance, and therefore control by the
already been doing it in other parts of the city. state. Because the state likes places it can easily
Whats more, aiming to obtain the votes of the intervene in, where solidarity is weak and people
population of the area by granting amnesties to live in their nuclear families in their flats and work
developments just before elections can be viewed at workplaces fitted out with closed-circuit cameras,
as signs of their insincerity in this respect. it prefers it when the places where people social-
ize, have fun, wander, work, make love and even
Contemporary understanding defines urban- demonstrate are pre-defined and under control.
isation as living in areas isolated from nature and Urbanisation obviously has some positive aspects.
other social classes. If the problem is irregular ur- However, models of urbanisation beyond the urban-
banisation (see Irregular Urbanisation), many in- isation experience of capitalist countries must also
stitutions and experts including the Chamber of be taken into consideration. Otherwise, one may be
Architects have repeatedly expressed the view that deluded into thinking that the city is a totality of
Istanbul itself is in fact one big gecekondu neigh- buildings composed of streets and squares, whereas
bourhood. The problem is actually framed more a living city must strive to become a place where
BECOMING ISTANBUL
all its problems are solved with the participation increase of property values whereas critical views
of the inhabitants of the city and where alternative point to the difficulties suffered by the displaced
living spaces can be found. old residents of these areas and other problems
brought on by this urban displacement.
Blent Usta
In the Istanbul example the situation is dif-
> Irregular Urbanisation, Migration ferent from other world cities like London and
New York where the phenomenon is also expe-
rienced. For instance, in contrast to the gentri-
GENTRIFICATION (I) fication of working class neighbourhoods by the
middle class in the 1960s or the transformation
THE DICTIONARY DEFINITION TELLS US IT IS A of SoHo lofts into artist spaces in the 1960s and
TERM APPLIED TO THE DISPLACEMENT OF THE OLD
RESIDENTS OF OLD AND PHYSICALLY DETERIORATED 70s, in the Pera and Galata neighbourhoods of Is-
NEIGHBOURHOODS (SEE NEIGHBOURHOOD) WHERE tanbul, first a reverse-gentrification process took
THE PROPERTY PRICES ARE LOW BY MORE WEALTHY place as a result of the political, economic and
NEW RESIDENTS DUE TO AN INCREASE IN PROPERTY
PRICES BROUGHT ON BY THE PHYSICAL RENOVATION demographic dynamics of the day. Middle-class
OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. THIS PHENOMENON CAN non-Muslim and Levantine neighbourhoods were
BE EXEMPLIFIED IN ISTANBUL IN NEIGHBOURHOODS first evacuated by their residents, and the vacuum
LIKE CHANGR, GALATA, HAL AND BALAT.
that was created was occupied by new residents
in line with internal migration and dynamics of
The concept itself engenders many debates. unplanned small-scale production and trade. Now
The phenomenon, a subject of discussion in the this process itself has been reversed. In a sense,
world since the 1960s, has perhaps appeared on middle-class neighbourhoods first became plac-
the agenda in Istanbul in the last five to ten ye- es where the lower and lower-middle class lived
ars. The advocates of the phenomenon glorify and now, once more, these areas are transformed
its positive consequences like urban renovati- into environments used by a different middle
on, refinement, reduction in crime rates and the class.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
As the term makes clear, gentrification is in the aforementioned Istanbul neighbourhoods

an action implicating agents. The phenomenon are, however, not yet certain.
involves active agents who each adopt various
roles: artists, fans of bohemian life, hipsters, Cem Ycel
small-scale property investors who profit from
it, investment companies under the guidance of
> Neighbourhood, Urban Transformation
international capital, neighbourhood residents
who find themselves in a difficult position because
their rents have risen or their living space has
shrunk, municipal authorities, non-governmental GENTRIFICATION (II)
organisations, international organisations. It is
TRANSITION FROM GENTRIFICATION TO FORCED
not possible to explain the full extent of the phe- GENTRIFICATION AND THE CONSEQUENT LEAP IN
nomenon by means of notions of the renewal of SCALE THE PROCESS UNDERGOES.
a neighbourhood or a district or an increase in
property prices. Gentrification is a process of change neighbour-
hoods go through together with their inhabitants.
Gentrification is perhaps an inevitable urban The direction of change determines whether the
transformation (see Urban Transformation) pro- process can be defined as gentrification or not. If
cess taking place when its time comes. However, the change is accompanied by the replacement
their control by certain regulations is necessary of current users with users of higher status and a
in order not to pay a huge price later. The neigh- rise in property values, then the process may be
bourhood rehabilitation work carried out in Ba- called gentrification.
lat with support from the European Union is an
example. Here, physical urban renewal work is Istanbul first encountered gentrification
being carried out without displacing city residents processes in the early 1980s. Pioneered by the
from lower income groups. The consequences in cultural middle class of the city, gentrification
the near future of the gentrification phenomenon was restricted until the late 90s to a few neigh-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
bourhoods on the Bosphorus like Kuzguncuk and Flat/House scale: The Rehabilitation of Fener
Arnavutky and a few in Beyolu like Galata and and Balat Districts Programme, developed by the
Cihangir. The mostly spontaneous gentrification collaboration of the European Union and Fatih
process of the 80s and 90s evolved into a process Municipality, triggered, from the moment of its
triggered by external interventions in the 2000s. public declaration, a small-scale gentrification
This transformation in the process can be defined process towards the end of the 90s. The promise
as a transition from gentrification to forced gen- of investment in the region which had not wit-
trification. (If we use the word gentrification to nessed investment for many years was enough
describe a spontaneous process, it would be more to attract groups which had hesitated to settle in
suitable to describe processes realized through the area before then. The gentrification process
the triggering of external interventions as forced in the Fener and Balat districts provides the first
gentrification.) example of a shift from a spontaneous process
of gentrification to a process (forced gentrifica-
It would be correct to define post-2000 forced tion) taking place after institutional or corporate
gentrification as third wave gentrification pro- investment.
cesses both because they correspond to the third
wave of gentrification in Istanbul (after the two Apartment/Building scale: Another manifes-
waves on the Bosphorus in the 80s and Beyolu in tation of the third wave emerged as large-scale
the 90s) and because it is a term used for the forced property investors systematically bought build-
gentrification processes pioneered by public and ings in areas in Beyolu (especially the Galata
private sectors abroad following the economic area) where the gentrification process contin-
stagnation in the 90s. These third wave gentrifica- ued on its own course and renovated the flats in
tion or forced gentrification processes, generally them according to the lifestyle of upper-middle
shaped by public institutions or interventions by and upper classes and began to market them to
major capital (sometimes separately, sometimes these social classes. As a result, the neighbour-
together), can be examined under four headings hood that was being transformed flat-by-flat led
according to their scale: by independent individuals or small investors,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
began to be transformed building-by-building on the Preservation by Renovation and Utilisa-

and the gentrification process gathered greater tion by Revitalizing of Deteriorated Immovable
momentum. Historical and Cultural Properties issued in 2005
forms the foundation of these projects and with
Street scale: An entrepreneur bought all the the new authority of expropriation it grants to
buildings along a street behind the Galatasa- local administrations, presents the means to de-
ray High School in Beyolu in order to create a velop projects on block-scale. Although it hasnt
centre of attraction formed of restaurants and reached the implementation stage yet, the manner
bars, and with the actualisation of the project in of operation of projects up to now point to the re-
2004, for the first time gentrification took place placement of current residents of these areas with
on street-scale. Along with the street, its name members of upper classes and serious increases
was ironically gentrified too; the Cezayir Soka in property values (in other words, the processes
[Algerian Street] of many years became Fransz of gentrification).
Soka [French Street]. The Fransz Soka project
made it clear that third wave gentrification would Tolga slam
not be restricted from now on to a process taking
place on a unit basis. > Urban Transformation
Block scale: The final chain in third wave gen-

GENTRIFICATION (III)
trification processes is formed of urban trans-
formation projects (see Urban Transformation)
A SOCIAL ENGINEERING ACTIVITY CARRIED OUT
developed in sit areas realized sometimes by IN URBAN AREAS NOT CONSIDERED SUFFICIENTLY
publicpublic partnerships (municipalityTOK REFINED. [ED.]
[Turkish Housing Development Administration])
as in the case of Sulukule, or sometimes by pub- 1) Mutenalatrma is only one of the terms propo-
licprivate (Municipalitybig business) partner- sed in Turkish for the English word gentrification
ships as in the case of Tarlaba. Law no. 5366 signifying the change in the physical texture of
BECOMING ISTANBUL
neighbourhoods with the arrival of new inhabi- friends or people like them to buy a place. And
tants from a higher socio- economic level, espe- relationships did form between old inhabitants and
cially in rundown centres of the city which have newcomers, though sometimes they wouldnt. Thus
historical value. all possible equivalents for a new conceptualisation
suitable to each district, including the proposals
2) Oda Projesi [The Room Project], which has of participants were as follows: Westernisation,
developed new ideas on the use of various spaces Beyoluification, Bodrumisation, Cihangirisation,
with its neighbours in a street in Galata since Transformation (see Urban Transformation), Dif-
1997, has both been a part of this process and was ferentiation, Beautification (see Beautification),
displaced by it. In March 2006 it was discussed at Gentilisation, Bourgeoisification, Refinement,
the panel WHO IS IT? A Meeting on Gentrifica- Kumkapfication, Culturating, Intimisation, Le-
tion I organized at Platform Contemporary Art gitimisation, Heritagisation, Affablisation, Gentri-
Centre. Sociologists, architects, urban historians, fication, Ortakyisation, Elitification, Elitisation,
artists, initiators and agents involved in the process Hygienisation, Classifisation, Aristocrisation,
took part. During the meeting, new suitable Turk- Tarlabafication, Alienation (see Alienation).
ish equivalents were sought for the specific form of
gentrification, keeping in mind the fact that each 3) The word mutenalama, (mutena: 1- care-
neighbourhood or building might experience its fully done, elaborate 2- select, exclusive) first used
own distinct process of gentrification, because in by alar Keyder, was preferred by Oda Projesi be-
Istanbul, at the early stages of the process, gentri- cause its first meaning referred to an elaborate
fication was as informal as other city formations style, an old style of art, which hasnt much of a
(for example the gecekondu). In the same way that place in todays art. After renting a flat on ahkulu
a person who migrated to an Istanbul neighbour- Street in 1997, and following the growth of what then
hood (see Migration) invited his relatives in the passed for neighbourly relations with older inhabit-
village to occupy the neighbourhood, in a sense ants, Oda Projesi opened one of its apartment rooms
the newcomers to other neighbourhoods which for the common use of neighbours and guests. Back
were undergoing gentrification encouraged their then, it was not known that questions like how
BECOMING ISTANBUL
much do flats cost around here? posed from the GESTALT COLLAPSE
first day on by some of the people who came to visit
the project space were the harbinger of the serious A TERM INVENTED BY THE AUTHOR OF THIS ARTICLE
TO DENOTE A LIMIT CASE OR FAILURE IN THE VISUAL
transformation of the neighbourhood and the end of RECOGNITION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF COMPLEX
the presence of Oda Projesi in the neighbourhood. In URBAN FORM(S).
2005 the flat was sold, Oda Projesi left, the old gates
on both sides of the street were refitted, the street The Gestalt principles of visual perception formu-
was closed to passers-by after 10 pm, and about half lated in the early 20th century aimed at reducing
of the previous inhabitants left. Oda Projesi first phenomenological complexity by developing a
moved to another place on the same street because system of perceptual organisation stressing the
of gentrification, found its second space with the simplifying and unifying tendency of the perce-
help and effort of the neighbours, and the second iving mind in the visual reconstruction of forms.
time had to leave the neighbourhood completely. This tendency is put to the test by the dynamic
The discovery that artists or art projects have the and unbounded growth of the city of Istanbul.
power to transform the city may be inevitable but, The term gestalt collapse addresses the percep-
although the unique micro-transformation of every tual discomfort encountered when the Gestalt
street is less damaging than macro-transformations problematic of simplification and unification
on an urban scale, Oda Projesi today wishes to find is extended into an exploration of the growing
the most ungentrifiable place in Istanbul. What will complexity and information content of formal
follow the various museums (see Museum) or art processes operating in the city. It denotes a limit
institutions opening one after the other remains a case in basic operating principles of Gestalt pro-
big question mark before us. duction in relation to complex urban forms that
interact and evolve with dynamic and variable
zge Akkol influences from their contexts.
> Alienation, Beautification, Migration, Gestalt principles of visual organisation are

Museum, Urban Transformation grounded on a holistic understanding of the rela-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
tionship between the parts and the whole of a vi- gestalt experience. The Bosphorus connects two
sual experience and lead to the overarching gestalt parts into a whole, exhibiting the gestalt principle
claim that the mind privileges the simplest and of the inseparability of the parts and the whole. In
most stable visual reconstruction: when the mind this sense, the quality of wholeness is strongest
exceeds the limit of the complexity of information at the Bosphorus which, ironically, is a rupture in
present in visual experience, it proceeds to simpli- the city. However, as one moves towards eastern
fication by closing the image and retaining only and western extensions of the city, this wholeness
the essential parts, while also selecting the most starts to lose its force while the complexity of ur-
stable figure among various perceptual experiences ban forms increases with respect to an increase in
(Wertheimer, 1938). These perceptual operations information content and a decrease in perceptual
of closure and concision act on the visual template stability. When the image is complex, parts of the
for a simplification and stabilisation respectively of whole are perceived as gestalts in their own right.
the resulting gestalt. The emerging gestalt or form Complexity defers closure and the perceptual
is qualified as good or strong if it is characterized experience is transformed into a kind of serial
by perceptual stability and low information con- gestalt where the mind conceives of parts as sub-
tent. From a birds eye view, Hali presents such an wholes which maintain their own status but are
instance of perfect closure and concision, attested also continuously bound to ever larger wholes that
also by its appellation as the Golden Horn; the open to the continuum of the city. This involution
Bosphorus as well displays a strongly identifiable of parts and wholes is the sign and product of an
form. The Golden Horn and the Bosphorus can be unbounded whole, which defines Istanbul. The
qualified as strong gestalts where perception oc- city is an active field of variation that subverts
curs by way of a clear and strong differentiation the gestalt notion of a bounded whole towards an
between the simple and stable figure (the sea) and unbounded one. An unbounded whole constitutes
its ground or field (the land). both an extension and a limit to the foundational
gestalt principles of visual organisation. Replac-
Strong gestalts are those satisfying both the ing the requisites of unity and stability with con-
figure-field and the part-whole relationship of a tinuity and variation, it problematizes both the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
figure-field and the part-whole relationship of a cheap production sites; the centralisation invol-
gestalt experience. The dynamic growth of the ves the management and advanced servicing of
city opposes the perceptual demand for comple- this new worldwide production geography. It is
tion and stability (closure and concision): urban the servicing, in particular, that takes place in
morphology undergoes dynamic internal self- major cities through the concentration of profes-
differentiations where the transformations of its sional, creative and financial services for global
diverse parts resists or annihilates closure and corporations.
inhibits the stabilisation of the figure. Gestalt
collapse denotes both the resulting perceptual These business service firms provide trans-
indecision and the compelling quality of an en- national services through large office networks in
hanced yet unsettling gestalt experience offered cities across the world. In this way they are able
by Istanbul. to provide a seamless service that coordinates
work globally. For instance, London law firms can
Zeynep Mennan offer multi-jurisdictional contract solutions for
their corporate clients, and New York advertis-
ing agencies can offer global marketing strate-
GLOBALISATION gies for their corporate clients. To achieve these
ends, work is required to be done in numerous
THE PROCESS OF RENDERING GLOBAL A WORLD
ONCE THOUGHT TO RESEMBLE A BOWL USING NEW city offices to cover the clients worldwide busi-
CAPITALIST ECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS. [ED.] ness needs. Thus are cities connected through the
everyday work of global service firms: electronic
The economic importance of cities has increased messages conveying information, instruction,
with contemporary globalisation. The enabling professional knowledge, plans, strategies, advice,
technology that combines computers with com- plus tele-conferencing and occasional face-to-face
munications has led to simultaneous dispersal meetings together constitute a world city network
and centralisation of economic activity. The dis- of global service centres.
persal involves global corporations searching out
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Today, all major metropolitan areas have clus- networked cities in the world with a connectivity
ters of offices of business service firms, typically score of 37.7%. In the following table this result
located in high-rise office blocks through which is put into perspective by showing the five cities
they are interlocked in this process of world city above and below Istanbul in the rankings, i.e. the
network formation. The degree to which a city ten cities with similar levels of integration into
is integrated into this networking depends on the world city network. These are a very mixed
which leading service firms have offices in the group of cities including a specialist financial
city and how important the offices are within each centre (Luxembourg), three capital cities that are
firms office network. Data on office networks are not the economic centre of their countries (Berlin,
collected and the network connectivities of cit- Washington, D.C. and Rome), three capital cities
ies across the world are being monitored by the that do economically dominate their countries
Globalisation and World Cities (GaWC) Research (Athens, Dubai and Bogota), and three leading
Network. This research always shows London provincial cities in important countries (Ham-
and New York to be by far the most networked burg, Atlanta and Montreal). Istanbul is different
cities for doing global business. But networking from all these as the leading economic centre of
requires mutuality: London and New York de- its country but not the capital. However, this is
pend on offices in other cities across the world: not an unusual happenstance: other examples
for instance, in Paris, in Tokyo, in Sao Paulo, in are New York, Frankfurt, Milan, Toronto, Sydney,
Shanghai, in Mumbai, in Dubai, in Johannesburg, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, and Mumbai so Istanbul is
and in Istanbul. in good company!
Network connectivities have been computed One final point, these results do not mean
by GaWC for 315 cities worldwide using the office that the cities in the table are alike in any general
networks of 80 global service firms in 2004. To sense. They are all experiencing a similar level of
ease interpretation figures are given as percent- world city networking but the cities remain very
ages of the highest city network connectivity (Lon- different on numerous other levels, not least in
dons). Istanbul just makes the top 50 business cultural and historical contexts. But globalisation
BECOMING ISTANBUL
RANK CITY CONNECTIVITY Istanbul began in and around this gulf, the Golden
43 Hamburg 38.4
Horn. As a natural route which, along with the
44 Berlin 38.1
Bosphorus, divides the city into three separate
45 Washington 37.9
46 Lksemburg 37.8 land masses, it is the site urban memory clings
47 Atlanta 37.8 to. Civilisations which have settled in this geog-
48 stanbul 37.7 raphy over the centuries have benefited from the
49 Atina 37.5
power of the Golden Horns natural structure.
50 Montreal 37.4
The Golden Horn is a unique sheltered harbour,
51 Dubai 36.1
52 Bogota 35.9 a high security strategic location, a wide, calm
53 Roma 35.4 body of water for ships, and an open passageway
to the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and the
has added a new layer to the meaning of Istanbul
Mediterranean. Since the earliest times, therefore,
in the early 21st century: it is a relatively important
the Golden Horn was functionalized as a naval
player in the world city network.
base where trade and shipbuilding were sited
and these features have been emphasized in its
Peter Taylor
cultural construction and in the image of the city.
The Golden Horn encouraged a multicultural

GOLDEN HORN
and multi-stratified structure into the 19th century,
JUST LIKE THE BOSPHORUS, THIS TERM EXPRESSES becoming the creative core of the city. The concen-
EVERYTHING BUT A GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURE OF tration of the historic peninsula hosting all manner
ISTANBUL. [ED.] of urban functions including trade, administration,
accommodation, education, religion and entertain-
The most important difference between Istanbul ment began to permeate the heart of the Golden
and other shore cities in the world is the urbani- Horn, an area that until then had offered a pastoral
sation around the sea that passes through it and way of life. Therefore, while the Golden Horn of the
the gulf that opens on to that sea. Everything in mid-17th century was a recreation spot with very few
BECOMING ISTANBUL
houses, after the 18th century the number of indus- and rapid development damaged the identity of
trial buildings on the shores of the Golden Horn the Golden Horn instead of contributing to it. The
increased and various types of production were transformation of the Golden Horn into a tabula
introduced. Traces of various branches of produc- rasa in the hands of Dalan (former mayor of Is-
tion from ship building, to brick and fez production, tanbul) in the 1984-89 period, or, in other words,
to weaving can be found along its shores. In the the uncontrolled erasure of the traces of industry
19th century, the palaces and villas along the Gold- in the region, was the first sign of this. Following
en Horn were replaced by dockyards, flourmills, this general intervention, point-by-point imple-
ship iron workshops, military ammunition plants, mentations began in the Golden Horn area. The
the Feshane and the Cibali tobacco factory. Ac- Cibali Tobacco Factory on the southern shore of
cording to the plan prepared by H. Prost in 1936-37 the Golden Horn which now houses Kadir Has
and implemented in 1939, industrial development University, the rehabilitation program of the Fener
along the shores of the Golden Horn was further and Balat neighbourhoods, the Feshane-i Amire,
encouraged and the rapid industrialisation and which most recently became a multifunctional
urbanisation development after 1950 resulted in congress and meeting venue, the santralistanbul
the shoreline filling up with industrial buildings project which transformed the Silahtaraa Power
and the hinterland with gecekondu settlements. Station in Kathane, the Stlce Congress Centre
constructed on the site of the demolished Stlce
The work of transformation began in the re- Slaughterhouse on the Karaky road on the north-
gion of the Golden Horn after the mid-20th cen- ern shore of the Golden Horn, Miniaturk, and
tury. However, this transformation took foreign the irket-i Hayriye Dockyards and Lengerhane
examples as points of reference, which do not buildings now home to the Rahmi Ko Industrial
relate, and in fact stand in complete contrast to Museum are the principal developments in the
the unique nature of the Golden Horn formed by areas around the Golden Horn since the 1990s.
both natural and human influences. Unplanned
interventions with no foundations in either data The work of transformation carried out along
or documentation encouraged by profitseeking the Golden Horn has developed until now in a hap-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
hazard and random manner with no link to an Horn Dockyards (Tersane-i mire [Imperial
urban vision, and closed circuits with weak re- Dockyards]) were founded in 1455 and have preser-
lationships with their immediate surroundings, ved their function and importance to this day. In
each other and the city are being created. Santralis- addition to the Golden Horn Dockyards, Istanbul
tanbul, the most comprehensive recent project in also had the irket-i Hayriye Dockyards (see irket-
the Golden Horn area, despite the hybrid utility i Hayriye City Maritime Lines) and the stinye
planned for it, has failed both to provide added Dockyards, founded along the Bosphorus in 1909
value either for itself or its close surroundings orin and which do not exist today.
terms of gentrification, to stand out from other
projects. The leisure industry, paying no attention The Tersane-i mire (the Golden Horn or Is-
to the multi-level and multicultural structure of the tanbul Dockyards) comprise the Camialt and
Golden Horn, is destroying its riches and impov- Takzak Dockyards and are located on the north-
erishing it by rendering it uniform. At this stage, it ern shore of the Golden Horn along 2 kilometres
is clear that the necessity of a project which takes of shore extending from the Atatrk Bridge to
into consideration the above-mentioned quali- Hasky over an area of 51 hectares. (see Golden
ties and silhouette of the Golden Horn within the Horn) In addition to the technological infrastruc-
framework of an integrated plan is urgent. ture comprising the modern production works,
the area also contains, as a result of centuries of
Gl Kksal consecutive production, extremely significant
remains of historic record from the Byzantine and
classical Ottoman periods (see Byzantium). The
GOLDEN HORN DOCKYARDS docks have served, alongside their regular func-
tions, in large-scale construction projects of the
THE GOLDEN HORN IS HOME TO THE SECOND LONGEST
SERVING DOCKYARDS IN THE WORLD AFTER VENICE. [ED.] city and in the fields of education and health. For
instance, during the construction of complexes
One of the significant structures of Ottoman in- like Sleymaniye, the facilities were used for con-
dustrial and technological history, the Golden veying materials, and during the cholera epidemic
BECOMING ISTANBUL
in the city the first sterilizers were produced at the nance have been accumulated and updated and
dockyards. The health problems of naval officers where shipbuilding is carried out based on prod-
and the staff of the dockyards were treated as part uct line analysis. Apart from Venice , whih indeed
of the remit of the dockyards and their training is no longer fully functional as such, there is no
was provided on site too. The first steamboat, other working dockyard in the world where the
steam-powered factories and the first submarine technological and especially shipping history of
of the Ottoman State were constructed here. In almost six centuries of an empire the size of the
fact, the Mhendishane-i Bahri-i Hmayun [The Ottoman State can be observed and studied.
Imperial Naval Engineering School], predecessor
of present day Istanbul Technical University, was The Golden Horn Dockyards are different
founded here. from other industrial plant in Istanbul in many
respects. The dockyards were founded long before
In addition to their historical importance, the industrialisation, beginning with the Byzantine
fact that the dockyards have managed to survive period, on the northern shore of the Golden Horn.
by renewing themselves, keeping abreast of inter- Its place in urban memory is not confined to the
national developments in areas of advanced tech- past and is consistent and strong enough to form
nology, gives them characteristics of sustained a place in the memory of future generations. The
industrial heritage. The Golden Horn Dockyards dockyards are the only virgin area which has
have established links with European dockyards, been spared from the work of urban transforma-
and especially those in Venice, regarding ship- tion and its attempts to create a tabula rasa on
building technology and know-how, and the flow both sides of the Golden Horn. The functional
of information has been kept regularly up to date. continuity of the dockyards creates an actual and
In addition to being the most important docu- lively production environment in the area and
ment of shipbuilding history and technological enables surprising urban encounters.
development, in this context the dockyards are
extremely important resources where technical The continuing functioning as well as the on-
information regarding shipbuilding and mainte- site promotion of such an important area as indus-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
trial archaeological heritage gives the Golden Horn complaints to the Preservation Board, is perhaps
Dockyards a very special privilege. Despite user a clear sign that the above-mentioned production
interventions, uncontrolled changes and a period continuity is threatened. (see Preservation Board).
of rapid deterioration, the Dockyards continued
their function until the end of the 20st century Gl Kksal
without losing their general character. However,
policies of closure and privitisation, which began > Byzantium, Golden Horn, Preservation Board,
in 1993, threatened six centuries of continuity. irket-i Hayriye City Maritime Lines
For these reasons, new shipbuilding stopped and
work at some units ceased and only ship repair
and maintenance work was carried out. Rapid HAMAM
deterioration began in unused units due to lack
of maintenance. The dockyards area was declared ONCE A TITILLATING CONSTITUENT OF THE
ORIENTALIST IMAGINATION, THIS PUBLIC BUILDING IS
a SIT [conservation] area in March 1995 by the Is- TODAY A NOSTALGIC ELEMENT OF THE OCCIDENTALIST
tanbul 1st Regional Board for the Preservation of IMAGINATION OF TURKS. [ED.]
Cultural and Natural Assets. In 2006 the dockyards
were transferred to the Istanbul Greater Metro- Notions of the hamam [Turkish bath], the ha-
politan Municipality with the decision of the High rem and belly-dancing, construed in Western
Commission of Privatisation and it was declared art and literature as exotic and erotic images,
that the dockyards were to be used by the Istan- have settled into memory. Ingress painting The
bul Sea Buses Company. The transfer procedures Turkish Bath is almost as well-known as the Mona
ended in March 2008 and it is unclear at this point Lisa, but the Turkish bath had a very different
whether the repair and maintenance work of city complexion than has been fantasized.
line ferries will continue to be carried out at the
yards. However, the demolition work which began The culture of bathing was widespread in Is-
at the Golden Horn Dockyards in December 2007 tanbul even before the time of the Turkish bath.
before the completion of the transfer, halted upon For a period of thousand years, there were baths
BECOMING ISTANBUL
(thermae) of varying sizes all over the city during were prestige buildings reflecting the power of the
Roman Byzantion and later Constantinopolis, the emperor, and villas and palaces also had their own
capital of the Eastern Roman empire. Marking private baths. Records of the city show that by the
the imperial power of the Roman rulers through early fifth century the concept of the district bath
their colossal size, baths were built in Constan- had been established. The Notitia Urbis Constan-
tinopolis, among which the Zeuxippos Thermae tinopolitanae mentions eight large palatial baths
near the Hagia Sophia could compete in its monu- and 131 private baths in the city. The latter were
mentality and sculptural decoration with those in smaller and were probably privately run district
Rome. In Roman culture baths operated as social baths open to the public.
centres, and women and men would normally
visit them separately. However, the existence of The ancient bathing tradition began to change
several imperial edicts repeatedly banning men with the conversion to Christianity. Although
and women from using the baths together reveals the baths sustained their existence, their social
frequent exploitation of circumstances. The Ro- meaning changed; nudity, widespread and natural
man baths were heated by the circulation of hot in Antiquity, was no longer regarded as proper
underfloor air. Visitors bathed in rooms of varying in Christianity. Nudity in sports festivities was
temperatures from the hottest to the coolest and banned and bathing was no longer a means for
after bathing they would refresh in a large cold social interaction, but reduced to a religious ritual
water pool. The rooms were arranged either on a of purification. Medieval urban renewal plans do
row-based plan that required people to pass back not show many new public bath developments,
through each of them on the way to collecting their however baths retained their importance for the
clothes, or around a circular shape that allowed royal court and the aristocracy of Constantinopo-
for a complete tour before leaving the structure. lis. No effort was made to reconstruct the great
baths after they were damaged in earthquakes that
Adjacent to the baths were school and sports shook Istanbul, although some parts were repaired
facilities, and outdoor areas for various types of and, in time, only small parts of these colossal
entertainment like juggling and acrobatics. Baths baths remained or were removed completely.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
With the conquest of the city by the Otto- Because the Muslims regarded stagnant water
mans in the 15th century, the tradition of bathing as unhygienic, the hamams do not have pools
in monumental structures experienced a reviv- except for special cases like the kaplcas [thermal
al. Because of the importance of cleanliness in spas]. The body is washed with water running
Muslim belief, the Ottomans knew the tradition from taps into kurnas [marble basins]. The water
closely and both administrators and notables had runs through separate hot and cold water taps
already ordered the construction of numerous into marble basins and thence is poured over the
aesthetically advanced hamams in Bursa, znik body with bowls. The centre of the Turkish baths
and Edirne before the conquest of Istanbul. Ac- is the elevated gbekta, a raised marble platform
cordingly, baths took on a prominent role in the under the big dome. If desired, clients are washed
reshaping of Istanbul. For instance, the first large- by or are given treatments by bath attendants.
scale domed buildings after the conquest were
not mosques but two hamams. The dome of the The perception of the body in Christianity was
hamam within the Mahmut Pasha complex was valid for the Muslim community too, and it still
more impressive than the mosque itself and the is. Since nudity was frowned upon, neither men
dome of the Tahtakale Hamam was even bigger, nor women bathe naked in the hamam and there
both standing out as dominating figures in the are rules regarding how the body is to be covered
silhouette of the city alongside Hagia Sophia. It with the towel. There is a strict division of gender
is thus worth noting that, in view of the politics in Turkish baths. Large, prestigious hamams are
of the newly conquered city, two hamams were designed as two separate linear sections adja-
given priority over religious structures. cent at one point but with no passage allowed so
women and men can bathe at the hamam of the
Turkish baths have various architectural simi- same name at the same time, but effectively in
larities to Roman and the later Byzantine baths. different buildings. In smaller neighbourhood
Heating is distributed from the floor and, rather hamams, though, women and men use the same
than the circular plan, the linear, row-based plan building at different times, women generally us-
where the heat gradually increases is also adopted. ing it in the daytime and the men in the evening.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Although the hamam was important for the the necks and breasts of the young and beauti-
whole of society in Ottoman times, it had a particu- ful women in the paintings, perhaps women also
larly significant place in the lives of Istanbul women fantasized about the young and handsome men
who couldnt move around the city as comfortably as washing themselves. However, we do not know of
men. Although small-scale bodily cleaning facilities any version of the Turkish Bath featuring men
existed within homes, they would go to the baths for produced by 19th century female painters and, even
a proper wash once every week or two. Since it was if they existed, it is clear they didnt attract as much
an opportunity to socialize as well, the visit would attention as Ingress women. Those who dream of
be made in large groups and the visit could last an houris in the hamam do not add that fat and hairy
entire day. Meals would be brought and eaten to- men and old women with saggy breasts also had a
gether. Important social events would be celebrated great time at the baths. European travellers who
together in the hamam, the bridal bath, the fortieth visited Turkish baths in the 18th and 19th century do
day bath after the birth of a baby, a mothers gather- not describe the erotic characteristics of hamams
ing before her sons departure for military service either. General Helmuth von Moltke, who used
or, perhaps most importantly, to review candidates Turkish baths for the first time in 1835 during his
for his betrothal. Since women could not go to cof- visit to Istanbul, praises them and states that those
fee houses to socialize as their husbands did, they who have not had the experience should not re-
would visit the baths to enjoy the company of their gard themselves as ever having washed before. In
friends, chat, gossip and become informed about contrast, Mark Twains hamam experience was a
affairs going on outside their homes. washout, just like his whole visit to Istanbul in the
1860s. He compares the baths to stables, is shocked
In addition to their use and their physical ex- by the spaghetti-like dead skin scrubbed from his
istence, the baths owe much to Western fantasies. body arguing that they are certainly not layers of
Ironically, those who wrote the stories and painted dirt, and concludes that he will never set a foot
the images of women touching one another, insinu- in such a place again. Mark Twain left Istanbul
ating erotic fantasies, were generally men who had greatly disappointed by his failure to experience
never set foot in a Turkish bath. As men imagined the exotic atmosphere of the hamam.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Women travellers had inconsistent expe- Hrrem Sultan Bath in the primary tourist district
riences too. For instance, narratives by British of Sultanahmet is a building that could be very
noblewomen Lady Mary Montague and Lady successfully run according to its original purpose.
Elisabeth differ considerably. Lady Montague However, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism,
mentions how she enjoyed her visit to the baths, not particularly interested in carrying out work
and describes the social behaviour of women in related to its name, had it carefully restored and
the hamam in detail. She also believed that the then converted it into a soulless shop selling low-
Ottoman women owed the beauty of their skin quality carpets. The vendors, civil servants of the
and bodies to hamam visits. However Lady Craven Ministry, are as sympathetic as tax officers.
blamed regular visits to the hamam for Ottoman
women looking so old even at a young age, and So whatever happened to the Turkish bath?
also expressed her disgust at being surrounded Does anyone visit them anymore? Who are the
by fat and ugly women. people who still go to the baths and what are they
like today? Fortunately, there are still echoes of the
When bathrooms with running water were nostalgia of the exoticism of the hamam and tour-
installed in homes in the 20th century, the need ists try to include a hamam visit in their schedule.
for the hamam began to fade. As women began to Therefore, baths targeting tourists have developed
take part in working life, they had no time for this their services according to this new clienteles
type of activity. Increasing concern and caution demands. There are hamams closed to locals and
over hygiene in modern times also had a nega- open only to mixed tourist groups. Open until late
tive impact on public baths that were accused of evening, tourists can come to these baths without
being dirty. any further preparation and relax after a long day
of sightseeing. Even though they do not know
Some of the buildings that had lost their func- more than a few words of English such as OK
tion were rented out as shops by the General Direc- and welcome, the staff are experienced at com-
torate of Foundations, some were converted into municating with foreigners. Of course, hamam
restaurants, and some just deteriorated away. The visits by foreigners and changing times have af-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
fected some of the customs too. Turkish women massages and treatments with scented oil indicate
usually wrap their petamals (loincloths) around that wellness is the correct route to renewal.
their body and only take it off at the gbekta
(central marble platform under the main dome) or There are of course some local customers,
when they clean themselves by the kurna (marble who go to neighbourhood and grand hamams,
basin); and they never take off their underwear. but they arent many and it wouldnt be wrong
However, the new and most important clientele, to say the middle and upper-middle classes have
the tourists, bathe completely naked. The natrs to a large extent abandoned the hamams. A local
(female bath attendants) and local customers still who tries to overcome the hamam and hygiene
visiting the baths used to think this improper, lecture learned from moms and rediscover this
but theyve grown used to it now. The traditional culture may also feel like a tourist at first. If there
natr wears oversized, wet underpants clinging to is no-one among friends who remembers or knows
her body and she has huge breasts sagging down this ritual, you really wont be very different from
to her belly like Kybele, the goddess of fertility. bedazzled tourists on a voyage of discovery. You
Although this particular type can still be spot- may look different from the petite Japanese or
ted in some baths, the twentieth century Barbie the butch Dutch women, but the only difference
effect has taken its toll among natrs too. Thin between you and the other women with whom you
natrs with small breasts wearing lace slips go share a similar amount of cellulite or similar hair
completely against the traditional look. colour, will be the chat you have with the natr in
the local language. Before entering the hamam,
The refined women of Istanbul do not go to his- you will first find the prices too high and bargain
torical hamams because they are considered dirty. until you get a locals discount or gulp and pay up;
They may visit the hamams of expensive hotels or for many women do not even know how to bargain
prefer saunas, spas and wellness centres with foreign anymore. Once inside and naked, you enter the
language names. Some hamams trying to survive heat with footgear which has evolved from the
were not slow to follow. Although the sauna cabins wooden clogs of the past to plastiic slippers. You
didnt catch on among the tourists, the queues for look around thinking which kurna to go and sit at
BECOMING ISTANBUL
when you hear the command of the natr: Go lie When the natr tells you she is done (she says
down at the gbekta and let the dirt on your skin finish to tourists) you suddenly feel like an or-
soften! As you lie on the marble platform, you phan, and messing about with the water at the
can watch the sky above through the star shaped kurna doesnt relieve this feeling. You suddenly
openings of the dome; and beams of light which realize from the wrinkles on your hands that you
change as the clouds move filtering inside. You have spent far more time than you thought at the
usually relax and drop off from the heat, but a drop hamam. Time to leave. How sad. A glass of tea or a
of cold water from the heated-up ceiling will wake glass of fruit juice after getting dressed completes
you up. Its like a reminder, the essential task is to the pleasure. Once outside in the cold, you really
wait for the dirt to soften and call the natr when feel as clean as if you had never washed properly
its time. When the whole body has softened, it before; and strong as a boiler because of the heat
means the time has come to be scrubbed down. accumulated inside of you. Why did we exclude
Since it is included in the entry fee you pay at the this place from our memory? Getting to know the
door, the washcloth will be used first on you, and hamam is like meeting a very nice person later in
it produces a certain number of rolls of skin de- life, telephone numbers are exchanged and you
pending on how dirty you are. It is impossible to immediately want to see each other again. But
achieve this with a soap cloth at home, and those theres no room for such extra rounds in daily
who see these rising from their bodies for the first life. Returning to the hamam once a week or two
time look around in a slightly embarrassed man- becomes a dream, just like the Ottoman women
ner; hoping no one has seen how dirty they are
themselves, who used to do just that.
Sometimes the natr may even raise her voice
and ask, Dont you ever wash yourself? The hot Zeynep Kuban
stone, hot water and washcloth relax the muscles
completely and if the natr softly massages you
as she soaps your body and hair, you might even
think you are slightly levitating off the gbekta.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
HAN the city itself, the nourishment of the city. Citing

the word, they find themselves from then on turn-
EACH HAN IS A LINK IN THE OESOPHAGUS OF THE ing in a wheel of fortune, as Ak Veysel laments
STOMACH-CITY. when he says:
Istanbul, like any other large contemporary city, The moment I came into the world
perpetuates itself by collecting, keeping and I walked in that selfsame time
storing stuff that keeps arriving from outside. In a han with two doors
Acting in this way is one of the most important I carry on both day and night.
constants of the city since its foundation, and
it carries on as part of the citys arrangements When cities become huge market places (see
unaltered by the passage of centuries. Moreover, Street Market), however, streets are transformed
and directly because of the ports, considered to into market areas, bustling with street sellers (see
be the main access poins sto the city, this leaves Street Food Vendor) where all kinds of goods and
spreading stains in the urban fabric. Yet, once services are sold, and thus lively public areas of
one enters the city, treading the streets created barter and exchange. (see Public Space) The pas-
by those stains and sees the stuff that has ac- sage of things in and out of the city has by this
cumulated, it becomes clear that this is only a point become so intensified and enriched and
virtual continuity, with existence only on paper. since, of course, become virtual that Istanbul un-
Those stains are neither the han of the imagina- dergoes a transformation: from being a han with
tion of Ksem Valide Sultan, the founder of the two entrances, to a han with forty entrances; from
largest han in Istanbuls plan, or the han of the being the oesophagus of the stomach-city to an oe-
imagination of Ktahyal Esma Hanm who said: sophagus bunged up with stuff. The interspaces
formed by the coming together of patches of the
O Istanbul, are you a han, Are you the one han, i.e. the streets, become more active than the
who swallows heroes who come and had her Et- the patches themselves. They are the walls of the
hem Pasha swallowed by the city. Their hans are bending narrow streets in the new city or the mar-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ket place, perceived not as buildings which invite erif said, under the influence of the adventures of
entry and create spacious public courtyards, but the han with two entrances becoming the han with
as high walls without forty entrances that limit forty entrances, it is only drunk, not unhappy.
the streets, or borders where the market ends. It
is as if they are not above but below ground, and Zhre Szeri
with the myriad virtual stuff that enter the city
or the virtual web trade environments, both hans > Public Space, Street Food Vendor,
and their doorways have become invisible. The Street Market
knowledge that the below-ground levels of the
han are used as storage area for almost the entire
electronics market on the streets of Tahtakale,
HEADPHONES
verifies this state of non/visibility. The city and
the market are packed away at the end of the day, THE DEVICE USED TO ESTABLISH A SOUND CONNECTION
hidden inside hans and become invisible. BETWEEN THE EAR AND THE TRANSMITTER. IN OTHER
WORDS, THE TECHNOLOGICAL WONDER WHICH
HELPS YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC IN ANY ENVIRONMENT
The han is drunk, the keeper of the han is WITHOUT DISTURBING OR BEING DISTURBED BY WHAT
drunk IS AROUND YOU.
The stranger on the road is drunk
Doctor, take your hand from my heart Both headphones and their owners have come
The pain inside me is drunk a long way since the low-quality orange foam
headphones that came with the first walkman.
Although the han, treated in many poems People who listen to music on headphones, whom
and songs, has, like the poor living in the city, ac- I will call headphone wearers from now on, used
cepted its fate and lost any hope of promotion or to be only the children of relatives from Germany,
improvement, and although its doors have been but today they are everywhere. Some residents of
erased and rendered unreadable, and is now im- Istanbul continue their journey on the dolmu, the
passable both day and night, just as Ak Mahzuni ferry, the street and the market (yes, the market)
BECOMING ISTANBUL
with their ears closed off to external sounds. If it earphones, you may witness them silently move
counts as a confession, I confess I am one of them their lips every now and then; dont be alarmed,
too and in the same way one recognizes someone they are only singing along to the song they are lis-
bearing a resemblance to herself, I cannot help tening to. If you are with someone from this group
but observing members of the headphonewea- on public transport and if you know the song,
ring crowd. This headphone sister/brotherhood you may wish to sing along with them because
extends from a secret eye-contact greeting when they often act inconsiderately when adjusting
someone sees the other on the street to checking their volume. Another group is those who walk
with a transient glance the song the other is liste- around wearing huge DJ headphones. And the
ning to when sitting next to each other on the bus. most recent addition to the group, i-Pod users
reveal themselves by their shiny white earphones.
The flock of headphone wearers is inevita-
bly to be separated into different groups. Those We headphone wearers travel along to our
who may initially be included in this group are own personal music video everyday. Even if we
the mobile phone users; you can tell them from take the same routes at the same hours thanks
the asymmetrical cable length between their two to modern life and spend hours in traffic jams
ears and the way they suddenly start speaking to thanks to Istanbul we owe it to the music in
themselves when their phone rings. They gener- our ears that the time passing by is not the same.
ally prefer to listen to the radio. And interestingly, We can perhaps find our escape in this urban vi-
they prefer their ears to be free when they are cious circle and our own special Istanbul only in
walking. Once in a vehicle, even for only a couple this way. We turn down Istanbuls strong voice
of stops, they rush to get their earphones on. and replace it with our own theme music in the
background. The poet once said Im listening to
A second group is those who wander around Istanbul with my eyes closed. Well, our eyes are
wearing their MP3 player earphones. These are a open but our ears are plugged
mutated form of the group who use to lug their
bulky CD players around. They often use in-ear smet Elif Kl
BECOMING ISTANBUL
HOLIDAYS way national holidays have been celebrated in

Istanbul. Like the religious holidays, national
THERE ARE STILL SOME DAYS OF THE CALENDAR holidays are also an important part of public
WHICH HAVENT BEEN DECLARED HOLIDAYS IN celebrations, where all schools and state offices
TURKEY. [ED.] are closed nationwide. One such conspicuously
celebrated national holiday has been Republic
In Turkey, a country rich in holidays, the con- Day, where there is an intense display of flags (see
cept of the bayram primarily applies to the Flag) around the city and public popular music
two religious holidays. The eker Bayram (The concerts and exhibits. The two other national ho-
Ramadan Holiday) and the Kurban Bayram (The lidays Youth and Sports Day and the Childrens
Holiday of Sacrifice) have been the two major fes- Day are usually celebrated within city stadiums
tive events which mobilize the society at large, and schools. The Victory Day, associated more
and in particular at particular social and econo- with the military falls outside the school calendar,
mic levels. The coming of the religious holidays and its celebrations in Istanbul is usually limited
would be marked with the increase in open ba- to Heybeliada, the site for the Marine Academy.
zaars where new clothes and candies would be One should also mention the locally celebrated
marketed. These holidays are also marked by the holidays with national significance. These ho-
intensive family visits to the elderly, a tradition lidays usually celebrate the independence day
which would mobilize the whole city in opposite of a certain locality or a day when Atatrk paid
directions and cause a visible holiday jam. Gifts a special visit to a particular town. The Saving
and donations are also part of these holidays, whe- of Istanbul on October 6 is for instance a day
re public visits are made to traditional Ottoman off for all Istanbulite schools and public offices.
charity centres all located in Istanbul. With the Istanbul is also one of the main cities reflecting the
impact of the Islamist movement, different mu- impact of global celebrations like Mothers Day,
nicipalities in Istanbul offer free iftar food during Valentines Day, phenomena of the new mil-
the Ramadan Holidays. Since the mid-1990s, the lennium, promoted by the citys rising shopping
Islamist movement has also had an impact on the malls (see Shopping Centre). This is a new global
BECOMING ISTANBUL
celebration tradition, which is in fact very diffe- In the 18th century, with the emergence of a
rent than the cosmopolitan tradition of Istanbul, new trend in Europe to search for a new view of
where Easter and Christmas would be celebrated life, the interest in the Orient increased gradually
by its non-Muslim communities. While Christmas especially in France and England. Towards the
celebrations are transferred into New Year celeb- end of the century, travel-books featuring more
rations in Istanbul, usually centered around the realistic narratives became more widespread and
Taksim area, the celebration of Easter is a less from the end of the century on, Orientalism, Ro-
noticed event, leaving its trace only in patisseri- manticism and archaeological work transformed
es, where the paskalya rei (Easter bread) is a the East, and especially Ottoman lands, into one
customary item of the year-long repertoire. of the foremost topics of interest in Europe. This
image of the Orient which was accepted as apply-
Arzu ztrkmen ing to the whole of the East with almost no excep-
tions rendered the Ottoman capital, Istanbul, a
> Flag, Shopping Centre must-see place as one of the symbolic centres of
the East.
The more secure environment offered to for-
HOTEL eigners after Tanzimat [Re-/Organisation] and the
development and increase in means of transpor-
A TEMPORARY LODGING ESTABLISHMENT DESIGNED
TO PROVIDE ACCOMMODATION AND OTHER VARIOUS tation resulted in more short-term visitors from
FACILITIES. Europe to Istanbul. At first foreigners who came to
Istanbul for official duty or trade stayed at hotels,
The construction of hotels, which accelerated in with the first tourist groups beginning to arrive
Europe with the industrial revolution and the cons- in the second half of the 19th century.
truction of railways, began in Istanbul simultaneo-
usly with the urban planning work of the Ottoman The first hotels constructed in the city in the ear-
Empire in the 1850s and the efforts to transform ly 1840s were situated close to the port in Galata. On
the Ottoman capital into a European city. the hills of Galata, where the foundations of the new
BECOMING ISTANBUL
financial centre of the city were being laid, hotels The city was re-included among the prefer-
were also opened, at the same time, along the Grand ences of international hotel chains in the 1950s
Rue de Pera (see stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu"), which with the construction of the Hilton Hotel, and
would soon come to host European-style housing, after the 1980s hotels diversified and increased
culture and trade buildings. The owners of these first in number as a sign of emerging values. With re-
hotels were the Levantines and non-Muslims living gional interventions to serve tourism, the indus-
in Istanbul. Throughout the second half of the 19th try to direct the citys dynamics, these buildings
century, the most important hotels of the city would of accommodation diversified amid the recent
be positioned around this spine and in its vicinity pursuit of historicity in areas hosting the densest
where foreign embassies were also located. The Pera historical layers of the city.
Palace opened in 1895, and achieved fame as part of a
hotel chain and as a stop on the Orient Express tour. Yldz Salman
Beyond being luxury accommodation build- > stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu", Summer Resort
ings, these hotels entered the everyday life of the
city as indispensable sites of the European life-
style which was being introduced to society. They HOUSEHOLD
hosted balls, invitationals and concerts attended
by non-Muslims, the European population and THE TERM IN PRE - 20th CENTURY TURKISH WHICH
DESCRIBED THE HOME AND THE FAMILY LIVING IN
the notables of the Ottoman bourgeoisie. By the IT AS A SINGLE UNIT. [ED.]
final quarter of the 19th century, the summer sites
of these hotels began to appear in the newly sub-
urbanized summer resorts (see Summer Resort) In 1907, Kazm Bey, then a boy of 14, was a member
of the city like the Bosphorus and the Princes of what he referred to as a modest household
Islands. In a similar manner, these places also [hane] of four, including his mother, father and
hosted changing everyday living spaces with their brother. They lived in a two-storey wooden hou-
ballrooms, tennis courts and beaches. se in Fatih, in the heart of Muslim Istanbul. His
BECOMING ISTANBUL
simple household was a far cry from the image but static, with the comings and goings of visiting
many have of what they presume to have been the relatives who often stayed for long periods of time.
populous multi-generational Istanbul household But most importantly, households were very fluid
of the past. Indeed, Kazm Beys household is just a things, changing in size and composition as one
bit larger than the mean at the time of 4.2 persons. moved through the various stages of life, adding
Though there were striking examples of grandiose on and dropping people as they were born, mar-
households in the past in this once imperial city, ried, aged, and eventually died. This included
as far as we can tell, for most of its history most live-in servants, common at the beginning, but
Istanbul residents of modest means which was not at the end of the century for the well-off. Ser-
most people in the city lived in rather small vants were typically young girls who stayed until
two-generation households. While the symbolic they were married off. In addition, though they
value of what the late Ottoman sociologist and might not have lived under the same roof, family
nationalist ideologue, Ziya Gkalp, referred to as members such as parents, aunts and uncles, and
the grand konak household was great, the reality grandparents of all classes often lived and still
for most people was quite different. And even the live close by one another, and are persistently
konak household, emblematic of an era, did not, involved in each others lives. So, in that sense,
by and large, survive the economic and political the Istanbul household is a social construction,
traumas of the First World War, the end of empire assembled and disassembled as need arises. De-
and the establishment of the Republic, falling spite the extraordinary growth and changes in
away with so many of the trappings of imperial the ethnic and social class composition of the
Istanbul. population that have taken place over the past 100
years or so, the households of ordinary people in
The word hane, which largely focuses on the city have been points of relative stability in a
common residence (as opposed to family, which sea of change.
points to relationships regardless of where one
lives) conjures up an image quite rigid and static. Contrary to common knowledge, the size of
Households in Istanbul in the past were anything the household at the end of the 20th century was,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
at 4 persons on average, not much different than a migrant household was 100 years ago, they are
it was at the beginning (then 3.6 counting family rarely multi-generational. The migrant household
members only), except, perhaps surprisingly, for and the wider family and other personal connec-
the working classes, who now are living better and tions have provided major entry points and the
longer and in somewhat more populous house- social capital for migrants moving into the urban
holds. Istanbul 100 years ago was, as it is today, a world of work and sociability, and eventually set
city of migrants (see Migration). At the beginning the foundations for their residential communities.
of the last century, if they were Muslim, many of
the migrants came from distant parts of the crum- While the rich more likely lived under one
bling empire under difficult circumstances and roof in a konak at the beginning of the last century,
tended not to have as many relatives residing with by the end they were living in separate flats but, if
them as the longer-term residents of the city, but they could manage it, in the same or neighbouring
may have had a live-in servant or two. Over time buildings. The most typical move was for such a
they replaced, in more than a demographic sense, family to sell their konak and put up an apartment
the numerous non-Muslims who were departing building in its place where they would each oc-
from the city, also under trying conditions. We cupy separate flats, while maintaining intensely
know little about the lives of non-Muslims of Istan- intertwined lives. Their maids, rather than liv-
bul from a sociological perspective, even though ing in, were more likely to be day workers. In the
they were about half the population at the time. communities where migrants from rural Anatolia
Today they are perhaps two percent of the total. live, family members reside as near to each other
During the second half of the twentieth century as they can. For the growing middle classes, such
most of the migrants to Istanbul were coming from family propinquity and face-to-face intercourse is
more accessible Anatolia, and their households less easily attainable in the new residential com-
ebbed and flowed with live-in relatives they were munities in which they are now choosing to live.
sheltering, and whose fate, at least for a time, they
were sharing in the transition to city life. Though One hundred years ago it was more likely that
their households today are somewhat larger than households of different economic and social levels
BECOMING ISTANBUL
but of the same religious faith, would be inter- HYBRID-ISING/ISATION

spersed throughout the same neighbourhood,
creating a web of social connections grounded THE NATURAL CONDITION OF HUMAN BEINGS AND
to some extent in religious sentiment and tradi- CULTURE. [ED.]
tional social obligations that cut across class lines

and provided a degree of local integration. Today, Perhaps the discourse of hybridisation belongs to
households in Istanbul are much more likely to be minorities more than to anyone else. Although the
located in proximity to like households in neigh- mainstream doesnt have many definitions as a
bourhoods quite homogeneous in terms of social putative category, hybridity is almost never one of
class, though for those from rural Anatolia, also its qualifiers. The mainstream is more often cha-
largely homogeneous in terms of region of origin racterized by either appropriating or classifying
and ethnicity. For the middle classes in the city, as entirely separate categories groups positioned
social class and life-style have come to trump eth- outside it in order to preserve inner qualities.
nicity and region of origin as bases of proximity Therefore the hybridisation of a country or a city
and solidarity. While not living altogether in one and, in this case, Istanbul is not preferred by domi-
flat, and perhaps not even in the same neighbour- nant authorities or the holders of power. However,
hood for many nowadays, close relatives of all hybridisation does take place in all groups clai-
social classes still maintain close contact and are ming to be dominant, even if they dont desire it
intensely engaged in each others lives. Istanbul, and tend to turn a blind eye to change.
in that sense, is truly a city of families.
The minority in this context is not only re-
Alan Duben ligious or ethnic. It includes everyone who falls
outside the aforementioned mainstream. I would
> Migration like to claim the following: not only in Turkey, but
across almost the whole world, even in countries
like the United States which maintain that they
exist in a state of diversity, hybridisation is the dis-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
course of minorities. Lets say a field of discourse what was planned or desired? Perhaps the whole
in which those who refuse to be assimilated but problematic is not accepting the impossibility
do not necessarily define themselves as points of of living Istanbul according to the users guide
resistance. Thus, one might even discuss whether stipulated by some. Rather than trying constantly
the process called hybrid/isation really exists at to correct hybrid lifestyles, or the hybrid spaces
all. Actions formed with the suffix -isation point that emerge, lets try to understand and share in
mostly to the existence of some kind of centre of the affluence.
power. Those who speak of a spontaneous be-
coming-hybrid, in line with their discourse, are Burak zldil
generally those who are looking on from outside
this centre of power. > Istanbulite
Probably this undefined mainstream in Istan-

bul presents itself most in the expression being IDENTITY
from Istanbul (see Istanbulite). The story of the
inhabitant who wants to leave or does actually THE CONSTANT OF SAMENESS WHICH, ACCORDING TO
THE DOMINANT DISCOURSE, ISTANBUL IS THOUGHT
leave because s/he feels like a minority in Istanbul TO BE PERMANENTLY LOSING AND THEREFORE MUST
ought to sound very familiar to everyone. How- BE PROVED BY THE OFFICIAL DOCUMENT WHICH CAN
ever, it is precisely because of this mobility, the NEVER BE PRESENTED AT EVERY DEMAND OF THE
CULTURE POLICE.
source of complaints, that Istanbul doesnt turn
into an open air museum and continues its exis-
tence as a living city. Things arent what they used In exactly the same manner as the illusion
to be; they neither can nor should be anyway. Life- that a document of identity is the answer to who
styles, ways of claiming the city, habits of using everyone is, it is a common assumption that Is-
public/private space and other similar patterns tanbul has, or rather should have, a total, con-
are changing. Does that mean that what turns stant and immediately recognizable identity to
out to be the case is bad, just because it doesnt fit be presented on demand. The desire invested in
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the need for a transhistorical essence rendering IRANIAN IMMIGRANTS

all the events, people, practices and the physi-
cal environment produced by them unique to EMIGRATION FROM IRAN TO TURKEY HAS A LONG
Istanbul, is the productive force behind all the HISTORY. BUT THE MORE RECENT FLOW OF IRANIAN
MIGRATION TO AND THROUGH TURKEY WAS LINKED
discursive production regarding what this city is WITH THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION IN 1979, CAUSING
and what it will be. Yet actions oriented by differ- MANY OPPONENTS AND RELIGIOUS MINORITIES TO
ent expectations, interests, possibilities, desires LEAVE THE COUNTRY.
and conditionings and their consequences can-

not somehow be assembled under the singular Another important factor was the IranIraq war,
umbrella of being unique to Istanbul. In a sense, which lasted from 1980 to 1988, taking the lives
becoming Istanbul emerges with this ironic con- of many young people on both sides. In the ab-
tradiction: on one hand Istanbul is this plurality sence of official statistics, estimates claimed that
which cannot be totalized under a singular same- 300,000 to 1.5 million Iranians entered Turkey
ness. On the other, Istanbul is also the fear of the after 1979 and stayed in the country until the end
untotalizable multiplicity of its own multiplic- of the 1980s (Ghorashi 2002: 111; Kirii, 2003:
ity and the dream of sameness as it multiplies. 85). Iranians who emigrated at this time inclu-
Desire invested in always conceals everyone, yet ded members of religious minorities, especially
the appearance of everyone is only possible if the Bahais and Jews, intellectuals and the political
image of always is erased and diffused. Istanbuls elite, members of ethnic minorities, political op-
problem is not a loss of identity, on the contrary, ponents of the government in Tehran, and some
it is the belief and will that such a multiplicity can young men who deserted from the military or
hide behind an Istanbul identity and the partial sought to avoid conscription. Although initially
success of this concealment. most of these migrants considered Turkey to be
a transit country and obtained visas to go to the
Blent Tanju West or to unite with their family members, some
ultimately remained in Turkey due to difficulties
in reaching their final destinations; a minority
BECOMING ISTANBUL
obtained residence permits and even citizenship Apart from Sunni Iranian Kurds, and Persian and
(Kirii, 2000: 11-12; Pahlavan, 2004: 270). Azeri Shiites, there are some religious minorities
among Iranian asylum seekers in Turkey, like
There is no formal evidence of the exact num- Iranian Bahais and converts to Christianity. Baha-
ber of Iranians in Turkey except a small number ism is regarded as an offshoot of Islam and some
of those given residence and work permits, those Bahai leaders were killed in the past. In short, the
holding student visas, and asylum seekers. The Bahai religion is not recognized and there are re-
existing flexible visa regime between Iran and ports that many Bahais are discriminated against
Turkey put into effect since 1964 further facilitates in Iran. Conversion from Islam to Christianity is
tourism and all kinds of flows of migration from punishable by death although those born Chris-
that country. At the moment, Iranian nationals tians in Iran are among the protected minorities,
can stay in Turkey up to three months without alongside Zoroastrians and Jews, and they are
a visa requirement. In 2003 and 2004 there were represented in the Iranian Parliament.
more than a million Iranians that entered Turkey
visa free (Kirii, 2005: 351). Iranian asylum seekers also consider their
stay as a temporary stop on the way to better life
In contrast to the political migration of the standards in the West. Their stay in Turkey is tem-
1980s, after the mid-1990s emigration from Iran porary mainly for two reasons. First, this is borne
reportedly became more economic in nature (Roy, out by the law and regulations concerning asylum
2003: 174-175; Bozorgmehr, 1997: 88). Despite their seekers and refugees as Turkey retained its geo-
increasingly socio-economic motivations, many graphical limitation, together with Congo, Mada-
Iranians choose the asylum route to migrate to gascar, and Monaco, in the 1951 United Nations
the West. Iranians constitute the highest number Refugee Convention, accepting non-Europeans as
of asylum applicants in Turkey. According to the refugees through UNHCR Turkey but not allow-
UNHCR Ankara office, between 1997 and 2006, ing them to stay within the country. The Turkish
there were a total of 48,957 asylum applicants in authorities together with the UNHCR Office in
Turkey, of which more than 50% were Iranians. Ankara handle all asylum applications and after
BECOMING ISTANBUL
long procedures that might even last for more than with more resources try to find their own way to
four years, the UNHCR tries to find a resettlement the West. A large number of Iranians, including
country outside Turkey. Second, Turkey is a key rejected asylum seekers who are unwilling to go
location in the flow of international migration back to Iran, were still estimated to live in Turkey,
from the Middle East to Europe. Those coming often under irregular circumstances. Apart from
from the Middle East and from Iran usually have irregular Iranian migrants, rejected asylum seek-
the objective of going to further west and stay- ers, and an established Iranian community with
ing in Turkey is not a desirable option because skilled and semi-skilled professionals, including
of high costs of living, economic difficulties, and businessmen, doctors, engineers, and owners of
lack of available social services. small to medium-sized companies, there are also
so-called tourists who are staying in Turkey le-
As a result of the growing awareness on im- gally. Some of the Iranians remain as tourists in
migration issues in Turkey in recent years and Turkey after their applications are turned down
pressure from the European Union to control ir- by the UNHCR. Instead of going back to Iran, they
regular migration as well as the flow of refugees, exit Turkey and enter again on the same day every
the number of irregular Iranian migrants appre- three months as the visa requires.
hended in Turkey has increased greatly. According
to statistics from the Turkish police, between 1995 The reasons for leaving Iran and choosing
and 2004 the number of Iranians apprehended Turkey are usually a combination of social, re-
without proper visa was almost 22,000. It is impor- ligious, political, and economic problems, like
tant to note, however, that there are many unap- oppression in Iran, lack of rights for and social
prehended cases, such as those who use the help pressure on women, religious discrimination es-
of human smugglers to facilitate their passage pecially in the case of Bahais and those converted
to the West. It is widely known that only a small to Christianity, and economic difficulties. For
number of people apply for asylum to the UN- most Iranian migrants, Turkeys proximity, visa
HCR Turkey and wait for resettlement in a third exemption for three months, smuggling networks
country, whereas the majority especially those along the borders, the existence of an UNHCR of-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
fice just across the border in Van are important usually deported and may resort to human smug-
factors in choosing Turkey. Knowing Turkish lan- glers in Iran to get back to Turkey again. There are
guage and culture was another factor cited by the also many who were caught by the Greek authori-
Azeri-origin Iranians. Kurdish origin Iranians ties and dumped back in Turkey, in violation of
coming from Northern Iraq decided to come after existing repatriation agreement between the two
2001 when the resettlement opportunities were countries. Those who do not use human smug-
frozen even for accepted refugees, due to the pre- glers prefer different modes of travel to Turkey: by
carious situation and then due to the war in Iraq. bus (running between Tehran and Van in Eastern
Bahais generally remain in Turkey for several Turkey or Istanbul) by train (between Tehran and
months to two years, as they are accepted as refu- Kayseri), and even by plane.
gees on grounds of religious persecution in their
homeland. They have a strong group identity with Considering the major problems Iranian mi-
their co-religionists and the Spiritual Assembly of grants face in Turkey, we may note many Iranians
Bahais in Kayseri extends help whenever needed. have prior knowledge about Turkey before ar-
rival thanks to satellite dishes and Turkish pro-
Means of entry into Turkey involve most Ira- grammes aired on Iranian TV. They also receive
nian migrants and asylum seekers usually enter- information from their friends or relatives or they
ing Turkey legally, but some also resort to human have already visited the country before they make
smugglers to cross the border. They arrange hu- their decision to emigrate. Life on TV and the real
man smugglers either in Iran or in Turkey to take life in Turkey for an extended time as an illegal
them to Greek islands, mainland Greece, Italy, or migrant or an asylum seeker, however, are quite
elsewhere. Bosnia was one of the transit zones different. Especially when the money they bring
until the end of 1990s. It is reported that deception with them for their journey is used up, they have
is very high and there are many cases when hu- many problems to deal with, such as bad housing
man smugglers disappear with the money or leave conditions, harsh economic disadvantages, hav-
them in the middle of the international waters in ing to work as sex workers or bar dancers, lack of
the Aegean. If they are caught in Turkey, they are education for children, and discrimination. They
BECOMING ISTANBUL
say Istanbul hides them quite well, but in smaller of illegality, help they receive from Christian
and more conservative cities like Van and Central missionaries in Turkey, and support available for
Anatolia, they may become the target of the na- converts through migrant networks.
tive population for soaring crime rates, indecent
behaviour, and unemployment. Although Iranian migrants have many prob-
lems in Turkey, they are not passive victims. They
Concerning religious conversion among Ira- try to find ways to solve their problems like
nian asylum seekers, some convert in Iran, some learning Turkish to find labor in the informal
in Turkey. The main reasons for religious conver- economy to make ends meet; marrying a former
sion from Shia Islam to Christianity (especially refugee in Turkey or someone else they know who
to Evangelicalism but also other Protestant de- has been living in Western Europe or in North
nominations and Catholicism) are complex. It was America. They construct a new community, es-
known among the asylum seekers that if their con- tablish new networks, define new places for daily
version is documented properly, they could earn life, and develop strategies to control their lives.
refugee status. In fact, some born again Iranian Furthermore, the dimension of hope and accounts
Christians who converted in Turkey earned refu- of successful migrants after years of illegality
gee status and resettled in the United States and in Turkey operate as a protective space in their
Canada in recent years (Kfler Akapar, 2006). Al- world of hostility and deception. Postcards and
though conversion is used as a migration strategy photographs from their friends and relatives liv-
for some, it is not possible to argue that most of ing in the West former asylum seekers or illegal
these conversions are not genuine. This new and migrants like themselves occupy a special place
re-created social and religious space inside some decorating the unpainted walls.
churches serves as a means to cope with illegality,
helps them both psychologically and physically, Most see their lives in Turkey as temporary.
and becomes an indispensible part of their lives. Even though they occupy a social space in Turkey,
Some of the factors leading to religious conver- most of the Iranians are invisible and simply
sions include rejection by the UNHCR, long years incorporated into poor and neglected parts of
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Turkish neighbourhoods. The prospect of having a IRAQI IMMIGRANTS

better future in terms of their standards of living,
cultural and religious freedoms, or educational A GROUP AMONG THE FOREIGNERS IN ISTANBUL
ESPECIALLY IN THE 1990S. AS ISTANBUL BECAME
opportunities for their children play an important THE TRANSIT CITY FOR MIGRANTS COMING FROM
role in their decision to migrate in the first place VARIOUS COUNTRIES (SEE IRANIAN IMMIGRANTS), THE
as well as their decision for choosing or preferring PRESENCE OF IRAQIS AMONG TRAVELLERS STOPPING
OVER AT THIS COSMOPOLITAN TRANSIT STOP BEGAN
a destination in the West. As social networks are TO LEAVE TRACES BOTH ON SOCIAL AND SPATIAL
the most important source of information among PLANES.
Iranians in Turkey, reasons for choosing final
destinations depend on the presence of family
members in these countries of destination, or on Many Iraqis today perceive Turkey as a
the information gathered in Turkey from friends. springboard on the route to the West, with the
But the choice of the final destination mainly de- only group of Iraqi origin that has permanently
pends on the immigration or asylum policies of settled in Istanbul being the Turkmens. Following
nation-states, the availability of quotas, and how the Treaty of Ankara signed in 1926 which final-
far human smugglers can take them. Nevertheless, ized the Mosul problem, Turkey gave Turkmens
Iranian migrants in Turkey extend and diversify who so wished the right to adopt Turkish citizen-
their existing social networks in order to reach ship. Agreements between the two countries in
scarce resources or information that could carry later years made it easier for Turkmen students
them further West. For many of them indeed, to come to Turkey for their education. The num-
Turkey is nothing but a waiting room before en- ber of young Turkmen students increased after
tering one of those Western countries they often the 1950s and they received university education
idealize too much. especially in the fields of medicine, engineering,
law and pharmaceuticals. The mostly male Turk-
ebnem Ker Akapar mens who came to Istanbul during this period,
settled along the Aksaray, Fatih and Fndkzade
axis where the universities were and contributed
BECOMING ISTANBUL
to the formation of a small Turkmen community their traditional areas in Istanbul, Fatih, Aksaray
in this area. A reflection of the increasing popula- and Fndkzade. This group, residing in areas from
tion of Turkmens in Istanbul was the founding of Kadky to Kartal and from Bakrky to Saryer,
the Iraqi Turks Culture and Solidarity Association show no differences from groups coming to Istan-
in 1959. The association is today based in Aksaray bul from Anatolia as internal migrants.
and forms one of the leading centres of attraction
for the Turkmen presence in Istanbul. The profile of Turkmens in Istanbul began to
change after the mid-1990s. The uncertainty of the
Increasing political pressure in Iraq and the legal status of the newly-arrived Turkmens from
commencement of the Iran-Iraq war in 1980 were Iraq who had difficulty in obtaining a residence
influential in the transition to permanent residence permit led to them experiencing difficulties simi-
in Istanbul of the young Turkmen population who lar to those of irregular migrant groups in the city.
came to Turkey for education. The vast majority The main business activities for Turkmens who
of Turkmen in Istanbul today could not visit their came after 1991 are the wholesale textile firms and
families during the war and later period of pres- cargo companies serving Arab customers. Infor-
sure that continued until the toppling of Saddam mal importexport business that developed with
Hussein in 2003 and they increasingly established the transition to export-oriented liberal economy
a life away from Iraq. The Turkmen population that in the Turgut zal era enabled Turkmens to cre-
came and settled in Istanbul before the mid-1990s ate for themselves an ethnic niche thanks to their
integrated seamlessly due to their ethnic and cul- knowledge of Arabic. In companies operating in
tural proximity to Turkish society, their high level Osmanbey and Laleli, newcomers serve as sales-
of education, their professional qualifications and clerks or interpreters under the migrants who
their ease in obtaining citizenship. These people, arrived before them and are now the owners of
who have lived in Istanbul for a long time, many these companies or senior employees.
of whom becoming Turkish citizens, have increas-
ingly adopted a Turkish middle class lifestyle and The population of Iraqi origin in Istanbul
begun to move to new neighbourhoods other than began to diversify after the Gulf War in 1991. Fol-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
lowing the huge refugee crisis in April 1991 when unskilled jobs without social security in order to
about half a million Iraqis sought refuge in Turkey, meet their basic costs and to make the money that
Istanbul formed a corridor of passage for Kurdish would enable them to be on their way. Since the
and Christian Iraqis wanting to go to the West. sole aim of Iraqi Kurds living in bachelors rooms
Throughout the 1990s, the worsening economy in Eminn, Kumkap and Tarlaba was at all
due to international embargos, the increasing costs to reach European soil, the centre of their
pressure of the regime especially on minorities lives in Istanbul was dominated by a combination
and the clashes between Kurdish groups in North- of smuggling, fake documents, police raids, the
ern Iraq accelerated the escape from Iraq. Istanbul fear of extradition, yearning for those left behind
was one of the first stops on this escape route and and mixed feelings of anxiety and hope regarding
the city hosted hundreds of thousands of Iraqi the future. From 2003 on, the acceleration of the
migrants many of whom didnt even have the formation of an independent Kurdish entity in
necessary travel and residence documents like Northern Iraq under American rule decelerated
passports and visas. the external migration of Kurds and the sporadic
few that did come lost their importance among
Although the greater part of this migration other irregular migrant groups of Asian and Af-
is transitory, Iraqis staying in Istanbul have left rican origin.
certain traces on the urban fabric. As with the ex-
ample of Iraqi Kurds, some of these were indeed Another group who used Istanbul as a tran-
indistinct due to this state of transitivity, and sit migration stop in the post-1991 period is the
in fact disappeared when volumes of migration Iraqi Christians, most of which are members of
decreased. Kurds, who formed the majority of the Chaldean Church. Christians who during the
migrants from Iraq until the American occupa- 1990s left the country for similar reasons to those
tion in 2003, were the most invisible group in of the Kurds and Turkmens are now leaving Iraq
urban space. During their stay in Istanbul, which en masse because they are directly being targeted
they considered a temporary stop on their jour- as religious minorities in the environment of ag-
ney to the West, most of them worked in informal gravated violent in the aftermath of the American
BECOMING ISTANBUL
occupation of 2003. In contrast to Iraqi Kurdish Istanbul with their relatives who have remained
migrants who are mostly single males, Christians in Iraq and have their weddings here. This new
migrate as families and on reaching Istanbul they role adopted by Istanbul under the influence of
apply to the states of Australia and Canada to new waves of migration is no doubt an impact
benefit from family unification and refugee proof globalisation not yet well enough recognized.
grammes. Church organisations and institutions
like Caritas play an important role in catering for Didem Dan
the needs of Iraqi Christians during this process
which lasts 2 to 5 years on average and up to 10 > Iranian Immigrants
years in exceptional circumstances.
For Iraqi Christians, Istanbul corresponds IRREGULAR URBANISATION

to an undetermined period of purgatorial wait-
THE NAME GIVEN TO THE SETTLEMENT LAYOUT
ing. The church is the most important social DEFINED WITH DISREGARD FOR THE UNIQUE
space on this road with no return. Iraqi Chaldean DYNAMICS OF EACH CITY, ONE THAT IS BASED ON THE
Catholics living in the TarlabaKurtuluDolap- PERFECT WESTERN CITY WHICH ISNT AWRY BUT
STRAIGHT, AND IS SUPPOSEDLY BEING CORRECTED
dereElmada district celebrate Sunday mass at IN THE NAME OF URBAN TRANSFORMATION (SEE
churches in Beyolu. Iraqi Chaldeans and other URBAN TRANSFORMATION) TODAY.
Christian migrants have provided fresh blood to
churches that had lost Istanbuls local and Levan- I will propose hand-made cities as an al-
tine communities. This new transnational social ternative equivalent. The term hand-made is a
space signals a different face of Istanbul that has proposal formed to counter the negative assoca-
emerged amid processes of globalisation. Further, tions of irregularity by extolling, especially in
for Iraqi Christians now dispersed across various cities defined as irregular, the dynamics brought
regions of the world, Istanbul has become a new forth from the core of the city with reference to the
transnational meeting place. Migrants to Austra- likes of collaboration in urbanisation, borrowing,
lia, Germany, Denmark or Greece get together in collective creativity, face-to-face relationships and
BECOMING ISTANBUL
spatial sensitivity. We all know that eventually the reason that the city islands play the part of
every component that forms the city transforms providing relatively more protected surround-
into nothing more than a wall created for secu- ings is the result of the Istanbulites trial by sea.
rity. And whats more, this happens in the name The sea, passing through the city and twisting to
of freedom. the southeast, acts as a shield that prevents the
islands from melting away into the Istanbulzmit
zge Akkol conurbation.
> Urban Transformation Physically close-by, but spiritually isolated

from mainland Istanbul, these land masses, on the
axis of sunrise to sunset, line up as follow: Sedef/
ISLE Terevinthos, Bykada/Prinkipo, Tavan/Nean-
dros, Heybeli/Halki, Kak/Pita, Burgaz/Antigoni,
NINE AND A HALF PIECES OF ISTANBUL, COMPLETELY Knal/Proti, Yass/Plati and Sivri/Oxia. The nine-
SURROUNDED BY THE SEA OF MARMARA. strong group surround the Island of Vordonisi,
which sunk due to an earthquake a millennium
What appears to you as aesthetic or even utopian ago, as if they are celebrating its funeral.
is conveyed by geomorphology in such a simpli-
fied, brief and exact manner that you may often Together with Vordonisi, the great earthquake
be challenged when objecting to its definition. sent the monastery and the tomb of Patriarch St.
Yet the concept of island is beyond physica- Fotius on the island into the shallow depths of
lity. Each mind has one or more isles of its own. the Marmara too. Fortunately, tens of monaster-
And sometimes those mental isles coincide with ies on the nine islands have survived. You may
physical ones. be greeted by a monastery or a chapel on almost
every hill and cove. These structures, devoted to
The islands of Istanbul have played their religious figures such as Jesus Christ, the Virgin
roles, and still do, in this arrangement. Perhaps Mary, Archangel Michael, Aya Yorgi [Saint George]
BECOMING ISTANBUL
and Aya Nikola [Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus], she is an orphan child of that modern colonizing
are the reason the islands used to be called the process, tourism (see Tourism).
Priests Islands. A better known name, popular-
ized by Gustave Schlumbergers book, has been It is possible to perceive tourism as the most
Princes Islands attributable to the exile of civilized tool of imperialism, such that tourist
princes and statesmen here during the dominion activities have enabled access to the attractions
of the Eastern Roman and Byzantine Empires. and resources of the third world by a method that
is kinder than its hard-handed accomplices. Seed-
Today, the archipelago officially has the name ed through Thomas Cooks invention of package
Adalar [islands] in Turkish. However the locals travel, todays industrialized tourism utilizes the
and insiders prefer to use ada in the singular. best of developing countries resources and turns
The island sometimes leads to huge conflicts in them into products of capitalism. Consequently,
tiny spaces, as with Yassada which in its short chains and their dependent organisations take
history has been, for Sir Henry Bulwer-Lytton, a more control of the lodging industries of tourist
pleasure island but also an island of grief where receiving countries, and thus the irrevocability of
fatal decisions were taken, while yet still inspiring the system is further guaranteed.
master poets and artists with its natural and hu-
man attractions. Mathematics fails here. Whilst 19th century Istanbul was something of a mile-
the island belongs to many, each dreamer, a name- stone in this touristic modernisation. At the
less Greek fisherman or a famous artist, can have intersection of growing westernisation move-
a separate island of his own. ments in the Ottoman Empire and the Europeans
Orientalist wonder (see Orientalism), a fruitful
As for mine, its a delicate slice of Bykada/ market developed. Optimizing this opportunity,
Prinkipo where Leon Trotsky was exiled to write the Wagons-Lits Company chose Istanbul as a
his letters. Called Prinkipo Palace and, occupying primary destination for its flagship train, the Ori-
26,000 square meters of land ringed by a fence ent Express.
made of Marseille fire bricks and railway tracks,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Settling quickly into shape, Wagons-Lits also The architect Alexandre Vallaury did not
started to invest in Istanbul lodging through its design Prinkipo Palace simply as an expansive
subsidiary hotel chain firm, Compagnie Interna- version of the Ottoman timberhousing art. The
tionale des Grand Hotels. 1894 witnessed the open- building, erected on a supremely piny hilltop and
ing of the Bosphorus Summer Palace in Tarabya still recognized as one of the largest mono-block
(a.k.a. Therapia), followed by the establishment wooden buildings of the world, is a unique case,
of the legendary Pera Palace. The two have served with its complex structural design, the plain but
the luxurious needs of those enjoying Istanbul splendid exteriors and the play on interior de-
discovering the historic peninsula and entertain- tails. The rectangular windows positioned ac-
ing themselves along the Grand Rue de Pera, one cording to the golden ratio right in the middle of
of the most significant icons of the post-Crimean its 100 metre-wide facade provided a panoramic
War urban transformation era, while Bykada view that makes anyone forget the grandeur of
was targeted as the location for a third investment. the building. Yet the view also blocks 110 years
of decline
The island, which has been home to fisher-
men for about 400 years, encountered a rapid Just as her construction had been complet-
urbanisation process beginning in the second ed in 1899, ongoing local conservative attitudes
half of the 19th century and became elite-ridden and rumours spread by rival hoteliers claiming
just like Pera (Beyolu) and the Bosphorus. Yet that this would be a venue for anti-governmental
the professional investor realized that particular meetings were enough to arouse the anxious Red
attractions of the destination by themselves were Sultans suspicions, and this led to his veto of the
incapable of overcoming seasonal factors, and opening of Prinkipo Palace, under the cloak of a
therefore opted for a special concept in hotel in- prohibition on gambling. Subsequently, Grand
vestment that provided a quality and functional- Hotels, fearing loss of profitability without the ca-
ity beyond that of the destination: a Monte Carlo sino facilities, placed her up for sale. She found no
style Luxury Casino Hotel embedded in a unique market. Till the OttomanGreek community led by
structure, namely Prinkipo Palace the Zarifi family purchased it at a bargain price
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The Greeks were permitted by the Sultan to ing a contrast with modern ritzy hotel buildings
use the building as a replacement for their or- and thereby responding with some irony to the
phanage in Yedikule, which had been ruined in a conservatism she faced at her birth. The decision
major earthquake. Thus, the casino hotel built ac- will be made in time, of which we have plenty and
cording to highly capitalistic motives took on the she has almost none
humanitarian mission of sheltering a dependent
population. However, looking after kids led her to Osman Cenk Demirolu
being unable to care for herself, and torn by years,

she had to be abandoned in 1964. Since the same > Orientalism, Tourism
year witnessed the events in Cyprus and the in-

crease in tension in TurkishGreek relations, she ISTANBULITE
became a scapegoat while politicians and power
brokers alike fought for her ownership. Eventu- AN URBAN LEGEND.
ally, the orphanage became the orphan herself.
She lost her character, children and her vital roof. In its plain dictionary definition, the word desc-
The red ochre, the reason she was known as the ribes people who have been born and have grown
Red Palace, almost vanished. Having already up in Istanbul. However, at least in recent decades,
forgotten her colour, she struggles for survival its use has hardly been restricted to this meaning
while still awaiting her grand opening postponed alone, and it almost never indicates birth register
for over a century data. It almost always signifies the position of the
person it describes within a field of ambiguous
Nature buried Vordonisi in the Sea of Marma- values ascribing the condition of being born in
ra. And now it looks as though the human hand, Istanbul with specific meaning. This field of
trying to emulate nature regardless of its essential values in turn is a legend the existence of which
weakness, will bury Prinkipo Palace in history. outside the social imagination is very doubtful.
Or maybe, she will manage to survive after all That field is a cultural Atlantis; a culture-space
and have the opening she once deserved, form- which once existed but has now been lost. The
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Istanbulite, the resident of the said space, is ima- text of modernisation. From the 18th century on,
gined as having lived in a past which can never a distinctive gap opened up between the capital
be fully described and has now unfortunately and the country in every cultural, social and ar-
become extinct. tistic field. In the mid-19th century, as contact with
Europe developed especially with the alliances
In this sense, the concept cannot be said to be formed for the Crimean War, the term began to
in use before the late Ottoman period. However, describe the people of the city who benefited most
it is known that Istanbul has been a focal point and in the most rapid manner. Although this is
of unrivalled attraction since the mid-Byzantine never expressed clearly in this way, it is not dif-
period and that the obligation to leave it feels like ficult to sense, behind the term Istanbulite, the
an unparalleled deprivation to a member of its implication of a local close to the other, the
upper class. In the early centuries of the Ottoman Westerner. However, the use by people of Turk-
period, being driven away from Istanbul doesnt ish origin of the term in the 19th and 20th century
have a similar meaning. The Ottoman intellec- very rarely referred to a local non-Muslim (see
tual/bureaucratic elite cared more about being Etnicity, Minority).
removed or cast away from a centre of power than
having to leave Istanbul. Moreover, considering The concept faced a rapid revision of mean-
that almost no member of the bureaucratic elite ing after 1980. For it to be revived, Istanbul had
was born in Istanbul, it is clear that it would not to regain its unrivalled economic and cultural
be realistic to attribute any special meaning to position lost in the 1920s following Ankaras re-
being an Istanbulite to them. The term probably placement of Istanbul as the capital. Therefore,
began to be used to describe the people of the the invention of the Istanbulite with a newly
city assumed to possess a refined culture in the assigned meaning is a paradox. aWith the re-
19th century. Its emergence is definitely related emergence of the lost figure of the Istanbulite,
to the administrative elite no longer being of ru- Istanbul obtained a new gravity, ruralizing An-
ral origin. Perhaps it is also an expression of the kara in a manner which wasnt intended at all.
chronological earliness of the capital in the con- In sum, as Istanbul was reborn, the Istanbulite
BECOMING ISTANBUL
died. This death was functional too The ar- And since this is impossible, a mythology of be-
ticulation of a giant metropolis of the city in the longing to Istanbul is founded.
global network of relations earned it exceptional
and incontestable power, whereas the death of Uur Tanyeli
the Istanbulite enabled the return of this me-

> Ethnicity, Foreigner, Minority
tropolis to a common state of belonging to Tur-
key as nation. Precisely, since the inhabitants of
Istanbul arent Istanbulites anymore! Not even STKLAL CADDES OR BEYOLU
being born in Istanbul, let alone living there,
is enough to be considered an Istanbulite (see NEITHER A STREET, NOR A NEIGHBOURHOOD FOR
Foreigner), because those hurled here from all AT LEAST TWO CENTURIES IT HAS BEEN THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT SPACE FOR TURKS WHO WANT TO MAKE
corners of the country are considered to have INDIVIDUAL CULTURAL CHOICES TO EXPRESS THEIR
lost their local moral/cultural/human values to DECISIONS. [ED.]
a large extent on arrival. This in turn leads to the
invention of a further imaginary state of internal- Ahmet Hamdi Tanpnar, who provides always
izing Istanbul and identifying with Istanbul. It the most fitting, and at the same time the most
is as if the city were losing its identity and dete- tolerant commentaries on our cultural life, judged
riorating because the people living in Istanbul Beyolu in an unexpectedly ruthless manner, say-
do not internalize it, because they are unable ing this imitation of Paris reminds us of the pov-
to comprehend its values. The meaning of this erty of our lives. Beyolu has often taken on our
depends on the concept of belonging to Istanbul aspirations, affectations, lazy moods, wanderings,
being understood according to ancient patterns dates, love-making and our quota of book-music-
of compatriotism dominant across Turkey. In film and secret yearnings. Like those underground
other words, an attempt is made to construct a passageways in Eminn, it has a whirling inten-
model of an urbanite projected for the metropolis sity, especially at the weekend. The very desire to
from within a framework of traditional Turkeys tramp its streets, exhibited by the people who
narrow communitarian patterns of belonging. crowd Beyolu, tires one after a while. As does the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
idea that we will always have to return to it Our economical value securing its status of preser-
beloved Beyolu, I feel affection for it and must vation; and an in-between category called not-
spare it. Beyolu, highly celebrated when I was a yet-junk, presenting an undecidable value that
child, later to fall from favour, is now once again oscillates between both ends of the scale. The junk
like a favourite enjoying flattery. Once again the economy of Istanbul extends from an existing and
paint has just about started to peel, or is peeling growing junk deposit to a historic sedimentation
already. As far as one can tell, it has always been of not-junk. In between this double accumulation
like this. However much the gilding has faded is the development of not-yet-junk formations that
or is about to lets face it, passing through that are continuously being added to the urban stock.
glitter still does me, all of us, some good. Istanbul needs to articulate a critical and effective
configuration to confront this triple accumulation
Fatih zgven that is being experimented with in the real time and
real space of the city. Such a configuration is the
elaboration of a system of selective preservation
JUNK ECONOMY in which it is essential to define and differentiate
the conditions of junk, not-junk and not-yet-junk.
A GLOBAL ACCUMULATION OF MATERIAL AND
IMMATERIAL PRODUCTION IS INCREASINGLY
CREATING A SURPLUS THAT CALLS FOR AN EFFECTIVE Junk denotes the condition of any object or
MANAGEMENT OF STORED AND STORABLE ENERGY material which has lost its use value, its purpo-
RESOURCES ON EARTH. JUNK ECONOMY IS ONE SUCH siveness and efficiency, and therefore is prone
FORM OF MANAGEMENT ACTING AS A SELECTIVE
ECONOMY OF CONSERVATION AND DISPOSAL. to destruction and disposal. What we no longer
want is that which can no longer be employed,
Transposed on a scale of values, the global exercised, practiced, and consumed, no longer
stock in a junk economy displays itself in three presenting any benefit, nor privilege, no more
forms: junk, or the ultimate state of matter or fulfilling a service or an end. Junk identifying cri-
non-matter that has exhausted its use value; the teria are not only functional but also quantitative;
not-junk, which has been ascribed a cultural or hence the junk deposit is also evaluated in terms
BECOMING ISTANBUL
of the space that it occupies. Any encumbering urban areas reserved for its disposal. This excess or
object unnecessarily occupying habitable space on the impossibility of dealing with junk conclusively
earth needs to be evacuated. The junk candidate is met with techniques and forms of postponement:
is characterized by its size or the expiry of its use junk that cannot be removed needs to postpone its
value or efficiency. On the other hand, the defini- disposal status and be stored and/or processed for
tion of what would be not-junk extends into more re-circulation and re-use. Storage and re-processing
qualitative terms. The not-junk is attributed a are the two forms of postponement re-processing
universal value of a material, economic, historical being itself a form of postponing storage by which
or cultural order. It is conserved regardless of its a possible junk condition is being deferred. Junk,
size in specific depositories or repositories that our then, can be redefined as the ultimate state of matter
culture has created; institutions of safe-keeping or non-matter that has exhausted its own possibili-
such as the museum, the archive and the library, ties of storage and/or (re-)processing. Extending this
in which cultural and historical stock is contained, definition, what remains of the global stock after
inventoried, saved, sealed and secured. The not- the exclusion of what has been classified as junk
junk may also display itself, as in the case of Istan- and not-junk can further be differentiated into a
bul, in the physical/material structure of the city, third category that emerges as a by-product of junk
sedimenting in its cultural/ archaeological strata. postponement, the not-yet-junk.
Though diametrically opposed in their defini- Not-yet-junk is an in-between category which

tions, junk and not-junk deposits in Istanbul are oscillates between its possible classification as
equally problematic in terms of inefficiencies in the junk or not-junk. It denotes a production the
respective measures taken for their disposal or con- value of which has not yet figured itself. Its junk
servation. The production of junk always exceeds condition is delayed by positive and conscious
its extermination, increasing further with respect postponement in virtue of this promise that it
to an increase in the number of junk producers. In contains. Squatter settlements in Istanbul (see
Istanbul, just domestic junk production rises to 1213 Gecekondu, Varo) provide for a pertinent illustra-
thousand tons per day, requiring the allocation of tion of not-yet-junk, as would any illegal construc-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
tion at any scale. Illegal status in Istanbul does not didate to the uncertain status of the not-yet-junk.
present a fixed but shifting economic value that On the other hand, the not-yet-junk which would
varies with respect to changes in regulatory poli- be expected to have a rather precarious life-span
cies by decision-makers, keeping alive the expec- and storage value is seen to acquire an invasive
tation of illegal settlements acquiring a different presence at times competing with junk deposit.
status or value at a different time. Here postpone-
ment of junk status comes as a necessity tied to Zeynep Mennan
the unpredictable quality of the stock unfolding,
arising from undecidability as to when, where > Gecekondu, Varo
and how re-processing will take place. Multiplic-
ity and undecidability delay assessment and add
to the becoming-stocks life-span, which further KANYON
exhibits mobility, freedom and spatial invasion.
ONE OF THE LATEST ADDITIONS TO ISTANBULS
The peculiarity of the junk economy of Istan- SHOPPING CENTRES; AND THE MOST LUXURIOUS. [ED.]
bul is that distinctions between the three catego-

ries of urban stock are surprisingly blurred and The Kanyon (for Caon) Shopping Centre (see
undifferentiated. An intricate mix of junk and Shopping Centre) owes its name to the deep in-
not-yet-junk invades what is expected to be the tersecting crevice separating its various compo-
secured space-time of the not-junk. It can also be nents into clusters of antagonistic volumes. A
noted that the value of the latter is all the more belt of staged open-air galleries runs along the
secured in so far as it acquires a globally recog- so-called caon and provides a lively circulation
nized value, as in the case of the inclusion of the area for the inhabitants of the nearby slums who
historical peninsula in the Unesco World Heritage crowd the place at weekends. Thus, the complex
List, while local/regional attributions of cultural/ which was initially meant to be the new heart
historical value can be more unstable and shift or of the city, a new city integrated within the old
degrade the universal value of the not-junk can- one, acts as a physical bond between the slum
BECOMING ISTANBUL
area behind and Maslak, the developing zone of degree of parvenu kitsch, whether in text or in
towered and embattled banking, better known architecture, deserves a prolonged salute.
nowadays as Mashattan. But, by offering its ser-
vices to the pulse and wishes of both the hopeful Ayda Arel
on one side and the satisfied on the other, it may
> Shopping Centre
be taken as a metaphor of the progress of the lo-
cal neo-con movement, so characteristic of 21st
century Turkey. KAPAN WEIGHING OFFICE
On the other hand, Kanyon and its mishmash A COMMERCIAL FACILITY WHOSE NAME CONTINUES
TO LIVE ON IN A NUMBER OF TOPONYMS BUT WHOSE
setup is very reminiscent of a big awkward Dodo MEANING HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN IN EVERYDAY
bird which, unable to pursue its flight towards its LANGUAGE. [ED.]
initial destination, the Gulf, ended up by land-
ing on strange territory, amongst an indifferent The kapan or weighing offices of Istanbul continue
muddle of pretentious skyscrapers, not far from to live on in the memory of the city in place names:
the neighbouring Metrocity tower, its rival and the Unkapan Bridge, the Unkapan Market, the
predecessor. Balkapan and Yakapan Hans. However, the past
of the weighing offices of Istanbul is not restricted
An critical text found on the internet defines to places known by such names. The definition of
the complex as a building whose architectural the term kapan includes all official control sites
beauty is in proportion with the expensive bou- related to the provision of the vital requirements
tiques that [it contains] and advises one to bend of the city in the Ottoman period, in other words,
ones head and enjoy this unusual building. to food supplies in general. The history of Istanbul
Which would be all very well if only the com- weighing offices and their transformation is rela-
parison of architectural beauty and expensive ted to economic border structures, urban customs
boutiques had a chance of providing a valid form and the inspection of markets. In this context,
of rhetoric, though it may be added that such a etymology provides for some striking thoughts.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The Weighing Machine/The Official Weighing sense, the Ottoman kapans were apparatus of
and Distribution Centre: The word kapan, derived capture designed for the control of economic
from the Arabic kabban, has two different mean- flows and to provide profit via this control. From
ings in Turkish. The first, derived from the verb this viewpoint the kapans are antecedents of de-
kapmak, meaning to snatch and to seize, indicates vices which inspect economic flows in the name of
the snare which is used to hunt some animals and the state; and they form a unique representation
is triggered by the contact of the animals foot; it of the urban border. An overview of the historical
also has the metaphorical meaning of a spurious development of the economic functions of the
scheme, deriving from catching by setting a trap. urban border enables the establishment of a more
Formal and thematic derivatives of a similar word integrated framework for the interpretation of
exist in European languages too, with definitions the formation and transformation of the kapan
to snatch, to catch, to seize, to occupy, hunt, to phenomenon in Istanbul.
hunt, to profit and benefit, derived from the Latin
capare, captus and captura. The Economic Functions of the Urban Faade:
In pre-modern cities, and especially in fortified
The second meaning of the word kapan, de- settlements, the architecturally-defined urban
rived from the Arabic kabban and Persian ke- front with walls, moats, towers and gates de-
pan, is large weighing machine, scales for heavy fines, beyond its military and political function,
loads. It describes the caravanserais or markets a space of economic control, in other words a
where this type of weighing device was placed customs border. In this model where borders are
to weigh goods and collect taxes from the early clearly structured, goods coming in and going
periods of the Ottoman state. In the context of out of the city are sorted out at the periphery and
Istanbul, kapans are official weighing and dis- thresholds according to their qualities; separated
tribution centres. into units at official weighing scales; taxed accord-
ing to the requirements of a valid economic system
However, the two homonymic meanings of and valued in the presence of administrators and
the word can be conceptually associated; in a other actors. Vital goods for consumption in par-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ticular are stocked by the state, tradesmen or small ders were partially removed, the economic control
traders to avert the threat of famine. The economic and customs functions were also shifted to certain
border is not restricted to the physical front of the areas in connection with new transportation lines;
city. As the customs area can extend to peripheral and in most cases to national borders. In this pe-
regions via a series of control points located along riod, important cases where the economic border
transportation lines, it can also be partially inte- continues to exist in the centre of the city are har-
grated with trade areas and markets in the city; bour cities; here, customs functions preserve their
and differentiated along a line extending from the existence in the vicinity of inner city spaces for
scale of daily transportation to intercontinental a further period. However, the emergence of the
networks. In the pre-industrial period, capitals and container system and large cargo liners rendered
harbour towns were differentiated from other cit- inner city harbour areas insufficient; and harbour
ies in that economic relationships formed a com- functions were moved to new settlement areas.
plex apparatus of capture beyond their immediate After the 1950s, customs returned to large cities in
peripheries. The borders of cities, especially at another format with airports. Today, trade-based
the termini of main roads and at thresholds, were economic control spaces are spread out along the
structured according to a closed city model to en- constantly changing peripheries of the urban area
able the control of economic flows and to provide in connection with new circulation environments
profit to the administration from both product and in places such as the customs areas of harbours,
production. Along with the expansion of urban railway lines, highways and airways, wholesale
space from the 19th century on with new vehicles food markets, warehouses, cold storage houses
of transportation, the propagation of the line of and container areas; while the spaces of the old
defence to the whole of the land of the state and facade of the city are being transformed, in many
its borders and with structural changes towards cases with new functions.
the free circulation of raw goods and commodities
in the capitalist system, the closed city typology The transformation of the economic border
evolved towards an open city model. In the process and the urban customs area in the transition from
of this transformation where architectural city bor- the closed to the open city is a frame valid also
BECOMING ISTANBUL
in terms of the history of kapans. As an instru- in terms of goods: grains, dried and fresh fruit,
ment of pre-industrialisation economic control salt, beverages, fish, small and large cattle, slaves,
mechanisms, the weighing and distribution cen- firewood, construction material, fabric, mines and
tres of the Ottoman state, the kapans are restruc- other products. The collection of these products
tured along with the process of modernisation. In and their transfer to centres was tendered out to
the specific case of Istanbul, kapans began to be wholesale tradesmen. The practical order of the
transformed from the 1850s, a date that marks the separation based on products forms a complicated
beginning of the general historical change under inspection and distribution network from the city
consideration here. However, they may be seen to boundaries to market centres. When supply goods
continue in the same areas until the 1980s within are brought to the city they are delivered to prede-
a modernisation process of the general supplies termined points generally on the periphery of the
and wholesale sites of the city. This characteristic, city and separated according to product in order
besides signalling a resistance to change, can be to be checked by the inspection mechanisms of
explained by the phenomenon of the harbour city the state. The authorities at these places providing
and the historical continuity of harbour functions. municipal police services (hierarchically, the kad
[governor, judge], ihtisab aas [superintendent of
The kapans of Istanbul must first and fore- markets] and the naib [reserve judge]) check the
most be regarded as devices of the pre-moderni- quality and conformity to units of measurement
sation Ottoman economic system. In the classic of domestic import goods. Stoppages like entry
Ottoman system, regions of agricultural produc- tax (mastariye), market tax (bac) and weighing
tion and a limited number of small industrial tax (kantariye) are also collected. Here, the fixed
regions were liable for providing a predetermined sales price of the goods (narh) is determined with
amount of surplus products to urban centres in wholesale tradesmen and small guilds and the
accordance with certain standards as tax. The fair distribution of imported goods to smaller
state registered in advance from where the supply tradesmen is overseen. In addition, the storage
goods would be provided and their amount, with of a vital proportion of stock partly by the state
the economic contribution of each region different and partly by tradesmen is supervised.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Economic border structures established at a miniature of these commercial flows, provid-

regional transfer points in accordance with the ing the most comprehensive case in terms of the
requirements of the supply of specific materials spatiality of Ottoman kapans.
correspond to the kapans in big cities; kapans, the
official weighing and distribution spaces form The kapan areas of Istanbul began to be estab-
an interface between production centres and mar- lished during the phase of the restructuring of the
kets in the supply of the essential requirements city after its conquest by Mehmed II (see Fatih Sul-
of cities. These are spaces where diverse actors in tan Mehmet). Period sources reveal the names of
the economic system porters, wholesale trades- customs weighing offices, flour weighing offices,
men, the municipal police of the state and small honey weighing offices and oil weighing offices.
trade guilds face each other, clash and bargain. The most comprehensive exposition regarding the
An important point in the understanding of the Classical Era weighing offices of Istanbul is in the
prevalence of kapans in cities is that not every Seyahatname [travelogue] of 17th century writer
place where an official weighing device was lo- Evliya elebi. According to Evliya elebi there are
cated was known as a kapan; kapans could also 37 weighing offices in the city; some of them are
be located within the structure of an emanet, an directly known by the name kapan, while the ma-
official distribution and storage centre. jority are known as emanets, where official scales
are located. An emanet is a government office au-
Whether defined, in Fernand Braudels words, thorized to inspect, tax and distribute under the
as a monumental parasite or as a stomach city, administration of emins [stewards] affiliated to the
Istanbul, the Ottoman capital, is the most impor- sadrazam [grand vizier]. Common to both kapan
tant domestic import point, the economic focal and emanet locations is the presence of official
point and consumption centre of the Empire. The scales miri kantar inspected by government
scope of economic control in the Ottoman Em- officials. According to this source, the kapans and
pire, which meant the Eastern Mediterranean in emanets contain kapans in Istanbul are as follows:
the pre-19th century, is organized in the capital flour and oil kapans; coffee (2), wax, gilded thread
with all its reverberations. In a sense, Istanbul is (silver and gold), silk, fish, slaves, the pencikhane
BECOMING ISTANBUL
(another office for slaves), salt, rusk, alcoholic bev- city walls and especially around Yedikule. There
erages/wine, gunpowder (5), the mint, broadcloth, are also emanets along the Divan Yolu, the main
wheat, barley, the cellar (of the palace kitchen), street which connects the inland city walls with
firewood (3), priming powder, pastrami, the sal- the harbour area; the horse market, the mint, and
hane (slaughterhouse), the vegetable house, the emanets for broadcloth, gold and silver gilded
matbah (the royal kitchen), the ardak (the of- thread and slaves are along this axis. Another zone
fice of the overseer of trades), the horse market, of emanets was the shore and land peripheral to
the nzul (military expedition), dockyards, land Topkap Palace which coordinated the essential
customs, central customs and city customs of- needs of the palace, the city emanet responsible
fices. The emanets housing the kapans listed by for the provision of the supplies to palace kitchens
Evliya elebi contain, in addition to food, all the and imperial buildings in the city The order of of-
essential goods for consumption for the capital, ficial weighing and distribution centres continued
army and the palace. The distribution of kapans amid other changes in the same areas until the
and emanet spaces across urban space is generally mid-19th century.
related to the gates and ports along the border
zones of the city. Harbour areas on both sides of Given the diversity of organized kapans
the Golden Horn (see Golden Horn, Golden Horn and emanet spaces from large-scale customs to
Dockyards), both in front of and within the city the mint, from the vegetable exchange to pal-
walls, are important kapan areas; certain ports ace kitchens and from the horse market to the
and gates are reserved for the diverse products slave market, it is naturally impossible to speak
and commodities of the general supplies system. of a fixed architectural typology; the kapan is
In a similar manner, areas immediately inside and not a structural form. Inspection and taxation is
outside of inland city walls are important customs carried out by carriage, saddle, barrel, bushel or
and emanet areas; apart from the land customs, head count according to the type of goods, and the
emanets especially for livestock and hazardous spaces diversify accordingly. The main structural
emanets in terms of health and security like the space-types where kapans are located are as fol-
gunpowder emanet are located around the inland lows: large cellars with stone walls and curbed
BECOMING ISTANBUL
roofs (the customs and flour kapans); hans with relation to transportation routes between vari-
stone or wooden courtyards (the honey kapan, ous parts of the city, market places and, in part,
silk and slave emanets); long thin wooden lofts residential areas, especially in the harbour region.
(barley and dockyard emanets); city wall towers In other words, a spatiality where inner-city flows
(salt, gunpowder emanets); city squares (the first clash with arrivals from out of town is a charac-
coffee emanet in Tahtakale square and Karagm- teristic of the urban periphery and threshold. The
rk); storage areas with borders delineated in the control of the given spatial structure also forms a
open (firewood kapan). Offices of government vital field of work for the capitals administration.
employees at such sites were often located in tra- In this connection, it is not easy to differentiate
ditional wooden structures known as ardaks the spatiality and locations of weighing offices
or konaks (the fish and office of the overseer of and government office structures from the urban
trades emanets). texture.
Kapan sites also have short-term storage The functions and prevalence of kapans with-
functions for distribution; and this is related to in the city as weighing and distribution centres
the scale of general supply goods coming into of the Ottoman Empire are so varied that it is im-
Istanbul. Economic historians have shown that possible to talk about them along a single line of
the storage carried out by the state was limited transformation within the process of modernisa-
and that goods were distributed to small trades- tion. Along with the abolition of fixed pricing in
men after inspection so the function of keeping the changeover to free trade, the termination of
critical stocks was provided by them. Offices for the practice of collecting tax on the basis of agri-
the general supplies stock of the palace and the cultural produce and the development of whole-
army are not included in this observation; there sale traders in the private sector, the function and
are permanent storage functions here. scope of state kapans was transformed. After the
1850s, in accordance with the new economic sys-
The character of economic control areas in tem some kapans, especially in the harbour area,
Istanbul is their positioning in a mixed order in were unified under a single customs office, while
BECOMING ISTANBUL
others continued their localised existence within the Galata Bridge to the Unkapan Bridge remains
the structure of traditional markets as distribution today. The remnants of the kapan system beyond
centres. In modern urban planning, in the context the roads and parks that cover the shores can be
of goods for daily consumption, the municipal seen in traditional market areas. The control of
police function exists in wholesale food markets; the economic flow of goods coming into the city
municipal wholesale food markets still collect a has been moved to the periphery, apart from the
weighing tax known as kantar resmi. The spa- Haydarpaa port and train stations. In terms of
tial continuity between kapans and wholesale urban transformation (see Urban Transforma-
food markets is related to the places where the tion), the existence of land, air and naval customs
expansion of the city and economic flows termi- and wholesale distributors is especially concen-
nate. During modernisation, while the ecology of trated around the Bosphorus bridges and ring
the advantageous natural harbour of the Golden road connections. Beyond being just economic
Horn was fully in use, places where food supplies border structures, kapans were a part of a complex
coming by sea were distributed remained fixed system integrated with markets amidst everyday
along a clear line of continuity. In this connec- operations in the centre of Istanbul (see Centre).
tion, there is continuity especially in fruit and This overlapping takes place in different forms
vegetable distribution extending into the 1980s. in contemporary Istanbul via land roads, bridges
The wholesale vegetable and fruit market was and harbours; the new capture apparatuses of
constructed on the site of the old firewood kapan the city are positioned on the modern circulation
in the 1930s and was expanded with annexes as networks of the metropolis.
far as the Unkapan Bridge.
Namk Erkal
This continuity suffered a serious rupture af-
ter 1980 when harbour services were moved away > Centre, Fatih Sultan Mehmet, Golden Horn,
from the Golden Horn. Only a very small portion Golden Horn Dockyards, Urban Transformation
of the commercial flow which had continued for
centuries along the shore area extending from
BECOMING ISTANBUL
LANGUAGE are the linguistic expressions of the image of the

city formed in the mind of society. Urban codes
A FICTION. sustain their life through the language used in
living spaces (physical environments, buildings,
Since so many methods of expression and com- media, maps) which produce their own charac-
munication are accepted as languages, cities must teristic texts. Understanding and using language,
also have a unique language through which they which actually means the ability to define the hu-
express themselves and which serves to unders- man condition, connects social actions, conveys
tand them. judgments and responses and regenerates beliefs,
relationships, values and spaces.
In multi-layered, multi-coloured cities like
Istanbul which are full of games and playthings Everyone has a different individual relation-
and which appear to reveal themselves candidly ship with the various layers of the city. This leads
but always conceal a mysterious side allowing to the subjectivisation of language. The grammar
for ambiguous interpretation, one speaks not of of cities with monotonous, limited and routine
a single city image but of spatialities which have activities is quickly grasped, their language is easy
seeped into urban life becoming an inseparable to decipher. But with their varied living spaces
part of the city, urban and spatial symbols, monu- and thousands of different images, metropolises
ments mentioned in the same breath as the city not only offer up different dialects of the language
and of urban scenes which have taken their places for use, but also host islands whose specific ar-
in our minds, in all their locational and atmo- eas are reinforced, fortified with the monologues
spheric detail, to be remembered like postcards. constructed by the inhabitants of the city. In me-
In Istanbul, the things of the city become words tropolises, the language of the city is woven with
and begin to speak in the mind of its inhabitants. the individual dialogues of its inhabitants.
Language is an important factor in the formation
of the image of the city in the mind of society. It In each city, language is realized in a unique
would not be wrong to claim that urban discourses form. The borders of the language are drawn by
BECOMING ISTANBUL
those who use it, while the discourse that forms LEVANTINES AND NEO-LEVANTINES
these borders changes, transforms, metamorpho-
ses, and therefore has a historicity. PEOPLE OF NON-OTTOMAN, EUROPEAN-ORIGIN
WHO SETTLED IN ISTANBUL AND THE EASTERN
MEDITERRANEAN. KNOWN AS FRESH-WATER
Culture and its objects and not just its archi- EUROPEANS IN PRE - 20th CENTURY ISTANBUL
tecture or cinema such as the street as a jungle TURKISH. THE TERM EMPHASIZED THEIR DIFFERENCE
FROM EUROPEANS HERE FOR SEA TRADE AND ON A
of gestures, physical features that have played a TEMPORARY BASIS. BOTH TERMS HAVE DISAPPEARED
part since the citys foundation, colours loaded FROM EVERYDAY LANGUAGE. [ED.]
with the climate, autumn, or the noises of the
city, they all share in, communicate through and Levantines are the Genoese and Venetians who,
augment the language. instead of their home country, lived in the Eastern
Mediterranean. The Latin community of Italian
The language of metropolises is actually a mariner colonies who in the Byzantine Empire en-
metaphor as varied as the city itself, where vir- gaged in trade within rather restricted privileges
tually thousands of images and phenomena are and neighbourhoods were also called Levantines.
reified. The language of the city, depending on the
user and the urban situation it is looked at from, The origin of the Istanbul Levantine commu-
becomes romantic, petulant, stagnant or chaotic. nity goes back to the Italian colonies that settled
in the Byzantine Empire for trade purposes. The
Funda Uz Snmez peoples of the Italian mariner republics, the Amal-
fitans, Venetians, Genoese and Pisans began to
flow into this city founded on the intersection of
two continents from the 10th century on.
The document approved by Emperor Alexios

I Komnenos in 1082, which granted a neighbour-
hood to the Venetians in Istanbul, is actually the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
founding document of the Italian colonies. The The Latin or Levantine community of the
neighbourhood, or foundouk, contained ware- Byzantine Empire collapsed with the conquest of
houses for trade goods, stores and lodgings for Istanbul by the Turks in 1453. From the second day
travelling businessmen and along with the church, of the conquest on, however, it was re-founded but
provided the main structure for the whole Italian this time with consideration to legal difference of
community in the East. As each group was allo- the two elements forming it. The firman Mehmed
cated specific locations by the Byzantine Empire II issued to the Galata Genoese after he took Is-
for their particular material benefit, at the same tanbul is the founding document of the Ottoman
time they were granted the authority to establish Latin Community (see Fatih Sultan Mehmet). This
churches for worship and charity, chapels, cem- firman granted the Latin Community the privi-
eteries and other public spaces. The members of leges that would form the legal basis for practices
each of these colonies gathered around their place of worship and the protection of churches until
of worship to keep the customs of their distant the foundation of the Republic of Turkey.
countries alive.
From this moment on, the Latin Community,
The Levantine Community of Istanbul lived previously formed by foreigners of different na-
on the right side of the Golden Horn, around tionalities, was reshaped around these Latins,
the Byzantine city walls, in the vicinity of the also known as Ottoman Latins or the Levantines.
harbour between the Neorion (Bahekap), Per- This difference even within particular families
amatis (Balkpazar Kaps) and Droungarion is quite clear: those who were Ottoman subjects
(Zindankap) gates. All European colonies with remained in place during the surrender of the
privileges from the Emperors had a central institu- Genoese neighbourhood of Galata, whereas those
tion in this area between the three gates within the who were foreign subjects chose to escape to their
city walls intra muros and a port on the shore countries to return later.
constructed as an extension of these institutions
for trade transactions. It was difficult for foreign communities to get
together on Ottoman soil because of the laws of
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the time and the process was often interrupted. cially the French, were allowed to settle freely on
Known as mstemin [one who applies for safety, Ottoman soil without changing their citizenship.
quarter or amnesty, used for alien in Ottoman do-
minions], foreigners who set foot on Ottoman soil Freedom of residence in the empire allowed
were not allowed to stay for more than a year. And foreigners to live on Ottoman soil and preserve
at the end of this period they would be considered their identity of origin at the same time. The ca-
a member of the reaya [also raya, the Christian pitulations granted to France in 1569 again men-
subjects of the Ottoman Empire] subject to cizye tioned the settlement of the French within the
[capitation tax collected from non-Muslims] and borders of the Empire: their residence period was
could not leave the territory again. However, dur- no longer related to a change in citizenship. Even
ing the era of capitulations, precautions control- after residing for long periods here, foreigners
ling the settlement of foreigners in Istanbul were went on living in the Ottoman Empire without
invalidated. In order to establish an environment losing their foreigner status.
of trust and revitalize trade in Istanbul, Mehmed
II signed a capitulation granting trade freedom With the announcement of the Tanzimat [Re-/
with the Republic of Venice; according to this Organisation] firman in 1839, a new period, which
document there would be absolutely no trade may be described as the golden age of the Istanbul
barriers (Ottoman laws would not hinder trade Latin Community, began. The Law of 1867 gave
freedom) and tradesmen would be exempt from foreigners the right to purchase real estate and,
any type of tribute or tax to the Sublime Porte. with this important spur to the settlement and
growth of a non-indigenous community, a new
The first capitulations were agreed in 1535 addition was made to the spectrum of privileges.
between Franois I and Suleiman the Magnificent
extended the residence period of French subjects We witness the most dazzling period of the
on Ottoman soil. This article can be seen as the Istanbul Latin Community from the mid-19th cen-
first step of the rebirth of the Latin community tury to the beginning of the 20th century. Char-
in Istanbul. After this date, foreigners, and espe- acteristic of this period was the accumulation of
BECOMING ISTANBUL
foreign migrants in search of work and a more nition of the term Levantine. Being a foreign
prosperous life in the Ottoman Empire. Clear signs subject was a sign of superiority in the Ottoman
of this process can be seen in church and embassy Empire. Capitulations had created a privileged
records including the opening of schools and col- class of foreigners. This community cannot be
leges, the establishment of charitable institutions, equated with the Latins who were Ottoman sub-
the construction of new churches and even the jects or the Ottoman Latin community which was
emergence of a new neighbourhood, Pancaldi part of the reaya.
(Pangalt).
On the other hand, the Ottoman administra-
The decline of the Latin Community began tion never openly recognized the Ottoman Lat-
with the signing of the Lausanne Peace Treaty in in community as a millet [people or nation].
1923. Although the Ottoman Empire declared their Besides, Ottoman Latins, fearing to be treated a
annulment in 1914, the capitulations were only lower class, did not want to insist on a new status
definitively abolished with the Lausanne Treaty. that would legally separate them from foreign
This meant the end of an era and the annulment Latins. By silently letting their new and slightly
of the capitulations lifted all the advantages legiti- humiliating status lapse, they tried to undermine
mizing the mass presence of foreigners in Turkey. the division created by the conditions separating
For these and related legal and economic reasons, them from the foreign Latins, the only group ac-
the number of Levantines gradually decreased corded the benefits of the capitulations. Ignored
gradually and today they have disappeared almost and distorted, this difference was eventually not
completely. taken into consideration at all.
In the narrow sense of the term, a Levantine Foreigners nostalgically seeking to imitate
is a Latin Catholic who is a foreign subject in the this past community, adopting the name Neo-
Ottoman Empire. Our aim is to underline the pres- Levantine and settling in Turkey have absolutely
ence of a foreign community in Istanbul legislated no similarity with the real Levantines whatso-
for by capitulations, without attempting a redefi- ever (see Nostalgia). It is impossible to become
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the inheritor of Levantine culture just by saying Efforts at modernisation, especially once the
Im a Neo-Levantine. Levantines used to have Tanzimat [Re-/Organisation] period had initiated
a unique manner, language and way of thinking. a process creating distinctive ways of life in ways
The most distinctive and important character- that affected everyday life in unexpectedly violent
istic of Levantines was their lifestyle, which was and fragmentary ways, brought about a dichotomy
shaped through a centuries-long synthesis of the between the traditional and the new. Anxieties
cultures of the East and West. brought on by this dichotomy also created a panic
in the search for control over this process of social
Levantine culture, which can no longer be transformation. The field of expression for this
resurrected, may only be kept alive via histori- panic was literature, itself transforming within
cal research and the publication of books on this the process of modernisation. The Tanzimat intel-
community, and not by hiding behind new names ligentsia, shaped by the efforts at modernisation
recalling this culture. which took material form after the declaration in
1839 of the Tanzimat firman, began to produce its
Rinaldo Marmara own literature after 1860 and, with the impact of
the rupture experienced within the framework of
> Fatih Sultan Mehmet, Nostalgia modernisation, to break away from the literary
forms of production it identified as old. This
new literature, which embraced Western literary
genres, forms and most importantly currents of
LITERATURE
thought, conveyed its times into literary format,
CLASSIC OTTOMAN LITERATURE DOESNT HAVE putting changes in the city and urban life and the
A CONCEPT OF SPACE. THE SPACE OF TURKISH dichotomies created by this intelligentsia at its
LITERATURE IN THE PERIOD OF MODERNISATION ON centre. However, in a twist which validated the
THE OTHER HAND IS FIRST AND FOREMOST ISTANBUL,
ALTHOUGH IT DOES TRAVEL OUT TO THE COUNTRY anxieties and panic mentioned above, the relati-
ONCE IN A WHILE. [ED.] onship this new literary coterie, made up mostly
of intellectual bureaucrats and journalists formed
BECOMING ISTANBUL
out of a sense of responsibility for this process of it created, knew the West well and felt the troubles
modernisation, resulted in them putting a cer- of the Abdulhamid II period, began, in the deeply
tain distance between their work and the chan- complicated time of the ending of their century,
ging city along with its new urbanites emerging to open the door to a period when they would
out of these changes. Protected by the project of produce their own texts in the literary field. This
modernisation they supported, the increasingly generation, which gathered as a group around the
modernized Pera and its ostentatious consu- journal Servet-i Fnun [Treasure of Arts and Sci-
mers or new snobs immersing themselves in ences], pioneered a new school in writing, produc-
new experiences made available by modernisa- ing a discourse in which the absolutist mind was
tion were heavily criticized. Thus, the Properly shattered, secularisation was activated and the
Westernized Ottoman, opposed to such snobs, relationship to religion changed. Through its more
was placed at the centre of these novels as a topic introverted narratives, this new literature pro-
of debate. For those who chose the new Istanbul posed new views of the cardboard snobs and the
and its snobs as the subject of their novels were urban transformation made visible through them,
not those losing themselves in such experiences, presented as issues of debate by the entertain-
but rather responsible intellectual writers. ing and dramatic but always didactic tone of the
Tanzimat novel that had moved through antith-
As time went by, however, the stirrings of a esis. Thus, snobs take their places in these novels
new literature were felt, breaking the relationship not as generalisations loaded with implications of
Tanzimat writers formed out of a sense of respon- what should be, but as well-founded types of ev-
sibility for this process of modernisation negating eryday life moving through the city as the space
the will to control and steer the flow of the tran- of modern experience; chasing an aesthetic taste
sient, unruly, conditional modern experience coded as modern; wanting to shape life around
which had led to them putting a distance between this, organizing their lives according to Western
them and the city along with its new urbanites. A sources they have mastered, while also begin-
new generation, which had grown up during the ning to question the relationship formed with
modernisation process, lived in the environment the crowd and the uniformity brought on by the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
habits of this relationship. From this viewpoint, become increasingly difficult for the Ottoman
Servet-i Fnun novels in which the snob-type is Empire, and this also defined the urban narrative.
gradually transformed into proper characters The oppressive administration of Abdulhamid II
present clues revealing that not only the colours and the activities of opposed groups emphasising
but also the dread and suffocation of modern life fundamental principles taken from the French
are beginning to appear in the city. Together with Revolution such as liberty, equality, fraternity and
a sense of searching, a feeling of distress/bore- justice defined the significant polarisation of the
dom is expressed via characters who are caught turn of the century and a new course for literature.
up with the crowd in the flow of the modern, but Following this period, which ended with victory
who also begin to realize the danger of vanishing for the supporters of constitutional monarchy
into the flow or turning against it and failing to following the Revolution of the Young Turks in
hold on, seeing a transcendence they call love as 1908, political and social dynamism continued
a branch to hold on to. The spatial counterparts of with full momentum. Nationalist uprisings which
the aforementioned division are Beyolu and the increased with the Second Merutiyet [Constitu-
Bosphorus. With its fast life, streets, restaurants tional Monarchy] and the ttihat ve Terakki [Union
and hotels alluding to transience, Beyolu inti- and Progress Party] government, the Balkan Wars
mates an absence of space, while the Bosphorus and World War I which followed in their aftermath
stands for settlement, even the possession of a left their mark on the first quarter of the 20th cen-
specific space. tury. This period during which the collapse of the
Empire accelerated also prepared the transition
The city, which opened up itself a field of ex- to the nation-state following the period of Milli
pression in the Servet-i Fnun period via charac- Mcadele [National Struggle]. The Constitutional
ters who were allowed to embrace their life styles Monarchy can be viewed as a general reorganisa-
with all the feelings of contradiction, struggle tion period during which the individual/citizen
and lack, came differently wrapped in a period was regulated by a set of policies, the borders of
of continuous war. The twentieth century had right and wrong were redrawn and certain new
opened with a period in which conditions would models were imposed from above. In the pro-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
cess of the standardisation of daily behavioural a Kemalist canon, especially after the 1930s and
patterns amid an atmosphere of social unity, the as a result of aesthetic concerns rather than out
city was also viewed through questions of how of a responsibility for a frozen national literature,
satisfactory the discourses produced in the first novels began to appear which reflected the reper-
quarter of the twentieth century were perceived cussions of the new and increasingly dynamic
to be. These discourses spread their four main modern life on the inner world of the individual
branches, namely Ottomanism, Islamism, West- or on the intellectual complexities of the inter
ernism and Turkism, and defined their own fields war period, that era of social change. The location
of expression in flux, reflux and in parallel with hosting the anxieties underlined in these novels
the sensitivities of the period, defining the grand was Istanbul, the evil-other. Related to this choice
narratives of the intellectual borders of literary of location emerge leitmotifs like the experience
production. A shift of emphasis towards Turkist of change, mixing in public spaces and watch-
narratives parallel to the rise of nationalism in ing the crowds of modern everyday life, as well
particular led to the retreat of literature centred as not being like others rather than striving to
around the individual and the city was no longer resemble the projected model citizen, reinforc-
the space of the individuals experience but the ing individuality and subjectivity in order not to
motherland where grand ideals were to be real- be reduced to one of the countless stimuli of the
ized and which had to be cleansed of internal and external everyday world, a negligible quantity as
external enemies in a rapture of patriotic action. part of the whole. This choice of location brings
along its own sub-dichotomies. Neighbourhoods
This discourse was preserved after the foun- like Beyolu and Harbiye echoing with the speed
dation of the nation- state. For the new literature of urban transformation were queried as spaces
of the new Republic, the image of the city centred of disquiet and doubt, whereas old Istanbul, and
on Ankara, where the rebirth of a country from especially Fatih, was identified with a stagnant,
its own ashes was staged. Istanbul, the remnant conservative lifestyle calling out for the synthe-
of the Empire, was now the back street of litera- sists new modernisation proposals.
ture. However, along with novels written to create
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Following the first fifteen years of the Repub- by successive coup detats and traumatic social
lic, from the 1940s to the 1960s, dynamism in the change, and Istanbul is presented in various guis-
social arena was reflected in important literary es. The new agenda is the history of a far more
movements. The first thing that catches the at- crowded city shattered into pieces. Spatial beauty
tention in the literary milieu is the polyphony is now the expression of excitement and suffering
of the period. The most important actions of the remembered under the weight of lost dreams and
Milli ef [National Chief] era paving the way for in the dark tones of melancholy. Istanbul is the
this literary dynamism/polyphony after the 1940s space of nostalgic praise or historical reckonings,
were the Village Institutes inaugurated by Hasan an interrogation of identity. In this process, the
Ali Ycel, the Minister of National Education, in city is no longer a tale of ancient ages founded on
1940 and the Translation Bureau opened in 1941. reproduced orientalist images. The tale of Istanbul
The Village Institutes shifted the focus of the novel is also a tale from the garbage hills creating their
from the city to the village, whereas translation own form of expression with the increasing im-
activities became the source of important cultural pact of gecekondu-isation. Narratives of poverty
developments. During this process, the urban nar- are an inseparable part of Istanbul narratives,
rative became immanent to short stories shaped the other side of the coin, whereas for postmod-
especially with existentialist tendencies and Is- ernist fictions, which bends the coin, dispersing
tanbul is transformed once again into the space and questioning reality, Istanbul is visible as the
of the individual experience of distressed young vehicle of a historical texture or experientiality.
men. This reversion in a sense also enabled the
formation of a modernist literature focusing on This city, now living a different existence with
the affects of modern urban life and projections its skyscrapers, satellite cities and underground
of the modern condition onto the individual. metro, never bored with change, continues also
to rewrite itself into novels.
The novelistic history of Istanbul after the
1960s bifurcates even more with the emergence Deniz Aktan Kk
of fragmented narratives. Literature is reshaped
BECOMING ISTANBUL
MAIN STREET acteristics. Both the shore roads and the new axes
heading north to the new business and residential
AN INTERIM PERIOD STRUCTURE.
areas are not spaces in line with the identity of a
main street as in the plans of Classical and Baroque
As a concept, ana cadde [main street] is based periods and their rational urban models. Some
on a transport network hierarchy with recogni- plans and construction work aiming to create main
zed criteria of classification. It has branches that streets in this sense have sometimes resulted in
nourish it, a beginning and an end. Or, as in the unfinished projects which extend no further than
case of smaller towns, main street is a solitary a few hundred metres as in the case of Cihangir
road. Neither the first nor the second are valid for Caddesi, or remain as urban chasms that have failed
Istanbul. Since the hierarchy, articulation and or- to become spaces in themselves or blend in with
der of the streets of various sizes, avenues, roads, the architectural texture over twenty or even fifty
some called boulevards, others highways, with years, as with the Menderes and Dalan operations.
some operating as inner city motorways, of a city
of this magnitude, the main street category being The main street entered urban literature as
neither exhaustive nor effective, its difficult to use. the child of the conceptual and ideological reper-
toire of modernisation efforts of the 19th and 20th
Some of the significant streets of the pre- century, and it has only a few examples in Istanbul
modern city period, of the Ottoman city, still bear that possess the distinct historical continuity and
traces of the old Roman and Byzantine period, but intensity of utilisation in line with its original
apart from a few examples like the Divanyolu and definition: Divanyolu, stiklal Caddesi and Badat
stiklal Caddesi, they do not have any significance Caddesi stand out as urban spaces that bear the
recognizable in the terms of use and social memory. unique identity of their type.
The old narrow streets leading to the sea are today
cut off by the new shore road and landfills before Atilla Ycel
they can meet the water, but these new arteries are
often transit ways that do not have main street char- > Badat Caddesi, stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu"
BECOMING ISTANBUL
MCDONALDS side this category but, unnaturally, street buffets

too, and therefore the list is limited as above. As
LOCAL EXTENSIONS OF THE MOST GLOBAL FAST FOOD might have been expected, the said definition and
COMPANY. A SUBHEADING OF GLOCALISATION. [ED.] list was compiled not from viewpoint of fast-foods
effects on the eating habits of humankind as con-
Despite the global anti-propaganda aimed at the sumer, but from the viewpoint of the conditions
company following its globalizing phase, obesity and rules the owner of capital operates under
and an increase in the number of its outlets, with as administrator. In other words, this definition
Anadolu Holding becoming its licensor for 20 years relies only and oddly on feeding customers in
in 2005, both continue to accelerate. McDonaldss more than one outlet, for the number of places
presence in Istanbul goes back to 1986 and at pre- in Turkey where you can order food by phone,
sent it has 53 restaurants in the city. According to or which wait for their customers to down their
the definition of the Competition Board it is in the meals, prepared in the shortest possible time,
fast-food restaurant market category and serves as quickly as possible are of course much higher
the people of Istanbul as the fourth biggest com- than the number of branches the companies listed
pany in its group, competing with the following above have.
companies: Arbys, Borsa, Burger King, other bur-
ger/hamburger restaurants, Dominos, Hacolu, McDonaldss adventure in Turkey carries on
KFC, Kristal, Little Ceasars, Mudurnu, Pizza Hut, ascending, apart from one big fall. The stampede at
other Pizza outlets, Schlotzkys, Sultanahmet the opening of the first branch in Taksim in 1986 has
Kfte, Tatlses, and other fried chicken outlets. left a deep mark in the memory of many Istanbul
inhabitants (see Taksim Square). The scene was de-
The fast-food restaurants market definition scribed years later in a newspaper with the following
in the Competition Board Report drawn up to sentences: The metres-long queue in Taksim on 24
describe their status in 2005, when the Anadolu October 1986 was neither for gas nor for bread. The
Group became the Turkey licensor of McDonalds, reason for the stampede was a hamburger worth
naturally considers regular restaurants to be out- 400 TL at the time. (Aylin Lle, Takvim, 29 April
BECOMING ISTANBUL
2007.) However, for McDonalds, despite the con- lets until mid-2003. Rents calculated in dollars led
tinuing queues front of this first branch in the fol- to the bankruptcy of many branches. However, it
lowing days formed of people in their best clothes, wasnt possible for the company to give up on a
Turkey was not such an easy market. fast-food market of 1.21.3 billion dollars and to
leave the country before reaping the reward of
In a country where there are a thousand and an investment of 130 million dollars up to that
one types of kfte, it was long expected that McDon- date. Still, the losses suffered by the company
alds be confronted with the resistance of taste. How- and the closure of 56 branches did give some of
ever, the resistance came not from this standpoint, us hope. For instance Haluk ahin was hopeful
but from the allergy caused by the range of values enough to write the following on 5 January 2003,
the company represented. The role of becoming Apparently, countries now prefer their own prod-
the symbol of said resistance fell to the Middle East ucts to Made in USA products. The experience in
Technical University, itself designed and founded Turkey reflects this universal trend. McDonalds
in the 1960s on behalf of the USA. METU students is rapidly shrinking in Turkey too. Turkish TV
protested, in various ways, the McDonalds branch series are more popular; American TV series are
opening on campus in 1997 for a full four years, mostly at odd hours and on less popular chan-
mostly by not shopping there. When McDonalds nels A news article in Radikal newspaper a
temporarily closed down its campus branch in 2001, month before ahins column was published (7th
the protestors said they had secured this result December 2002) revealed that domestic fast-food
whereas McDonalds directors claimed the reason companies werent really bemoaning the losses
for the closure of the branch was the continuing of McDonalds: for instance, according to Fatih
economic crisis. The accuracy and inaccuracy of Gner, the owner of Istanbuls famous Bambi
both claims is debated. But its true that McDonalds Caf, the reason for the failure of McDonalds
was seriously affected by the crisis in Turkey. and the like, was not the publics dislike of fast-
food but their reaction to the USA; he believed
After the crisis began in 2001, McDonalds, that the public was reacting to them taking our
seemingly a disadvantaged tenant, closed 56 out- money abroad. The manager of the Taksim Simit
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Dnyas, Hlya Kzl said, Places like McDonalds a company gets much more Turkish than this.
and Burger King should go back where theyve From the viewpoint that the universal is actu-
come from and give up on Turkey. (see Simit, ally the local, Tuncay zilhan wasnt that wrong.
Simit Saray) And according to Metin Tezciolu, Moreover, his wasnt the only local capital Mc-
the manager of the pek Sucuk Shop in Beikta, Donalds had given a hand to. For instance when
[the popularity of] McDonalds and similar places Fersan, a company founded in 1978 in Kemalpaa,
began with a desire to show off, but people care zmir, was on the verge of deciding between re-
more for taste now. maining a small producer and closing shop, it
suddenly went on the attack with Arcan elengil
The development of the company acceler- buying the majority of its shares in 1986, the year
ated with the foundation of the Turkey office of in which McDonalds opened its first branch in
McDonalds Corporation in 1991. Continuing its Turkey. In 2003, elengil voiced his satisfaction
activities as a company with hundred per cent US with McDonalds: McDonalds restaurants are
capital, McDonalds finally found its local devel- our best client in pickle sales. However, McDon-
oper in November 2004. Tuncay zilhan, the alds Turkey represents only 2 percent of our total
owner of the Anadolu Group, finally succeeded pickle sales.
in 2005 in getting the long sought-after privilege
of licensor he had first applied for in 1977 after a As stated above, McDonalds didnt face any
series of meetings and the fulfilment of neces- resistance from the standpoint of taste, and even
sary procedures. When reminded of the reactions if it did, it didnt filter through. however, prob-
McDonalds may face for being a US company, ably because McDonalds realized that it wasnt
zilhan gave the following reply: By coming un- that easy to sell standard meatballs to Turks, and
der the Anadolu Group, the entire capital of Mc- in fact, that portions in McDonalds restaurants
Donalds has become Turkish. It provides 98 per would not satisfy Turks, it didnt neglect to come
cent of its supplies in Turkey. All its employees up with some specially designed menus and prod-
are Turkish. Its meat is from Turkey, its water is ucts. The MaxBurger was specially produced for
from Turkey, its coke is from Turkey I dont think Turkey. Ali Saydam, the Turkish public relations
BECOMING ISTANBUL
guru, adjudged not giving this product, apparently customers, in order to draw younger and better-
developed specially for Turks, a Turkish name off customers.
to be a great failure, but McDonaldss response
was: We Turks are in the habit of giving foreign McDonalds landed on our agenda not only
names even to brands we create ourselves. Its with its taste, but also with various explosions.
name aside, MaxBurger, with a thick beef patty,
2 slices of cheese, green onions, salad, tomato On 28 September 2001, 3 people were injured
and garlic, thyme, cumin, black pepper and spicy following the explosion of a bomb left in the toi-
sauce served on a square shaped black seed pide lets of the McDonalds branch in Levent, Istanbul.
(Turkish pitta bread), took its place in history as Explosions in the Sirkeci, Aksaray and Pendik
the Turkish contribution to McDonalds. Another branches of McDonalds on 15 April 2003 didnt
product called McTurco was later developed. But result in any deaths, but it did draw attention to
there really couldnt be meatballs without ayran the possibility that consumption in the restaurant
(a traditional Turkish drink made from yoghurt, might be more dangerous than had been thought.
water and salt) and finally ayran arrived in the The explosion in the car park of a McDonalds in
McDonalds outlets in Turkey. Acbadem, skdar, on 20 May 2004 provided
the police with the pretext to evacuate all other
The ayran issue was important. Although Mc- McDonaldss branches (see Parking Lot). It doubt-
Donalds had invited ayran into its restaurants to less remained a temporary measure.
sell meatballs to Turks, its closest ally Coca Cola
imposed, when it could, a condition of not sell- But McDonaldss real cracker broke when a
ing ayran in small restaurants which wanted to 10-year old girl selling paper tissues was locked
sell its products and which had fewer customers in a refrigerator in a McDonalds in Beylikdz
(because Coca Cola didnt produce ayran). The in August 2000.
popularity Coca Cola had created by force made
even kebab shops, in some cases, give up on ayran, Despite all this, McDonalds is a huge chain
at the expense of middle-aged and middle-income with 106 restaurants in Turkey, its 2006 sales
BECOMING ISTANBUL
amount to 151 million YTL. It is not known yet repercussions both in academic and public circ-
whether it has reached its 2007 turnover target les in many other countries, is rarely discussed
of 185 million YTL. here (see Iranian Immigrants, Iraqi Immigrants,
Post-Soviet Union Migrant). Of course, the con-
Aye avdar nection between this relatively low interest and
the present condition of Turkey is obvious. For
> Parking Lot, Simit, Simit Saray, example, Spain, from being a traditionally emig-
Taksim Square rant country, rapidly became an immigrant co-
untry with its accession to the European Union in
1986. Parallel to this development, immigration
MIGRATION research and the number of related institutions
rapidly increased too. Although the statistics can-
THIS SINGLE WORD COLLECTIVELY EXPRESSES ALL not be compared, Turkey does actually have a past
TYPES OF INDIVIDUAL OR MASS TRANSLOCATION,
FROM MOVEMENTS OF NOMADIC GROUPS TO THOSE OF and present related to international emigration
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SCALE . IT REVEALS and immigration. The first instance that comes to
THAT ALL THESE ACTIONS EXPRESS A SINGLE SOCIAL mind is of course the guest-workers who emigra-
CONDITION IN TURKISH. THEREFORE THE TERM IS A
SIGN OF RESISTANCE TO UNDERSTANDING CERTAIN ted following the labour recruitment agreement
ASPECTS OF CHANGE AND TRANSFORMATION. [ED.] signed with Germany in 1961. The term Almanc
[Germany-bound, Germaner] describes a popu-
Public opinion in Turkey often understands mig- lation and the second and third generations that
ration as a process of moving from the village to followed it which are rarely considered and dis-
the city, and, as such, limited to domestic migrati- cussed apart from all the meanings and clichs
on. Both from a statistical point of view, and from they host. Emigrants who went to Australia to
the perspective of urban administration and the join the labour force can be considered as part of
everyday lives of urban inhabitants, the interest the same group. And we are aware of populaces
it receives is not unjustified. Meanwhile, inter- that have settled in other countries mainly for
national migration, a process which has strong economic reasons. However, it appears that we
BECOMING ISTANBUL
continue to view these movements of populati- immigration in DOMiDs collections. For instance,
on as deviations from the norm rather than the the guest-workers of the time and the emigrants
expected consequences of global economic struc- of today, posing beside a train with their suitcases
turing. We hear in some travel documentaries or in their hands at Sirkeci train station render these
a section of news programmes about a group of spaces significant parts of a broader history of immi-
Turks having strangely settled in, say, a certain gration. Istanbul is certainly not only the memory
area of Japan reported with undertones of irony of departing from a country; it is also a nodal point
and then we forget about them. of visits to Turkey. Whether by car, train or plane,
the itinerary crosses Istanbul at one point. Istanbul
Stories of migration share a common point. doesnt only belong to the people of Istanbul; it be-
The departure or arrival point of most of them is longs also to those who pass through it. Therefore,
Istanbul. Train stations and ports One can see that to think of migration only as that from rural areas
Istanbul has taken its place in collective memory to urban areas, and even then only to transform
as much as individual memories. Across the world, the city into a village, presents an incomplete
museums aiming to relate the histories of migration picture. As mobility increases, metropolitan areas,
of countries or individual and common histories of and especially Istanbul in the context of Turkey,
migrants are being founded at a rapid pace. Perhaps begin to take on different meanings for different
the most famous example of this type of museum groups. To understand what makes Istanbul what it
is the Ellis Island Immigration Museum at Upper is, we have to utilize the possibilities of seeing it as a
NY Harbor. Ellis Island, the main immigrant entry dynamic node where population mobility, transport
facility from 1892 to 1954 and once known as the and economy intersect, rather than a geographical
gateway to America, was inaugurated as an im- point inhabited by a certain population.
migration museum in 1990. Another of the early
examples of these museums is DOMiD, founded Burak zldil
by a group of Turkish immigrant intellectuals in
Cologne, Germany, again in 1990. Istanbul is rep- > Iranian Immigrants, Iraqi Immigrants,
resented as the stage of memories of a history of Post-Soviet Union Migrant
BECOMING ISTANBUL
MINIBUS bought whatever vehicle they could find and start-

ed to circulate between the immigrant settlements
AN URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT VEHICLE SMALLER and central squares in the city. Without schedules,
THAN A BUS. OPERATES ON A SIMILAR SCHEDULE TO
BUS LINES, BUT CAN PICK UP PASSENGERS AND LET dedicated stops or formal job agreements for the
THEM OFF BETWEEN STOPS. [ED.] drivers, the minibus was the equivalent of the il-
legally built, yet officially tolerated house of the
Minibuses come in all shapes and colours. There immigrants; informal and self-regulated.
are more than 6,000 of them on the streets of
Istanbul. They run on routes determined by the A gecekondu on wheels, the minibus did
municipality. The licence, which authorises a not only carry domestic cleaners and pedlars to
minibus to operate on a specific route, costs se- their workplaces in the established parts of town,
veral hundred thousands Euros. Minibuses clog but it also transported the new immigrant cul-
the main arteries of the city, and their drivers are ture to the centre of the city. Catering to a target
infamous for their kamikaze driving operations group still predominantly illiterate in the 1970s
and their belligerence towards other participants and 80s, every driver had an assistant, usually
in Istanbuls traffic mess. a young man who had lost the prospect of a re-
spectable job elsewhere, who would cry out the
So, where did the minibus come from and final destination and the stops on the line. Loud
where is it driving? Above all, the minibus was the Arabesk music, the wailing songs bemoaning the
vehicle of choice for rural immigrants, who since new immigrants frustrated hopes, plastic flowers,
the 1950s have kept on flocking to the city whose images of a boy in tears and mottos on the outside
stones and ground were made of gold. Where of the bus like Who fails to love you shall not live
these new city dwellers built their gecekondu, would greet everyone embarking on a journey to
there were no regular bus services. To be fair, there and from the newly-built areas. Many established
were hardly any roads at all. Yet, there were infor- Istanbulites avoided the minibus together with the
mal entrepreneurs, themselves new to the city, socio-economic world it represented (see Varo).
who saw the emerging market and acted. They Ignore it, however, they could not. The minibus
BECOMING ISTANBUL
was too loud, too fast, too brash. And it was every- minibus is gradually being replaced by metro,
where. As the city expanded in all directions in tramlines and express buses. The old immigrants
the 1980s, new lines were opened, and the minibus have become citizens. And the latest newcomers,
became the dominant player in the citys traffic from Iraqi to African and Afghani immigrants,
wars largely unimpeded by traffic lights well into have to negotiate the city without the help of the
the early 1990s, and used by almost everybody mobile support network that the minibus offered
without access to a car. to many of the old immigrants.
Today, the minibus as gecekondu on wheels Kerem ktem

(see Gecekondu) is about to disappear. Long ago it
stopped to be the vehicle of choice for the immi- > Gecekondu, Varo
grant working classes, many of whom now enjoy
the marvels of solid lower-middle class life. The
system became formalised by ever-growing mu- MINORITY (I)
nicipal control and the concentration of profit-
THE POLITICAL LABEL REFERRING TO THE NUMERICAL
based power. What has remained are the informal MAJORITY OF A GROUP WHICH CHANGES ACCORDING
work arrangements and the belligerent driving TO THE POINT ONE IS STANDING AT.
style. What has changed is that the owner of a
minibus plate is now considered a rich man with According to a new point of view or illusion pro-
at least 200,000 Euros at his disposal. duced by the post-politically correct period, being
in a minority is almost more advantageous than
Yet, after the rise and the consolidation, the being part of a majority. Besides, coming face to
fall of the minibus is now imminent: already face with a member of one of these groups who
banned from some main roads like the citys have been deprived of their basic rights and face
lifeline E-5 including the airport highway and social isolation, obliges one to act in a constantly
the Bosphorus Bridge (named after its former apologetic manner towards an individual from
designation the Trans-European Road Nr 5), the minority groups which now have become the sole
BECOMING ISTANBUL
representatives of the tribulations of the past. itys existence. An individual who is a member of
However, the difficulty in determining which a minority group cannot abandon the dominant
groups are in fact minorities seems to prove that political wave s/he was subjected to in becoming
the problem is more complicated than it appears. part of a minority. Istanbul is positioned in the
centre of this general picture, while what goes
Today the concept of minority, even though missing in Turkey is the rhetoric. After a form of
it responds to new politically correct discourses, modern panic triggered the trend to construct a
is still a construct produced to separate the other national identity, the minority was left outside the
from the more equal group. Dominance has newly created cultural atmosphere and re-struc-
nothing to do with the size of the population. The tured. Whats striking is the persuasiveness of
dominance of the theory of assimilation is still this construct. The unpersuaded have left already
on the agenda as a significant political fact. As- and those who remain have chosen to appear per-
similation is still a prerequisite of becoming more suaded. However, the social package which comes
equal. On the other hand, there are no hosts with along with being a minority in Istanbul defines
boudless tolerance trying to make someone from a position where the system feels entirely confi-
the outside one of their own. We can only speak dent with itself. Therefore the host doesnt even
of theoretical hospitality. Although the term mi- feel the obligation to lie about its feelings. This
nority should naturally represent the unwanted, is what makes being persuaded dangerous. No
there are hosts who claim they will approach them one speaks up, for instance; despite everything,
with compassion and there are now thus domes- its those who define the minority who prefer to
ticated minorities. To claim that the feelings of speak. And their numbers are unfortunately not
the host have changed seems difficult. The host 1015 but just one or two, and, again unfortunately,
mentions the minority only when s/he looks out they are not even allowed to live.
from a location where s/he feels secure. The do-
mestication of the minority is related to the rhe- Ersin Altn
torical power of the host. Therefore the danger is
the cancellation of the dangerous, othered minor-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
MINORITY (II) are less easily recognisable like gays and lesbians.
Some suffer from a terrible trauma like the Ar-
THERE ARE FEW PROBLEMS AS CONTROVERSIAL AS menians, some encounter every-day racism and
WHO IS TO BE CONSIDERED A MINORITY IN ISTANBUL.
A CONSENSUS HAS BEEN REACHED TO CONSIDER police harassment as they try to make a living like
NON-MUSLIMS MINORITIES. BUT ALEVIS AND KURDS the African immigrants, and some negotiate their
ARE CONSIDERED MINORITIES OR NOT DEPENDING identity vis-- vis the Sunni Muslim majority like
ON THEIR CHANGING POLITICAL POSITIONS; THEY
SIMILARLY CONSIDER THEMSELVES MINORITIES OR the Alevis. Some have a better life than others,
DONT. OR THEY SOMETIMES DO, AND SOMETIMES and many who belong to the latter category are
DONT. [ED.] ex-pats.
Being a member of a minority or, failing that, being Among the places where they all meet is
perceived as one is something most Istanbulites Beyolu, on stiklal Caddesi, Taksim Square and
would prefer to avoid (see Ethnicity). Whether one in Cihangir. In this urban bubble, almost anything
is queer, Kurdish, Armenian or African, Istanbul goes, or at least it seems so. The architecture is fin-
is not a cosy, welcoming place, and, across space de-sicle European, providing a perfect setting for
and time, it never was. Fascinatingly, it is also one the fantasies of a cosmopolitan way of life to unravel.
of Europes messiest and exciting places in terms This part of town has always been inhabited by mi-
of diversity and difference. So what, when and norities, especially Greeks, Armenians, Jews and
how is a minority? And why is it such an uncom- Levantines. There are churches of all denominations
fortable thing to be the member of a minority in here and, a bit further towards Galata, half a dozen
such a heterogeneous city? synagogues (see Synagogue). Yet, there is also the
memory of the events of 6th7th September 1955, or
There are many minorities: ethnic, religious, as some call it, Istanbuls Reichskristallnacht, when
linguistic, gender-based. Some of these categories all explicitly non-Muslim shops, businesses and
overlap. Some are dwindling like the Assyrian- temples were looted by a mob let loose to strengthen
speaking Chaldeans, some are numerous like the the governments hand in the Cyprus conflict.
Kurds, some are very visible like the Roma, some
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The churches and temples, which make for and Jews are entitled to any minority rights, which
great dialogue of civilisations photos, especially means above all that they are even more closely
when there is a minaret and a few seagulls in the monitored by unsympathetic state agencies than
background, have scars on them, even if they are the non-recognised ones. Altogether, they only just
not visible at first sight. The narratives of toler- reach a total of 100,000, not even one percent in a
ance, five-hundred years of generosity towards city of more than eleven million.
the Jews and equality of citizens obscure these
scars, but do not heal them. Governed by an un- Yet, the picture changes when other com-
forgiving regime of limitations, being a mem- munities are included: the Kurds, the Bulgarian
ber of a minority means above all not to be able Turks, the Syrian Jacobites and Nestorians, the
to do certain things or to be allowed to do them Jewish Donmeh, the Zaza-speaking Dersimli, the
only after frustrating, endless struggles with the Laz, the Arabs from Hatay and Urfa, the transves-
authorities: to re-build an annex to a church or tites from all over the country who seek refuge in
to renovate a bell-tower, to claim the property the relative anonymity of the big city. Despite the
of ones religious foundations, to be protected spatial hegemony of flagpoles and new minarets
against the states greed which has an eye on the all over the city competing only with each other
communitys belongings, to remember the parts in height and their quest for symbolic penetration
of ones own history that are excised from school- the majority of Istanbuls residents are in fact
books. In short, it means not to have the space to members of a minority, even if they do not exist
breathe and flourish fully. in the eyes of the state.
Even though Istanbul is better off than the rest Kerem ktem
of the country in terms of ethno-religious diversity,
> Ethnicity, Synagogue
it is the nation-states gaze and its obsession with a
long-obsolete treaty signed in Lausanne that deter-
mines who is a minority: there are only non-Muslim
minorities, and of them only Armenians, Greeks
BECOMING ISTANBUL
MOAT/PIT especially across the city: producing a paranoid

fear creating the need for security. All the real
AN ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND THE PAIRING OF
SECURITY AND FEAR BY READING THE CITY IN and virtual walls that surround the closed circuit
REVERSE. residential blocks (see Gated Housing Estate)
constructed independently from each other are
A defensive obstacle surrounding the entire city nothing but the repetition of the moat/pits created
and functioning as a second barrier in front of by the joint movement of security and fear. Whats
the medieval city walls. Fortification, the walls more, the everyday lives of people and especially
of the city, was never considered sufficient for children living in these miniature medieval cit-
security and a further defensive tool surrounding ies created within the city are monitored in the
the city was required. But what is most significant name of security, with their freedoms restricted
is what creates this security device, the concern, through complete isolation from the other city
the fear that the unity within the walls may be dwellers with whom they live.
in danger.
In Victor Hugos description, the houses
Although since then, in a globalizing Istanbul, began to sink deeper the street was hollowing
there has been some change and the agents who out and narrowing constantly, while the city
experience or generate the fear have changed, can be thought to be developing upwards, he
the fear itself and the moat/pit, its imaginary admits that it is actually pitting downwards. He
expression, continue to exist in various forms. thus reverses readings of the city silhouette by
Security, the main principle of state policy after drawing attention to fallacies regarding the hill/
the foundation of the modern state, is situated in pit (see Silhouette). The increasingly hollowed
the face of a similar fear driving the formation of out and pitted city has reached such a state that
society (see Security). The contrasting positions global acts of terror which are, in R. Tiorskys
of the concepts of security and fear are mobilised words, an attack on the idea of the city, on the
not in opposition, but in unison by the holders idea of living together, are actually producing
of power in the twentieth century and since, and their own particular senses of the architectural,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
creating moat/pit images on an unprecedented MOSQUE

scale. Whats more, in the case of Istanbul by
strange coincidence the selected target is the A PUBLIC SPACE OF WORSHIP IN ISTANBUL BEFORE
exact heart Byk Hendek [Great Moat] Avenue MODERNISATION. TODAY, THE SPATIAL EXPRESSION
of the memory transmitted by the city of today OF A SERIES OF POLITICAL PREFERENCES. [ED.]
of the ancient Galata city wall moats and its own

hole driving into the earth.
According to year 2000 data there are 2562 mos-
The moat/pit has now been transformed from ques in Istanbul. The Fatih borough comes first
a mechanism of defence into the imaginary ex- in terms of the number of mosques, followed by
pression of modern wars in the city. It should mraniye, skdar and Gaziosmanpaa. This
not be forgotten that the city that takes security ranking is not at all surprising, and in fact rein-
as the most fundamental problem and its provi- forces urban narratives through which a consen-
sion a route to legitimacy becomes an extremely sus has been reached.
fragile structure, the very target of those who
aim to demolish it (see Demolition or the Warped A building of worship, it is impossible to con-
City). Therefore, just as not knowing which in the ceive of the mosque as independent of aspects of
increasingly mixed-up pairing of security/fear organisation and the power of representation.
comes first, whether the intervention of global The number of mosques in Fatih and skdar
terror in the city is destruction or reconstruction directly overlaps with the image we have of these
remains an unanswerable question. boroughs, which were the focal points for the city
beginning to become Muslim under Ottoman rule.
Zhre Szeri In the same way, mraniye and Gaziosmanpaa
seem to reinforce their position by means of the
> Demolition or the Warped City, equation of migration and gecekondu, de-
Gated Housing Estate, Security, Silhouette clared to be, since the 1950s, the fundamental rea-
son of the thousand and one problems of Istanbul
BECOMING ISTANBUL
for which no cure has been found. Well, isnt it bul is 3931. This data is of course useless by itself.
the case that people who come from out of town However, when the same calculation is repeated
also bring the mosques with their shoddy plaster on a borough-by-borough basis, the established
and brick minarets along with the never ending template clearly doesnt fit anymore. First of all,
low-quality housing production to Istanbul? A the people of Gaziosmanpaa, whom we have sur-
scrawny image, stuck between the half-tile, half- rendered to the prejudice based on gecekondu
corrugated roofs of peripheral boroughs complete area-oriented mosque production with their 164
with satellite dish, is the representative document mosques, are below the Istanbul average with 4663
of those who want to package Istanbul in familiar people per mosque. In fact, intensities of mosque
forms. This photograph of the gecekondu mosque use which reveal the opposite of expectation in
is essentially not very different from the historic boroughs like Bayrampaa, Zeytinburnu, Baclar,
peninsula postcards where elegant minarets as- Esenler and Gngren, reach record levels with
cend. References of the first to the present, to 16793 people per mosque in Avclar. On the other
poverty and ignorance and to the past, to glory hand, Beikta, Bakrky and Kadky, which
and to civilisation of the second unite in their stand out as the most privileged areas of the city
habit of speaking from memory. according to educational level and professional
profile are, as boroughs where one would expect
However, it is possible to study this particular congestion in places of worship, actually on the
type of building for worship, whose symbolic val- same side of the scale with the newly develop-
ue has become sharable through daily newspaper ing areas of the city. It wont be surprising after
discourse with debates like A mosque for Taksim this, where our judgments regarding the city have
Square, (see Taksim Square) and A mosque for proven hollow, to reveal that Fatih and skdar
Gztepe Park, according to a very simple system, are above the average with rates of 2217 and 2837.
and in a new way. The proportion of the number One must also take into account that the mosques
of mosques registered in the province of Istanbul in these two boroughs, which have become centres
in the year 2000 to the registered population tells of attraction for worship with their historic pasts,
us that the number of people per mosque in Istan- also serve larger crowds on both the Anatolian
BECOMING ISTANBUL
and European sides of Istanbul. Another case at MUSEUM

this end of the scale is the borough of Eminn,
where the people per mosque rate rises to 524. ACCORDING TO THE MOST UP TO DATE DEFINITION
OF THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF MUSEUMS, THE
The chasm between the general average of the city MUSEUM IS A SUSTAINABLE PUBLIC AND NON-PROFIT
and the borough average emphatically points to INSTITUTION IN THE SERVICE OF SOCIETY AND ITS
the transformation of boroughs from residential DEVELOPMENT WHERE THE NATURAL AND CULTURAL
INHERITANCE OF HUMANITY IS COLLECTED,
areas into trade areas since the 1960s. PRESERVED, INTERPRETED, PRESENTED, PROMOTED
AND DISPLAYED FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATION,
Even this simple population/mosque calcula- RESEARCH AND APPRECIATION.
tion forms a response to approaches that isolate

urban transformation from its natural course and Museums have been the spaces where the scienti-
stereotype it, contributing to a narrative of ac- fic and artistic production of human civilisation
tive dynamics in the city. The idea that in Istan- since Antiquity has been preserved. Museion,
bul a neighbourhood can be founded without a the home of the muses in Hellenistic mythology,
mosque and that a mosque can be left without a is adapted into other languages to define spaces
congregation indicates that space and represen- of memory where documents of intellectual and
tation must be questioned in different ways and physical production are brought together. The use
unconditionally. of the word museum for places where various col-
lections are gathered and exhibited corresponds
Meri ner to later periods.
> Taksim Square While the Cabinets of Curiosities of the

17 century have been known as museums, the
th
Ashmolean Museum founded as part of Oxford

University in 1682 became the first institutional
museum open to the public. In the 18th century
many special collections were brought together
BECOMING ISTANBUL
in museums, the number of museums open to development of the Old Continent. And there are
the public increased and, towards the end of the different reasons for its popularisation in different
century, the concept of a public museum devel- cultural contexts; such as being a tool to empha-
oped with the influence of the French Revolution. size cultural identity, ideological unification and
The 19th century is the golden age of museums social appropriation of symbols of belonging, or
when they increased both in variety and fields of as a sign of modernisation
specialisation and in terms of content and space.
The museums we inherited from the Ottoman
Although the institutional past of the museum Empire were modelled as indispensable compo-
is much shorter than similar spaces of memory, nents of westernisation and, in contrast to other
science-like archives and libraries, the museum public institutions that were developed out of
rapidly earned a place in the order of urban life necessity, were founded in order to establish au-
with its significance as a particular site of attrac- thority in a field where the West had intensified
tion and spatial presence. Along with other main its interest. The museum organisation formed in
components of 19th century urbanisation such 1846, during the early years of the innovations of
as the opera, theatre, library, municipality and the Tanzimat [Re-/Organisation], with a collection
public administration buildings, the museum including a part of the old weapons and other sei-
took its place in the centre of the city. zures kept in the Aya Irini [St. Irene] Church since
they were deemed unsuitable for the Treasury and
According to architectural historian J. antique architectural elements from the vicinity
Mordaunt Crook , researching the British Mu- of the Hippodrome, was the first attempt in this
seum, the museum is the product of 18th century field. The core of the museum was opened with
Enlightenment, 19th century democratisation and two sections, and the sole reason for its develop-
20th century modernisation, in other words, a ment around antique artefacts was the interest of
result of the Western mind and a Western institu- Europe in the Age of Antiquity. The declaration
tion. The museum is, in the fundamental sense, by Safvet Pasha in 1869 to the grand vizier con-
European. It evolves parallel to the processes of cerning the rationale for the founding of an impe-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
rial museum, It is not right that no museum has Towards the mid-1880s, artefacts sent from
been established in our country while European all corners of Ottoman territories to the capital
museums are full of rare artefacts taken from began not to fit into the inili Kk, constructed
our land, can be seen as the sign of the need in 1472 during the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror
for museums. Even as the Ottoman Empire got and functioning as a recreational residence of the
the museum it wanted, the awareness that this sultan and his entourage when they played tradi-
space was an institution serving the transmis- tional games like jereed [a team sport on horse-
sion of social memory and the physical docu- back]. The faade of the new building, designed
ments of its past to future generations, lost out to by Alexandre Vallaury for the museum directed by
the interest from Europe. At the inauguration of Osman Hamdi Bey, is said to have been inspired
the inili Kk [The Tiled Pavilion] as the Mze- by the Sarcophagus of Mourning Women and the
i Hmayun [Imperial Museum] on 16th August Alexander Sarcophagus brought a short time be-
1980, the Education Minister Mnif Paa expressed fore the construction of the museum from Sidon.
the importance of the Museum in the following Whatever the inspiration, the Mze-i Hmayun
words: building, with its neo-classical emphasis like all
the other museums constructed in the West at
In the past, the value of ancient artefacts the time, is the first and only European presence
was not recognized properly Many ancient arte- in Topkap Palace which for centuries opened its
facts in European and American museums today doors to Westerners only as a sign of grace.
are from our country They did this because we
showed no interest and demand in this subject. The Mze-i Hmayun is also a monument to
For a while now, interest in the subject has begun a centralist understanding of museum develop-
among Ottomans and a law regarding ancient ment. The museum that rose to prominence with
artefacts has also been issued. The foundation of the collection of all types of antique artefacts for
the Mze-i Hmayun is the clearest example of the capital of the Empire made an attempt with
this, and one hopes that the ideas and actions of a regional branch opening in Bursa in 1904, but
Europeans regarding us will change from now on. its continuity could not be maintained. Despite
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the political chaos of the first decades of the 20th across the country as symbols of modernisation.
century, all the new museum projects developed As a result, with the exception of a painting and
in the Ottoman state were for Istanbul. sculpture museum, military museums and con-
verted palaces and villas, the museum culture
The traditional approach brought on by the which spread through Anatolia consisted of col-
structuring of the Ottoman Museum according lections which began historically with ancient,
to Western norms and for Western appreciation regional periods, were flavoured with ethnogra-
continues almost intact in the present despite phy, had no continuity and were displayed in the
the ideological interventions of the Republic. The same setting for decades.
museum, it seems, is assessed for its qualities of
catching up with the levels of modernity and at- Although never admitted specifically, it was
tracting the interest of the West rather than serv- again Istanbul which received the greatest atten-
ing society, as with other cultural and scientific tion in museum development in the early Repub-
institutions adapted from the West. Although a lican period,. Although Ankara was decked with
tendency to open museums for typical regional public buildings to emphasize its political sov-
arts or everyday life significant for the cultural ereignty, and witnessed concrete developments
make-up of society began in the late years of the regarding museology like the construction of an
Ottoman Empire, the collections passed on to the Ethnography Museum and the establishment of
Republic werent of a great extent. Furthermore, an Archaeology Museum in the 1940s, the lions
since the ideology of the Republic instrumental- share still belonged to Istanbul. Museums as the
ized museums, in line with reclaiming the lands signature of the ideology and revolutions of the
of Anatolia salvaged by the Republic, promoting Republic, with the conversion into museums of
national unity and continuity and the worldwide the Topkap Palace (1924) as a symbol of the sov-
significance of Anatolian culture, archaeology, ereignty of the people, the Hagia Sophia Mosque
searching for and revealing the cultural unique- (1937) as a sign of secularism and the founding
ness of the Turk in ancient cultures and ethnol- of the Painting and Sculpture Museum (1937),
ogy became the main concern of museums opened all as steps towards the level of development of
BECOMING ISTANBUL
contemporary civilisations, showed that despite anyway, was established (see Silhouette). The new
its loss of position as the administrative centre role and perhaps the fate which would provide
for 600 years, the city would continue to be the untouchability to a han, a madrasah, a mansion
cultural capital. or an industrial building abandoned in the middle
of the city upon land of high economic value and
The excitement and interest in all cultural difficult to demolish was to designate it a museum.
institutions (concert halls, opera houses, the- The concept of the museum was still seen as the
atres) in the first decades of the Republic pla- simplest solution to dal with a spatial irregularity,
teaued out with public attention shifting towards and the way to give meaning to such spaces was
political and economic matters. The overriding still understood to involve putting a few interest-
understanding of museums until recently was ing objects inside. This approach actually re-
that they were places where one had to be silent sulted in the disfunctionalisation of museums and
and respectful, places containing treasures much the minimisation of social benefit since it forced
appreciated by tourists and therefore a cause of site-focused museological planning which was
pride for us as a nation. forced to adapt to existing architectural potential.
The early Republican Period established an- The frequent allusion in recent years to muse-
other museum tradition: since museums offered ums across Turkey, the advance the museum sec-
a quick solution to the problem of how to utilize tor has taken and, of course primarily in Istanbul,
the immovables expropriated from the Ottoman the attempt to establish more direct relationships
era, the recruitment of all types of monumental with the society they are serving, with the use of vari-
building as museums became prized. The custom ous methods of communication to attract the inter-
of assigning all public building types which had est of society, as well as the increase in the number
lost their original function, presented a problem and content variety of museums are still not suffi-
in terms of their use, yet could not be demolished cient to change this approach. When a new museum
due to concerns of historical sensitivity and city is proposed, and in its early stages of foundation,
silhouette and no one wanted in the first place the understanding which seeks reasonably pro-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
portioned old buildings in the city or extensions to ing contributions to the city silhouette are always
them still prevails. All well-intentioned efforts, the admired and the museum may be approached as a
development of museology and even the adoption privileged architectural artefact. In this context, as
of technology relevant to museum requirements seen in various contemporary examples, proposals
and progress does not remove the problem of old which ought not simply to be defended in actuality,
buildings, turning the sustainability of museums conceptual constructs presenting the architecture
into painful and expensive operations. of a museum to society independent of the works
it contains and the services it offers to society has
The allocation of a position to museums as become easily acceptable within the logic of urban
significant actors in the development of the city is transformation. This operates as such a dominant in
not simply a matter of the utilisation of monumen- contemporary planning that it drives one to think,
tal antiques. Since the 19th century, museums somewhat indifferently, that a similar architectural
have shared with other public buildings the task visuality that restored popularity to a forgotten har-
of highlighting the style of the periods they have bour, for instance, must exist within the historical
been constructed in with changing architectural texture of Istanbul as well.
emphases in the modernisation and urban trans-
formation of cities (see Urban Transformation). In Another mitigation of demands for priority
fact, since their utilisation may be considered more existence in socialisation and urban culture can
flexible and categorically different compared to be sought in the range of services provided by mu-
buildings for performance, science or administra- seums. In the metropolitan life of the 21st century,
tion, whose functions are rather defined by strict museums take on important roles through their
boundaries, they open up a space of freedom for the peripheral activities as much as their basic respon-
application of experiments in original architectural sibilities outlined above. The research areas of the
form. Despite the functional concerns of a relatively museum open to the public (library, documentary,
small number of museum professionals who think visual and aural archives), workshops which con-
that the content, collection, display, scientific and tribute to education, rest areas (cafeteria or res-
communication functions are fundamental, strik- taurant), multifunctional halls open for cultural
BECOMING ISTANBUL
activities and economic operations providing a connection to the main space or its guiding concept,
contribution to the museums functioning and failing thereby assimilate the examples of trans-
promotion (bookshops or souvenir shops) are not formations in some other cities. In such cases, it is
simply other places to visit, secondary to the main thoroughly mistaken to generalize the social and
spaces of memory of the museum but also places cultural vitality Istanbul has experienced in terms
linked to and enabling societys use of the main of museology in recent years and identify it with
museum. For all that, they are not always indispens- the development of the countrys heritage.
able to the museum. However, given urban forms
of consumption, especially in cultural centres like Consequently, if the part of museums in cul-
Istanbul reputed global metropolises, the spell of tural transformation does not impress beyond
the traditional prestige of museums runs the risk the city of Istanbul, and if museums here are not
of negatively influencing the functional balance concerned about promoting the inheritance of the
of museums, rendering certain shared spaces and city where the first museum of the country was
especially recreational areas overly popular. Once founded, if they do not look back and reconsider
museums desert their fundamental mission and are the progress they have made, if they do not take
treated as spaces of cultural activity, emphasis on the real needs of the city and its dwellers into
the scientific structure serving the development of consideration, and if they advance towards uni-
society weakens and their vision of building bridges versality with the sole aim of rendering the city
from the past to the future within relations of mem- more cultured and making its architectural qual-
ory, belonging and identity begins to fray. To assess ity more visible without changing a viewpoint
a museum that is consumed for its restaurant, which is 160 years old, or only by adapting to the
caf, special concerts or cinemas as a unique space norms of consumption of today, then perhaps it is
of a society genuinely valuing its art, science and best not to write or even think about these things.
history, its cultural heritage, fails as a justification.
The increasing dominance of such a practice in the Burak Madran
cultural life of Istanbul leads to the formation of
areas for socialising within museums that have no > Silhouette, Urban Transformation
BECOMING ISTANBUL
MUSIC PIRACY past shops. For instance, in shops at the Yazcolu

Business Centre in Kadky and its surroundings,
A FORM OF DISTRIBUTION AIMED AT INCREASING THE vendors sell, in addition to computer programs
CIRCULATION OF MUSIC VIA ITS REPRODUCTION IN
VARIOUS FORMS. and films, music CDs burned with enough music
for you to listen for weeks for a very cheap price.
The contemporary domestic form of music piracy There is an international trade going on behind
is based on the downloading of songs to computers the counters. And this trade has a very negative af-
via internet programmes. This method, against fect on the trade of the big names, and the sound
which many music and record companies and of the slogan No to Music Piracy! echoes on TV.
especially the big names respond with a variety
of security and locking systems, also has many But back in the days when the real problem
advocates because of its facilitation of access to was not buying or not buying music but actually
music. On the other hand, the use of formats like gaining access to it, music piracy and distribution
mp3, in which the information content of songs is were emotional acts, often quite removed from
compressed and transformed, result in up to 50 % trade. Music shops and music stalls positioned in
loss of data and hence sound quality. Yet it looks the vicinity of these music shops would open the
as if no one seems to mind that much. In other archive of an elder brother or sister to the listener
words, the advantages provided by easy access by recording it onto blank tapes. In those days
and low cost can even overcome the perception when the listener was oblivious to concepts like
of the loss in sound waves as a problem. copyright or musicians rights, the only calcula-
tion was about the option of buying three dubbed
The street version of pirate music distribution tapes for the price of one original cassette tape,
is mp3 CDs prepared specially according to bands yet listening to more music. Besides, even if the
or genres. With this system, which has beaten mu- licensed original copies of albums dubbed to tape
sic shops to take over the market, music shopping were on display, that didnt mean they were on
in the city has been reduced to the question Need sale. The vendors profile was as far removed as
CDs, sister? persistently asked when one goes possible from a tradesman trying to fill his pock-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ets; he was more likely trying to include you in tude and internal link-up brought to mind was
his circle. In brief, both the buyer and the vendor the Kadky Akmar Arcade and its surroundings,
were genuinely happy. where many kids were banned from going by their
parents. Although Akmar now has the appearance
Each stall or shop had its own unique style of of an ordinary arcade where the second hand book
presentation. This style was determined by diverse dealers sell university preparation books, where
variables from the handwriting used in the song toilets are cleaned regularly, and where the only
titles and band names on cassette sleeves to the access from its caf is to the internet, it used to be
colour of the pen, from the dimensions of the pho- like a door opening onto boundless music for the
tocopy of the original cover in the cassette cover curious music listener. At the same time, the ar-
to the make of the blank tape. Receiving music cade expressed the self-sufficient mood of Kadky
prepared with such special personal treatment people who shied away from the outside world with
and in unique form, you inevitably thought that it remarkable ease and without hedging their bets.
was just for you. In fact, depending on the friendli-
ness of the chat you had with the vendor, the extra Pirate music distribution via dubbed cassette
minutes added to the gaps at the end of each side tapes and older brothers and sisters was perhaps
which meant if you liked this then you might also the best thing that ever happened to Istanbul in
like this too, were the most beautiful signs of how the name of music. Just like punks having a place
special you were and that you would remain secure to hang around in front of and that place being
in this by holding on to this community. in the heart of the city That is the reason why
my anxious childhood makes me search around
As can be observed in all urban spaces where for the Akmar Arcade in every city I travel to. I
such counter-activities are carried out, it was of- know that even if the arcade isnt there, there
ten the case that the shops initiating pirate music are definitely people somewhere who still keep
distribution in the late 80s and the 90s preferred those tapes.
to stay close to others carrying out similar acts.
The first place this dual position of external soli- Ekin Sana
BECOMING ISTANBUL
MY IDEAL HOME focal point of oral and verbal representations of

luxury real estate advertisements (see Advertis-
FROM VITRUVIUS TIME TO THE PRESENT DAY, THE ment). My/the ideal home has now opened the
IDEAL HOME HAS BEEN ONE OF THE FOUNDING
MYTHS OF HUMANKIND AND IS STILL USED door of a privileged world we could describe as
FREQUENTLY BY DESIGNERS AND RESEARCHERS. hyper-reality, with a new architectural language
HOWEVER, IN THE CONTEXT OF ISTANBUL AND WITH symbolizing prestige, status, and power and their
THE SLOGAN MY/THE IDEAL HOME, THIS MYTH MUST
BE READ AS THE SPATIALISATION OF THE EMERGING credentials. The element which renders the spa-
TURKISH BOURGEOISIE. tialisation in Istanbul critical is the spatial disso-
ciation of two social groups through the marketing
At first, the ideal home myth of 1950s Istanbul is of luxury residence by means of a discourse of
a symbolic space visualizing the dream of beco- work, entertainment and especially my/the ideal
ming little America reflected in the slogan proc- home: those who succeed in becoming part of
laiming a millionaire in each neighbourhood. globalisation and those who cant. In this process
The ideal home given away by banks under this of dissociation, the Istanbul upper-middle and
slogan with lotteries organized among account upper classes, also described as white Turks,
holders is the beginning of the spatialisation of have assimilated their symbolic class identity,
the Turkish bourgeoisie the system was trying to embracing the myth of my ideal home. In the
create. In todays globalizing Istanbul, the active third millennium, for senior executive Istanbu-
dissemination of communication services, adver- lites, buying their ideal home doesnt only mean
tising and information encourage the consumer buying a house: owning the ideal home is
to yearn for the ideal home of luxury standards synonymous with the visualisation of attaining
reflecting a different and elite life style. this new and elite lifestyle
In this scope, the myth of the ideal home in We encounter the dissociative consumption
the process of the physicalisation of global capital culture of globalizing Istanbul in the marketing
in Istanbul is the critical space visualizing the processes of the ideal home and in textual and
social class one belongs to or envies and is the visual representations in advertisements. Adver-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
tisements published for the sales of new luxury form of exaggerated urban legends and with no
residence development,s spreading into forested reference to statistical data. More critically, the
areas towards the Black Sea coast on the Euro- secure and organized environment discourse of
pean side and towards water basins on the Asian the ideal home also evokes the sense of spatial
side, provoke Istanbulite buyers by presenting the and social distance from the citys neighbour-
home as a tool of investment and status with the hoods of complicated communities. Secondly, the
slogan my/the ideal home. Closed spaces (see ideal home is the spatialisation of the imaginary
Gated Housing Estate) where socially and econom- construct which creates the image of exclusivity.
ically similar groups can coexist according to their An exclusive and happy life is reflected through
habits of consumption are being marketed with slogans of a utopian, happy and privileged life. A
strategically chosen thematic images by means clean social environment indicates living close
of staged scenes where such images can be real- to people from similar social environments and
ized. The ideal home abstractions of the 2000s the sharing of this exclusive life style with your
removed from the context of relationships and social equivalents in fact, a spatialisation em-
actual objects through scenes of schematic site phasizing cultural dissociation and reflects the
plans showing transportation distances, three- dissociation from residents of ordinary neigh-
dimensional utopian visual renderings and an bourhoods. Finally, the ideal home is described
exaggerated discourse which can be grasped un- as having luxurious architectural constituents.
der three main headings: security (see Security), Accompanied by schematic site plans showing
exclusiveness and luxurious architectural design. transportation distances to the two airports of the
Security is the main theme of advertisements of city, exclusive ultra-luxurious shopping centres
luxurious housing complexes that are distant from and privileged urban centres, the precondition
the dark of the city but in its immediate vicinity, of my/the ideal home is that it is always out of
and will protect the prospective buyer from un- town but very close to it On one hand door-
identified crimes. An environment shaped by an jambs, ornamentations, eaves and blinds are used
increase in individual violence, global terrorism to evoke the Ottoman era amid fantasies of the old
and dynamics of uncertainty is expressed in the values of the villa or manor; on the other hand, the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
emphasis on transparency using contemporary of the ideal home in a manner that sharpens
materials in ultra-bright representations creating social privileges is actually a visualisation, a mir-
fictions of space-age spaces adorned with English ror held up to the processes of hybridisation (see
names is to the fore With kitchen and bathroom Hybrid-ising/isation) and fragmentation of other
as symbolic transmission of cultural homogenisa- spaces in the city.
tion and social identification, luxurious architec-
tural standardisation consolidated with built-in pek Yada Akpnar
equipment and matching home textiles represents
enviable installations And the latest develop- > Advertisement, Hybrid-ising/isation,
ment in luxurious contractor residences is the in- Gated Housing Estate, Security
creasing frequency of the signature of the famous
architect below our ideal home
NEIGHBOURHOOD
The myth of my/your ideal home which
may be taken as an imaginary construct is essen- THE HYPOTHETICAL SOCIAL UNIT THAT CONSTANTLY
REAPPEARS ON THE AGENDA AS THE REINCARNATION
tially determined by mechanisms using similar OF A FORGOTTEN ORDER OF URBAN ORGANISATION
clichproducing visualisation techniques and AND INSPECTION. [ED.]
media. The race through policies of consump-
tion to produce difference in actual fact operates A private housing company calls the project it
via similarities. This myth has become a directly will realize in Istanbul a neighbourhood, and
saleable and purchasable commodity, overlapping describes the project in its adverts like this:
with global consumption culture. The element of Neighbourhood Istanbul will provide you with
my/your ideal home advertisements in 21st cen- a peaceful life amidst nature, and it aims to rec-
tury Istanbul that, at base, makes the difference reate the old, warm bonds of neighbourhood, the
is their emphasis on social and cultural dissocia- friendly chats, solidarity, in other words, the old
tion in the discourses of their textual and visual neighbourhood spirit you miss so dearly. The
representations. In this context, the spatialisation company sets to work with the aim of recovering
BECOMING ISTANBUL
a value we have lost, and it looks as though this of appraisal for the Weberian community/soci-
will be neither the first nor the last example of ety theory much approved of in Turkey. The best
this trend. The Istanbul neighbourhood marks known indicator of this situation may be defined
such a distinct structure and such a strong de- as the attempt to construct a community struc-
sire is felt for it that it defines the backbone of ture which never existed: in brief, the creation
the most significant advertising strategies (see of a system of lost values integrated within a na-
Advertisement) of commercial housing projects, tional construct. A confession of sins is carried
while it is in the process of being renewed as a out through the notion of the neighbourhood.
high-density housing estate (see Gated Housing We first imagine what we have lost, and then we
Estate). However, as both the developer and the mourn it and plead forgiveness. Even more curi-
advertising agency know quite well, calling a de- ously, the critical view of this imagination actually
velopment a neighbourhood will not be enough owes a lot to Webers discourse too. This time,
to make it one. The idea of bringing back old ne- the neighbourhood is reconstructed as a focal
ighbourhood relations always attracts a premium. point for pre-modern behavioural patterns. Thus
Yet it is debatable whether those much yearned a double reading, between pre-industrial commu-
for neighbourhood relations existed at all, or at nal relationships and the society of the modern
least in the way they are imagined today. It can world, emerges. The blockage the intellectual
be claimed that the neighbourhood is first and arsenal that leans on Weber suffers from, then,
foremost a mental construct and therefore ap- defines another problematic issue regarding the
pears more in series, film sets and advertising neighbourhood.
campaigns for housing estates. At this point, it
seems relevant to refer to Webers relation to the There is a considerable number of publica-
concept of the neighbourhood. tions in Turkish concerning how the metropolis
of the contemporary world separates itself from
More than the physical environment that the its neighbourhoods which havent shed their
word often problematically refers to, the concept communal relationship structure. In this con-
of the neighbourhood actually represents a field text, the neighbourhood construct is formed to
BECOMING ISTANBUL
question contemporary urban structures rather NORTHERN ISTANBULITE

than trying to understand the pasts network of
relations. Therefore we constantly hear, read and IF WE WANTED TO IDENTIFY THAT NEW FORM OF
listen to how Istanbul has developed a resistance EXISTENCE OF THE GROUP THAT HAS BEEN DESCRIBED
AS WHITE TURKS IN TERMS OF THE HISTORY OF
to modernisation and how neighbourhoods con- PHYSICAL GENERATION IN THE MODERN CITY, IT
tribute to this, or how gecekondu neighbourhoods WOULD BE USEFUL TO COIN THE PHRASE NORTHERN
represent a life peculiar to the traditional world ISTANBULITE.
(see Gecekondu, Post-gecekondu). Of course, these

neighbourhoods are not in Nianta or Ulus but The sphere of the Northern Istanbulites was born
in Gaziosmanpaa and mraniye. This construct in the 19th century, in the era of early modernism,
claims that existing social capital in the city sus- receives a comprehensive renovation with the
tains the constant flow from the rural areas to founding of the Republic and matures, losing its
the city, and because of neighbourhoods which influence in 1950s1980s Istanbul as it changed
havent received or cant receive their share from through migration, and finally shed its shell and
the city for a variety of reasons, Istanbul never was resurrected in a neo-liberal format in the 90s
goes beyond being a gigantic village. Consequent- (see Migration). If the physical make-up of the
ly, both views are nothing but efforts to recon- city and the forms of existence it shelters are, to
struct a web destroyed by modernity, which the a disastrous degree, perceived differently by dif-
confused ethico-epistemological crisis is trying ferent actors, both old and new northern views
to restore. and attitudes can be traced at the foundation of
this condition.
Ersin Altn
Early modern origins/The construction of
> Advertisement, Gated Housing Estate, the north by capitalist sleight of hand: As the city
Gecekondu, Post-gecekondu modernized in the 19th century, geographical-
topographic thresholds began to overlap with
socio-economic differentiations or to indicate
BECOMING ISTANBUL
them. Social strata that had a high level of capital maintained with more regional discourses, with
accumulation and were articulated with the global these districts presenting their labour force, ser-
economy of the era concentrated themselves to vices and smaller commodity production first
the north of the Golden Horn. This area was fur- and foremost to the regional market. This was a
ther differentiated within itself: the upper and differentiated world, yet also a world where every-
eastern parts facing the sea along the airy, scenic one knew where they stood. Ottoman conserva-
ridge, the main spine of which extended from T- tive modernisation, which finds it most perfect
nel to ili, with a branch extending out to Maka incarnation in Abdlhamid, had deciphered the
above the new palace, presented a tendency for secret of slotting the very diverse pieces of this
refined development; whereas the TarlabaDol- world into place and keeping them there without
apdereKasmpaa area, to the rear of the ridge, much fuss.
along with the area south of the Golden Horn, was
abandoned to more modest income groups. The The incarnation of north and south in early
central areas of the old Bosphorus villages may modernity/The apartment and the block plot lay-
also included in this second group to a certain out as opposed to the shore palace: Apartment
extent. The northern attitude is also an elevated typology crystallized as both a sign and guaran-
attitude. The urban topography of this era is leg- tor of northern capital accumulation. It has often
ible: socioeconomic differentiation and spatial been said that the apartment was a status symbol
differentiation directly coincide and overlap. In or a sign of the times until it lost its reputation
contrast to the economic position of the north- in the 1960s when the build-and-sellers entered
ern and elevated districts that were articulated the fray. There is another way of looking at it: the
with the movements of global capital, and their apartment provided reassurance for the differen-
social structure which was open to western trends tiation of socioeconomic groups on a spatial basis.
with their liberal ideological structure support- The rupture from the southern neighbourhood
ing modernisation, we observe that the south- may not have happened so comfortably if not for
ern or lower altitude districts were the space the radical differentiator, the unique spatial filter
of a secondary or parallel modernisation process known as the apartment, or, in other words, the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
apartment provided a perfect infrastructure for use. An overload of building concentration due
the rupture. What we refer to as the suffocating to expectations of high yields affected the quality
customs of the neighbourhood which we often of life in the developed environment in areas like
define in a religious/cultural field, is nothing but, Pera, for instance, and, as circumstances changed,
in the final analysis, a series of rites and mores in time a loss in value became inevitable. The main
forcing the redistribution of social resources; thus parameter of northernness is thus defined by pure
the neighbourhood can also be read as a physical/ and reckless attacks on untouched land along the
spatial front for the emergence of capital accu- northern periphery of the city.
mulation and a modern bourgeois class. Keeping
at arms length from the neighbourhood is thus The Northern State/A brief intermezzo: The
a compulsory step for social strata that want to complementary element to capitalist northern-
take part in the cycles of modern capital accu- ness was the northernification of the Great Otto-
mulation. A high-density settlement beyond the man State along with its dignitaries. From Fndkl
Golden Horn on top of the ridge, separated from to Ortaky, from Beylerbeyi to Kksu, the mi-
the others, also witnesses the birth of a class that gration of the sultanate to the north took place
has increasingly minimized its social relation- along the shore. The primary motive, as well as
ships with the old city. the geographical axis of this movement, was dif-
ferent: its main impulse was to compensate for an
The process of modernisation which opened aristocratic life that had never been (could never
virgin land in the north beyond the Galata city have been) experienced properly in the past. The
walls to development and transformed vineyards, state found its northern character in the typol-
gardens, orchards, meadows and arable fields and ogy of stone seafront palaces it affixed to the cool
then cemeteries into building sites for the first time waters of the Bosphorus. Being northern in lower
brought the urban investor to the forefront as an elevations was synonymous with being imperial.
actor. This was a period when capital liberated itself
from common sense, and the land in the north/the and the Others: On the other side of the me-
highlands opened to profiteering and speculative dallion were the southern neighbourhoods who
BECOMING ISTANBUL
were stewing in their own juice. The insufficient Republican conditions/The maturation of the
or humble capital accumulation here only allowed northern ideology of reconstruction: The Republic
for moderate solutions: The capital deficit of the didnt fundamentally interfere in the northsouth
modernisation of the south was met by planning. divide of the city it inherited; it didnt attempt to
The power of urban planning was equalled only surpass it. Meanwhile, the city was shrinking any-
by that of the urban actors of the south and they way, the existing divide was simplified and in line
found a rich mine here. Fires played the determin- with this simplification it ossified and became
ing role in the transition to this humble block/ ideological. The first outcome of the equation was
lot order defined by 23 storey detached and/or the state factor; the state deserted the centre and
terraced family housing with narrow faades. moved north. The clear choice of the new Repub-
A quarter of the pre-disaster area was expropri- lican elite was the north; it formed a bond with the
ated while the remaining three-quarters were north and kept a distance from the south. It never
given title deeds. For the southern urban dweller, managed to like the Bosphorus which it identified
modernisation meant at every moment feeling in with the leftovers of the decrepit empire, aban-
their bones the regulatory will of the government doning it and choosing to dwell along the ridge.
through its road and building regulations. The At the highest point of the hill, a new centre was
Pera fires didnt have the same consequence, for invented and opened: Taksim Square (see Taksim
example; the will of resident Pera property owners Square). The square was surrounded by exemplary
acting as investors determined new development neighbourhoods which either rose from nothing
processes. or were comprehensively renewed, the outstand-
ing examples being Talimhane, the Mete Caddesi
Northerners who modernized on the strength / Gmsuyu block and Cihangir. The complex
of capital and southerners who modernized by including the square and integrating Taksim Es-
public means found a way of living side by side, planade and Maka Park became the public space
keeping out of each others business with each of the Republic, with the Republican elite living
keeping to their own neighbourhood. along an arc surrounding this complex. Neighbour-
hoods of the Ottoman past which formed the arc,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Tevikiye chief among them, renewed themselves and its consequences were accepted with a form
according to the example set by Taksim. of resignation. The differentiation in life styles
was nothing other than a natural consequence of
The falling property prices of the shrinking this. The ones who earned more could naturally
city meant that the new elite of the north were consume more and differently, and set sail to the
introduced for the first time to the concepts of pleasure worlds of more expansive lands thanks
public investment and planning. New exemplary to the means they possessed. These differences,
settlements were purified of the negative aspects which provided ample material for literature, were
of the unplanned urban pile-up of 19th century often subject to ridicule. Social climbing could
turbo-capitalism and embraced comfort, green open the door to new lifestyles, thresholds were
and light, seen as a blessing of the Republic. not insurmountable.
On the other hand, the south decreased radi- The money the new Republican elite had in
cally in size in the same period and, shrinking, it its pockets was a drop in the ocean compared to
no longer received a substantial share from public the old cosmopolitan elite. How much could they
investment; as a result becoming dilapidated almost show off with the money they had, anyway? If
without any renewal at all, collapsing, with fire dam- there was a material resource which made a differ-
aged areas becoming fields, going into withdrawal. ence to the physical environment it wasnt private,
The contrast between the area within the city walls it belonged to the government. Therefore the iden-
and the area beyond the Golden Horn became more tification with government ideology which offered
apparent. Those looking down from the north began a higher quality urban environment, reading and
to perceive this as a simple but equally insurmount- explaining the city accordingly, was naturalized,
able duality since it was static in nature. became natural. The north became the environ-
ment of a self-styled republican enlightenment;
However, in the early modern period everyone the south became the embodiment of traditional-
was aware of the fact that the choice of neighbour- ism and unenlightened conservatism. The other-
hood was basically a matter of monetary means ing and ghettoisation of northern neighbourhoods
BECOMING ISTANBUL
in the north that were more impoverished and dream of becoming Champs-lyses; nor could the
belonged to non-Muslims began in this period. shore road, also known as Kennedy Street, dream
(This is a subject that deserves to be taken up on of becoming Kordon, Izmir; their fate is to cause
its own, but I wont go into detail here.) pain to the city as pseudo-highways tacked on to
the area within the city walls. The first step was
The golden shot of the Republican north / The taken in the deterritorialisation process of the
Menderes operations: In contrast with the populist north with the establishment of Ataky on the
demagoguery which was used to legitimize them southern shore. When the North was restructured
(bringing services to the neglected urban area shortly after, it would transcend space and become
within the city walls which had received no share more conceptual.
of public investment before), the Menderes opera-
tions, which left their indelible mark on the period, The interim period / The classical duality takes
derived from an extraordinarily northernist agen- a back seat and new potential polarities are masked:
da. A new express road network was completed ac- In the period from the 50s to the 80s, the parameters
cording to an attitude which entirely disregarded of early modernity and the dualistic city as founded
the area within the city walls by reducing it to by the Republic turned upside down and were invali-
a simple transit terrain to be by-passed. For the dated. The intense demographic pressure emerging
northerners, this area was a cheap territory that with industrialisation and migration eliminated
one sped through to get to Ataky, for instance. the parties, spaces and settlement typologies of the
The TaksimAtaky line was the connection be- old opposition as they had been known before; the
tween the centre and this new colony positioned new formation, whatever it was, had not managed
beyond the city walls by Emlak Bankas/The Real to form or find its language and consistency yet.
Estate Bank (a public institution), which in the
most general sense focused on the housing prob- Two new urban production models, which
lem of the new elite rather than society. (see dissolved and re-established classical sociological
Centre) Although it has been more than 50 years borders and typological thresholds were to leave
since their inauguration, Vatan Caddesi could not their mark on the period: Gecekondu and Build-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
and-Sell (see Gecekondu). They are also answers the base universalized apartmentalisation, now
to two basic questions of the Republic: How can elevating everyone who considered themselves
we industrialize without forming a proletariat and urbanites off the ground to equalize them at the
the troubles it would bring like communism? level of cheap flat ownership to prevent envy. It
How can we equalize all citizens on the basis of did not differentiate between thresholds, spaces,
a common worthlessness? Vital questions for Is- typology or period etc., pestering all areas which
tanbul, the most dynamic city of Turkey in the had already urbanized, dissolving and erasing
post-Second World War period, as well as the city them plot by plot, and uniting the nation of city-
which attracted most capital investment, devel- dwellers at the apartment meeting which would
oped fastest and therefore contained the potential from now on become their minimum democratic
to produce the most contradictions. common ground.
The pragmatic and successful answer to The old classical south which was consider-
the question was to universalize the cheapest ably weakened was almost completely removed by
property at whatever cost. The first model, the a wave of migration, and became peripheral: fire
gecekondu, involved the presentation of a simu- sites, declining to cheap plot status and snatched
lation and, in the long term, reality of private by the gecekondu, with such areas joining the land-
property on public land in a horizontal arrange- mass where the border between country and town
ment which would allow the villagers not to feel was blurred, while relatively better maintained
that they were now in the city: produced with rural areas were surrendered to the build-and-sellers
know-how and situated on the periphery of the following the Menderes trauma, in the process
city. New urbanites who gathered in garden cit- transforming into a rather horrible caricature of
ies they had produced themselves were in limbo the north which it had envied for centuries.
between the country and the city, between being
a worker and a villager: neither one nor the other Just as a chance appeared on the horizon for
but both at the same time. The second model, the classical north, that combination of Ottoman
build-and-sell, in a second wave addressed to remnants and nouveau riche Republican gen-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
erations, to refine itself and to evolve into a fully 12th September would activate two opposing
equipped elite (education + materiality + gestus dynamics: first the standstill of this interim pe-
+ spatiality), this possibility was flatly denied riod, which extended until the earthquake in 1999
and it committed suicide by committing itself or even the economic crisis of 20012002. This ex-
to its nation with an attitude worthy of the best tension was nothing other than the birth pangs of
Yeilam melodramas, and, to echo such a train the new (or contemporary) northern Istanbulites.
of events, entered the bridal chamber with the
build-and-sell traders. In extra time, there was lots of time-wasting
thanks to the skills of post-gecekondu and housing
Paradoxically, the production of popular estate construction, and demographic pressure
culture benefited a lot from the dualist percep- which gradually increased was met on the basis
tion of the city: in the caricatures of the period, of private property bought on the cheap. In a third
the contrast of vertical apartments and horizon- wave, post-gecekondu spread apartmentalisation
tal gecekondu forms the dominant landscape, across old classical gecekondu settlements; in this
background or foreground. The contrast easily sense it fully complied with interim period strate-
perceived by the eye is actually quite a robust gies. At the same time, it was ringing its own death
consensus, so much so that in the undeclared knell: it monopolized the growing urban profit for
civil war of the 70s, these two poles collaborated itself and circulated it here, thus making enemies
in comfort. for itself. By preventing the flow of capital to both
the old middle classes stuck in first and second
From the 80s to the Marmara Earthquake/The generation apartment zones in the centre and to
extra time of the interim period or the birth pangs well-fed and healthy new capital demanding its
of the new: The interim period wasnt to escape share of urban profit, it wrote its own death sen-
unscathed, however, and the accident of 12th Sep- tence. The coalition that formed against it and
tember (the date of the 1980 military coup dtat), the attitude it adopted is best referred to as the
which assured the permanence of the damage, new northern Istanbulites (see Post-gecekondu).
meant that it would evolve towards new phases.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The resurrection of the Northern spirit as the poor centre of the metropolitan area, provid-
a neo-liberal project: For past eras, we defined ing access to the north via the junctions of the
the concept of northernness via the shift of the second ring road opened in 1989. The following
centre of gravity of inner-city investment areas move of the north will be, and is in fact already,
to the north, examining the environmental char- a re-conquest of the south from the frontlines in
acteristics and behavioural patterns that derived the north (see Tourism).
from this. The contemporary condition and at-
titude emerges as a new phase in northernness It is important first to make clear that the
displaying continuity with the past. As invest- contemporary north and northernness is a rath-
ment in Istanbul has once again shifted north er pure product of private initiative. The point
since the late 80s, we see that various patterns we are at has only an indirect relationship with
from previous periods have re-emerged and have public investments and vision, or rather, is sub-
been re-blended as they assume new meanings in ject to capital; the public sector emerging more
a contemporary context. in activities oriented towards clearing the way
and removing obstacles ahead of the processes
The undisputed engine and main actor of of capital accumulation, occupying a support-
transformation this time around is finance capi- ing position in the background. Secondly, this
tal and it has shifted its centre, as if by reflex, is not such a meticulously planned process, de-
from the historical headquarters at the mouth veloping more as a spontaneous reaction and re-
of the Golden Horn (Karaky/Sirkeci) north to minding us of the first unique movement in the
the MecidiyekyGayrettepeZincirlikuyuLev- 19th century. When the expansion of the arena of
entMaslak axis where the main northsouth operations of finance capital that led the process
artery on the European side intersects with the in the mid-1980s emerged as an urgent need, the
two ring roads; and, in a parallel initial movement, plan foreseen by the public sector was not at the
prestigious housing areas in turn moved to forest point we have arrived at today. The intention of
areas further north. At this point, the new north Dalans operations which left their mark on the
can be imagined as a front externally enfolding period in a sense, we may say, similar to the case
BECOMING ISTANBUL
of London was to expand the central business come level. This new elite made it a habit to look
area from the SirkeciKaraky axis it inhabited at the city from the north, the periphery and the
towards the inner areas of the Golden Horn on outside where it had physically positioned it-
one hand and towards the hills of Beyolu in the self. During this period, the south, the centre and
Taksim direction on the other, in brief reshap- the inner metropolitan zone was restructured
ing it as an inflated centre. The large-scale urban as an area to be conquered, especially as a po-
operations in the Golden Horn and PeraTaksim tential area of work: a wide and virgin landmass
directions met with serious opposition; when where services and goods had to be supplied in a
the city mayor lost the election for a third term, renewed format. However, the physical capacity of
finance capital chose to solve its urgent need for this irregular landmass wasnt up to the task; it
space in the central zone of the dual carriageway had collapsed and therefore had to be rectified.
of the metropolitan transportation network. Yet
the MecidiyekyMaslak corridor had not been The discourse of irregular urbanisation was
planned for the role it fulfills today at all. a founding element and common denominator of
new northernness. Northernness in Istanbul is
The main motive which is reshaping the city today the name of a coalition which can be imag-
today is the new capital accumulation model. ined in opposition to the predominantly poor and
the production and reproduction of the physical informal cityscape that is brought together and
structure of the city and the service and goods sup- othered under the concept of irregularity (see
ply chains in the city are directly within the sphere Demolition or the Warped City).
of interest of large-scale capital. (This wasnt the
case until recently past, with all such areas rather The contemporary north has produced its
the monopoly of smaller-scale capital.) own settlement typology: the gated community.
It formed its ideal model in reaction to what it
The collective suicide of the elite class in the perceived as irregular, becoming its antithesis,
interim period earned the city a timeless new and going as far as to ideologise its model, mar-
elite, defined without exception according to in- keting it, aggressively proposing and imposing its
BECOMING ISTANBUL
exclusive model of living across the whole of city. the new elite, the stage of politics and large-scale
The tendency to settle in closed communities in capital; whereas the kitchen of discourse produc-
housing estates surrounded by walls and entered tion is the various disciplines of academia. Head-
via a gate emerged as the dominant period-type, ing the convoy, there are the critical discourses of
and was linked especially to the concept of secu- professional groups composed of architects and
rity that assumed a mythical meaning after the planners who were excluded from the main vein of
Marmara earthquake. The city, threatening our the development of the environment for roughly 60
security in every sense, now became the name years. A faction of this professional group had since
of the thing that had to be avoided in its current the 70s made it its habit to describe the urbanisa-
state. We cannot break up with the city as long as tion model produced without them as irregular.
our existence fundamentally depends on it, but The transformation of a discourse formulated by
we can structure the order of our settlement at a the left as a reaction to the shortcomings of public
maximum distance from it (see Gated Housing policies into the mainstream of a new elitism in less
Estate; Security). than 30 years is a story unto itself, still to be written.
The main strategy of the north, given its evi- We mentioned that new northernness was
dent problem with the city as it is now, is being parallel to the northernness of early modernity as
formed as a conquest through the transforma- a movement of capital. It approaches the north-
tion of the identity of the remaining landmass to ernness of the Republican elite by perceiving the
resemble the north. To the extent that the typol- city as a dualistic opposition according to its sec-
ogy of the distant, gated community structure tarian ideological stance. It differentiates itself
spreads from the north towards the inner city, it from all past eras by seeing its ideological stance
defines first and foremost an overarching threat through aggressively to its final conclusion, by
to all forms of publicness within the city. initiating a movement of total war and conquest
against the rest of the city, and in its boldness in
The discourse of irregular urbanisation, the receiving support from public authorities; and
main legitimizer of this process, is today shared by thus becomes something entirely different in the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
history of Istanbul. Its relatives should be sought restructuring of components to serve as a remedy
in the land mass of the global north which grew for the malfunction of the present from within a
up in the 90s. true-to-life, and thereby certain and stable past.
The birth of nostalgia, signifying the well-known
Orhan Esen and inert, clarifying through gilding, is also rela-
ted in a contradictory manner to rapid changes
> Centre, Demolition or the Warped City, which scatter and blur the future. Istanbul is a city
Gated Housing Estate, Gecekondu, Migration, which, in recent centuries has produced nostalgia
Post-gecekondu, Security, Taksim Square, out of the tensions between the pre- and post-
Tourism Tanzimat [Re-/Organisation] periods, the pre-
and post-Merutiyet [Constitutional Monarchy]
periods and the pre- and post-Republican periods.
NOSTALGIA However, writers have not fictionalized a single
golden age, a single Istanbul where there arent
NOSTALGIA CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS A TRAUMATIC chasms between virtue and action and where the
CONFRONTATION WITH THE PRESENT. fear of the future doesnt exist. Fictions of indivi-
duals, with different expectations and therefore
Although it appears to be constructed from a different disappointments, of the generations
cross-section of the past, nostalgia can, in cont- experiencing transitions from a multicultural
rast to a yearning for the past and the pleasure empire to a homogeneous republic werent alike
of history, transform a segment selected from either.
that past into an indispensable need. How the
whole which contains what remains is to be frag- For instance, Said Naum Duhani was the son
mented and restructured has more to do with of an Ottoman diplomat. In the final period of
todays requirements, mood and environment, the Empire he had been a member of the upper
and therefore the content of nostalgia is unstab- crust, of circles close to the palace in Beyolu,
le, corresponding to the removal, isolation and then, in the Republican period, because of per-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
sonal problems, he virtually confined himself Bey made official what he had known all along:
to a flat in the attic, transforming his life into a those times would never come back. Although he
ritual that oscillated between obvious points, per- doesnt dedicate a single word to them, the Varlk
petuated only by sheer persistence: eating in the Vergisi [wealth tax] and the events of September
same places every day, the Touring Club where 6th7th 1955 must not be forgotten when think-
he would drop by every day and chat to the same ing about the conditions that prepared for this
people about the same topics, and everyday the confrontation. Moreover, Said Naum Bey doesnt
same newspapers and clothes In 1947, he went mention Merutiyet [Constitutional Monarchy],
beyond newspaper articles, writing in French the World War or the Republic either. The world
about his reminiscences of the buildings along he constructed was almost timeless, or had spread
stiklal Caddesi (see stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu"), out into the monolithic, vast moment Ahmet
past which he strode up and down in unswerving Hamdi [Tanpnar] wrote of. By standing within
regularity every day: People of the Past, Houses the present and looking into the past he wasnt
of the Past The Social Topography of 19th Cen- investigating what he had lost; he was no longer
tury Beyolu. Under this ambitious title point- in a space where he would come across the last
ing to a claim to reveal the social landscape of an fragments of great and ancient customs of which
entire Beyolu, Said Naum Duhani wrote about one did not know where and how they continued
the houses lined up from Tnel to Taksim, their like Mmtaz in Ahmet Hamdis Huzur [A Mind at
inhabitants, gossip and memories. Duhani first Peace]; whats more, in contrast to him, he did not
selected a scene for his fiction stiklal Caddesi/ feel the need to understand what had happened
GrandRue de Pra and then defined his actors to us and wasnt attempting to use the past as a
with meticulous care: people of all nations who bearing to interpret the present.
complied with the requirements of being a mem-
ber of the upper class. The back streets beyond On the other hand, it may be misleading to
the main street had no say in his game. In 1956, he see nostalgia as a condition necessarily linked to
published When Beyolu was called Pera, its sub- melancholy. For instance Yahya Kemal makes his
title Times Which Wont Return. Thus, Said Naum stance, his perception felt as the bridge of conti-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
nuity between the past and the future when he for the hedonist and materialist present Or Said
says he is the future rooted in the past. Archi- Naum Bey, who felt himself to be, along with West-
tect Ekrem Hakk Ayverdi, who withdrew from ern diplomats, the member of an elite class which
working life to dedicate himself to writing and knew no boundaries. Duhani often complains in
a life of culture, had, around an entirely differ- his books about the capitulations (see Kapan
ent focal point, established a part of the past as a Weighing Office) which imply he is not equal to the
reference of the real, the authentic and the valid. representatives of other states; perhaps because
By underlining the era of Mehmed the Conqueror of the feeling that he possesses a culture not only
(see Fatih Sultan Mehmet) and Istanbul as a Mus- on the same level, but also unique, like that of
lim city purified from Greek and Latin traces he the Westerners. It is for this reason surprising
also determined his plan of action and political and hurtful that he couldnt find himself a place
orientation for life, and even more importantly, within a Republic which had institutionalized
created a hypothetical origin for todays society: Westernisation. However, he is not the only one
the Turkish, Muslim, Ottoman intellectual who who was surprised; all these writers, of separate
had created the only unique, rich culture on Ot- stances, were members of a generation which had
toman soil, and had in fact taught order to the witnessed the collapse of an empire; and more
Anatolian peoples in disarray. Abdlhak inasi importantly, they were the children of it. Along
Hisar who almost fulfilled a ritual by fictionalizing with the empire, Istanbul would rapidly change
the Bosphorus as a civilisation apart from all oth- in the face of the new dynamics of the modern,
ers including even that of Istanbul itself, Peyami giving birth to various cities of the golden age
Safas FatihHarbiye which depicted the Fatih germinating out of the plural environment of an
neighbourhood as a symbol of traditionality and empire.
Harbiye as the symbol of debauchery imported
from the West, reflecting an Istanbul divided be- In the 1980s a new wave of cultural nostalgia
tween two contrasting poles, or Mnevver Ayal appeared in Istanbul which had weak ties with
who brought to life a cosmopolitan Istanbul woven these sociological disappointments, or rather
with the grace and meaning of Islam as a remedy preferred to use them, trading on the past as an
BECOMING ISTANBUL
exotic product. The presence in the past of the cess continues using diseased yearnings founded
non-Muslims erased from Istanbul throughout the upon disappointments. The Istanbul of the past
20th century paved the way for profits to be made must then perhaps be sought in the experiences
from the cultural traces they left behind. From and views withheld from expression, ignored and
1984 on, the municipality demolished many old blurred, rather than in what those who have wit-
neighbourhoods apparently in order to return nessed great changes chose to narrate.
Istanbul to its former state. (see Demolition or the
Warped City, Neighbourhood) In this process, with Saadet zen
the removal of a series of settlements parallel to
stiklal Caddesi, the street was isolated from the > Demolition or the Warped City, Fatih Sultan
weave inhabited by a low-income population and Mehmet, stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu",
made available to new organisations; in 1990 the Kapan Weighing Office, Neighbourhood, Tram
nostalgic tram began carrying passengers along
the street (see Tram). With a marked softening of
relationships with Greece, the old non-Muslim ORIENTALISM
communities of Istanbul were emphasized and
names reminiscent of the plural paradise in the A CLICHD ORIENTALIST PREJUDICE TO BE
ABANDONED AT ONCE: ISTANBUL IS A BRIDGE;
past were given to increasing numbers of newly
BETWEEN THE EAST AND THE WEST, EUROPE AND
opened businesses; like the wine houses with non- ASIA, ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY, OR WITH THE
Muslim names which were re-opened in the late POPULAR EXPRESSION, BETWEEN CIVILISATIONS.
1990s. In 1982, Said Naum Beys books were trans-

lated into Turkish and published; in the following It should be kept in mind that Orientalism is more
period books on Istanbul rapidly flooded the mar- than the homogenisation via totalisation of the
ket and the fiction of Beyolu as the place where East. First and foremost, Orientalist discourse
polite, elegant people who had taste and did not homogenizes the West as much as its object, the
go out without their hats and gloves would stick East, the subject of the discourse emerging from
and even increase its operative value. This pro- within the totalizing of that Western discourse.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Other than that, even though the discourse cons- OTHER SIDE, THE
tructs a sovereign West, the illusion of a totalised
East as the object of the discourse cannot be re- DESCRIBES THE SITUATION IN ISTANBUL OF
SHORE AREAS FACING EACH OTHER WITH THE SEA
duced to an ineffective component. Eventually, SEPARATING THEM. ASIA IN RESPECT TO EUROPE,
many actors within the multiplicity reduced as EUROPE IN RESPECT TO ASIA; BEYOLU IN RESPECT
the East, attempt, albeit from a different perspec- TO HISTORICAL PENINSULA.
tive, to reproduce the EastWest homogenisations

divided by essential, impervious borders and are
articulated with Orientalism. After the construc- The spatial and vital dialogue between the other si-
tion of two essentially separate holistic illusions des has continued since the foundation of Istanbul.
of identity, the defendants of a simple-minded The first settlements positioned on the peninsulas
cultural pluralism demonstrate the magnanimity on the southern tip of the Istanbul Strait form the
to build bridges over insurmountable chasms. foundation of fragmented settlement development:
the first Istanbul, founded according to the prop-
Thus one has to ask, who are the East and hecy of the Delphic oracle, was positioned on the
the West, where are Europe and Asia, what is Lygos promontory (today Sarayburnu, the Seraglio
understood as Islam and Christianity and how Point) opposite the city of the blind (Chalcedon,
have civilisations existed without overlapping, the city where today the districts of Kadky and
apart from encyclopaedia texts? One has to thank skdar are located); and Pera (todays Galata) foun-
though also remind bridge lovers that bridges ded on the promontory on the northern coast of the
separate as much as they unite and that the terrain Golden Horn takes its name from being positioned
is full of numerous paths large and small provid- on the other coast. The sea between the peninsulas
ing for passage. Perhaps then it will be possible forms a powerful borderline for settlements and at
to imagine release from the traffic congestion on the same time a spatial centre.
the bridge.
Settlements facing each other centred on
Blent Tanju both sides of the sea route between them spread
BECOMING ISTANBUL
more densely along the Bosphorus especially after benchmark points scattered in between, changes.
the second half of the 19th century. The shores The compact texture of settlement develops on
along Bosphorus comprising a series of prom- land aping the power of the water; the ground is
ontories and bays acquire a spatial character of covered; the constellation is dimmed. The com-
their own with the formation of villages. Hills pact texture of the water route and settlement
swirling and wrapping themselves around each dominates the Bosphorus. During this process,
other, the valleys between them and the sea route the entire fragmented structure of Istanbul experi-
passing through the middle of this topographic ences the same transformation, it becomes com-
structure present a continuous counter-formation. pact and turns into a metropolitan area; however,
Villages lining the two shores facing each other the delimiting power of the sea is still dominant,
along this natural topography form the parts of a the other sides preserve their existence through
settlement system resembling a constellation. The continuous change and transformation, they are
fact that the sea between the two other sides was signs of memory.
a transport route until the end of the 1950s when
the shore roads (see Shore Road) were built on Senem Deviren
both sides, meant that it preserved its spatial and
functional status as the single and central spine > Shore Road, Urban Transformation
towards which all spatial openings were oriented
and where transportation took place. This central
spine bifurcates with the appearance of the shore OTTOMAN NEIGHBOURHOOD
roads after the 1960s. The Bosphorus accelerates
especially after the 1980s and becomes a part of UNIT OF URBAN SETTLEMENT COMPRISING FAMILIES
CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER BY TIES OF COMMUNITY
the metropolitan area and enters a process of spa- (GEMEINSCHAFT) LINKED TO A CERTAIN REGION
tial transformation (see Urban Transformation) RATHER THAN LINEAGE. [ED.]
which has tended rapidly to obscure the natural
topography. The perception of the hollow spa- It has become the custom to yearn for the mul-
tial structure of the counter-formation, with its ti-culturality of the Ottoman order. It may be
BECOMING ISTANBUL
beneficial to investigate the rules of Ottoman ma- So are these ghettoes reminiscent of those in
halle [neighbourhood] life to comb out the share of Europe, and can they be compared to the Jewish
idealisation in this stance and the urge to search Ghetto in Rome, in existence since 1555, or to the
for a lost paradise. (see Neighbourhood) Bear in Frankfurt ghetto? Elements both factual and funda-
mind the following elements: from the 16th to the mental elements can be enumerated that separate
end of the 19th century, two types of segregation the mahalle order from the ghetto. For instance,
dominated the neighbourhood order of the city the mahalle did not have walls surrounding it like
of Istanbul, the segregation of women from men the ghetto, or gates which restricted entry and exit,
and Muslim from non-Muslims. Lets begin with open in the daytime and closed at night. There was
the latter: thanks to firmans exhibiting in each de- no timetable set by the central authority regulating
tail the religious plan of the city, rendering every contact times with the outside world. Unlike the
citizens attachment to their respective religious ghetto, the neighbourhood population may not
community visible and regulating their dress co- be completely homogeneous, and it was possible
des, Istanbul is a transparent stage. The indivi- to come across Muslim and Jewish households in
duals of Kostantiniye carry their religious loyalty an Armenian neighbourhood. There are no visible
on their bodies: the Rum had to wrap a black cloth borders between neighbourhoods, no physical
around their turban, the Armenians red and the thresholds to cross from one to the other. However,
Jews blue. Green was forbidden to non-Muslims. most significantly, there is no common point to the
Neighbourhoods were formed on the basis of re- logic which forms the mahalle and the logic (and
ligious ethnic identity. There were Muslim, Rum, discourse) which legitimizes the ghetto. To im-
Armenian or Jewish neighbourhoods, and their prison a community in a ghetto operates according
residents followed the same religion, frequenting to the logic of protection from impurity, taint and
the same masjid, or mosque, church or synagogue. abjection, , segregating members of one religion
The same language is spoken in the streets of the- from the other and minimizing contact with it.
se neighbourhoods Turkish, Greek, Armenian, It finds expression in a discourse of hate towards
Spanish or Bulgarian the religion of the other. The language of official
documents which determine the rules are formed
BECOMING ISTANBUL
by this rhetoric of religious hatred. In contrast, what an institution and its mechanism and the state
determines the Ottoman neighbourhood order is shares its authority with established institutions
the will to render the city transparent and to see within the neighbourhood. And their actions
immediately when looking out onto turban space are fundamentally related to the control of female
from the palace who is who in terms of religious/ sexuality. For instance, unmarried men whose par-
ethnic loyalty. The transparency which emerges ents are not locals are not allowed to live in the
is not oriented towards providing equality to all, neighbourhood, which is a settlement unit for the
it renders visible and recreates the hierarchy and family. Immigrant young men from other cities and
priority among communities. However, it has not villages live in the bachelor hans and bachelor
been woven out of a rhetoric of hatred and disgust rooms along the borders of the city. As revealed
and the value judgments it transmits are not these. by a decree from 1596, even male street vendors
(see Street Food Vendor) have to appoint a resident
The control of female sexuality, on the other of the neighbourhood as guarantor in order to be
hand, is no doubt one of the most important pil- granted the right to roam the neighbourhood streets
lars of the neighbourhood order. The real authority freely: Declared to the Kad [Ottoman judge/ad-
which determines in precise detail the dress code ministrator] of Galata There are many residents
of women, and regulates how women will act in the from the Rum and Armenian community in Galata
city and at which days and times, in which parts and and Tophane who work as boatsmen, grocers and
under what conditions they will be allowed to be porters who are up to mischief and desert their ar-
present in the city is neither the family, the neigh- eas without guarantors and this decree orders and
bourhood, religion, market, nor fashion. It is the announces that these men who are unmarried and
firmans of the Bab-i Ali [Sublime Porte] expressive not locals, are adults and have come from outside
of state authority. If the state partially defers this the neighbourhood must provide guarantors to the
authority of regulation to another social author- police force of Galata ()
ity, then this authority be is the neighbourhood
order. In the eyes of the state, the neighbourhood It is impossible to imagine that neighbour-
has the highest legitimacy in social control as hoods, where the logic of double segregation was
BECOMING ISTANBUL
prevalent and religiousethniclinguistic identity PALIMPSEST (I)

was strong, had particularly close relations with
neighbourhoods of other identities. It is true that THE WORD PALIMPSEST DERIVES FROM THE ANCIENT
men from all religions worked side by side in the GREEK WORD PALIMPSESTOS, MEANING SCRAPED
AGAIN. MANUSCRIPTS WRITTEN ON PARCHMENT OR
business world, in trade and crafts, in the same VELLUM RATHER THAN PAPER CAN BE SCRAPED AND
hirfet [occupation] as part of the same taife [ad- USED AGAIN.
ministrative hierarchy]. However it would be a
mistake to think that there was an exchange of The Archimedes Palimpsest, the most famous of all,
visits etc. by residents of one neighbourhood, as may be a suitable metaphorical tool to bring to life
an everyday living space, and another. It should be todays changes concerning Istanbuls palimpsestic
considered that in homogenizing Ottoman times, state. It was the golden age of the Byzantine Empire
when not even primary education was manda- when Archimedess 3rd century BC texts were co-
tory, women did not speak the languages of other pied on to a parchment in the mid-10th century AD
communities since they were outside the business in Istanbul. The Byzantine palace was a wealthy
world, and not everyone could even speak Turk- and secure cultural centre, and a safe harbour for
ish. Thus we are speaking of a state restrictive of antique texts. However, after its sack in the early 13th
intercommunal communication, and a linguisti- century during the Fourth Crusade, the city lost its
cally heterogeneous Istanbul. So instead of this wealth and security, and cultural activity weakened.
myth of cultural mosaic continually imagined to The informed guess of the experts is that it was un-
the point of banality, we must look at old Istanbul der these circumstances the manuscript containing
neighbourhoods as settlement units of an order the Archimedes texts became a palimpsest, overw-
where different communities lived not overlap- ritten with hymns. The fateful events concerning
ping but rather back to back. our rare palimpsest during the centuries of its life
as a book of hymns may be summarized as follows:
Nora eni
1) Book scribes would unbind old books and
> Neighbourhood, Street Food Vendor separate their pages to use their parchment folios,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
scrape the parchments and stack them. There the palimpsest with Byzantine-style paintings in
are six palimpsest manuscripts which provided the late 30s added a third layer to the palimpsest;
parchment for the hymn book: the complete book the fake paintings were removed but the damage
containing the seven texts by Archimedes, a book to lower layers could not be repaired.
containing the works of the Athenian orator Hy-
perides, pages from a Neo-platonic philosophy Therefore, although it is called the Archime-
book, a liturgical book and two others which re- des Palimpsest, we are actually talking about a
main undeciphered. book which has little left to do with Archimedes.
The original manuscript written in Istanbul 1000
2) Since Mediaeval books were folded in years ago now consists only of the resuscitation
newspaper format to be written, the order of by new visualisation techniques of the faint pa-
the superimposition of the pages of the scraped limpsest running at a right angle to lines of prayers
Archimedes and the Euchologion liturgy is com- left beneath Evangelist paintings. The erasure
plicated enough. In addition to this, to make for by scraping of antique texts from parchments
the smaller size of the book of hymns, after the is related to an act of sanctification of a pagan
parchment layers were scraped and stacked, each past as much as to a tradition of recycling based
layer was divided in two, rotated 90 degrees and on a shortage of resources. The spiritualism in
folded again, resulting in upper and lower texts the transformation of Archimedess book into a
being positioned at right angles. book of hymns is contained in the word of God
brought to it after it was scraped. A greater reli-
3) The palimpsest, which changed hands and gious merit in the demolition of a pagan structure
locations several times after the Archimedes texts so it can be reconstructed for Christianity may
below the prayer texts were discovered in 1906, be imagined. The reconstruction of a pagan or
was rather frayed when it resurfaced in New York Christian structure for Islam would be a further
in 1998. Some pages were missing and some pages source of religious merit. Although it isnt that
suffering severe mould damage had been partially easy to scrape and completely erase antecedent
erased. Whats more, the covering of four pages of texts. When the old structure becomes part of a
BECOMING ISTANBUL
palimpsest, retaining something of its place and When the day comes when the deciphering of the
material, it leaves a trace both under and above layers of postmodern transformation is required, the
ground. The urban palimpsest can be read above grandeur of the waste and debris that will emerge
ground in re-used stones, the old text appearing can already be estimated. The description of what
in the most unlikely parts of the new building. appears when the waters of the Bosphorus subside
However, as stones are not re-used for building in Orhan Pamuks The Black Book comes to mind,
transformations of the city in the modern era, it adding obscured majestic architectural residues
becomes more difficult for subtexts to leave traces to the scene.
on the surface. It is also easier to scrape the mod-
ern layer and the result is clearer, with not even a Aydan Balamir
shadow of past debris remaining.
The deciphering of Istanbul is, of course, a PALIMPSEST (II)

more complicated challenge than the deciphering
of the Archimedes Palimpsest formed by the su- THE MEMORY SLATE OF THE CITY.
perimposed thrice-used material assembled from
six books. The scraping, erasing and rewriting of It is very difficult to speak of memory in a
Istanbul has happened so many times that it could city developing as rapidly as Istanbul. It is only
be claimed that the city has acquired the ability to possible to speak of a structure continuing to ac-
erase itself. The only thing that hasnt happened to cumulate, rendering the layers beneath more un-
Istanbul, one could claim, is its smuggling from one readable with every newly added layer. Moreover,
location and reappearance in another. Although such layers mustnt only be taken as physical. The
earthquake strategies that propose moving Istan- social structure, life and habits of using the city
bul outside Istanbul are a new development in this are all part of this writing slate. Whats more, as if
direction, what is to be moved is not the palimp- the difficulty brought on by rapid change wasnt
sest state of Istanbul as it is, but its potential to be enough, the slippery basis to the way things are
scraped and rewritten in the shortest possible time. done, to procedures and norms, makes things
BECOMING ISTANBUL
even more difficult. With a tradition of recording, ment nor preserving it as it is. Memory accumu-
organizing and regulating so weak that it appears lates by stratification on the physical entity of the
not to exist, a few significant interventions in the parchment. It becomes slightly more difficult,
second half of the twentieth century have con- but not impossible, to access what lies beneath
demned the memory of the city to even greater with every act of cleaning and writing. Parch-
unreadability. With a history of several thousands ment was expensive; reuse was both economic
of years but without a past, its an illegible city. To- and something quick and easy . I believe this is
tal chaos, and an environment extremely difficult where Istanbuls secret lies. It has developed, and
to follow and to live in would seem the inevitable is developing, by the principle not of demolition
consequence, wouldnt it? Bewilderingly, it isnt and reconstruction but by stratified alteration
exactly so. This rapid transformation and restrati- (see Demolition or the Warped City). After all, we
fication renders Istanbul a city of vibrant dynam- are talking about a city which rises by an average
ics. Such dynamics make it difficult to understand of hundred centimetres per hundered years. Love
Istanbul from within, but on the other hand they it or leave it! Nobody is perfect.
make it easier to look at the world. Today the view
of the world from Istanbul is clearer than most. Cem Ycel
To what might we owe such conditions of > Demolition or the Warped City
distinct illegibility, o visible invisibility? How
could such a writing slate, such an agglomeration
of things still manage to retain all of its previous PANORAMA
characteristics? I believe the secret is concealed
in the concept of the palimpsest. Palimpsest is THE TERM PANORAMA DESCRIBES A 360 VIEW
the name given to the parchment page which is OF THE ENTIRETY OF THE NATURAL OR URBAN
LANDSCAPE AND ITS REPRESENTATION. IN THE
scraped and used again. A Latin term that comes CONTEXT OF ISTANBUL, THIS DEFINITION COMES TO
from the Greek words palin (again) and psestos MEAN A HISTORICAL EXPRESSION OF THE VISUALITY
(scraped). It involves neither tearing the parch- OF THE CITY.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The natural geography and architectural structure also used to describe the large cylindrical display
of the city includes many points for panoramic vie- space designed for the exhibition and viewing of
wing. Here, the surface of the sea, hills, the palace, this type of picture. The architectural typology of
the coffee shops, towers, minarets, squares, and panorama theatres is formed of one or two circular
even residences provide for fixed or mobile pano- exhibition areas and an observation tower in their
ramas. From the 16th century on, panoramic views centre, with the size of the exhibition space sus-
of Istanbul and especially the view from the Galata taining the representations proximity to reality.
Tower, become the most widely accepted of the Panorama production requires a series of techni-
Wests visualisations of the city; and, in a process cal and artistic operations. Using visual devices
extending to the present day, these representations such as a camera obscura or a transparent frame, a
form diachronic frames in which continuities and painter produces sketches of the urban or natural
changes can be traced. Over time, the circular view landscape to be exhibited, it being important at
has become almost a natural form of representa- this stage to select a vantage point that takes in the
tion for urban landscapes; Istanbul is panoramic. entire landscape. The sketches are brought togeth-
er using certain methods which prevent shifts in
In contrast to what the word brings to mind, perspective and enlarged according to the seam-
it is not a concept whose origins go back to An- less canvasses covering the walls of the exhibition
tiquity or a distinctive feature of natural views. hall. The paintings are coloured and naturally il-
It is the name of a particular mode and space of luminated using the glass skylights in the ceiling
visual entertainment that emerged in the late 18th of the exhibition hall. Visitors are taken through
century, deriving from the Greek words pan (all) dark passageways to the observation tower in the
and horama (sight) used to describe the invention centre where views of other places are presented
by the Irish illustrator Robert Barker (17391806) to them with the claim of bringing reality to life.
which he patented in 1787. Providing a compre- In addition to orientation maps featuring a min-
hensive view of the landscape included in a iature of the panorama painting and numbered
360-degree circular view from a single observa- place names, a brochure is distributed in which
tion point stretching out to the horizon, the term is the landscape on show is promoted. In this way,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
an experience of the exhibition is constructed visual regimes and been interpreted as the histori-
through visual representations and printed text. cal beginning of the society of the spectacle. In
reference to French philosopher Michel Foucault,
The first panoramas, which became popular the panorama was considered a derivative of the
simultaneously in England, France, Germany and Panopticon and the panoptic gaze. In the era
America in the first quarter of the 19th century, of colonial empires, panoramas exemplify the
are known as circular or fixed panoramas. The no- international hunger for a physically, geographi-
tion of the panoramic becomes prevalent through cally and historically unbounded gaze.
other spectacles of landscape and spatial anima-
tion that emerged in the West in the 19th century: Panorama exhibitions had a great influence
the dioramas invented by the French chemist in the popularisation of panoramic urban views
Daguerre, the moving panoramas formed by and the formation of a collective memory regard-
scrolling long paintings past the audience, among ing cities. These spectacles, first emerging as a
other types of collective and individual spectacle, means of visualizing the West itself and other
like stereoscope machines, may be included under locations, later became a means of general urban
the heading of the panoramic. These represen- representation. Although the panorama craze or
tations, which may be considered predecessors panoramania gave up its place to other visual
of photography and cinema, are in fact the first media afterthe 19th century and especially after
visual examples of mass media. Panoramas had the popularisation of photography, the panoramic
a significant influence in the 19th century on the view still has validity as a means of the presen-
masses conceptions of art and the world. tation of cities. The influence of this view in the
development, auto-representation and visuality
In recent decades, panoramas and similar of modern cities continues.
spectacles have formed a significant focus of in-
terest especially in cultural studies. This type The panoramic visuality of Istanbul was dis-
of representation has been studied as the first covered before the invention of the panorama as
examples of 19th century Western visuality and a mass spectacle. Especially in urban representa-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
tions made by Westerners in the 18th century there album published by Gaspare Fossati in London in
are many totalising views comprising the city 1852 with the support of Sultan Abdlmecid are a
and its surroundings. Picturesque travel-books first and stand at the intersection of the pre- and
are important examples in this context and their post-photography eras. The Fossati album, pub-
production continued parallel to the panorama. lished in London with the support of the sultan,
would be followed by others in the age of photog-
Throughout the 19th century, Istanbul was raphy. These panoramic views often taken from
a popular case among cities on show in the pan- the Galata and Serasker towers are significant in
orama theatres of the West. The timing of the Is- the adoption by the Ottoman Empire of the Wests
tanbul panorama exhibitions opened in cities like viewpoints and modes of presentation in its own
London, Paris, Berlin and Copenhagen generally representation. This internalisation has continued
coincided with the Ottoman Empire emerging on to this day. The panorama is widely used in the
the agenda of contemporary politics. These mass representation and touristic promotion of the city.
displays are important resources regarding the
Wests perception of the Ottoman capital in the Istanbul, as a natural and architectural settle-
19th century and the generic representation of the ment, is a panoramic location. In addition to be-
city; and the brochures distributed at the exhibi- ing an abstraction, the panorama here becomes
tions contain particularly striking expressions a way of looking which can be consistently ex-
regarding the interpretation of the visual material. perienced at different points in the urban space.
Beyond tourist vantage points, Istanbul animates
Following these spectacles instrumental in the panoramic experience as a characteristic of
the popularisation of the iconic image of the city its visuality. In fact, the development of the city
in the West, the panoramic view of Istanbul was has been, at least on paper, restricted according
adopted in the citys representation of itself as to views taking in the whole. Notions like front
well. The use by the Empire of panoramic views to and rear view areas used in decisions concerning
represent its own capital began in the 1850s. In this conservation of the Bosphorus and the histori-
sense, the panoramic views in the Hagia Sophia cal peninsula reveal the overlapping but also the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
clash of historical and contemporary views of the very system due to the enormous increase in
an urban structure which has to constantly look recycling rates.
at itself from the outside. Beyond plans, urban
transformation in panoramic Istanbul finds its The papermen, who operate in Istanbul and
expression and limits in the most striking man- most major cities constitute a profession that is
ner in totalising views and elevations (see Urban not only about recycling in the city, but also a
Transformation). profession that helps to understand the way the
city operates and provides a certain position that
Namk Erkal is worth thinking about in terms of its relation to
the overarching systems of the city. Two particular
> Urban Transformation issues in understanding how the city operates are
directly related to the practices of the papermen,
namely, recycling and reconfiguration (of mean-
PAPERMEN ings and spaces). In the context of the city, it is
never a matter of tabula rasa. Unless significant
THE PAPERMEN (AS THEY CALL THEMSELVES) physical growth is at stake, urban space builds
GO THROUGH THE GARBAGE OF THE CITY, THE itself layer by layer via the reconfiguration of exist-
REJECTED AND THE EXCREMENTAL TO EXTRACT ing areas and elements. Unless radical decisions
AND REINTRODUCE MATERIALS FOR SALE. THOUGH
VARIOUS INITIATIVES EXIST, IT IS AN ACT DONE TO of destruction are not on the agenda (which unfor-
EARN MONEY, AND SOMETIMES IN A VERY ORGANIZED tunately has been the tendency in Istanbul during
AND TERRITORIALIZED MANNER. the 20th century and remains so today) nothing
is erased, but also nothing can remain exactly as
Unrecognized and unofficial, the papermen walk it is, or was (see Demolition or the Warped City).
through the streets with their carts and occupy Old narratives are re-told in unforeseen ways,
sidewalks organizing garbage. They act against the whether they are constructed or lived forms in the
official garbage collection system, and against the city. Urban space allows the solid and the precari-
system in general, however what they do supports ous, the precious and the discardable to co-exist,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
or even switch places. Acknowledging this will The Park Hotel Incident, which may also be seen
be liberating from the curse of the will to control as an intervention in finance capitals enthusiasm
that has been so dominant in the disciplines of for obese buildings, is essentially the gift to Istanbul
planning and architecture, and open doors for of the Tourism Incentive Law and Bedrettin Dalan,
the questioning of the ways in which one can take the Mayor of Istanbul at the time (see Hotel). (The
an active role in shaping an ultimately uncontrol- Tourism Incentive Law no. 2364 passed during the
lable environment. September 12 military government [on 12th March
1982] gives the Minsitry of Tourism the right to
The other thought provoking aspect of paper- grant privileged development rights. Plots of land
men is their relation with the system. This relation declared tourist centres by the Cabinet can be gran-
is founded in the way they escape distinctions ted extraordinary development rights.)
such as good or bad and useful or harmful, while
providing income from something conceived as The story of the building, in brief, is as follows:
having zero value, and the way they dwell in the the historic Park Hotel in Gmsuyu, purchased
streets, somewhere between visibility and neglect. by Yaln Srmeli in the 1980s for 20 billion TL, was
These aspects on the one hand tend towards a demolished on the basis of a decree by the High
criminal structure, but on the other provide a Council of Monuments and following the purchase
perfect recipe for oppositional urban production. of Aa ra Street between the two adjoining lots
containing the old building for 1 billion TL, the
Can Altay design, which spread out across the entire site, be-
gan to rise to its target of 33 floors and 123 metres,
> Demolition or the Warped City although the contiguous buildings in the vicinity
were of between 58 floors. With the efforts of the
Ayaspaa Environmental Beautification Associa-
PARK HOTEL
tion (see Beautification) and the Istanbul Branch of
A BUILDING ON BAD TERMS WITH ISTANBUL FOR the Chamber of Architects, the building was closed
ALMOST 20 YEARS. off three times during the legal process and finally,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
with the added influence of Nurettin Szen, the University opened an object lesson exhibition
Mayor of Istanbul and Dalans successor, 12 floors there, the King of Spain was invited to the de-
of the building were demolished in 19931994 at a molition because, passing by, he expressed his
cost of 47 billion TL and the height of the building opinion and Behruz inici donated 77 million
was reduced to the height of the adjacent German TL for its demolition; so what does Park Hotel tell
Consulate. Although proposals were made during us through the way it stands today?
the process to expropriate the building and use it
as a cultural centre, these received practically no The building no doubt informs us that capital
response. Recently, the construction of the building has and will have its say in Istanbul. The rela-
has been returned to the agenda and, although it tionship this building and its like form with their
was stated that Park Otel will not exceed its present location is problematic enough to be made the
height, its future looks uncertain at the moment. topic of a lesson, instructing us that they are the
objects of expression of their various arbiters. It
Completely abandoned since 1993, continu- tells is that it possible to fight these objects by
ing its existence as a monument of deadlock in means of the legal process along with various
urban administration, the only positive aspect other initiatives, but that we cannot prevent even
of this building is its enabling of a debate regard- this building, occupying the most valuable plot
ing the built environment through the acts of of land in Istanbul and such an important test
construction/ demolition (see Demolition or the case, from becoming a legal nightmare. It re-
Warped City). Although it forms the ultimate cult veals that it is possible to instil fear by building,
example of a civilised, legal battle resulting in demolishing and/or leaving buildings within the
victory, it is also a clear sign that winning the city, thus underlining the fact that concepts like
case and ensuring demolition does not do away the environment, law and urban awareness cut
with the urban crime itself. In this context, the more than one way. It questions the workability
question as to what the remains of the building of formal proposals concerning templates and
symbolize defines a field of production which may regulations concerning not exceeding the height
prove productive. Students of Istanbul Technical of historic buildings; it underlines that the built
BECOMING ISTANBUL
environment cannot only be assessed on the basis PARKING LOT

of height. It advises that respect for proportion,
topography, nature, texture, history, the built-up THE OFFICIALLY DEFINED AREA FOR THE PARKING
OF MOTOR VEHICLES IN ISTANBUL. THE AREA WHICH
environment and human life, in sum, professional LIES OUTSIDE THIS DEFINITION BUT IS USED FOR
ethics should not just be part of the educational PARKING IS THE ENTIRE URBAN SURFACE. [ED.]
curriculum.
We have built 16 parking lots with a vehicle
Park Hotel perhaps best serves mind-flexing capacity of 8025. This sentence is taken from
exercises concerning the kind of range of inter- one of the banners the Istanbul Metropolitan
ventions it provoked. It enables the questioning Municipality fixed on ring-road crossovers to
of the buildings acquisition of a public profile share its achievements with the public. This ac-
through spatial strategies and its transformation, hievement is definitely good news for car drivers
participation in and preoccupation of urban life viewing it from the ring-road. Because not long
through the debate on the value of design arising ago, in fact a mere eight years, the total number
from a lack of design. of parking lots in Istanbul was 57, and their total
vehicle capacity was 14,204. However, it is still a
The only issue that remains ambiguous in the bit early for Istanbul drivers to start celebrating.
midst of this is whether Istanbul residents derive The number of vehicles on the roads in the year
a secret pleasure from this state of inertia left by 2000 was 1,563,590, while by 2008 the number has
the sentence handed out to Park Hotel. increased to 1,731,732. This means that there is a
single parking lot place for 78 vehicles.
Ayen Ciravolu
In brief, we 78 drivers are circling incessantly

> Beautification, Demolition or the Warped waiting for each others parking places with the
City, Hotel hope of, at some point, being able to park. Still, if
the height clearance of the parking lot were eye-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ing allows minibuses and trucks to get in, dont four years. 10,366,990 square metres of the revised
even ask us how were doing. and newly constructed 15,425,567 square metres
of total green space are newly made green areas.
Meri ner 461,409 trees, 1,405,657 shrubs and 30,500,000
flowers have been planted in an area of 300,000
square metres.
PARKS AND GARDENS
In recent years, the most important topic the
URBAN GREEN AREA. [ED.] Istanbul Metropolitan Parks and Gardens Direc-
torate has focused on is the planting of tulip bulbs.
According to 2007 data, the green space per person A total of 19,075,000 tulips were planted in 2006
in Istanbul, a city with a population of 12,573,836, is and 2007 within the scope of the annual Istanbul
5.39 square metres. 2.3 square metres of this space Tulip Festival inaugurated by the Municipality in
is parks, gardens and groves, collectively known 2006. While the money spent on tulips and the
as active green areas. Fortunately, each Istanbul vital importance given to the tulip issue amid Is-
resident has enough green space to stretch her/his tanbuls many priority problems were discussed,
arms, spread out and get rid of stress. The Istanbul millions of tulips with a lifespan of 3 weeks were
Metropolitan Parks and Gardens Directorate is planted in parks, squares and refuges in all four
trying to increase this percentage. However, it corners of Istanbul for the 2008 April Tulip Festi-
seems as if it will still take quite some time be- val. Work has begun, as part of a 2 million dollar
fore the norm of 10 square metres per person as project, to combine the genetic structure of the
determined by the Ministry of Environment is three remaining relatives of the Istanbul tulip,
achieved. which disappeared in the 19th century. There was
a great variety of tulip scenes: tulips at the sides
According to the inventory of the Istanbul of traffic islands dropping their petals within two
Metropolitan Parks and Gardens Directorate, 368 days; tulips surrounded by a police barricade in
new parks have been built in Istanbul in the last Taksim Square; tulips uprooted and given to the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
beloved; colourful society and art world names, sites with green area status, promise 60% of green
and two metre high tulip sculptures set up in space within their closed zones. Amid their calm,
squares. the residents are privileged over other Istanbul
residents in terms of green space too.
Despite efforts to increase the green space
of Istanbul, problems caused by the unbalanced Still one has to be optimistic. Associations
distribution of green areas cannot be solved. Still in Kuzguncuk and Cihangir and neighbourhood
there are people who have picnics along the TEM groups in many parts of Istanbul struggle to pro-
immersed in exhaust gas. There arent enough tect and save green sites. The municipality sug-
parks to provide haven for people following a gests forming gardens on rooftops to increase the
probable Istanbul earthquake. green in Istanbul, and fixed fitness machines are
installed in parks to increase use. Maybe one day
Although the number of green areas made the wall surrounding Maka Park will be brought
and flowers planted seem positive, we still see down too.
areas which could be made into green space used
for construction and covered with concrete. TOK The Do not tread on the grass signpost of
[Turkish Housing Development Administration] our childhood is today becoming You can tread
suddenly becomes owner of public land, and plots on the grass but dont pick the flowers.
that appear to be regional parks in planning docu-
ments are sold at public auction. As gaps in the city Bengi Gldoan
are filled in where they should be transformed into
public spaces, all the top model residential projects
are trying to jump on the park concept bandwagon.
Millenium Park, Kemer Park, DoaMee [Na-
tureOak] Park, Saryer Park, Merter Park, Hele-
nium Park and Uplife Park are a few of them. Such
projects, which are nearly always constructed on
BECOMING ISTANBUL
PAVEMENT for safety in the city. In this sense, the reduction

of roads to the mere carriage of humans and goods
THE PART OF THE ROAD RESERVED FOR PEDESTRIANS; can be interpreted as the loss of the most striking
AN URBAN INTERFACE.
riches of human history.
The pavement can be understood as an interface

As Gehl has also stated, walking is the first
between both the outside and the buildings and
and most fundamental form of transportation;
between movement and social activities, while it is however the pavement as we understand it today, a
also a space where drivers become pedestrianised space exclusively for pedestrians, only emerged at
(see Pedestrianisation) and private and public a relatively later period, playing a role in changes
worlds meet. According to Jacobs, the pavement, in the conditions of walking. Historically, a pave-
as the stage of urban life, is an urban platform ment-like platform, which was either elevated or
carrying much more than pedestrian traffic. In defined by a difference in the material used, would
reality, this urban platform is an abstraction be- protect the pedestrian from the dust or mud of
cause the pavement does not have a meaning in horsedrawn carriages, whereas protection from
itself. The pavement takes on meaning in relation the albeit more numerous motor vehicles of today
to the surrounding buildings and its use. At the provide almost the sole reason for the building
same time, this platform also generates the first of pavements. Therefore, the continuity of the
image that we call up regarding urban life. The pedestrians field of mobility begins to assume
question posed by Jacobs is very appropriate in an importance previously unseen in historical
this context: What is the first thing that comes to examples given that the obstacles to the act of
your mind when you think of a city? Its streets. If walking may be harder and more damaging.
the streets of a city are interesting, then the city
looks interesting; if they are boring then the city However, the pavement, which achieved a
is boring. If being interesting is one aspect of vi- stronger presence and inner-city continuity in
tality, the other is safety. In fact, only the living Western cities with industrialisation, has actually
pavements of a street, main or otherwise, make almost never existed in the panorama of transfor-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
mations belonging to Istanbul, if we dont count rights of each party increase as one gets closer to
the contemporary extensions of a few cases which that partys property. In such a situation where
could be considered areas of spatial demonstra- we cant speak of actual public space, since it is
tions of attempts at Westernisation. The pave- impossible to speak either of the pavement or in
ment is still an area of push-and-shove where fact of the pedestrian as an abstract being who
personal interests clash with each trying to take exists outside his house, there is not much point
precedence over the other. Although roles may in comparing the past and the present or the Ot-
be changing, it could be said that the concept of toman Empire and the West, whose example was
the public good has not been internalized and occasionally followed. The presence of pavers
that personal interests still loom large. Vehicles among Ottoman guilds should not mislead us.
which park on the pavement, shopkeepers who
see no wrong in completely occupying the area in As Orhonlu states, kaldrm [pavement] is
front of their shops are the remnants of the rule a yol [way, road] constructed by laying down
of fin, implemented by the Ottomans within the stone on soil. Pavement and paving are terms
framework of Islamic Law. As Yerasimos states in that have been used for roads and road-makers.
his analysis, the concept of fin almost excludes The terminological differentiation into a pedes-
the concept of the border: According to Roman trian pavement, describing an area reserved for
Law, the concept of the border is at the founda- pedestrians is first seen, as Tekeli states, in the
tion of land ownership law in the Western city; context of work to create the infrastructure to
this border separates two entirely separate legal serve urban development in the second half of
entities, for instance, two private properties or a the 19th century. Moreover, the pedestrian pave-
private property and a public space and has no ment did not appear on the agenda on its own, but
thickness. However, in the Islamic city the border together with road expansion. At this point, insuf-
is replaced by the concept of fin which denotes ficient resources meant that the desired result was
a gradual transition from one unit to the next. not attained in the targeted period. The change
Fin is the section of the area used commonly by in this period remained a series of fragmented
street residents who are rightful owners, and the implementations failing to form a totality, and
BECOMING ISTANBUL
a discontinuous structure without internal links ried out at the cost of destroying the texture of the
appeared in the organisation of inner city trans- old city. In the 1950s the colossal Vatan and Millet
portation, which itself wasnt fully integrated. main streets, the opening of the BeyaztAksaray
axis and the EminnUnkapan road were some
Since main streets, streets and buildings devel- of the striking projects undertaken as part of the
oped before the car joined in living in the city, prob- Menderes operations. New wounds were, in time,
lems and restrictions have been encountered in the added to those opened in the urban texture of Istan-
process of transformation in the 20th century. The bul the city of pedestrians, with this type of grand
main reason for change is the effort to harmonize development action from the 1950s on. As a result of
with this new situation that developed as a result highway-prioritized transport policies, urban areas
of growth; and its a complicated process, includ- that became the most concentrated centres within
ing successes, failures and processes of renewal. the developing texture of the city also turned into
As in many cities, the main problem in Istanbul spaces of suffering for pedestrians: Mecidiyeky and
is the priority given to road networks suitable for Beikta are the most striking examples, not only as
automobile-based transportation in the develop- centres of intense urban activity, but also as intense
ment of urban space. In the case of Istanbul, change nodes of transportation. Although interaction, the
in the development of urban form is realized by main quality in the formation and development
fragmented applications and without the totality of of social organisations in cities, is nurtured with
a plan. These planning efforts carried out without intensity, the issue is the question of thresholds for
fully understanding the negative effects of change it! In terms of forming a habitable urban system,
have resulted in unsuccessful implementation: high intensity is directly related to the concept of
during such work, oriented according to models public transport. This relationship is mandatory for
based on practices in Western cities, the existing the economy of highly expensive public transport
infrastructure, scale and road width were forced systems, and as Lozano also points out, when it is
using new technologies and devastating boulevard neglected in favour of the private automobile, pave-
opening operations to the advantage of the auto- ments, the elementary spaces of interaction, either
mobile but with no integrity of planning were car- become parts of the design as mandatory technical
BECOMING ISTANBUL
requirements or they remain dead vacuums. As with the scab thats formed, dented a bit further down
Vatan and Millet streets, the pedestrian is either not with a newly opened wound, and buckled up at
included in the first place in transport networks street level with the heavy weight it has had to
formed by motorway-like boulevards or the pave- bear Take a step, now jump, slide sideways, jump
ment is occupied as in city centres like Mecidiyeky over and c-l-i-m-b We often see reports of acci-
and Beikta. The private car, as a tool and symbol dents in newspapers: people who have fallen into
of the possibility of personal mobility, tactlessly manholes opened for infrastructure work and not
sneaks into the city, and whats more, sees no harm closed up Or disasters narrowly avoided after
in intruding into the space of pedestrians. the groundwork for a new construction starts dig-
ging down although it doesnt have a permit and
The concept of civility is related to two terms reaches the tube Vehicles which disregard traffic
used for the city, civitas and civilisation. The city is rules and slaughter by accident! pedestrians
surrounded by cultural intensity and civilised soon the pavement Not only the elderly and the
cial behaviour. In terms of pavements, considered physically disabled, everyone must move know-
a sign of civilisation, which is the totality of rules ing theyre not secure on Istanbul pavements. The
expected to guide the actions of the community, paving of the pedestrianised stiklal Caddesi (see
Istanbul is a city where interesting negative cases stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu") has for almost fifteen
(apart from rare positive ones) may be observed. In years been something of a jigsaw puzzle. This con-
the professional sense, it could be claimed that the dition the result of what Kuban calls pavement
design of these sites of meeting is seriously unsuc- diseases is also something like the summary of
cessful. In these interface spaces, which may be the experience Istanbul is going through and of
seen as the entry-point to the transition to becom- the geography it belongs to.
ing an urban community, taking a step into social
life, particular modes of use are born, formed and Ela il and Hlya Hatipolu
begin to carry particular meanings. Whereas with
Istanbul in question, the pavements are covered > stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu",
with cuts and bruises: closed up but bumpy with Pedestrianisation
BECOMING ISTANBUL
PEDESTRIANISATION tradesmen in the pedestrianised area. Considering

that pedestrianisation will increase the number of
PROHIBITION OF AUTOMOBILE TRAFFIC. people passing through a section of the street per
minute, one may predict that the number of peo-
One of the most important triggers of urban ple looking in the shop-window, asking for prices
transformation (see Urban Transformation). A as well as actually shopping would increase too.
planning tool borne of pre-war modernism of However, the restriction of vehicle traffic within
European origin which foresaw that the separati- certain hours or to service routes only will also re-
on of pedestrian and vehicle traffic would create strict the flow of heavy goods and customers who
a more functional, hygienic and rational city and come to the entrance of the store by automobile.
that both vehicles and pedestrians could circulate Therefore pedestrianisation filters the functions
more efficiently and soundly on roads designed of stores, shops and buildings and rewrites the
specifically for them. After the war, many pedestri- program of the city. This is what we see when we
anisation projects were implemented especially in look at the pedestrianisations implemented in Is-
northern European countries, the pedestrianised tanbul. The examples of stiklal Caddesi, Bakrky
streets in Europe became the symbol of moderni- stasyon Caddesi, Sultanahmet, Talimhane and
sation and civilisation for the people of Istanbul, Bahariye Caddesi on the Anatolian side allow us
and, for instance, the pedestrianisation of stiklal to observe that pedestrianisation proceeds side
Caddesi (see stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu"), against by side with trade, shopping, retail, inner city and
the wishes of the notable retailers of the street like global tourism and that the program of the city is
Vakko, met with great satisfaction from the print rewritten after pedestrianisation.
media and the wider masses, perceived almost as
a badge of Europeanisation. The pedestrianised areas of Istanbul are be-
coming the foremost spaces of urban identity
Other than being a sign of modernisation, and the marketing of the city. Main streets and
pedestrianisation is an economic instrument that side streets shared by high numbers of various
significantly affects the commercial activity of the urban users are suddenly institutionalized ac-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
cording to the political will, municipalities and by pedestrianisation allows us to observe that
beautification associations (see Beautification) pedestrianisation manages to transform an area
that enable their pedestrianisation, followed by of the city far faster than other dynamics. The
their subjection to some kind of brand identity transformation of Talimhane from a residential
design. Streetcars (see Tram) are sought out from area of distinguished apartment blocks to a busi-
warehouses, lit up during festivals, while the sign- ness centre with a high concentration of offices,
posts and shop-windows of businesses are forced associations, hotels and especially car spare part
to accept certain standards in the name of visual dealers took place over a period of more than ten
harmony and the struggle with visual pollution. years from the early seventies to the late eighties.
Its a bit like what happens in shopping centre Yet the desertion of the car spare part dealers of
(see Shopping Centre). Thus we see areas of the the area following pedestrianisation, the increase
city like Sultanahmet and Talimhane which are in exchange bureaus and souvenir shops and the
institutionalized by means of pedestrianisation transformation of Talimhane to an area of the city
become important intermediaries in urban iden- specializing in the tourism industry as a result of
tity design and tourist destination production. a change in user profile has been completed over
a short period of two or perhaps three years.
Pedestrianisation, starting out with the idea
of relaxing and liberating pedestrian circulation, One of the most interesting developments
its meaning taking on extra depth and its aim since the street was invented and it was accept-
blurring in the new dimension of liberating the ed that it was a good idea that people wandered
need to consume, is today also used to displace among buildings, non-pedestrianisation prac-
the tradesman who doesnt want to leave her/his tices appear hand in hand with and as natural
shop, to create new vacant zones and to make or forced extensions of pedestrianisation. If the
room swiftly for new functions by deporting shops work of pedestrianisation takes a long time, the
and stores incompatible with reduced vehicle/ pedestrianised streets will remain pedestrianless
increased pedestrian traffic. For instance, in the for a long time and become depedestrianised. For
Talimhane case, the speed of change engendered instance, the work to change the paving of stiklal
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Caddesi was spread over years to force, in a sense, imagined more as a knot of vehicle traffic rather
the tradesmen that couldnt do business any more than an area of the city, hidden behind the re-
to move and to desert their places in order to make generative discourses accumulated for years by
room for new investors. pedestrianisation.
Pedestrianisation remains a popular but Saitali Kknar
heterogeneous tool of transformation, which is

becoming increasingly complex as it assembles > Beautification, stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu",
the values of political discourses, mechanisms of Pavement, Shopping Centre, Tram, Urban
persuasion and proposing of solutions it comes Transformation
with, containing, usually, more than one contra-

dictory solution, and satisfies all approaches to
a certain extent, leading to its reason for imple- PERFORMATIVE TRAFFIC
mentation not being that easy to read. It contin-
IF WHAT IS MEANT BY PERFORMATIVE IS WHAT
ues to be implemented by local administrations ORIGINATES NOT IN THE ESSENCE BUT IN THE
in Istanbul as a trigger for urban transformation PERFORMANCE OF CULTURE, THEN WHAT IS MEANT BY
and an unconditionally positive, rational and PERFORMATIVE TRAFFIC IS THE SHAPING OF TRAFFIC
NOT BY PRE-ESTABLISHED RULES OR GOOD PRACTICES
healthy operation without its suitability to the BUT LIFE, CULTURE AND PERFORMANCE.
conditions of that area being discussed candidly
and comprehensively. Let us imagine a zone without layout, rules
or regulations and where extraordinary condi-
Finally, the pedestrianisation of Beikta tions prevail concerning the flow of traffic (this
Square must be mentioned as a contemporary shouldnt be difficult in the context of Istanbul).
example deserving of observation. The area pe- It is highly likely that planned and unplanned
destrianised under the name of pedestrianisa- flow will not be very different from one another.
tion is actually more an intersectionised area, There will be rule violations in planned zones
the implementation of an intersectionisation and unwritten rules in unplanned ones. Just as
BECOMING ISTANBUL
its ok on a street where there is no one-way sign and reasoning. Thus, the dream might emerge of a
to make do with a single lane because there are traffic conducted by white-gloved traffic wardens at
vehicles parked on both sides, an oncoming ve- intersections where people give way to each other
hicle on a one-way street isnt necessarily more of through eye contact: a scene where people respond
a problem. Any warning to comply with the rules to each other, where decisions are based on people
is unnecessary from the users points of view. No rather than rules. However, there is always a pin to
one is waiting someone to turn up to solve the burst such a pleasant dream balloon: malevolence.
problem, and the flow of life isnt interrupted that Although the absence of rules in performative traf-
much, because, being a matter of relativity, the fic does not endanger the flow of life, it is also pos-
flow is governed by relations between agents and sible that the performative rule is formed by the
things rather than rules. The right of way at an in- standards of the one who shows no tolerance to
tersection is determined by the body language of others. Potential creases do indeed contain pos-
vehicles and eye contact as much as traffic lights. sibilities, including all their risks...
Performative traffic is one of the folds of the city.
It operates and comes to life in unforeseen ways. Naln Bahekapl
The rules and regulations sometimes exist, and

sometimes dont. Therefore, local information is
vital. However universal standard traffic rules and PEYOTE STAGE
regulations might at first sight seem, the uncer-
A STAGE COVERED IN BLACK PLASTIC, MEASURING
tainty of when and where the folds might appear APPROXIMATELY 5.5 METRES WIDE AND 2 METRES
renders them relative to time and place. DEEP, LOCATED ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE
VENUE RUN UNDER THE NAME PEYOTE WHICH IS
IN THE NEVIZADE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF BEYOLU
On the other side of the matter, a flow organized AND SPREADS OUT OVER THREE FLOORS, THE TOP
and sharpened by traffic rules is open to the con- FLOOR A TERRACE. READY FOR USE ARE A DRUM SET,
cern of robotizing people. It may come to mind that TWO GUITAR AMPS AND A BASS GUITAR AMP. FOR
UNABASHED INDEPENDENTS WHO TURN UP WITH
such organisation prevents people from forming THEIR INSTRUMENTS AND PLAY WHATEVER THEY
relationships or destroys their habits of thinking FEEL LIKE.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Large according to some large, and to others small, in 2005 enabled countless groups, resisting making
the music scene of mostly independent Istanbul music for the market, who couldnt even dream of
music groups, meeting and forming under its roof, one day taking to the stage and had shut themselves
was established at and continues to spread from away to play only what they wanted, to come out of
Peyote. To briefly summarize Peyotes 10-year their holes and share their music with the audience.
history: the venue first opened in 1998 on mam Pretty soon, Istanbul was introduced to a new and
Adnan Street, soon becoming the favourite haunt promising group every week. This was important
of people from the underground music and art since a city like Istanbul had finally embraced its
crowd who didnt like definitions and couldnt productive musical kids and, like many other metro-
find a place where they felt comfortable amid the politan cities in the world, the Istanbul underground
mass of bars around stiklal Street (see stiklal music scene began to develop an identity of its own.
Caddesi or "Beyolu"). Peyote closed up shop in Can Peyote do for Istanbul what The Haienda did
2001, for reasons unknown to us, and its rebirth for Manchester? It wouldnt be wrong to say that,
took place in 2004 in Nevizade. for now, it has partially succeeded. For a fully tested
diagnosis we will have to wait a little longer
It didnt take much for Peyote to return to its James Hakan Dedeolu
glory days among the stiklal Street bars that had
long lost their attraction due to crowds and lack of > stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu"
character. However, the formation of the Peyote
scene actually began with the renovation in 2005
of the empty second floor as a concert venue. Espe- POLITICAL SPACE
cially when Hakan, manager of Peyote, entrusted INTERVENING IN URBAN SPACE, RESTRUCTURING
the stage to groups who had turned their back on IT, PRODUCING AND CONSUMING IT, HAS BECOME
the market to play their own music and go after in- THE NORM WITH CAPITALISM. ESPECIALLY IN A
PERIOD WHEN THE DYNAMICS AIMING TO SOLVE
novative, independent and other forms of music, THE STRUCTURAL CRISIS HAVE WEAKENED, FOR
a new period on the Istanbul underground music CAPITALISM SPACE ACCRUES THE VALUE OF BEING
scene began. The concerts kicking off with Replikas A CRISISSOLVING TOOL. FROM LEFEBVRE TO MARX,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
THIS HAS BEEN CALLED THE EXCHANGE VALUE OF tral governments. Often they act simultaneously
THE COMMODITY. THUS, URBAN SPACE IS AMONG
THE CENTRAL COMPONENTS OF ALL POLITICAL and as part of a common strategy to intervene in
STRATEGIES AND, EXACTLY FOR THIS REASON, NO the city. Or rather, local and international capital
DISCUSSION ON THE CITY OR THE SYSTEM CAN AFFORD ascribed functions on behalf of the public carry
TO LEAVE IT OUT.
out the task. As bottom-up spatial intervention
Capitalism opened space to the interventions of develops through illegal forms, interventions
the ruling political centres. Renewal, transforma- from the field of reigning political power estab-
tion, restructuring etc. often gain in importance lish their own legal platform too. In this context,
as part of the official terminology of intervention. urban transformation projects in Istanbul (see
In other words, intervention as such exhibits as Urban Transformation) are fairly good examples
much diversity as its different modes. As space in terms of explaining both the form and content
is reproduced on one hand by all these forms of of top-down interventions in urban space.
intervention, on the other hand, it loses a part of
its old characteristics and functions. In terms of The effects of a top-down intervention in ur-
social structure, this means the rupture of the old ban space often faces a reaction, in the short-term,
social texture of spaces. As a consequence, some from spaces created bottom-up. The paths of dif-
parts of such spaces, purged of their traditional ferent interventions coming from different points
owners, lose their old functions along with the of focus intersect again in the space. We may say
arrival of the new owners. that, following the paths of top-down intervention,
we arrive in the spaces of bottom-up intervention.
Although intervention in urban space has It is sufficient to observe the new language devel-
sometimes come from the bottom-up through dis- oped by top-down interventionists: suburbs,
sident social movements, the forms of interven- the other city, ghetto, gecekondu neighbour-
tion of ruling political powers have dominated in hood etc. (see Gecekondu, Post-gecekondu, Varo)
terms of reshaping space in a radical manner. The Because this language is the shortest route to ac-
actors in this interventionist process are some- cess the political spaces of the city.
times local administrations and sometimes cen-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
As expressed by this exclusionist language, determined by election. They had made sure that
first among the oppositional political spaces in Is- the area they controlled was a public domain and
tanbul are the neighbourhoodsof Gzeltepe in the they had specific criteria for the distribution of the
borough of Eyp, Glsuyu in Maltepe and Mustafa land divided into plots: being a worker, a tenant,
Kemal in mraniye (see Neighbourhood). In real- and not owning a house, a car or a plot of land in
ity, these settlements share a series of political and the city, for instance. Almost all problems in this
cultural links and therefore are distinctly separate physical and social texture emerging from these
from the other neighbourhoods of the city. bottom-up interventions in urban space were
solved within the existing organized structure.
These neighbourhoods were founded as the
product of bottom-up interventions in city space Forming relations with local and central
in the second half of the 1970s. As a product of an governments in order to bring public services to
understanding and a collective practice which the new spaces of the city, they had established
took space as public land, considering it legiti- committees of those who were able to serve. As a
mate to use it for public purposes and perceived matter of fact, schools, health centres and police
as clashing with the system when it took it upon stations, the first public institutions, had been
itself to prevent the exercise of this legitimacy, founded towards the end of the 1970s on the initia-
they were, when they were established, known as tive of such committees. It is true that, bizarrely,
salvaged areas. Constructed through the media- these neighbourhoods had no legal identity yet
tion of central organisations, this social move- and they did not exist on official documents, but
ment from below named these spaces according state schools, health centres and police stations
to their unique identities: ayan, 16 Haziran [16th had been established. As official and non-official
June] and May Day neighbourhoods. These names settlements, they had taken their place in urban
were determined by the collective will of the lo- space. The city had acknowledged these neigh-
cal residents. They had their own budgets and bourhoods and their political identities. Public
their committees organized in a top-down fash- institutions had too.
ion and the members of these committees were
BECOMING ISTANBUL
In the past, such urban spaces had been de- that we need a new and inclusive account. The
scribed as spaces of fear by the language of ruling fact that groups defining themselves according
politics. People who went there werent heard from to their political identities are on one side of the
later. For the police and gendarmes these neigh- tension in the political spaces of the city shows
bourhoods were no-go areas etc. Yet, during periods us that public authority is on the other. Thus,
when this type of report was frequently published given that what goes on in these neighbourhoods
in the press, the relevant committees were impor- is taken to be their responsibility, and since the
tuning public institutions to bring public services struggle against public authority is defined at an
to the neighbourhoods. Top-down narratives were infra-local level, it is clearly inevitable that the
rather alien to the political spaces of the city. majority of their actions will target local/central
authority.
Not much has changed today. The dissident
political spaces of the city are described as cen- As the residential areas of the poor and the
tres of fear and crime and the great dangers this wage earners, certain political spaces of the
scourge may bring are often voiced. Reports and city have similar characteristics to these other,
assessments claiming that these spaces, which gecekondu neighbourhoods. The population
do not belong to the city and in fact threaten of such areas is also formed by migration from
the city, are the focal points of disasters holding Anatolia. Class decomposition has been taking
the entire country in their grip are increasingly place here too, especially after the development
frequently circulated. amnesty. However, the social consequences of
these tensions do not materialize in the same
It may be said that these assessments do not manner everywhere because cultural patterns
take into account the processes of establishment and ethno-political identities step in, and areas of
of these neighbourhoods, their political charac- struggle diversify. Therefore, although we do not
teristics, cultural identities or state of poverty and often encounter forms of struggle with economic,
deprivation, or the inadequacy of the benefit they social, political, cultural etc. demands in the old
receive from public services etc. Thus, it is clear and new gecekondu neighbourhoods of Istanbul, a
BECOMING ISTANBUL
vast diversity of tools and forms of struggle, from dynamics which will continue to intervene in
everyday political demands to legal and political space.
organisation against urban transformation proj-
ects, as in the case of Glsuyu, can be organized kr Aslan
in the political spaces of the city.
> Gecekondu, Neighbourhood, Post-gecekondu,
To sum up, we need to understand within Urban Transformation, Varo
the plural structure of the city. The key concepts
here are space and politics. Urban space is both
the space of conflict and the space over which PORNOGRAPHY
discursive clashes take place. In other words, the
politics of space are performed in the space of A WAY OF GRASPING A SPACE.
politics. The political spaces of Istanbul are the

product of this process in both senses. And, pre- In the case of Istanbul, it describes a stage, in the
cisely because of this, it is not hard to understand reading of urban space and the processes and acti-
that urban transformation projects as a tool of vities that generate it, of such clarity and speed that
top-down intervention in the city will receive the imagination is not triggered anymore. Only a
strong social reactions in such areas. fully oppositional reading qualifies as erotic. When
the observer and/or urban dweller is involved in the
Decades or centuries later, will there be an perception of an erotic space (or the prodution of
image of political space in the memory of the city an urban space with erotic content), the power to
or will it be erased by acts of transformation and interpret quickly what s/he sees goes missing. It
restructuring? appears that actions, causes as well as results cant
be diagnosed all at once. Indeed, the city and its
The answer to this question depends largely architecture leave the impression that their secret
on the course of the relations, contradictions, will be revealed only as a result of great effort and
consensuses, clashes etc. between urban social awareness will be produced only gradually. Scenes
BECOMING ISTANBUL
and spaces are even to be thought as codes referring one believes that these suffice. However, the chan-
to far deeper meanings and processes than the eye ges and transformations expressed and cursed in
can perceive. Thus, the effort to decipher the erotic the above terms are related to the production of
city is the main factor in the production of urban urban space in the same manner common sexual
engagement. This is the kind of pleasure a detective acts are related to the continuation of the human
feels when s/he reveals and of course the kind species. In precisely the same way as the example
the reader feels while observing the unfolding of of sexual intercourse, they become pornographic
the mystery to the background of a case. However, when they are shown to be shown, perverted when
there is no need for the deciphering and detection they are exploited in a manner which injures either
of the pornographic city. Addicts of urban pornog- party, medical when biological references are made
raphy already know the city which is their object and erotic when they are equipped and represented
before seeing it, questioning it and imagining it. with barriers of engagement to occupy the imagi-
But they take pleasure from seeing once again what nation (rather than just being shown).
they have grown accustomed to seeing and speak
obscenely about it using the same terms. This ple- In this context, Istanbul has long been porno-
asure is the masochistic pleasure of the addict; not graphic, on a scale rising from the late 19th century
the pleasure the detective derives from speculative to this day. For a very extensive group of people,
activity. Only one these has been experienced, over it has no secret to be revealed. The pornographic
the last one and a half centuries, in Istanbul. It is manifestation of urban activity believed to be
precisely because it is the site of pornographic/ma- manifest must be disciplined and corrected with
sochistic pleasure that saying, for instance, that it moral and pedagogic tools. For example, the trans-
is undergoing IRREGULAR URBANISATION, is the formation of the citys planning, or in other words
site of profiteering, its silhouette has been distor- the contemporary and European changes in its
ted, it has become a village but never a metropolis existing structural characteristics was almost the
etc. is enough to understand whats going on there only thing intellectuals looking at the urban scene
(see Demolition or the Warped City, Silhouette). Or could see. Late Ottoman urban pornography sees
rather, the pornographic activity is fulfilled when in Istanbul nothing but an error which must be
BECOMING ISTANBUL
corrected by planning and the imagined European ingful nor correct to think of the pornography
urban rationality which formed a contradictory which is clearly visible in the urban scene. Since
reference to it. The Early Republican era inherits the demand is thus, thinking about that which
and maintains this pornographic legacy. A con- has achieved visibility is prohibited per se. After
ception of urban reality, (which appeared to be) all, isnt the prohibition not of the common sexual
clear from the threshold of 1960 on, problematized act everyone knows about but the description of
the urbanizing masses. As a usual result of their it which renders pornography what it is?
own expectations of clear, pornographic legibility,
those looking at Istanbul all found explanations Uur Tanyeli
for the rapid urbanisation taking place here and
> Demolition or the Warped City, Silhouette
the persistent failure of new inhabitants to ur-
banize. This is later, especially after the 1980s,
followed by profit, which is a regular fact of all POST-GECEKONDU
capitalist economies, into a deus ex machina
capable of producing all manner of explanations WE FACE A JUMBLE WHICH WE ROUGHLY CODIFY AS
in the context of the transformation of Istanbul. VARO (SEE VARO). HAD WE TRIED TO READ THE
IDEOLOGICAL INGREDIENT WE ADDED TO THIS MIX
But some general erotic awareness forms, no mat- IN TERMS OF THE ACTUAL PRODUCTION PRACTICES
ter what. Often, observers and urbanites refuse OF THE CITY, WE WOULD CALL IT POST-GECEKONDU.
to accept that they have not yet understood the
countless paths of change and transformation This is basically the classical or original gecekondu
of the city, and that it requires effort and labour (see Gecekondu), constructed as a human requi-
to do so. They know the immoral truth always rement or for its use value, reproduced within
without seeing it, and declare its sentence without the framework of the neo-liberal revolution
hesitation, because, in urban pornography as in as exchange value. In other words, it means the
all pornographic activities, the aim of preventing inclusion of informal housing areas in the real
the sight of the thing which, as immoral, should estate market and the addition of their capital to
not be seen is at least implied. It is neither mean- the reproduction cycle.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The builders of the classical gecekondu had astonishing speed, varo became the name for
been welcomed so they would produce goods for all places which were not (could not be) Istanbul,
the city and the country would develop. And they were not (could not be) regarded as Istanbul. The
more or less achieved this goal: something like border of the varo, the place one did not want to
a hobby. They eventually found their true mis- go, was where Civitas ended.
sion outside the factory, especially after the 80s.
The pay they received from producing goods was The elderly, some eagerly and some patiently,
pocket-money, but the real income came from waited for their turn. They observed the varo be-
elsewhere: they did not settle for village-style, come the name of the capital of the empire of fear.
build-it-yourself/live-in-it-yourself garden towns, Whoever builds an illegal building is also capable
they produced a serious under-the-counter of all corruption; stealing away the ground of this
town, registering income from it to their ac- land that we know under our feet like a carpet. Just
counts; not letting anyone else have a sniff at it. like an earthquake (see Earthquake); in fact, it is
Post-gecekondu describes this under-the-counter the earthquakes twin, it is incalculable. It strikes
town. It was, of course, too late by the time ev- fear into our hearts. Gets on well with the earth-
eryone realized what was going on. quake anyway; they are pretty much indifferent
to each other and get along light-heartedly. The
Tolerating under-the-counter production fear of the varo is irrational just like any other
posed a difficulty for the old owners of the city. fear; its object is fickle and it is paradoxical in
Smaller owners did not have the strength to deal its essence. The varo is uncanny due to the new
with what was going on; they couldnt keep up poverty it hosts within and exceedingly threaten-
with the newcomers, so they started complain- ing precisely because of the fresh, shiny capital
ing. And so the gecekondu, traditionally associ- it shelters which constantly demands more. The
ated with something positive, disappeared from varo openly accommodates the indifferent flirta-
circulation, leaving its place to the varo. Within tion between forms of poverty and dependence
the discourse of irregular urbanisation, conquer- the natives of North Istanbul (see Northern Is-
ing all castles and winning everyones hearts at an tanbulite) are not used to, and the new forms of
BECOMING ISTANBUL
capital generated in the same varo; and strikes production, storage and marketing; and the rela-
fear precisely by holding this mixture together. tively homogeneous socio-economic structure
The more s/he has difficulty in solving the codes consisting of villagers and workers was replaced
of the varo, the more the native of North Istan- by a multi-layered system which abandoned pov-
bul is inclined to perceive it as a whole and the erty watch to the latecomers.
other, seeing the basic ingredient of the danger-
ous mixture the varo contains as the common As a result, small capital acted much faster
culture of communities of rural origin. And if that than large capital in terms of accumulating cap-
is the case, the way out is to define it on a cultural ital from the land of the city and reshaped the
basis or as a lifestyle in order to monotonize it morphology of the city according to the needs
and transform it into the other. of its own reproduction. This is precisely where
the problem lies for big business, which is only
Post-gecekondu simply points at a historical recently starting to take to the stage in the field
phase in the production of the city. It does not of mass housing production. Post-gecekondu ex-
judge, it dose not create emotional motivations tending across the terrain from Esenyurt to Tuzla
such as fear, pity, hatred, exclusion, segregation does not leave breathing ground to big business.
etc. It explains the main transformation which The forthcoming period will be marked by com-
took place in informal residential areas during petition over large expanses of residential areas.
the zal era, when an entire society learned to The bigger players do not have time to complain,
make money using money. Previously occupied and they have already set to work.
land was legalized and made into start-up capital
for migrants. Rural-based small capital became The substitution of the post-gecekondu, a
a dominant part of city production and included candidate for calm analysis, with the varo, the
in the primitive accumulation process of capital. target of bitter feelings, serves a purpose here: in
Shelter, the sole function of the classic gecekondu the transition from gecekondu to post-gecekon-
was replaced by a complex totality of functions du, it becomes easy uncompromisingly to ignore
including labour-intensive small neighbourhood the possibility that these spontaneously evolved
BECOMING ISTANBUL
settlement areas may accommodate authentic Overall, this process has marked a new period in
solutions which are formed according to social, the history of migration to Turkey (see Migration)
economical and physical requirements and have a for two reasons: the immigration of people for
positive influence on the structure and quality of economic or labour purposes without necessarily
life. The discourse of irregular urbanisation legiti- claiming some affinity with the Turkish nation
mizes the presentation of everything produced by and the predominance of women among migrants,
the post-gecekondu as not even a partial solution as well as the significant role that gendered oc-
but a total problem without feeling the need to cupations have played in attracting them.
turn and look closer once more to be bulldozed
in order to be got rid of. The urban transforma- Migration in the post-Soviet period was first
tion law, only days away from being approved at initiated by the suitcase traders who, continuing
the Turkish Grand National Assembly, is a law with their practice of small scale trading pursued
designed to brand the post-gecekondu as ghetto as part of the shadow economy of the Soviet era,
in order to ignore it and ultimately to liquidate it. began a transnational trade in apparel, leather-
wear and footwear. At its peak in the mid-90s,
Orhan Esen suitcase exports from Turkey to the countries of
the former Soviet Union were estimated at $910
> Earthquake, Gecekondu, Northern Istanbulite, billion annually with nearly 1.5 million people
Varo travelling to Turkey. In time, the shuttle trading
and the circular migration it initiated turned ur-
ban districts in Istanbul like Laleli and Aksaray,
POST-SOVIET UNION MIGRANT not to mention cities like Trabzon, into semi-
global/regional centres, becoming the meeting
POST-SOVIET UNION MIGRATION REFERS TO THE FLOW places of citizens of the former socialist countries
OF MIGRANTS THAT ISTANBUL HAS RECEIVED SINCE while they stayed in Istanbul. With the emergence
THE DISINTEGRATION OF THE SOVIET UNION IN 1991.
of commercial sex and domestic work done by
migrants, these locations acquired all the more
BECOMING ISTANBUL
importance, accommodating the necessities of Whichever sector they are initially pulled to-
maintaining a diasporic lifestyle for the migrants wards, post-soviet migrants come to Turkey on
of post-socialism who could easily fulfil their vari- tourist visas that are valid for one or two months
ous needs such as purchasing Russian pop albums and then overstay them. Starting in the mid-90s,
or cheap wine in these areas. those who wanted to secure their position while
staying in Turkey and circumvent having to pay
Although in fact there are generally only some the fines for overstaying visas while leaving the
loose ties between the different post-socialist mi- country, practiced fake marriage with Turkish
grant groups in Istanbul, the apparent predomi- citizens which would provide them with their only
nance of women among them has resulted in a chance for naturalisation. The amendment made
public disposition stigmatizing them under the to the Turkish Citizenship Law in 2003, however,
generic term Natasha. While the name was first introduced a three-year waiting period before
used to allude to sex workers, it was intended to obtaining citizenship, which has decreased the
connote the potential sexual promiscuity of all number of these marriages significantly. While the
the women who have emigrated from that region. Turkish Parliament passed a law that enabled ob-
Similarly, although all the post-soviet migrants are taining work permits for undocumented workers
commonly referred to as the Russians in daily in the same year, very few of them have actually
conversations, in reality, except for the earlier been able to attain the document, entailing that
groups among the shuttle traders, migrants of they continue staying, and working in Turkey
post-socialism in Turkey come from very different illegally.
countries other than Russia. While sex workers are
mostly from Romania, Moldova and Georgia, for Aye Akaln
example, domestic workers come from Moldova,
Ukraine, Georgia, as well as from the Caucasian > Migration
and central Asian countries like Armenia, Azer-
baijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, who joined
the former in the post-2000 period.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
PRESERVATION BOARD particular districts. The boards today are formed

in a structure accommodating specialists from the
THE INSTITUTION RESPONSIBLE BY LAW FOR THE fields of architecture and restoration with other
REGISTRATION OF CULTURAL ASSETS, DETERMINATION
OF THE BORDERS OF SIT [CONSERVATION] AREAS
members from a variety of disciplines.
AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION, AND THE APPROVAL
OF RESTORATION PROJECTS. Beyond the above mentioned regulations and
the profile of members changing over time, in the
Regulations regarding museums and artefacts of specific context of Istanbul, due to the historical
cultural heritage implemented in the 1880s as part density of the city, the Preservation Board stands
of the Late Ottoman Empires efforts to establish a out as an institution with a vocal right in planning
European-type system were followed by the first decisions. While the conceptual basis of preserva-
regulations in the 1910s regarding the preservation is not often discussed even among special-
tion of monuments. Legal regulations regarding ists in the subject, preservation board decisions
protection were drawn up in a similar manner as provide the platform for public discussion via
part of the planning work carried out in the first the newspapers. Although the apparent debate
years of the Republic. Archaeologists and archi- gives the impression that it is about preservation,
tects sat on the boards of the four commissions the real debate is about what and who should
established in 1935 to register and protect all the steer the dynamics of the city. These boards are
monuments in the country. In the early 1950s a expected miraculously to provide the balance
similar institutional structure was reorganized between the usual pressures of profitseeking
with the authority to determine regulations for behaviour and conservation. The miraculous
the maintenance, repair and restoration of the aspect of the phenomenon to a large extent derives
architectural and historical monuments requiring from the intentional chaos of legal mechanisms.
protection. With regulations once again renewed More often than not, this chaos is accompanied
in 1983, Preservation Boards were granted full by illusions of historicity and errors in terminol-
authority over all types of decisions regarding ogy. Amidst these multiple contradictions, pres-
the preservation of cultural and natural assets in ervation boards are positioned on the thin line
BECOMING ISTANBUL
between becoming the protector of the history appearance or visibility of the other in the pro-
of the city and its cultural heritage and the sole duction of difference. Even such a coarse attempt
culprit in its destruction. at a definition reveals that the duality of public
private cannot be grasped as an ideal openness or
Yldz Salman closure in view of all types of difference; rather,
these concepts are meaningful as long as they
signify a continuous debate regarding social prac-
PUBLIC SPACE (I) tices. The emphasis on openness and closure can
sometimes be reversed: when norms which are the
ACCORDING TO THE DEFINITION BY A GREAT STATE object of strongly-maintained consensus do not
OFFICIAL OF THE VERY RECENT PAST, THE PUBLIC
SPHERE IS THE PLACE WHERE THE POLICE CAN ASK allow for the expression in the public sphere of
YOU FOR IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS, THEREFORE certain differences they have declared abnormal,
PUBLICNESS IN ISTANBUL IS THE POLICE DEMANDING then the private sphere may become the shelter
IDENTIFICATION AND THE CITIZEN PROVIDING IT.
ACCORDING TO THE SAME LOGIC, THE POLICE CAN ASK of difference. The social organisation of sounds
FOR IDENTIFICATION ANYWHERE, THUS EVERYWHERE might describe my singing as beyond the norm,
IN ISTANBUL IS PUBLIC SPACE. or terrible. In such case, a special space, such as a
live performance space, neither clearly public nor
Nowhere in the world are social practices simply private but open to amateurs like me who produce
positioned along the ideal dual axis of public terrible sounds, may be vital in the context of the
private. However, the public can still be defined production of difference. When even such an op-
as the relative openness at various levels to the portunity for openness is not available, no one (I
social production, forms of debate and expressi- hope) will prevent me from singing in my bath (or
on of difference. In a similar manner, it could be ask for my identity!) Still, taking into considera-
said that all tools enabling this openness define tion the fact that if an expression is not received,
the public sphere and the spatial organisation of it cannot produce meaning, what counts is that
these tools defines public space. And the private my voice is heard by at least one neighbour and
sphere exists as a result of the effort to restrict the attains some form of public openness.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The dominant factor in the social formation place where police can demand identification; the
of Turkey, both in the past and to a certain extent principal obligation is to be a part of everywhere
today, is the closure of the social production of always all. Hep, the entirety of a halk [people]
difference. Therefore, neither the public sphere can somehow never transform itself into her-
nor the private sphere can be defined as locations kes [everyone], all the people, no matter whom,
of negotiation which engender the production of whomsoever. Neither is the public sphere the
difference, but in contrast locations which are multiple sphere of expression of everyone, nor the
functionalized in the production of sameness. private sphere everyones singular shelter; on the
And the only criterion which serves to differen- contrary, both are the sphere of existence of hep
tiate public from private among all locations de- only, whether all together or alone. In such a social
fined as sites of the production of sameness is, in formation, the distinction between public and
a rudimentary sense, property relationships; the private space is a quantitative distinction which
public is the location which hasnt been expropri- can easily be overcome. As long as the identity
ated by someone yet. necessary to prove one belongs to hep, all public
spheres and spaces can be privatized; and the
The noun kamu, the origin of the adjective ka- converse is valid too. According to the same hier-
musal which corresponds to the concept public archy of identity, the private sphere and its spaces
in English, is of vital importance in this context. can become public. The difference between Gk-
According to the dictionary of the TDK [Turkish kafes and the citizen who cuts through the iron
Language Institution], kamu means, all/always post installed to prevent parking, adds a padlock
[hep], the whole and the whole of the people, all and makes himself a private parking place or the
the people. What is striking here is the word hep, bakkal who transforms the pavement into a shop
which, again according to the TDK [Turkish Lan- is a (great) difference in quantitative power; but
guage Institution] dictionary, is that which is, not there is no qualitative difference between them,
excluding or lacking anyone, whole, complete they are compatible (see Parking Lot). In a simi-
and even better continuous, always. Therefore, lar way, bodies are expropriated to prevent the
it is meaningful to define the public sphere as the expression of bodily differences, which could be
BECOMING ISTANBUL
defined as the borders of the private sphere, as The public sphere is formed by a multitude of
with the turban, the mini-skirt, the beard and sex- spaces and discourses. Historically, the term de-
ual orientation, and an attempt is made to make notes the meeting space where only certain social
them compatible with the identity of the hep. The sections prosperous male citizens had the right
concept of the public good becomes indisputable to enter and, along with the development of civil
under these circumstances, because the mythical society, where political demands were voiced.
illusion of hep, which will always exist only as a The agora in ancient Greece, which was in the
complete totality, produces the illusion that this city centre and where these sections of society
totality has a completely knowable and absolute discussed social issues, is an example. From the
benefit. No doubt, those who know of this benefit present perspective, these spaces are places whe-
are rulers who are the representative owners of re power is represented and concerns regarding
property, where the first and foremost hep resides, public benefit are expressed. The public sphere is
sitting at the top of the hierarchy of identities. shaped according to architectural ideals. However,
Opposition is carried out based on claims of state; since it isnt only a physical space, it doesnt come
otherwise no one takes into consideration the fact about only by construction. The public sphere is
that everyday people, no matter whom, may have also a basis of discussion focusing on conflicts
something to say about this benefit. of interests, participation and social exclusion.
The urban public sphere is a physical, social and
Blent Tanju discursive space reflecting social conditions and
the social state.
> Parking Lot
The public sphere in Istanbul can be exam-
ined from various viewpoints too, but the Western
PUBLIC SPACE (II)
concept, which expresses the division between the
private and the public, is replaced by a different
ALTHOUGH IT MEANS EVERYWHERE OUTSIDE
PRIVATE SPACE, SUCH A SIMPLE DEFINITION MEANS content here. When the strict division between a
NOTHING IN ISTANBUL. [ED.] private, personal and individual space and a pub-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
lic and collective space shared by all is translated munication formed of the togetherness of resi-
into Turkish, it assumes a complex and pluralist dents, though not including the foreigner, to
social and psychological status. In a conceptual areas extending the mosque and the institutions
study, Uur Tanyeli (2005) explains that private surrounding it, the baths, the caravanserai, and
spaces express intimacy, secrecy and a place con- hotels where foreigners stayed. Such transitions
cealed from others if also loneliness, and in con- also extended to the gathering and festivity areas
trast the public space expresses what appeals to outside the city walls, forming an inter-space be-
and what is accessible to all. The term public in tween state control and collective use. Referred
Turkish is generally used as a place where the to as non-places today, these could be roadside
state applies regulations oriented towards the in- areas, which have high visibility but are beyond
dividual: the inspection of clearly defined spaces public benefit and control, suitable for picnics,
by a public hand loaded with rules and orders. or an illegal market place.
The public is the space representing power and
ideology; spaces organized for parades and pub- In Istanbul, the Bosphorus is one of the best
lic speeches or institutions where the public is examples of public space. It is a node of transpor-
trained. The public will is valid here; controlling tation, an entertainment-recreation area and a
dress and behaviour, allowing the covering of symbol all in one. The structures of public spaces
heads, or banning demonstrations. emerging along the shores on its two sides are
completely different; they are used as tea houses
However, in the historical Ottoman city, or for other activities. The view and the silhouette
spatial publicity had a multidimensional structure of the city are observed with wonder and shown
progressing from the recognized to the foreign. with pride (see View, Silhouette). Shore residents
Slow transitions in dress sense and behaviour have the right to be heard concerning the ferries
defined space and belonging: thus from the in- and the public intervenes in construction activi-
timacy at the centre of the home which hosted ties on the shores. There are debates over issues
different rooms according to gender or guests of ownership, authority and right of way.
and the multidimensional neighbourhood com-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
When public space is discussed today, in Is- of the adjacent neighbourhoods Cihangir and
tanbul as much as other places, the emphasis is Galata demand the area be organized as a prom-
on the link of urban transformation with global enade with tea gardens facing the sea and other
parameters and how the city will be shaped (see recreational facilities rather than a tourist shop-
Urban Transformation). The French Street in ping centre (see Tourism). Political groups and
Beyolu is a typical example of the privatisation artists adopt a stronger discourse to emphasize
and commercialisation of public space as part that commercial use does not give residents of the
of a transformation project. The former Cezayir neighbourhood the chance to come together and
Soka [Algeria Street] is redefined here in the that the pompous buildings and activity struc-
form of French coffee shops and restaurants tures encourage an alienating cultural production
as a consumption and entertainment space by a and that this would exclude the majority of local
publicprivate joint venture company in line with people (X-urban 2006).
public space designed and idealized according to
an imaginary culture. These debates, in other words the constant
confrontation between different interests and
A modern shopping centre a closed, com- value judgments and the bargains between
mercialized space under surveillance in Levents them, actually form the foundation of the pub-
central business area forms a new kind of meeting lic sphere. The public sphere is never open to
place particularly for women, something which everyone to an equal degree. There are always
isnt widespread in other markets and bazaars various groups competing with each other, a
and is in fact deemed risky. The announcement part of the public can temporarily dominate and
of the plans for the urban development project look upon others with curiosity and interest at
GalataPort which aims to open the old port area of best. Sometimes things taking place simultane-
the Bosphorus to hotels attractive to tourism and ously, next to each other, drive each other down,
to transform the area into a cruise ship terminal struggling among themselves to stand out and
provoked heated discussions on the meaning of have themselves accepted. In this sense, the ur-
public space (see Public Space (I)). Local groups ban sphere, whether physical or discursive, takes
BECOMING ISTANBUL
on a public aspect only through contradiction In fact, this kind of representation as reflect-
and its negotiation. ed on screen may be read in the following way.
The city is the most complex system created by
Kathrin Wildner humanity. Seen from the perspective of the En-
lightenment and modernity, the city is the most
> Public Space (I), Silhouette, Tourism, Urban dramatic example of humanitys quest for the
Transformation, View transformation of and dominion over nature. As
the demonstration of this quest, the modern city
has been founded under complete control and
RESERVOIR WATER LEVELS by observing rational criteria, as a second nature
surrounding the human being. As an extension of
THE NAME OF A NEW PHENOMENON TURKEY AND modernitys crisis in philosophy and the social sci-
ESPECIALLY LARGE METROPOLITAN AREAS LIKE ences, the city has today spiralled out of control;
ISTANBUL, ANKARA, ZMR AND BURSA WERE
INTRODUCED TO AFTER THE WINTER OF 2007, WHICH and large metropolitan cities now struggle with
WAS PARTICULARLY DRY DUE TO GLOBAL WARMING problems such as transport, population density,
AND CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS. housing deficit, inadequacies in infrastructure
and the failure to use resources equally and ef-
With the rapid decrease in water levels in reservo- ficiently.
irs supplying water to large cities, with reserves
coming within weeks of reaching dead pool level, Keeping this in mind, one could project that
a new section entitled reservoir water levels was in the future, when mankind loses its control
added to television weather reports. This meant over nature in a more profound manner, weath-
that global climate change related to global war- er reports broadcast following news reports will
ming, up to then believed to be something to come feature accounts with statistical information on
at some uncertain date in the future, became an reservoir water levels, road and traffic conditions,
actual reality and began to be thought about and electricity and gas cuts, carbon monoxide levels
discussed by the man on the street. in the air and specific regions where ozone layer
BECOMING ISTANBUL
depletion has led to increased exposure to ultra- the building. The building must be preserved for
violet radiation. specific values independent of the personal pref-
erences of the architect or the property owner.
Hakk Yrtc
Considering Istanbuls historical past, it is
clear that the city could be an extremely rich
RESTORATION source for the discipline of restoration. In fact,
among the late Ottoman Empires efforts to es-
THE ELIMINATION BY VARIOUS METHODS AND tablish a European system, regulations regarding
TECHNIQUES OF INHERENT AND STRUCTURAL museology and movable historic property entered
DAMAGE TO A BUILDING WHICH HAS BEEN APPROVED the agenda in the 1880s, and the preservation of
FOR PRESERVATION FOR THE HISTORICAL VALUE
IT POSSESSES, IN SHORT THE PROTECTION OF THE monuments in 1910. Restoration also found a place
AGEDNESS OF THE STRUCTURE. at least on the legal platform within the planning
work regarding the preservation of natural and
What renders restoration different from any ot- historical values in the early years of the Republic.
her activity of repair or reuse is primarily the However, neither before nor during the period of
importance of the building in its historical ac- architectural practice beginning in the 1950s and
tuality, though also the acceptance of this actu- lasting until the 1980s stressing the production of
ality. Historical document value, a conceptual new buildings did restoration manage to estab-
cornerstone of contemporary restoration theory, lish its conceptual foundations as a field of spe-
expresses this originality and actuality. A histori- cialisation. This deprivation was accompanied by
cal building has to exhibit traces of history. nostalgic grumbles (see Nostalgia) aimed against
the accompanying results of dynamics shaping
The fundamental stance scientific restora- the city. Approaches to restoration coming to the
tion rests on has, since the final quarter of the 19th forefront in the post-1980 period were naturally
century, been based on a retreat from subjectiv- shaped on the basis of this nostalgic view. Efforts
ity, and therefore keeping a critical distance from at preservation and protection flounder amidst
BECOMING ISTANBUL
semantic shifts. The ground became ever more approval of the production of the new old, the
slippery as, in addition to the failure to establish Preservation Board (see Preservation Board) and
a common terminology, the subject of protection its decisions always reappear on the agenda too.
was open to debate. Illusions of historicity began
with the preference for renewal over restoration. Yldz Salman
Will historical streets or houses be preserved or > Beautification, Gentrification,
representative streets or houses constructed?
Neighbourhood, Nostalgia, Preservation
Should the past be preserved or created? The an-
Board, Yal
swer to these critical questions was sought in the
construction of the historical identity of the city
via the representative reproduction of the period
SCAFFOLDING
and building types selected, and almost sancti-
fied, from among the many layers of the history of THE VERY RECENT HISTORY OF ONE OF ISTANBULS
Istanbul and the beautification and gentrifica- INSTABILITIES (20032007).
tion of historical streets and neighbourhoods (see

All that is solid melts into air fair enough, its
Beautification, Gentrification, Neighbourhood).
true but on the other hand, the money that cir-
Focusing especially on neighbourhoods of old
culates in the city like air is rapidly solidifying into
wooden houses, the waterfront residences along
buildings and assuming an appearance which, it
the Bosphorus, the reconstruction, beyond what
seems, will never disappear. The best shortcut to
was actually there, of an Ottoman identity ren-
dered supreme but also according to a scale of understanding the intensities of Istanbuls trans-
values in its application, took place in the name formations, which have been divided into frag-
of restoration (see Yal). mentary intervals, is probably not chasing after
its covered buildings. However, I can imagine that
Along with legal regulations, the consider- this documentation, which will never be comple-
ations determining the public presentation of such ted, may reveal over the years the veiled face of the
aforementioned approaches and the discussion or city which is shown to no other like Harvey Keitel
BECOMING ISTANBUL
in the film Smoke. There is almost no building in its inauguration with the arrival of the news of
front of which scaffolding will not be erected. And death and becomes the scene of the staging of
if this is what will befall these buildings one day, pain. Indeed, the relationship scaffolding forms
and the city is covered, then it will also be possible with the body and death seem as plural as the city.
to produce a huge painting of it suspended in time. Besides, when you add a t to the word iskele,
On the other hand, the instabilities of architectu- meaning scaffolding in Turkish, you get the word
re arent limited to scaffolding. There are other, meaning both the skeleton that holds up the body
special Istanbuls far more immediate and fragile. and the structure that holds up a building, iske-
For instance, reflections of the oblique rays of the let. Those who walk past the curtain before a
winter sun falling on blind walls from windows of staging on stiklal Caddesi (see stiklal Caddesi
other buildings, resembling the letters of a strange or "Beyolu"), are actually walking past a veil, a
alphabet or sketches drawn with light, are among dead body. We are forced to wonder; everyone
these instablities. It requires even more persisten- must be forced to wonder. Indifferent, blas, the
ce and time spent walking the city streets. Even if operative words of the urban scene.
the reflections do appear, they do not stay in the
same place during the same hour, and they are at 02. The Curtain Parts
a different position on the face of the building the
next day for instance. At least scaffolding stays In alayan, the plasterer opens the curtain
where it is until it is brought down. he works for his daily pay to give new faces to
the city, in other words, faces that will bring in
01. Very soon (!) money. alayan, an extension of the first indus-
trial belt of the European side of the city, is one of
In Saturn in Opposition [Bir mr Yetmez], the the gecekondu areas of the city which, especially
latest film of director Ferzan zpetek we witness from the 70s on, flowed in like waves to surround
ordinary scaffolding being used as a proclamation the industrial areas of Istanbul and are today be-
that the fragile carnival of life can suddenly end. ing transformed into increasingly dense urban
The awaited unveiling loses all the splendour of textures. Factories in Kathane, some which have
BECOMING ISTANBUL
1 7
11
2 4 8
12
5 9
3 6 10 13
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ceased production, continue, as they have for the 03. The Curtain Parts
last half century, to release their poisonous se-
cretion into the brook which leads to the Golden In Taksim, opposite the Aia Triada Church, on
Horn and their carcinogenic chemical gases into one of the side streets opening onto stiklal Cad-
the air, because they know that after midnight desi, trendy spaces will soon be edge to edge.
they wont be penalized according to the law. But If stiklal Caddesi were an inland water route and
the similarly stubborn urban dweller may at any indeed perhaps an allegory of the Bosphorus made
moment be confronted with new buildings, even up of bodies, then there are countless locales and
a more useful built environment. Such a seamless gaps to nourish this flow with their intensity. Tens
scene of usefulness and its open display doesnt of thousands of people flow here throughout the
suit the manners of the urbanite though. Since day from hundreds of frayed focal points, from
construction is based on openly rough work and Gmsuyu, Cihangir, Kurtulu, Galata, Kabata,
the direct physical labour of members of lower Karaky and Tepeba.
social strata, the display of skin and smell may
induce invisible creases in the suits of business 04. The Curtain Parts
people, and even cause injuries with a handful of
sand or debris spilling from above, innocuous but In Pera, on Bankalar Street, banks compete
it may put an end to someones swagger. Therefore, to show that they maintain their street and their
they have to be immediately excluded from the corporate identities, that they know the value
zone of use/aesthetics of the majority and rendered of history. It is well-known that they do nothing
safe. The urban dweller is contented with a screen, without competition. The neoclassical, prestige
something acceptably obscure, a sight which is buildings on Bankalar Street, which could be con-
preferably commercialized and decked out with sidered the symbol of the financial transforma-
images of erotic objects until the moment people tion of the Ottoman State in the 19th century, was
will actually benefit from this labour (the opening also a stage for actors of an architecture unique to
of the store). This is what is called a scaffold. Eastern Mediterranean metropolises who would
be erased from the city by the mid-20th century.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Minorities and everything they represent are still Although in other global cities, distances of hun-
being made to pay for the political crisis of the dreds of kilometres dont determine everything in
Ottoman State even today. the everyday work routine thanks to fast train net-
works, for the Istanbulite roads are battlegrounds
05. The Object Awakens where the appetite for driving is whetted. The
motorcycle becomes a serious alternative.
Unaware of the wrapping performances initi-
ated by Christo and Jeanne Claude in the 1970s, 07. The Object Awakens
beginning with objects and spreading to build-
ings, that restored the public and political mean- In contrast, the motorcycle on Kazanc Hill in
ing of sculpture, one Saturday morning in stinye, Beyolu has extended its life as a readymade with
an Istanbulite awakened an object from its sleep packaging long-lasting enough to host a cat. The
when he removed the cover of his car to get into it. buildings of Beyolu left ownerless for decades and
have decayed as they wait are gradually coming
06. The Object Awakens within firing range of large-scale gentrification
projects and are being seized upon as part of the
Everyday on the Karaky jetty, a motorcycle Cleansing Beyolu of Beyolu fantasies of various
becomes a sculpture. As the transportation crisis conservative capital funds (see Gentrification). Not
in the city multiplies along with the ambition only Beyolu, but many old gecekondu areas or his-
to own a private car, the metro network, albeit a toric areas known to host diverse ethnic identities
century after its equivalents, continues to grow are being transformed by this type of conservative
under a ground seething with the historical layers capital (see Urban Transformation).
of the city. As the undersea tunnel to connect Asia
and Europe progresses from the shore of skdar 08. Construction Begins
towards the Historic Peninsula, the construction
of the Third Bosphorus Bridge, which will create Investors trying to work out how to cope with
new queues and congestion, is about to begin. their new rivals in Levent began erecting a huge
BECOMING ISTANBUL
urban stage by putting up steel scaffolding. Medium- twenty metres above street level (see Demolition
scale, insipid malls with faux-historical interior or the Warped City). Everything was done so that
design like Citys and huge shopping and enter- not the slightest information was leaked regard-
tainment centres like Kanyon which stake a claim ing the demolition, which went on for months,
to innovation are constructed at the same speed and the construction which followed, and a huge
(see Shopping Centre). It seems that scaffolding is but expressionless draft image of a building was
one of the main components of medium-scale mall installed and the people were prepared for the
construction. On larger scales, in constructions of star to step on stage. Since there wasnt another
hundreds of thousands of square metres like Kanyon plot this size suitable for repurposing on stiklal
(see Kanyon), the use of scaffolding as a trademark Caddesi, the value of the land increased at rates
as perceived by the urbanite is not that significant. unseen in the history of the city. Behind the scaf-
folding, there is a hole sixty metres deep which
09. On the Faade of the Same Building makes the heads of even the most sober customers
leaving the Nevizade taverns a street away spin.
A condescending technique is being devel- Another mall will rise from this hell hole reserved
oped to exhibit the scale of investment: The latest for parking lots (see Parking Lot).
innovation will be constructed here. Very soon,
Nianta residents will be astonished to see 11. What Kind of Face Do We Want?
that they can purchase the most expensive new
products from the centre of innovation in their The sports store covered with aluminium
own neighbourhood, without having to travel from top to bottom on stiklal Caddesi begins
even a few kilometres. showing its difference through the singularity
of its scaffolding. So: Impossible is nothing. An
10. Demolition Continues unconventional material for covering scaffold-
ing for stiklal Caddesi buildings on this scale is
Another gigantic-scale demolition reveals selected. But no one will remember it like this
itself on stiklal Caddesi only from a vantage point anyway: the smoke-coloured stone faade of the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
building will allow the sports equipment to be and your Prsyen [moon and Parisien pastries]
presented as some contemporary youth elixir and at Konyal under the signed photograph of Turgut
its design will continue to create the alchemy of zal and Father Bush, and drink your mixed fruit
the new metropolis. juice, which for some reason is known as Ottoman
sherbet. When youre finished, buy a Lamy, and
12. Covering begin writing with purple ink: Scaffolding. The
Very
A bank building in Eminn adjacent to a his-
toric fountain has been tightly covered for radical 13. Cover
renovation and, indeed, almost suspended: there
would be almost no clues to announce that it is At Tnel, in front of a new art centre, a dif-
being crushed up and demolished if it werent for ferent type of waiting continues, until the day
the pipes discharging the rubble, the excremen- when the culture apparatus emerges from under
talized state of its sealed body. There is a new a singular, stout, aspect-less appearance.
movement in Istanbul where big banks found
museums to evoke their past (see Museum). Nor- 14. Cover
mally, walking along this route, you see the people
feeding the pigeons in front of Yeni Cami and Just like armchair covers are changed at
go past the monumental Vakf Han, which has home, the covers of buildings are changed too.
been made into a hotel, and your facial expression They are covered in new fabrics. Renovation re-
tells the vendors who sneak up on you in front of veals itself in the covering. The site being cov-
Doubank that you wont be buying porno CDs. ered is a point of dilution in the citys flows of
And then off to Hagia Sophia. (!) Or, you could have goods, bodies, heats, sounds and bacteria. It is
your slides developed at Enis Beys shop next to the moment of becoming before all these flows
an old hamam; for years he has only developed begin to form a new fold. The covered building
slides and, in his huge aquariums, he only keeps announces the arrival of an innovation in the city.
cichlids. You can then eat your almond ay rei The frivolity of the covered building whispers
BECOMING ISTANBUL
sentences of the ethics towards which it draws this out-of-sightness facilitates the justification of
city-dwellers. this curtaining along with the individual becom-
ing a component in an increasingly more sterile
15. Cover and sheltered zone. Distant from the eye, distant
from the heart: Community, Identity, Stability,
A bank branch in Gayrettepe genuinely de- nest-ce pas, Mustafa Monde?
serves appreciation as a rare building where there
is only a small difference between the scaffolding 18. Awaiting Demolition
and the end result. It is not a Herzog-De Meuron
building we are looking at, just a scaffolding. An apartment on Sraselviler Street. Cihangir,
a bit further on the underground and the waters
16. Awaiting Demolition under the ground of stiklal Caddesi. The home-
land of anarchism which has managed to remain
Progressivist or developmentalist urbanism is itself without becoming gentrified (see Anarchy).
the enlargement of the citys utilitarian economic A compressed bomb of intellectuality. At the same
order against the rural. In contrast to the frivolity time, a living environment where dissimilarities
of the rural and the proximity of rural production are gradually becoming standardized too. The
practices to raw materials, the city is synonymous sourtimesian poetic equivalent on the European
with a distance from raw materials. side of Kadky.
17. Awaiting Demolition, Upstarts
19. To be Demolished
Construction takes its share from this princi-
ple of urban usefulness and is formed of practices A building in Karaky. On the other hand, a
realized not openly but behind the scenes. The group of buildings which are good-for-nothing,
idea of an order that isnt enclosed but has been hoi polloi, left with no property or security, the
removed out of sight dominates the visual regime forgotten, those which are neglected await de-
of contemporary construction. On the other hand molition.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
14
17 19 21
15
16 18 20 22
BECOMING ISTANBUL
20. Awaiting Demolition 23. and 24. Repair and Advertisement
The condition of the less-useful against the Urbanites will of course not notice a GSM op-
more-useful on stiklal Caddesi. Urbanites toler- erator not missing the opportunity to display itself
ate this face made of tarred planks in the name with a huge advertising hoarding during the res-
of another bit of novelty. cue work on the PTT building in Galatasaray. As
Jean Baudrillard said, the masses will accept any
content containing a bit of spectacle. The build-
ing was saved by demolishing everything but
21. Gecekondu Covering the faade. This place remained standing when
a truck full of bombs drove into the British Con-
A makeshift cover on stiklal Caddesi presents sulate. But it obviously couldnt resist the magic
an example of low-budget renovation. A sentence wand of transformation. A bomb which exploded
passes between the planks to reach us in a whis- in front of a building in Levent on the same sunny
per: Do whatever you want, but just never show November Thursday resulted in the erecting of
your face. the scaffolding which would stay there for years,
but it would first cause a bloodbath.
22. Mezzanine Covering
25. Yeni Cami/The New Mosque
A rare type of covering in Babali, which
reminds one of apartments in the Middle East, Scaffolding and large-scale repair. When scaf-
where society closes off itself and its women. Once folding becomes the means of drawing attention
the centre of publishing, it is the home of ready- to, tending for and looking after a building, it
made clothing warehouses today. resembles cancerous growth on it. The building
carries on standing, changing slowly, but the scaf-
folding which has settled upon it grows, keeps
on changing form and its intensity changes too.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
26. In front of Hnkar Kasr [The Sultans Pa- ferry, fruit juice and sahlep [drink of orchis root,
vilion] hot milk and cinnamon], and the never-ending
sound of electronic tickets at the harbour turn-
The modesty of the Chamber of Commerce stiles. Haydarpaa train station and further back,
in the heart of Eminn: the more you shout in if not veiled by the fog, the view of the trilogy of
public space, the less your voice is heard. Topkap-Hagia Sophia-Sultanahmet. Along the
route, the cranes of Haydarpaa port and the silos.
27. Vakf Han The linear labyrinth of hundreds of (see dolmu)
on the Kadky shore changes by the second. How-
The hotel emerging from beneath its cover ever, this big GSM operator repeats the same slo-
creates the arcade as the kept woman of capital. gan over and over again, as if it is unaware of all
Money and gentrification are instituted as plugs this: Connect to life. As if anything other than
of the social. Only hotel customers are in the ar- the magnificent sadness of Istanbul was required
cade now. The clothing store and the optician to connect to life.
have taken over both entrances of the u-shaped,
marble-floored arcade. 29. On Galatasaray Square
28. With Sea-View The YKY [Yap Kredi Publishing] as an exam-

ple of neighbours imitating their older brothers,
A billboard advertisement with a view of not want to be left out. The building covered in
Kadky harbour. Urbanites are discovering the scaffolding seems to whisper: Do whatever you
facelessness of their buildings. And sometimes, want, but create an effect of novelty. Conceal the
harbours receive their share of the benefits of the old face, even if it is just for a brief while. Repeat
age of aquarium fetishism. Every day, hundreds the hide-and-seek on the scale of the main streets
of thousands of people travel to the European and side streets.
side of the city from the harbour here. Seagulls,
the smell of sewage, jellyfish, kiosks, tea on the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
28
25
23
31
26
29
24 27 30 32
BECOMING ISTANBUL
30. Haute Couture Scaffolding in Osmanbey 33. The Temporary Monument More Monu-
mental than the Monument Itself
Stylishness and the design of the anticipated
faade of the building. These sentences contin- The repair of the emberlita (The Column
ue to be whispered into ears: In the meantime, of Constantine). Scaffolding makes off with the
conceal the operations on the old face, hide the object as it becomes present itself. It is an unde-
workmanship and the bodies of the workers, the clared public sculpture. But no one comes to see it.
rubble that falls out, keep them away from suspi- The strange fate of accidental monumentality: no
cious folk so that the old face is forgotten more one seems to know it is one of the citys temporary
easily. Do to buildings what you do to all bodies ready-mades. Would it be a bad thing to put in a
and provoke curiosity. Prepare for the applause request for this scaffolding to replace the rocket-
that will come when the curtain is raised. monument in Beikta once its finished with?
31. Traces of Hellenism at the Greek Consulate 34. Inter-institutional Competition
The immaculate new face on stiklal Caddesi As Bankas declares that it will not fall
with its references to Hellenism. We hear another behind its neighbour Akbank at the entrance of
whisper from an unknown origin: Always imply stiklal Caddesi, the whispers continue: Always
that the future holds something better than the announce that what you do is in the name of the
past. good. Do not let eudaimonism stray from peoples
minds. Keep alive the feeling that there is an or-
32. Tower Rehearsal ganic harmony between Benthams utilitarianism
and city dwellers. Make everyone believe in the
The fountain near the Galata Tower takes on necessity of keeping things standing, of demolish-
the appearance of a ready-made. ing and reconstructing, but above all in a never
ending investment in buildings.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
35. Standing on the Corner of an Island in The cover, as the face of another corner says
Nianta Looking Uphill the following: Convince everyone that every-
thing is removable, that no building can remain
Convince folk they cant create the city with- standing unless it reinforces existing codes and
out buildings. Nurse belief in buildings rather is subject to those in power.
than streets, and in rooms and cells rather than
squares. 39. and 40. A New Hotel
36. There is a Game in Alemda Called Istan- A building preparing to spectacularly take
bul As Souvenir the stage at the opposite corner of the Taksim
Esplanade and the Divan Hotel and a detail from
In the middle of the international game of its faade. Courageous steps in Beautification
the hotel business, another body without organs: or neo-liberalism implemented in the context of
playing a game of dressing up and reflections. purging Taksim Square of traces of the public
are taken here (see Beautification, Cleansing).
37. Faceless in Beyolu
41. In Kutepe
In one of the side streets, coming across scaf-
folding posing well even though simply function- In one of the stacked-up, layered, streetless
al, whispers are heard again: Normalize not only gecekondu neighbourhoods of dwellings in the
markets, but all types of covered spaces which city, rising by climbing on each others backs, a
are constantly growing in size. For more police, building that unpretentiously displays its veiled
declare the city insecure; for more kitsch, declare face meets the light. In these uncanny areas build-
the city ignoble. ings are ready to fall onto and flow into each other
even before the earthquake comes (see Earth-
38. Meeting the Tram in Tnel quake). When Levent was being constructed in
the 50s, Gltepe was the excavation dumping
BECOMING ISTANBUL
33 35 40
37
38
34 36 39 41
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ground. When they get the opportunity, build- organisation of screens, transparent surfaces and
ings in Kutepe break away from the loose ground reflective materials, promises to women that they
they are still attached to today and begin to slip will become more like women and to men that
downhill: with huge housing blocks leaning on they will become more like men by constantly
them. On the other hand, there are such huge- having bodies circulating within the illuminated
scale excavations being carried out in Mecidiyeky mechanism. It hybridizes both, but it does not
that Kutepe, which happens to be on the truck refrain from increasing the severity of the division
route, can be coated in a thick layer of clay dust between them (see Hybrid-ising/isation). As it an-
for months. nounces the new, the ordinariness of the market
is made to look like a half open door. Scaffolding
42. The Eye-catching Presentation of Final does not hide difference but ordinariness, it feigns
Preparations Before the Construction of Skyscrap- to hide it. When the scaffolding is dismantled, the
ers in Mecidiyeky unexpected ends. Without the great fluctuations
of economy, population, the earths crust and
The commercial building covered in scaffold- other networks, the apparatus stops inscribing
ing joins the political economics of the city the day its tariff of experiences.
it opens. From day one, architecture truly begins
to work as an abstract machine and desire is trans- 43. Covering just by the Huge Excavation and
formed into the object of a bio-politics. Architec- Construction Activity in ili
ture forms the final leg of the trilogy of labour,
insistence and ecstasy existant in everyday struc- One of those rare moments when the earthly
tures of power. Architectural attraction serves to strata of the city and the building as a body with-
divide social gender in two, male and female, or in out organs can be seen simultaneously. It has
other words, to produce hetero-normativism. For become ordinary to come across excavations tens
instance, the architectural cathexis structure times the size of this one. The cavities of the city
is shared out between the encoded feminine and are being closed vigorously, and all forces are be-
elements of simulation: the shopping centre, an ing mobilized in the name of spatial continuity.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
45
42
48 49
43 46
44 47 50
BECOMING ISTANBUL
44. Scaffolding Predating the Shiny Surface state. The structural truth of the city is its state
which will Emerge from behind it in Harbiye of being constructed. Its state of being invented.
Its historicity. It has no ancient history, essence,
The building does as the building thinks. even a single corpuscle which has managed to
resist change.
45. On stiklal Caddesi
47. On Akaretler Hill
A final whisper emanates from the building
dressed up and waiting above the arcade oppo- A cascade of curtained, eroticized buildings
site Odakule, then the voice is suddenly cut off: await the sledgehammers and cranes of investors,
Spread the freezing and silencing tyranny of the as if they were waiting for a mysterious event to
singular against the energy of pluralities. Do not take place. After years of waiting and although it
let the festivities of the construction business has not yet been completed, Akaretler Hill, sym-
slow down. bol of Ottoman modernisation, has begun, in the
grandest manner, to integrate Beikta, where
46. Just before Looking at Aia Triada university students live in awful conditions pay-
ing ridiculous rents, with the Tevikiye of the
The smoothness of the buildings faade middle-class and the silence of Maka Park with
could compete with the surface of water the skin the hubbub of the shore.
of a structure without organs. The veiling of the
building is one of the rare moments when it is al- 48. Tulle in Osmanbey
lowed a chance to speak. In contrast to a coded,
visualized building which has surrendered to the A face of marginal geometry succeeds in be-
identisation of perception, the building is cap- coming invisible as long as it is not covered in tulle.
tured in a moment of truthful discourse, its organs It is neither the first nor the last of buildings where
gone missing and reverting to a pre-built state consecutive extra floors have been added without
just before attaining its organized and functional planning permission. The corner of Halaskargazi
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Street and Rumeli Street, leading to Nianta and 50. Very Soon
the Osmanbey area, witnessed the gathering of a
great crowd following the assassination of jour- We will be presenting our services to you
nalist Hrant Dink on that bloody day, 19th January here very soon. We will be at your service very
2007. A few days later, hundreds of thousands of soon to show you all the buildings in the city in
people began walking from this buildings street, their covered, pre-demolition, coffined, veiled,
close to Sebat Apartment where the offices of the shrouded, scaffolded or utterly naked states. Its
Agos newspaper are, passing the Golden Horn and clear, however, that we wont be succeeding very
on to the Marmara shore, to Yenikap. soon in producing a definitive catalogue in which
the organisation of the organs of the utilitarian
49. Scaffolding Taking Part in the Game of urban game of truth has been suspended and, one
Urban Leakage by one, buildings will momentarily appear and
disappear, bodies without organs. See you in a
The building covered in scaffolding blinks catalogue of ghosts, which would be as futile as
one last time, solidifies and cools down between dreaming of making a definitive inventory of all
layers. And this turns not scaffolding, but build- the people who have lived and died in this city, but
ings covered in scaffolding into ephemera. On one worth trying precisely for the sake of that futility.
hand, buildings covered in scaffolding are from the
same lineage as political announcements on the Levent entrk
handouts commingling as they are distributed on
the city streets, promotion leaflets for cafeterias or > Anarchy, Beautification, Cleansing,
invitations to conferences about phoney doctrines. Demolition or the Warped City, Dolmu,
More than to the field of the clean and noble of the Earthquake, Gentrification, Hybrid-ising/
puritanical elite, it belongs to the temporary field of isation,stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu",
existence of the dirty majority and the street. Museum, Parking Lot, Shopping Centre,
Urban Transformation
BECOMING ISTANBUL
SCREEN In Istanbul, the thing the screen reflects most

is the logic of marketing communication. It pres-
THE SCREEN IS INCREASINGLY EVERYWHERE IN URBAN ents a standard, abstract subjectivity. It exists in
LIFE: IN THE PRIVATE OR PUBLIC SPHERE; MOBILE OR
FIXED, IN VARIOUS FORMS AND DIMENSIONS, IN CARS, the public sphere along with the abstract reality
PLANES, IN THE STREET OR IN THE HOME. THE SCREEN it has to offer. Urban culture intersects with and
HAS BECOME AN ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENT IN THE is complemented by visual culture. The screen in
CONTEMPORARY METROPOLIS, BOTH INSIDE AND OUT.
public space, rather than making sense through
participation, preserves a certain distance based
In Istanbul, it covers the faade of Niantas
on the act of seeing, and constructs the space by
Citys Shopping Centre; its the news channel of
means of this distance. In addition, the screen
Taksim Square; advertising on top of the Marmara
also claims continuity with urban space (see Pub-
Hotel; a decorative component in bars, pubs, cafes
lic Space). For instance, the huge screen on the
or bookshops; and a gallery space on top of the
shopping centre ascribes Nianta the function
Marmara Pera Hotel.
of shopping (see Shopping Centre); the function of
the building it is placed on becomes the function
Thinking of the city and the screen makes one
of the neighbourhood. It presents urban space not
think of the space rather than the screen itself. In
with its differences but according to its totality.
the city, the screen enters everyday life as a field
Thus, it takes its place as a powerful tool with-
of representation, it presents its content with a
in late capitalisms homogeneous understand-
promise of sincerity, wanting the viewer to believe,
ing of space. Because late capitalism needs this
inviting the viewer into its reality. The screen in
construct in metropolitan space which assumes
public space presents the coexistence of many
meaning by means of its differences. Thus, the
dualities. For instance, it hosts a non-material
screen in the metropolis assumes a function as
world in contrast to the physical space presented
a tool of space.
by architecture; and, in contrast with the flow of
a dynamic view, it evokes immobility.
The moving image presents itself in accordance
with the logic of rapid consumption via the screen.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
In this sense, its message is static. It is a gathering SECURITY

and integrating element amidst the multilayered
structure of streets. In contrast precisely to the HAS BECOME INSATIABLE IN THE LAST TEN YEARS,
ALTHOUGH IN TERMS OF NUMERICAL DATA THIS NEED
phenomena of motion, transience and lightness, IS FAR FROM DESPERATE. [ED.]
emphasized by proliferating digital technologies, in
its posture it resembles a motionless monumental
With the abolition of welfare state administration,
structure. The movement of images serves a static
established in the West after World War II though re-
logic, the logic of rapid consumption rather than
alized only partially in countries that often managed
the rapid flow of everyday life. In this sense, it is
again partially to effectuate the social structure
an extension of physical space rather than a virtual
of Western modernity only as an economy of subs-
reality independent of physical space. Thus it is
titution for imports, security and the discourse of
possible to announce the formation of a new urban
security have become the most fundamental bases for
architecture containing the non-physical.
the existence of the state. With the disappearance of
It is worth watching to what extent projects health, education and basic services, which formed
that seek to translocate the screen in public space a platform of legitimacy between state and citizen
into cultural space like the YAMA project, an for the power of the state, the states monopoly of
artistic production site on the large screen on violence, to use a Weberian expression, became its
the roof of Marmara Pera can break this funda- sole point of legitimacy. However the removal of the
mental function of the screen and preserve their welfare state also comprises the release of security
independence as spaces of production. from the state monopoly over it at least in the prac-
tical sense. Although the right to use violence is still
Aye Erek theoretically under state monopoly, the privatisati-
on of the security sector increasingly transforms the
Public Space, Shopping Centre state into an intermediary institution regulating the
relationship between the service receiver and service
provider, i.e. citizens and private security companies.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
In a deliberate inversion of cause and conse- Districts, many established as worker neigh-
quence, an increase approaching 60 % in offences bourhoods during the import-substitution produc-
against property in the years 20052006 according tion process, are being demolished as in the case of
to data supplied by the Security General Direc- Ayazma to be reassessed for real estate profits with
torate of Istanbul is presented as the ground for production shifting outside the city and the country,
the need for the private security sector. Devoid or while demolition is awaited as in Babyk,
of social research on the transition from worker- Kathane and Glensu the parties involved in
centred working groups where relative solidar- demolition use the discourses of security and
ity could be produced to an unsecured services transition to a civilised life in a reciprocal dialectic.
sector (from proletariat to precariat), and from The president of TOK [Turkish Housing Develop-
the easily socializing neighbourhood residents ment Administration] says that the aim of the public
(see Neighbourhood) to the housing estate indi- housing they will produce is to provide life quality at
vidual (see Gated Housing Estate) whom Loc the level of contemporary civilisation and claims
Wacquant refers to as zonards, the emergence that slum areas he wishes to see demolished subsist
of large vacuums in urban morphology (shop- on prostitution, theft and a gang of organisations.
ping centres that only operate at a certain time Before mentioning the unemployment, transport
of the day, central business areas, convention problems and loss of solidarity the zonard will
centres etc.) and again using Wacquants phrase, quite probably face, shelter camps are being con-
neighbourhoods of relegation formed by lower structed from cheap materials along the southern
classes of those without (the homeless, those and northern peripheries of the city, offered on the
without title deeds or identification papers, the basis of 15 year-loans with nowhere else to reside in
uninsured, the unemployed etc.), the security the meantime. Some of the young people who are
discourse forms a temporary valve for the process driven to unemployment in the rolling seas of the
of the commodification of urban space by private services industry operate as mallrats in shopping
security, the fastest growing industry in the late centres (see Shopping Centre) harvested from public
neo-liberal period. space or constructed around slum neighbour-
hoods (see Gecekondu), where they are perceived
BECOMING ISTANBUL
as threats by shoppers and are harassed as in the officers of protected housing estates come from
case of Cevahir Shopping Centre or kept under the neighbouring village, effectively protecting
constant surveillance. Central neighbourhoods like the estates from their own villages.
Tarlaba where those with little seek shelter, which
are different from worker neighbourhoods yet which Neighbourhoods that dont have the econom-
have still managed to survive thanks to the gains of ic income to hire security officers and who lack
the previous generation, are vacated on grounds of the means to transfer the limited social rights and
security and crude dicourses of aesthetics and the rights of settlement they gained a generation ago
modern, with no examination of the history of the to the next generation, face an introverted security
victims of forced migration, African immigrants problem, as voiced by Timur Soykan, the editor
(see Migration) or the Roma who live here. of Radikal newspaper, in the research he carried
out in Alibeyky: as Mehmet Aslantrk from the
However, there are abundant numbers of em- neighbourhood says, the kids of our neighbour-
ployees within the security industry from the dis- hood were robbing the houses in our neighbour-
placed social segments mentioned above. As the hood. People couldnt go out at night. However,
boutique centres of the metropolitan zone are as the increasing crime rate in these peripheral
protected by security employees from the lower neighbourhoods is not sufficiently mentioned,
income class that havent yet entered the unioni- crime is discursified around the reflexes of middle
sation process, security for protected housing to higher income groups.
estates is recruited from the residents of slum
neighbourhoods who have become the target of It has to be added that this shift in discourse
real estate speculation, or, in other words, from triggering the process of urban separation is also
communities whose deed allocation documents constructed in other respects along the axis of
and even, in fact, title deeds are dispossessed of national security and that this creates a more
the guarantee of shelter. Research carried out by essential argument on its behalf through referenc-
Orhan Esen and Tim Rieniets in Gktrk Mahal- ing the danger of terror via the personal security
lesi [neighbourhood] reveals that some security problem of the visible individual in order to free
BECOMING ISTANBUL
up urban profiteering. We encounter this in its crud- discourse can stretch in the face of concrete con-
est version in Istanbul Terror Maps, frequently ditions.
published in newspapers like Posta. Often content
with limiting themselves to the Kurdish problem Ulus Atayurt
and leftist factions, these maps legitimize neigh- > Gated Housing Estate, Gecekondu, Migration,
bourhood demolitions by playing the terror card. Neighbourhood, Shopping Centre
From a sociological perspective this emphasizes an
avoidance in the light of public conscience of the
states duty of security mentioned above.
SEWAGE
To the contrary, the security discourse per- THAT WATER WHICH PASSES THROUGH HUMAN
petuated in Istanbul implies the control society BODIES AND FLOWS INTO THE SEA IS CALLED SEWAGE
described by Foucault where the ideal mechanism [KANALZASYON].
of power operates through individuals inspecting

themselves, and municipality heads and police This is water in its transformed state. Its a trans-
authorities do not refrain referencing the tedious formation unconfronted, in which leaving behind
investments in this control society such as more and banishment are necessary. This state of non-
lighting, visibility and MOBESE (Mobile Elec- encounter is accelerating and becoming incre-
tronic System Integration, a common expression asingly sterile. Civilisation is the flush. Sewage
for security cameras). However, the severance begins its journey as a crime, a secret behind clo-
by the state of the connection between public sed doors. We get rid of our crime without even
economics and politics, which will in turn lead to looking behind us. Then, all crimes are mixed
continued migration to the peripheral megalopo- up and progress through pipes towards tunnels
lis of Istanbul and the gradual transformation underground.
of Istanbul into an oasis of subcontracted, infor-
mal service sector workers raises the question of 3.5 million cubic metres of sewage runs into
how much further the state-monopolized security the waters of Istanbuls seas, making us forget
BECOMING ISTANBUL
were a part of this. But whose water/fault is it? of this lack of knowledge regarding the system.
The colour of Istanbuls sea has visibly changed However, developing Istanbul has found a cre-
in the last fifty years. How many people can the ative solution to this problem too, and the SK
sea purify before it develops a skin? [Istanbul Municipality Waterworks] robots are
called upon for help. If no new additions have
Senem Akay been made recently, 7 robots are at the moment
working in order both to unravel the sewer system
of the city and determine and photograph prob-
SEWER lems in the passages on the spot. If you see an
open manhole cap and a minibus close by, dont
THE SEWER [KANALZASYON] IS THE ONLY PLACE IN forget to bend over the hole and wish the SK
THE CITY WHERE ROBOTS CAN LIVE. robot More power to your elbow! But also think
about the volume of waste material the city has
Does the sewer system of Istanbul have a complex produced over the centuries and is now trying to
enough structure to develop a separate proto- regurgitate, the Ottoman terra cotta water pipes
circulation system within it, for instance like the found during the recent Yenikap excavations,
sewer system of Paris which became the stage the Byzantine brick vaults in the sewer network
for novels and revolutionary movements, or the which reach a height of two metres and still carry
sewer system of New York, whose construction oil lamp stains, and the great tube of the Aksaray
has been documented with fascinatingly striking underground line which has been diverted beca-
photographs? It is unfortunately impossible to use of the excavations
provide an answer to this question by means of
Zhre Szeri
the mapping studies or publications drawn up
about the sewer system of Istanbul. Efforts to de-
cipher the sewer system via street maps and holes
dug at ten metre-intervals along streets at every
hitch in the passage in use are a consequence
BECOMING ISTANBUL
SHOESHINER you to have your shoes shined, like starting up a

conversation by asking for a cigarette from you.
A MARGINAL PROFESSION RAPIDLY LOSING ITS
ORIENTALIST SHINE. [ED.] If you do not want your shoes shined, you should
abstain from encouraging such strategies.
Shoeshiners used to be among the symbols of
Istanbul, the same way they are in many other In the neighbourhood of Istanbul where I live,
Eastern cities. Positioned in crowded squares with an elderly shoeshiner regularly sets up shop at the
their golden coloured shoe-polish boxes embro- entrance of the neighbourhood (see Neighbourhood)
idered in various styles, their shoe brushes and every day. Amiable and good-tempered, he gets to
their sociable manner, and even their traditional work in the early hours of the morning to shine the
dress, shoeshiners were a novelty that illumi- shoes of people heading off to work. Inhabitants
nated everyday life from Ottoman times to the of the neighbourhood voluntarily have their shoes
present. But the variety in shoe production and shined, although they dont actually need to. This
the affluence brought on by technology in factory man always keeps his patch and the surrounding
production has resulted in shoeshiners losing area on the pavement at the entrance to the neigh-
their function. In the past, longevity was valued in bourhood clean. His cats, loved by the neighbour-
shoes, and hence they were maintained regularly. hood and whose names are known by everyone,
The increase in use of plastic shoes, sports shoes, reside with him on this spot. Our shoeshiner may
etc. has meant the gradual disappearance of the be seen as a member of the group of neighbourhood
profession. Yet still, in some places around the tradesmen. His presence in the neighbourhood may
city, and especially in harbours and squares, sho- be seen as one of the characteristics of the neigh-
eshiners are seen continuing with their activities. bourhood that makes it what it is. However, today,
his existence as a shoeshiner is under threat. The
Shoeshiners are colourful people. They man- increase in real estate prices in Istanbul, migration
age to keep a beat that attracts your attention by and similar factors have started to change the profile
hitting their shoe-polish boxes with their shoe- of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, previously
brushes. They develop various strategies to get stronger neighbourhood solidarity and awareness
BECOMING ISTANBUL
has weakened, and since the isolated and selfish the stage erected for them. What these sentences
individuals created by capitalism do not care about mean for those strolling around on this stage is
their environment or have begun to perceive other Walk along these corridors, you dont have to buy
people as threats, the number of people who have anything, relax and feel good. And at the same
their shoes shined by the shoeshiner, who ask after time, Everyone who comes here is equal, at least
his health or stroke his cats have diminished. It is until it is proven otherwise.
probable that in the near future, our shoeshiner
will take his place next to the tailor and the sewing Does the shopping centre unite us as a uto-
machine repairman among the past of our neigh- pian project? What brings together suburban
bourhood. youths hawking tables with a single drink in
front of them at weekends, kids from rich neigh-
Blent Usta bourhoods, young married couples who wander
> Neighbourhood around with their small kids and get bored, jaded
sun-bed beauties trying to look as if theyre talk-
ing about the most important thing in the world
SHOPPING CENTRE (I) with nonchalant expressions on their faces, young
men with gelled hair jingling their car keys, un-
A NEW BEHAVIOURAL PATTERN, A FORM OF easy types sitting on the metal benches in the
EXISTENCE. [ED.] corridors smoking cigarettes waiting to be told
off any second, and even the sophisticated couple
With their You can have it too, You can do it whom you would think has acquired a certain
too and their You can be that too, some of the irony towards consumption? More importantly,
promises of shopping centres overlap with the all what holds them together? The car lottery they
too general promises of advertising. What matters claim every shopper can participate in? The plastic
in shopping centres is not this familiar discourse bags accumulating to greater or lesser degrees in
itself, but the numbing affect of these sentences everyones hands? All of the above and none of
on people who come there to stroll around on them. Regardless of the entirely different lives
BECOMING ISTANBUL
that await them at home, for those who wander a city. An artificial park and childrens play
around here, there is an absurd, theatrical sense area, the restaurant square and street of flo-
of belonging which envelops them at that very wersellers provide the strongest evidence of the
moment. We are here, were fine, were cool and shopping centres claim. They absorb the city
were walking the corridors together. This sense with the force of gravity they create but, at the
of belonging is both false and real at once and this same time, mechanisms like security checks at
is how the shopping centre performs its shopping the entrance and air-conditioned environments
centre-ness. A promise of togetherness. serve as filters. This filter leaves street incident,
coincidence and real experience outside, repla-
Fatih zgven cing it with pre-produced displays and absolute
control. The hygienic and homogenous environ-
ment inside creates the illusion that the outside,
SHOPPING CENTRE (II) the city is dirty, dangerous, complicated
and incomprehensible. In short, all the cultural
ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION OF CAPITALIST richness and liveliness that seduced 19th century
PRODUCTION RELATIONS. [ED.] modernists like Baudelaire and make the city a
true city is excluded. In this sense, it might even
Often called the cathedrals of consumption cat- be said that shopping centres are against the city.
hedrals of our age, shopping centres have become
an inseparable part of everyday life. It may be The origin of the shopping centre goes back
said that urban life is not centred around the stre- to the retail store Bon March, opened by Aristide
et anymore, but the shopping centre. Shopping Boucicaut in 1852 in Paris. With the Bon March,
centres spread throughout the urban texture in the manner of consumption of products circulat-
a network-like structure and define a new urban ing on the market and the spatial arrangements
lifestyle, public life, urban experience and cent- made for their presentation began to be differ-
res of gravity within the city. In a sense, this is a entiated from traditional relations (barter or the
claim to replace the city; to become a city within supply of only limited requirements) and forms
BECOMING ISTANBUL
(the market place, or production and sales being Beyond being spatial organisations where
carried out in the same space). The first modern stores are assembled in one place, shopping cen-
department store breaks with traditional forms tres are tools of consumption and its manipula-
of shopping with principles such as a low profit tion. Parallel to the sense that factories are tools
rate per item, large sales volume, fixed price and that organize and supervise production, spaces of
the right for everyone to browse the store without consumption like modern shopping centres and
actually having to purchase anything. hypermarkets are tools that organize and super-
vise consumption. The factory reorganizes pro-
The most important phenomenon that sepa- duction within the framework of space-time. The
rates the organisation of contemporary capital- spatial organisation of the factory determines the
ism from capitalisms early periods is the shift rhythm of work and the manner and conditions
in emphasis from production to consumption in under which labour is used. Compared with previ-
globalised capitalism along with the founding of ous eras, the factory is the tool that intensified and
all manner of social and economic relationships disciplined labour at certain times on certain days
on a consumption-centred discourse. It isnt a in a particular space in a time-oriented manner,
coincidence that, especially after the 60s, a dis- rather than an unrestrained and task-oriented
course grounded on the concept of consumption labour in a structure of the everyday. The shop-
and social structuring based on consumption was ping centre does in the field of consumption what
developed in the social sciences. The founding of the factory does in the field of production. Capital
social structure on relations of consumption re- has constantly to reduce the time of circulation;
quires the formation of the physical environment therefore it organizes production on a factory
of the social structure in a manner that allows and basis and consumption on the basis of the spatial
facilitates this type of relation. Today, not only formation unique to the tools of consumption.
shopping centres, but all spatial appearances of
everyday life are being restructured within the The necessity of production being constantly
framework of relations of consumption. stimulated by consumption requires the repeti-
tion of what capitalism does in the factory, namely
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the organisation of space and time to increase pro- that people are transformed into a consumer
duction in the field of consumption. The necessity proletariat within such a mechanism. Beyond
for capitalism to develop tools and techniques of personal taste, what hides behind the resplen-
production in order to engender growth in turn dence, the variety of expensive and varied ma-
makes it necessary to develop new tools and tech- terials, the attractive entertainment and dining
niques of consumption to increase consumption. opportunities, the hygienic appearance, the plen-
The development of new marketing strategies, tiful light and transparent glass shop windows is
the expansion of the advertising industry, the the fact that the people inside are in a factory of
emergence of fashion as a consumptionfuel- consumption.
ling socio-cultural phenomenon, the use of the
internet as a new tool of consumption parallel to The second biggest shopping centre in the
the developing informatics technology and the world, after the Mall of America in Minnesota,
reorganisation of shopping centres as tools of USA, is in Istanbul. Opened recently with the slo-
consumption are part of this process. Therefore, gan, We have brought Europe to Istanbul, but
shopping spaces, which took on increasing im- you dont need a passport, the Cevahir Shopping
portance and underwent a change in atmosphere Centre was presented as a symbol of development
especially after the 60s, appear before us as the and a brand new and important value added to
regulation of space-time organized by capitalism the life of the people of Istanbul. Descriptions of
to increase consumption in addition to their cul- the building featured its size, its capacity at any
tural, iconographic and social meanings. given moment, its annual capacity, the number of
stores, cinemas, entertainment centres, fast-food
However, while it is not necessary to conceal restaurants, escalators, lifts and columns it con-
what the factory actually is, the main difference tained, and the length of railing used. Like a city
between the factory and the shopping centre is within a city. Its possible to find everything there,
the necessity to conceal the fact that tools of con- to spend the entire day inside without leaving the
sumption exist only in order to organize consump- premises. For exactly this reason it excludes the
tion, that they possess a secret assembly line and context it finds itself in; and it sits there with its
BECOMING ISTANBUL
huge mass, in the middle of the city, doing noth- budget to transport. The absolute priority given
ing. It does not require the social network of the to transport instead of treating the problems of a
texture that brings life in the real sense to the city, growing metropolis like Istanbul in a totality of its
so long as people can manage to enter just that social and physical texture, means abandoning the
once and fall under the seductive web of consump- city to the speed and perception of the car. Shop-
tion concealed beneath its fascinating images. ping centres appear on sites where this movement
forms a knot. A series of new roads, intersections,
All the shopping centres across Istanbul, and bridges, transit roads and rail systems presented
the chains of hypermarkets at the intersections by the municipality as 116 solutions to Istanbuls
of the motorway network which ties together the traffic congestion will accelerate the movement of
loose structure of a large metropolitan city, point the city and ease circulation. However, everything
to a large-scale transformation. The city is being is uncertain in the modern world. Nothing is only
reorganized in order to accelerate the circulation itself. For example, the metro line between Taksim
of capital, to enable and increase the continuity and Levent is on one hand a transport system that
of consumption, and the city itself turns into a relieves traffic congestion, but on the other is a tool
tool of consumption. The main criterion here is extending the entrances of the Cevahir, Metroc-
movement, the movement of people, goods and ity and Kanyon shopping centres, which already
knowledge. There is nothing actually new about have direct connections to the metro system, to
this; in fact, the process is quite an old one. Wasnt the other parts of the city.
it the possibility of a transport network that al-
lowed the masses, who until then had lived in In the modern world, nothing manages to be
their own districts, to access all parts of the city, either the way it appears or the way it is meant
i.e. the opening of the famous boulevards of Paris to be.
that made Bon March possible?
Hakk Yrtc
It is not a coincidence that the Greater Istan-
bul Municipality has allocated 60% of next years
BECOMING ISTANBUL
SHORE ROAD Pendik shore road, the UnkapanSilahtaraa

shore road etc.
TRANSPORTATION ARTERIES EXTENDING ALONG THE
SHORES OF ISTANBUL, ALL OF WHICH HAVE BEEN
CONSTRUCTED UPON RECLAIMED LAND. [ED.] In the hundred-year-long period from the 1850s
to the 1950s, Istanbul, even where mass transport
Described in encyclopaedic definitions generally via sea routes and tramway (see Tram) existed, was
as land adjacent to a sea, lake or river, the shore still predominantly a pedestrian city. Transporta-
includes two basic areas when defined as a spa- tion policies based on land routes as implemented
tial field: the body of water (sea, lake, river etc.) throughout Istanbul after the 1950s, became the
and the land beyond the waterfront in question main factor influencing the physical development
(hinterland [in Eng.]). This type of definition then of the city. The first change brought on by the devel-
requires the understanding of the phenomenon opment activities of the period to the physiognomy
of landwater interaction in all its characteristics of the city was the opening of roads of hitherto un-
and the requirement to consider this phenomenon seen width, and the second was the speed at which
as a whole. The reason all the shores in Istanbul this took place. The newly opened main arteries
are different from one another, despite all the and the road network that developed in relation to
infill and artifice of activities of repair and the them, began to form its own topography on top of
discourses of depletion, degradation and homo- the natural one. The new topography developing
genizatio, arises from the perception of the shore in relation to the road network became the main
as a spatial area. Therefore, although the shore factor orienting the shape of the macroform of the
roads extending along the waterfront of Istanbul city, now becoming a metropolis, and the axis of
are made of basically the same material and are settlement development became multidirectional.
structurally similar, they are different in terms of The Istanbul shore met a land road designed for a
their spatial definition. Each shore road is known motor vehicle for the first time towards the end of
by the name of its hinterland: the Bosphorus the 1950s. From the 1960s on, the shores of Istanbul
shore road on both sides of the Bosphorus, the began to experience a change and transformation
SirkeciFlorya shore road, the KadkyBostanc equivalent to the citys flux. With the construction
BECOMING ISTANBUL
of the shore roads, the road layout facilitating and which could not have been thought of in coordi-
accelerating transportation from the inner districts nation at the start of the process of urban trans-
to the shore sealed the network. Water routes were formation (see Urban Transformation), and their
left outside it. infrastructures didnt develop in a synchronized
manner, the shores of the Bosphorus villages (the
This period is a significant point of rupture foreground) began to experience spatial conges-
for the whole of Istanbul, but especially for the tion, which over time became permanent. With the
shorelines. With the introduction of the shore increase in the speed of transportation and access
road the morphological transformation on the between Bosphorus villages, the open space (the
shores of the city began. Focusing on this trans- background) which remained behind the water-
formation in the case of the Bosphorus alone, we side mansions (see Yal) and palaces is no longer
see that an almost empty page is opened for new a place of visitation, spectacle or recreation; it has
spatial developments and projects to be proposed become the dispersion zone of new neighbour-
for the land behind the shore, the hills. When the hoods developing and linking up on both sides
road is assessed as a vector parallel to the shore, it of a united Bosphorus space, covering slopes and
intervenes as a border element between the main hills, where upper and middle class residences and
components of the topography, the water route service units multiply, attaching themselves to the
(the strait) and the hills; when it is assessed on an Bosphorus villages. Now each -ky [village] is
axis fully perpendicular to this, it forms a vacuum the next piece in a consecutive series; borders are
along the road. This newly created border develops blurred; villages retain their names, however they
on one hand as an extension of the new topography experience spatial and constitutional transforma-
of the city, while on the other the vacuum has dif- tion. Since the building and population density
ficulty in forming a vital relationship with the main of neighbourhoods increase the occupancy rate
components of the existing natural topography. of the shore space, some kind of spatial-overlay
formation emerges, the variety of settlement is
Over time, the point of rupture became strati- erased and destroyed with a continuous mass
fied: because the two transportation networks, development of building density, and a physiog-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
nomic unity appears. At this point, diverse identi- After the 1960s, the determiners of location
ties, which had sustained their perpetuity since and direction of the development of settlement not
Antiquity along the Bosphorus, either lose their only along the Bosphorus but along all of Istanbuls
importance or are forced into the background, and shorelines have been the shore roads rather than
the space begins to be reformed according to the the sea routes. The shore zones around the Sirke-
force of new dynamics. These dynamics intensify ciFlorya and BostancPendik shore roads, with
on land, and define a new network of relations their low gradients and somewhat flat topography,
within the nature of the landmass: streets leading are different from that of the Bosphorus, which is
to the shore reach the shore road before they reach limited by lines of hills that begin to ascend im-
the water, and the shore road forms a threshold mediately beyond the shoreline. As the Bosphorus
between the foreground and the background. This shore road plots a route through phenomena and
is also a space of mass transit, where things take settlements there before it came along, other shore
place, on to which the entrances of waterside man- roads attach settlements which so far have failed to
sions, also accessible via the sea, have now been unite socially, culturally and economically. Follow-
opened, with new residences expanding from the ing these other shore roads, you go past series of
shore road up on to the hills and service spaces buildings with no clear beginning or end, with the
opening along the road. sea on one side and the sprawl of constantly trans-
forming metropolitan Istanbul on the other. Here,
Parallel to the transit on water routes along the the shore road is a peripheral space, the element
Bosphorus, transit thus takes place on the shore with the highest potential for the coming develop-
road by land. In contrast to the experience of com- ment of the metropolis as either a sea or a land city,
ing and going provided by the water routes between containing the potential to create simultaneously
the two opposing shores, the shore road has nat- both a new dialectic and a hiatus within its fabric.
urally developed as a unidirectional connector.
Through the increase in speed and movement and Senem Deviren
the consequent compression of time, it becomes
easier to read the Bosphorus as an integrated space. > Tram, Urban Transformation, Yal
BECOMING ISTANBUL
SILHOUETTE of the metropolis the process of change and trans-

formation of which remains unfinished in such a
A VIEW COMPOSED OF OUTLINES ONLY. FOR THE structure, an extremely slowed layer of time. Only
PANORAMIC VIEW OF CITIES (SEE PANORAMA), when it is independent of all manner of judge-
MOUNTAINS AND GEOGRAPHICAL COMPONENTS OF A ments, aesthetic, architectural, urban etc., does
CERTAIN HEIGHT, SILHOUETTE CAN ALSO BE DEFINED
AS THE LINE WHICH ASSOCIATES THE CONCEPTION this enquiry for evidence produce data ready to
OF THE URBAN TERRAIN WITH THE LAND AND SKY. IN share the clues of Istanbuls memory.
THIS SENSE, IT IS A PART OF URBAN MEMORY; IT IS THE
INTERSECTION OF THE ASCENDING CITY WITH THE SKY.
The special geography Istanbul is founded on
is a determining characteristic in examining its
The perception of the silhouette of Istanbul chan- silhouette. The silhouette of the historic penin-
ges from each direction because of the presence sula, which can be viewed from different locations
of the sea, its surrounding of the landmass and because of the presence of the sea framing the
the dynamic structure of the topography; rather land, reveals a relationship between the concep-
than something linear, the perception is more of tual model in the establishment of the city and
an interface whose depth changes according to the place. This was clear from the second half of
the position and speed of the viewer. the 19th century until the 1950s and still to a large
extent remains. With the increase of development
The silhouette of a settlement is the result of a activities in the 1950s and their acceleration in the
process of accumulation. Looking at Istanbuls sil- 1980s, an increasingly double-layered dynamism
houette is similar to taking a section of a moment in the metropolitan silhouette emerged: the met-
of this process of accumulation, perpendicular ropolitan silhouette has a variable character as
to the interface. This momentary representative the city continues to spread out laterally across
section bears the traces of clashes in the formal the earth and upwards towards the sky, with ad-
logic of the settlement from the emergence of the ditions and subtractions following one another
idea of the first settlement to the present day. The constantly. The metropolis can be approached
examination of sections enables the assessment from all directions, once again because of the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
presence of the sea and the dynamic topographi- be revealed. Schizophrenia finds a perfect ex-
cal structure, and the perception of the silhouette pression when the clashes between all the func-
changes from each direction. In which case, before tional, economic, cultural and social phenomena
each subsequent change, the interface (silhouette) in the city and the structuring which is their re-
defines a buffer memory. flection in urban physiognomy are conveyed in
words. But because new applications based on
This buffer memory forms the outer mem- faults in perception or the expression of reality
brane of the constantly changing metropolis in are transferred to the language of construction
its spreading out across the earth, increasing in as hallucinations, strange vagaries and disorga-
plenitude and density. The eye, not trained to nized utterances and thoughts, incongruence and
catch every new difference in the puzzle, does not therefore the tiresome burden of multiplicity per-
want to be woken as it continues its sleepwalking sists; just like schizophrenia becoming chronic.
life, hypnotised at the level of the spreading out. It
continues its life within this wrapping, absorbed However, viewing its dynamic silhouettes its
in human activities. And when the eye is lifted buffer memory it is possible to view a boisterous
out of the wrapping to look at the silhouette and sprawl of a rapturous and energetic metropolis
begins to view the wider framework ahead, it en- in a reading with an eye that sees from a level
counters what is largely disturbing stimuli. By above the wrapping of the earth. Once we can
activating those judgements, aesthetic, urban, stand outside ourselves, see ourselves somewhere
architectural, social etc, it sentences the silhouette and overcome the trauma of realizing that that
it isolates simply from geography and universality somewhere is Istanbul, the buffer memory pres-
and from the earth entirely. It does not make ents an opportunity for us to find and emphasize
an effort to view the buffer memory. Yet what we the universal dimension in everything.
often observe and come to know from a reading
at the level of the wrapping are the tracks of ur- Looking at the buffer memory, the reflection
ban schizophrenia. The earth data concerning in the physiognomy of conduct oscillating be-
geography and universality is secret; it cannot tween universality and globality fills the human
BECOMING ISTANBUL
mind with many questions and only a few an- when motivation is down just before the end of
swers: take a cross-section and re-think! the working day. It is the number one candidate
to fulfil the quota of local colour at ostentatious
Senem Deviren bourgeois dinner tables.
> Panorama
The natives of Istanbul know its taste (see
Istanbulite). Even though they cannot describe it
in words, they know. They know it by comparison.
SMT
Their knowledge turns into consciousness when
THE ISTANBUL SMT IS AN URBAN OPEN SOURCE they bite into that sesame bun with a hole in the
APPLICATION. middle.
The perfect marriage of wood-smoked flour, wa- The Istanbulite who knows does not consider
ter, salt, yeast, grape molasses and sesame is qu- that round soft bun from the cake shop a simit.
ite anonymous but yet uniquely authentic and If s/he cant find a traditional stone-oven baked
singular. It has achieved its current refined form simit, and ends up having to buy that cake shop
through the contribution of various hands thro- one, the head will hang in embarrassment and will
ughout the centuries. The aroma and taste of a consider it to be the generally accepted practice
real Istanbul simit baked in stone-ovens, its outer to say, I could only find a cake shop simit, with
crisp, inner dense texture, above all its bloom, the emphasis on cake shop, so well just have
is discerned by those that know a simit, and is to make do for the day.
indeed in persistent demand.
Inseparable from his push-cart, the simit-
For the less privileged, it is a guarantee of a seller is the deliverer of the simit: An army of
cheap, delicious and balanced diet. In middle class simit-sellers seep every morning into the capil-
homes, it turns the five oclock tea into a festival. lary vessels of the city, after they load the goods
It brings out the last energy reserves at offices from the stone-oven bakeries onto their mobile
BECOMING ISTANBUL
sales units, made out of strollers, or bicycles, or atal is the most sophisticated of this trio
may simply consist of a table on wheels with a and it is obviously much harder to get the cor-
nylon cover, or may have squeaky-clean windows, rect consistency and crispness. It feels as if each
yet which have all been certified by the PDA (the stone-oven bakery has its own authentic recipe
Peoples Design Academy)! The vehicle of the and claim. As it seems, when the master steps out
simit-seller is as authentic as the simit it carries. for a smoke and the apprentices mess it up. It will
either get rubbery or will harden up like a bagel
The attempt of one of our municipalities that and will be inedible altogether after a few hours
we need not name, along with a crafty designer of being left aside. Given the many versions of it
that we should in fact name, to discipline the on the market, there is a multitude of opinions
simit-sellers within the boundaries of the mu- as to which one is the original. The consistency
nicipality by means of identical outfits and push- of the atal dough and the correct cooking time
cart designs, and force them to become items of are the eternal battleground where the thin line
window-dressing under uniform point-of-sale between failure and love of variety is violated
signs in golden letters on wood, is comical beyond countless times. The writer of these lines credits
farce. Natives of Istanbul did not quite buy that. himself with the ability to distinguish a proper
We expect that things will all be back to normal atal with only barely noticeable additives, crisp
quite soon. yet waiting to dissolve in the mouth, from the rest
of the crowd.
Its companions are atal and ama: The recipe
for this proletarian puffy bun is somewhat simpler In sum, of the gang of three, the atal stands
and bears little mistakes. Its standards are pretty alone and absolute. An authentic atal of Istanbul
fixed, and it rarely misses its mark. The childs pal- is a conceited type and will always remain so.
ate starts off with ama, the horizon of the fantasy
world of the toasted chocolate spread sandwich. Simit is the main element in minimal combi-
Aged warriors with one tooth left hanging will nations: In a classical order, it comes together with
eventually revert to their first love. tea and kaa cheese. At middle class tea times,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the simit is divided up and slit sideways so as to contributions of the 20012002 economic crisis
place the kaa cheese inside, and is put in the oven to the culture of eating and drinking in public
with sprinkles of red pepper (there are sectarian areas. (see Simit Saray) The idea of serving sim-
opinions which insist that the circle must be cut it together with its comrades tea and cheese in
into 4, 5 or 6 pieces, which we thought we should the same location at no additional cost is what
note down in passing). It is considered nouveau brought about such institutions. The advantages
riche to use the newly derived mass-produced of economies of scale and a certain level of invest-
kaar cheese in nylon packaging, instead of the ment power have stepped in to create this cheap
traditional peppered kaar cheese of the Thrace but successful marriage. Those who could not
or Kars region. The melting and browning of the afford cafs during the economic crisis, as well
cheese in the oven is impatiently awaited. as those who were never a caf customer in the
first place, have embraced these outlets; hence
During the stand-up breakfast of the less this new typology of venues has been institution-
privileged, kaa cheese is replaced by triangles alized and become widespread. And the baking
of cream cheese, sourced from the local grocery of the simit there paid the price, its ties with the
store. Access to tea will require a second lunge in stone-oven severed and sentenced to the lower
the direction of the nearest teahouse. cadres of industry-type electrical ovens.
Simit has recently found a place in gourmet Chivalry eventually died, and the young gen-
kitchens as well. It has been cut up in smaller erations now think that the puffy sesame bread
pieces, crisp-baked and turned into croutons with a hole in the middle is a simit. It looks like an
with local seasoning. open sourced publicity move and a campaign to
recover visibility is necessary to save the dignity
Simit Palaces are an effort to acquire the of classical Istanbul simit.
copyright of something open source: The Simit
Orhan Esen
Saraylar [Simit Palaces], Simitoriums, Simitote-
ques and Simithouses are undoubtedly the main > Istanbulite, Simit Saray
BECOMING ISTANBUL
SMT SARAYI (I) want to join in with the city but for various reasons
have failed to step into the crowd, hesitating to take
FAST-FOOD SHOP SELLING VERNACULAR FOOD that step. Its to sit, sad or resentful, far from the
INCLUDING SMT AND ITS DERIVATIVES. [ED.]
privileged members of the crowd. Or sometimes
its to accumulate sadness or resentment during
Sometime between three to five years ago, before
that wait: so much so that, this feeling of not being
Simit Saray [Simit Palace] had begun sprouting
able to participate might even turn into animosity
all over, we fancied the simit vendor as a figure of
or ideological belief. The rumour that one of the
urban folklore or, at worst, a plain-clothes police
most terrible assassinations of our recent history
officer. Although h Simit Saray avent bestowed
was planned at a meeting at a Simit Saray stands
upon us the feeling that the simit (see Simit) is a
out as more significant even than the white cap
real necessity, and havent introduced us to new
worn by the man who pulled the trigger, which is
varieties of simit, they have established the sense
now being made into a symbol by some.
that they correspond to a brand new need as mee-
tingwaitingtime-wasting spaces. There in front Fatih zgven
of the trio of simitcream-cheesetea, a new state
beyond the characteristics we used to ascribe to
> Simit
kraathanes [tea and coffee houses], coquettish
patisseries and muhallebicis [milk-pudding shops]
which have lost their old significance is born; one of
the states of waiting unique to the city Sometimes SMT SARAYI (II)
killing time until the awaited party arrives at a dodgy
SMT SARAYI [SMT PALACE] INTRODUCED A FORM
appointment, sometimes just waiting to move on, OF RE-ORGANISATION BASED ON THE FAST FOOD
or simply, generally waiting for the city To wait CONCEPT OF PRODUCTION, SALES AND SPACE FOR THE
anxiously until one can rejoin the city, until one TRADITIONAL SIMIT, AND AFTER THE OPENING OF THE
FIRST OUTLET IN MECIDIYEKY IN 2001, EXPANDED
musters the strength or courage to join in. It seems ACROSS OTHER NEIGHBOURHOODS OF ISTANBUL AND
to me that simit palaces are stations for those who OTHER CITIES OF TURKEY.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Simit (see Simit) is produced every morning in and homogeneous spaces via outlets organized
its traditional form in small ovens and is sold via according to the franchising method.
pushcart vendors on street corners (see Street
Food Vendor). Here, the ovens and simit sellers The presentation of the simit appealing to
arent brands. An anonymous product is again the lower-middle class in spaces called palaces,
sold through anonymous sellers. In this format, it as well as signalling a new economic value, is the
is the simplest and cheapest snack for the lower- sign of a new change in cultural identity with its
middle class. The scene where the villager has popularisation among the upper classes. In a simi-
come from the village to the city, hasnt managed lar manner to the identification of the McDonalds
to find a job, buys a simit with his remaining coins restaurant, opening in 1986 in Taksim Square
and eats it on a bench in the park is the best case (see Taksim Square) in Istanbul, with higher in-
of what the simit expresses in social memory (see come groups in Turkey, while being a place which
Cinema). the lower-middle class frequented in the United
States, the simit climbed a social level with the
Simit Saray took this traditional, lower-mid- appearance of the Simit Saray. Of course, it was
dle class food, restructured it within the logic of impossible for the simit to remain just that within
mass production and consumption of a capitalist this construct. The Simit Saray redesigned the
economy and made it a brand within a fast-food simit: new simit varieties in different forms with
set-up. And in doing so, it repeated a production different tastes were produced, supported by other
and sales model based on the components of pro- bakery products on the side.
ductivity, computability, predictability and su-
pervision in reference to Georg Ritzers concept Thus the simit, a local cultural value, was re-
of the McDonaldisation of society. (see McDon- constructed and circulated within the logic of
alds) Today almost 100 Simit Saray products the global economy. The new form of globalizing
are produced at a single factory covering 7000 capitalism ambiguously places local relationships
square meters and are presented for consumption on the agenda. The concepts of global and local,
by sales staff wearing uniforms in well-lit, clean which at first glance appear opposed, from the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
viewpoint of capital have merged. As locality be- been made to menus of McDonalds restaurants
comes more important in the scale of things, social across the world. For instance, the McKfte,
relationships, cultural values and the geographical the kfteburger suitable to the Turkish palate
structure of that space are pushed into the fore- at McDonalds restaurants shows the addition of
ground. All these phenomena which were ignored a local characteristic to the global process.
in earlier deductions are now becoming important
sub-parts of the organisation of capitalism. However, the point not to miss is that, in the
interaction between the global and the local, the
The situation outlined above reveals that, new forms of capitalist organisation emphasize
contrary to what is supposed, globalisation does events in space and use them to increase the out-
not mean the uni-fication of the entire world but put of global fluidity and only the localities which
rather that locality is relocated in a global scale can articulate with the process and have an eco-
as a new dimension. Globalisation does not only nomic value are included in that process. Global
mean the adoption of the Wests values by the relations are still dominant in the relationship be-
rest of the world, it also means local character- tween globality and locality. The only way in which
istics entering into circulation on a global scale spatial and cultural differences can protect their
and being evaluated within the market economy. existence in the face of the transformative power
There is a bidirectional flow between global and of capitalist economy is to find themselves a place
local relationships. For example, McDonalds, within the global flow of capital. Processes that
a fast-food chain and the symbol of the Wests cannot take part in this flow, but create the value
propagation of its values to the rest of the world, is and difference of the space in local and cultural
actually a network forming a relationship between terms fail to conserve their existence and rapidly
the global and the local. From this viewpoint, deteriorate. In fact, this new spatial relationship
McDonalds does actually encapsulates the global between the global and local accelerates the per-
circulation of Western-style eating and drinking ishing of those left outside the process. Within
culture. However, changes including the unique this framework, the conservation of the existence
characteristics of particular geographies have of all manner of local values which cannot take
BECOMING ISTANBUL
part in the process depends on their proving their SKYSCRAPER

circulation value within the system determined
by capitalist economy according to the ideology TALL BUILDING OPEN TO OXYMORONIC
of consumption or in a structural change which CONNOTATIONS.
will grant them this circulation value.

Tall buildings can be read easily since they form
Still an organisation on the national-scale at pronounced traces in the city. Therefore, it is pos-
this stage, Simit Saray is seeking ways of moving sible to read, in bold outline, the urban develop-
its operations on to the international stage as a ments in Istanbul oriented by economic, political
necessity of capitalist economy. Work continues and social events. As is well-known, in parallel to
in Greece as a new market and promotional days international developments, globalisation (see
have been organized in the USA. Its only a mat- Globalisation) and neo-liberal economical poli-
ter of time before we see the Simit Saray in other cies have been transforming Istanbul too since
large metropolises of the world. Once it manages the 1980s. Along with its target of becoming a
to become profitable on a global scale, then the world city, Istanbul is experiencing a series of
inhabitants of cities like New York, London, Paris changes. Nowadays cities are attractive to capital
and Tokyo will be able to taste the new synthetic for their business centres suitable for global pro-
version of this traditional Turkish food. duction and consumption, tourist zones and for
housing investments. This approach is supported
Hakk Yrtc by tourism incentive laws, giving certain areas of
land privileged status leading to the erection of
> Cinema, McDonalds, Simit, Street Food Vendor, high-rise buildings. For example, the 5 star ho-
Taksim Square tels of Istanbul positioned in palace gardens are
the products of this policy. Efforts to create an
international financial centre in Istanbul have
focused on the BykdereMaslak axis which has
a high skyscraper density and in interventions
BECOMING ISTANBUL
into certain spotlit zones throughout the city. habitability via the parameters of suitable plan-
Multinational corporations requiring offices in the ning, the importance placed on structureenvi-
city centre seek prestige, image and advertising ronmenthuman interaction or the contribution
spaces and consider tall buildings suitable for of technology. Another question to be asked is
the purpose. In this context, it may be said that how much longer this type of building will adorn
the determining factor in the height of a building the Istanbul skies if it no longer has any further
today is the purchasing power of the client rather meaning than the symbolic value of skyscrapers
than any technical or technological development. in the age of information we live in.
On the other hand, the connotations of sky- Ayen Ciravolu

scrapers for Istanbul are often contain contradic-
tory. In this context, the inhabitants of Istanbul > Globalisation
keep their distance in their relationship with
skyscrapers. Some see this type of building as a
criterion of contemporaneity that every city must SLOPE
make theirs. Others, in line with topics dictated by
the citys administration, prefer to limit the debate THE TOPOGRAPHIC DEFINITION OF EACH AND EVERY
CORNER OF THIS METROPOLIS WHICH DOESNT HAVE
to the illegality of the plots some tall buildings A FLAT AREA. HOWEVER, THE TERM IS ONLY USED TO
are built on, their effects on the silhouette of the DEFINE A FEW STREETS. [ED.]
city or their irresponsible consumption of public
resources. However, it is impossible for the in- Of the tunnel connecting Pera to Karaky, writer
habitants of Istanbul either to avoid these 20th and poet Sait Faik said: We made the tunnels for
century dreams or freaks, which at first glance the people. So they could get to the bottom of hills
evoke both excitement and fear, or completely to in an instant, and straight away climb the hills.
internalize them. Therefore, although they are
defined as the most recent picture of dystopia, Taking into consideration the fact that Is-
the discussion almost never moves towards their tanbul is also known as the city of seven hills,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the importance of the slopes that connect the away and, in fact, form virtual groups using more
neighbourhoods (see Neighbourhood) built on recent communication tools like facebook.
these hills emerges more clearly. These slopes
each have a different name and location, and Some Istanbul hills have hosted the class,
in several parts of Istanbul actually function as ethnic and cultural texture of the city. Once again,
neighbourhoods themselves. Those who go up this is how Sait Faik describes one of the slopes
and downhill develop a familiarity with each between Taksim and Dolapdere: An area bus-
other, and shopkeepers like bakkals [grocers], tling with private brothels on one hand and public
greengrocers and electricians on the slopes know brothels on the other Tradesmen of all sorts,
and keep up with their regulars. Some are slopes shrimp vendors, the electrician, the bread seller,
where the upright middle classes live. Since Ot- the vinegar seller, the carpenters apprentice, the
toman times, the Serencebey and Asariye hills waiter, the barber, the accordion player, the guitar
in Beikta have been areas defined first by their player, the bar artist, the revue extra, the tailors
villas and then their apartment blocks with their apprentice all pile up along the slope, and every
changing family life. The geographical position of night, from this strange neighbourhood full of all
the slopes also determines their identity. For in- religions and denominations, Turks, Russians,
stance, many slopes in Beikta leading downhill Armenians, Greeks, Nestorians, Arabs, Romany,
to the sea are known for their serenity, they are French, Catholics, Levantines, Croats, Serbs, Bul-
residential areas where one can easily go down garians, Persians, Afghans, Chinese, Tartars, Jews,
to the shore when required. Family memories Italians, Maltese and many others, young walk-on
feature stories of fiances tired of climbing these girls go down to the gulley. Barbers apprentices
slopes getting married in a rush, of being stranded walk behind them and the tailors girls; and an
at home when it snows and, on a sadder note, Albanian with a twisting moustache tags along
of family elders who suffer heart attacks when behind the barbers apprentices.
climbing one. People who grow up along these
slopes possessing a neighbourhood atmosphere Some hills are wholly associated with a certain
come to visit them years after they have moved profession. For example, Mercan Hill is known
BECOMING ISTANBUL
for its bag shops and ihane Hill for its lighting Every newcomer hears a voice on their first night
shops. Slopes going downhill to Karaky are not in the city: Are you brave? Are you brave enough
considered safe and Yksek Kaldrm, also the to be here, to stay here, without running away?
subject of an Orhan Veli poem, which starts off The thing to fear is different for everyone some
with electricians and electronics shops lining are intimidated by the pace, some by the threat of
the street, is known for its brothels further down, impending calamity, while some are afraid of their
where street vendors sell cheap food to guests. fellow travellers, traveling through the time of the
Some slopes between the new residential areas city. Those who can give a genuinely affirmative
of Istanbul have spontaneously taken on a new answer get to stay, and they stop hearing the voice.
character as the city experiences rapid population It is clear that the sparrow passed the test a long
increase. The Balar Slope connecting Yeniky to time ago. She never seems to mind being dwarfed
Ferahevler, the Bebek Slope leading up to Etiler or by the wingspan of the seagull or the full-chested
the Fulya Slope connecting Nianta to Beikta cooing of the pigeon. She is not intimidated even
are more often traversed by car. These new slope- by the dark cunning of the crow that easily ter-
roads are, in a sense, spaces that have acquired rorizes cats and dogs. You can see the sparrow
new meaning with the growing and diversifying nibbling away on tiny crumbs on the ground, be
new Istanbul. it in a tea garden, a side street or on a wharf; she
treats the other birds surrounding her as dubious,
Arzu ztrkmen larger-than-life works of art, respectfully but wit-
hout genuine interest. She is smart enough just
> Neighbourhood look at those eyes but vulnerable nonetheless; at
her own risk, she makes her nest on the balconies
of human inhabitants of the city. Seagulls come
SPARROW into close proximity with humans only when they
are flying over water, chasing ferries for morsels
THE SPARROW IS A TRUE ISTANBULITE SHE IS BRAVE, thrown at them this is their territory. Crows
AND BRAVERY IS THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT HERE. prefer treetops, stooping down only to retrieve
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the broken nuts they have dropped from above. both for television viewers and the players. It is
Pigeons are always in flocks when they are on the actually quite obvious what the players will say;
ground they meet their feeders en masse. The the viewers guess very well what they are about to
sparrow, however, is never afraid to wander out hear. As he progresses towards the dressing room
on her own. Her heart beats fast, but there she is, the player generally utters a few clichd senten-
looking at you sideways; it is that fast beat that ces and, finally, points to the terraces using this
suggests her bravery may be laced with a certain sentence: We would like to thank our amazing
amount of trepidation, though this may very well supporters.
be a reflection of the tenderness she evokes in
the observer. All the other birds may claim they The thanks are of course not only to a few
are the rightful owners of Istanbul, but it is the people, but to all the supporters in the terraces.
sparrow, the sparrow that deserves the epitaph. This sentence has only one meaning: the football
player perceives the supporters in the stands as
Cem Aka a whole and declares them to be an us. If they
exist, the supporters of the rival team, who have
gathered in a smaller section of the terraces, are,
STADIUM again in a homogeneous perception, defined as
the other.
URBAN SPORTS FACILITIES WHOSE LOCATION AND
FUNCTIONALITY EVERYONE COMPLAINED ABOUT The first point of departure for someone try-
WHEN THEY WERE PUBLIC PROPERTY, BUT WERE NO
LONGER THOUGHT PROBLEMATIC ONCE THEY WERE ing to say something about football is no doubt
TRANSFERRED TO THE OWNERSHIP OF SPORTS CLUBS. the collective emotion of supporters and the com-
[ED.] mon identity supporters form with their club. This
absolute idea forms a safe road into comments
After almost every game, footballers in Turkey are to be made on football. And it is true that people
forced to say a few words on the pitch in front of taking their place in the terraces, whatever their
the cameras. This has now become an expectation social position may be, are willing to get closer to
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the others whom they do not know at all, having to the logic of national identity and neighbour-
to sit side by side and share in that club identity hood or community solidarity. Thus, the football
equally. Thus there is an effort of common inten- grounds in this city were born as spaces hosting
tion to reduce all differences to a minimum during homogeneous identities and collective emotions.
the game. A goal scored means the shake-up and The English, who came to zmir for the cotton
instant omission of social status, all investments, trade in the 19th century, were the first to bring
all calculations of profit and all projects the per- football to this land. In the last quarter of the same
son has planned. The goal affects the crowd on century, football was known in the city of Thes-
the terraces in the same manner and releases an saloniki too, which was within the borders of the
emotional explosion. Although the emotions of empire. From the early 20th century on the Turks
the goal scorer or the conceder reach us as differ- formed their own teams and began to play against
ent images, the intensity of the two feelings is very English, French and Rum [Greek] teams. These
similar. The scream of the goal scorer in the stands games were a national struggle for the Turks. Es-
and the withdrawal of the conceding party form pecially in the occupation period, the struggle in
bonds between people sitting side by side. The football the Turkish teams underook versus the
embrace of people who would never share their forces of occupation was seen as part of the War
feelings or, in fact, even look at each other outside of Independence. The Turkish football tradition
the stadium for any length of time, jumping for thus found its foundations in collective emotions
joy or offering each other a cigarette feeling each in the fullest sense.
others heart sinking, can only be the result of a
goal watched from the terraces. Therefore, could The First Centre of Collective Emotions, Tak-
we say, by a simple act of implication, that the sim Stadium: Taksim, Istanbuls most famous
quality of being a supporter removes all differences square, has always embraced collective emotions
and otherness between social strata? throughout its history, becoming the scene of po-
litical demonstrations and mass entertainment.
Both in Istanbul and the other cities across For sure, the masses gathering in this square both
the country football has been played according at political demonstrations and on days of enter-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
tainment are cosmopolitan groups who come teams of the day attracted thousands of specta-
from all parts of the city (or in fact the country). tors to Taksim Stadium. Records show that this
However, the behaviour of these groups in Tak- stadium converted from the barracks had terraces
sim has constantly developed towards creating with a capacity of 8000 seats. In particular English
common emotions. No gathering in this square teams, like Sporting, Iron Duck, Essex, Lighting,
has initially foreseen political divisions or clashes Revenge, Filotilla, Malaya and Guards, competing
or differences in social expression etc. However, with Turkish teams filled this stadium to capac-
as the hours of these gatherings progress, said ity with Turkish spectators. The logic of national
differences often begin to raise their head and struggle experienced in Taksim Stadium during
thick walls are erected between us and them. the occupation reached its peak in a game held
The fate of the Taksim Stadium, opened in 1921, after the occupation. The TurkeyRomania game,
eventually resembled that of Taksim Square. played only three days before the declaration of
the Republic on 26 October 1923, was nothing more
The Taksim Stadium was the site of the bar- than a football game now, but it was observed with
racks where the 1st Artillery Regiment was stationed full collective emotion as Turkeys first national
in the Ottoman period; for a short period during the competition.
occupation of Istanbul it also served as the barracks
of Senegalese soldiers. Football matches held at the In later years Taksim Stadium gradually lost
field just next to these barracks called Talimhane its image as a centre of national struggle and
[Training ground] had become a national struggle the emotion of the masses gathering here turned
between Turks and occupation forces. Increasingly into community solidarity in games between the
the matches shifted to the barracks; various enter- teams of the Rum [Greek], Armenian and Jewish
tainments or wrestling competitions and horse communities and Turkish teams (see Minority).
races were organized on days which didnt feature At that point, the crowds gathering in the stadium
matches. The fixtures between Fenerbahe, Gala- were once again separated amongst one another
tasaray and Beikta, which are also the strongest into us and them. A feeling of neighbour-
teams in Turkey today, and English and French hood or community was emphasized in games
BECOMING ISTANBUL
between Turkish teams too and the same divi- bahe. Meanwhile, the construction of another
sion was witnessed. Although barely consisting stadium in Mecidiyeky, a neighbourhood close
of rough squabbles at a football match, this state to Taksim, had come up too. Construction began
of opposition among the crowds gathering at Tak- here in 1943, but was completed 21 years later:
sim Stadium was perceived as polyphony in the this was the Ali Sami Yen Stadium, used today by
single-party period of Turkey and thus football Galatasaray and known to foreign teams as the
was deemed comforting, as it always has been. For Hell of Istanbul.
instance, the poet Nazm Hikmet wrote the fol-
lowing about a match he watched at the stadium: Differences in Style on the Terraces and Divi-
sions in the Stadium: Claiming that the thing we
The spectators are divided into two sections. call being a supporter has the characteristic of
Each would encourage the children of its own removing all differences entirely and coming up
aidse, and keep swearing at the enemy. Every- with justifications for such a claim is easy accord-
one says whatever they want to. Everyone shouts ing to approaches and experiences customary for
and bawls at will. A freedom of expression, and Turkey. However, on the other hand we inevitably
thought, at full speed I would be lying if I said I have to take into consideration some data which
didnt like many aspects of this business. Those destroys the emotional collectivity which exists
who want to understand democracy in a specific in Western football. The football of Western in-
sense should go to Taksim Stadium. I, for my part, dustrial societies had developed around class
spent a beautiful and lucid two hours there. loyalty rather than neighbourhood, communi-
ty or national loyalty. But in Turkey, where the
The Taksim Stadium was demolished in 1940 process of industrialisation took place belatedly
and the area was made into a park. In the mean- and with serious deviations, club identity was
time, the projected design of the nn Stadium naturally perceived to be outside class loyalty
had been completed and construction had begun. and in the direction of a traditional identification
This meant that from then on the centre of football and, indeed, in the formation of a community.
in Istanbul would shift from Taksim to Dolma- Ethnologist Christian Bromberger who studied
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the place of football in Western Mediterranean cial strata. In other words, it is a division formed
culture in the late 1980s, examined the disposi- by what they like to talk about regarding the
tion of Olympique Marseille supporters on the team they support A difference of style between
terraces and saw the stadium as a model of the city the supporters of the same team Here, support-
in Western industrial societies. The study tells us ers gathered under the identity of the same club,
that social strata, professions, age groups, gender express this identity in the public sphere (in the
ratios, transportation means between stadium stadium, in its full meaning) with differences.
and districts and special interest in particular
footballers influences this arrangement. Each part Departing from the example of Marseille
of the stands is the physical space of a particular given by Bromberger, a general look at stadiums
social stratum. Therefore Brombergers research especially in the 80s reveals that these structures
presents a variable relationship between the col- are indicative of a profoundly ideological planning
lective club identity and the social identities in the as public space. The clash of contexts between
stands. In other words, although a goal scored will urban and architectural logic of Western indus-
create strong emotional ties among the support- trial societies and stadiums is evidenced quite
ers in the stands, and although the excitement or distinctly. Let us mention a principle that mod-
the sadness experienced at the moment the goal ernist urban and architectural approaches, and
is scored forms an emotional homogeneity, this therefore public spaces, try to create: the meet-
wholeness is not necessarily a condition related ing place of people from different social strata
to club identity. Frankly, it would not be entirely was no doubt going to be a zone where identities
accurate to speak of an absolute relationship be- and signs of class affiliation would be protected.
tween momentary emotional bonds on the ter- For instance, squares, parks etc. designed as the
races and club identity. For club identity cannot meeting places of the city were sites where diverse
be explained by the homogeneity brought on by identities could freely express themselves; but
collective emotions; and this identity is formed these places would never adopt the permanent
depending on the preferences in modes of expres- signs of any social stratum, and no social stratum
sion of team support of people from different so- would be allowed to define that particular area
BECOMING ISTANBUL
with its signs of affiliation. The language of public blocks did not form an unassailable gulf: in many
space reconciled pluralities. The modernist city stadiums, the goal stands and the open, middle
and architecture were roughly trying to say this: stand had been combined and their prices were
the public principle would prevent the arbitrary the same. Therefore, the distribution of support-
actions of capital or any social stratum, stand up ers in the stands according to differences in iden-
with ease for the installation in public space of its titystyle was free and unrelated to ticket prices.
own symbols and limit its sovereignty over life as
an absolute power. It is debatable how successful In this sense, the first large-scale stadium in
this project has been in urban practice; however, Istanbul designed in accordance with the modern
the place where such a principle has probably public space principle was the nn Stadium.
been practiced in the most effective manner in
Western industrial societies is the stadium. The All-Turkey Stadium, nn: The archi-
tectural design of the nn stadium is by Italian
In the framework of these explanations, a look architect Vietti Violi, the Turkish architects inasi
at stadium plans of the 80s generally revealed ahingiray and Fazl Aysu taking over for its imple-
three main blocks: 1- The covered stand, 2- The mentation, construction beginning in May 1939.
open, middle stand, 3- The ends behind the goals However, the construction almost stopped during
In some stadiums the open, middle stands would World War II due to adverse economic conditions.
be covered too, adding another covered stand. On the other hand, disruptions in ground clearing
Then the covered stands facing each other would operations led to constant changes in the design.
be known as the numbered seated stands and The stadium was finally opened 8 years after the
the seated stand without numbers. These blocks foundation was laid, and had to serve for a long
would first and foremost form a hierarchy in terms time with incomplete equipment. The nn Sta-
of match viewing comfort. The most comfortable dium, supported with portable stands and func-
seating, the clearest view of the pitch, protection tionalized with temporary fixtures, only managed
from rain, sun and wind etc We must emphasize to reach a state close to the original project in 1960.
at once that the difference of price between these However, with a design loyal to modernist public
BECOMING ISTANBUL
principles, the stadium is an important building So I shout with them

for Istanbul. Although mandatory changes in the With all my might
project and its implementation prevented adher- Swelling my breast with pride:
ence to ideal architectural ratios, the fact that this Pass it to Lefter and write one in the book
stadium was designed not just for one neighbour-
hood and its team, but for all residents of Istanbul It was clear what the poet wanted to say: with
never changed. The nn Stadium was a central their different characteristics, people who had
stadium. In other words, it was a public space come to the stadium from various neighbour-
where all Istanbul teams and the supporters of hoods of Istanbul to support their teams presented
those teams met. So much so that until the early a profile of the city. The plural structure of Istanbul
1980s, up to 10 games in different categories would was faithfully reflected in the stadium. Besides,
be played at this stadium in succession, and the taking into consideration the supporters of non-Is-
supporters of those teams would be in the stands tanbul teams who had games with Istanbul teams,
from the early hours of the day until the evening it is possible to say that the stadium reflected,
when the last game was completed. Bedri Rahmi beyond the profile of a city, a profile of Turkey.
Eybolu, one of the most famous painters and Although the poet doesnt indicate it clearly, it is
poets of Turkey, mentioned the bond between the obvious that the stadium he has in mind is nn
people of Istanbul and the stadium in a poem. The Stadium, because the name Lefter mentioned
great excitement he felt as he experienced Istanbul in the final line of the poem has a privileged place
drew him closer to the people of the city and took in Turkish football. He was one of the greatest
him automatically to the stadium: players in the history of Turkish football and he
played for Fenerbahe. And like all top-level teams
When I think of Istanbul I think of the sta- of the country, Fenerbahe used to play at nn
dium Stadium. And thus the sentence repeated at nn
I feel my blood boil warm Stadium: Pass it to Lefter and write one in the
For the people of my country. book In other words, pass the ball to Lefter,
And I want to get closer to them and let him add another goal to the proceedings
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The road leading down from Taksim Square However, parallel to recent urban corruption
to Dolmabahe Palace first gives a view of the and the financial requirements imposed by the
nn Stadium from the top, and then passes tan- football industry, the beautiful appearance of
gentially by it and reaches the sea. Until a few this stadium has begun to change and become
years ago, there were no obstructions preventing kitsch-ified. First a horrible skyscraper was
the perspective of Istanbul along this route. The erected right beside it, whats more, it is still un-
Dolmabahe Clocktower, the gates of the palace, clear how the permission for its construction was
skdar, the district on the opposite side of the obtained; and the stadiums harmonious perspec-
Bosphorus and the Maidens Tower would glis- tive with the city was destroyed. Then, a rather
ten like an attractive stage set. It was its position slipshod version of the double eagle symbol of
within this perspective that meant the nn Sta- Beikta, the club which has officially rented the
dium was many times considered one of the most nn Stadium since 1998, was placed above one
beautiful stadiums in the world. For instance, a of the closed stands, and the area surrounding the
journalist from the Guardian newspaper, report- symbol was filled with badly proportioned adver-
ing in his column on the Galatasaray Manchester tising hoardings. The patchwork eagle figures only
United game at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium (1994) just managed to stand. In fact, the famous man-
ignored the game he was reporting on for an in- ager John Benjamin Toshack who was in charge
stance and began writing about the difference of Beikta at the time reacted angrily upon see-
in quality between the stadium he was in and ing the signboard, exclaiming, Youve turned
the nn Stadium. This sports journalist wrote this place into an amusement park. Ultimately,
more about the unsuitable location of the Ali Sami following the end of the 20032004 season, opera-
Yen Stadium in the city, its ugliness and the bad tions during the work to install a tensile system
viewing conditions and added in contrast how overlay fitted on top of the goal end stand and
the nn Stadium, which he had seen during his the terrace expansion work completely destroyed
Istanbul tour, had great harmony with and suited the architectural characteristics of the stadium.
this beautiful city. The stadium expansion work had been halted by
the Ministry of Culture for the stated reason that
BECOMING ISTANBUL
such a construction could not be carried out in than a football pitch However, it is difficult to
an area where monumental and historical values interpret this stadium either within the modern
existed, and the issue was left to the decision of stadium type or in line with the tradition of col-
the assessment of the Preservation Board of Natu- lective emotions in Turkish football. First and
ral and Cultural Assets (see Preservation Board). foremost, in the sense that this space created a
There was no outcome to these interventions and profile not of the city but the country itself, it pos-
not only did nn Stadium lose its urban har- sessed a stylistic plurality beyond club identities.
mony along with the uncontrolled development Supporter factions in the stands werent formed
of Istanbul, but it also sacrificed architectural according to the stylistic differences of the same
refinement in the face of the rapid cash flow of city or the same club. In other words, it wasnt
the football industry. Today, the complete demo- possible clearly to determine the different sec-
lition of this building and the implementation tions forming the club identity in this stadium.
of an entirely different stadium project is being Only the most fanatical supporters of a number
considered The history of this stadium can be of teams who had a game on the same day could
defined as the history of destructive attacks and be made out as a group and their voice discerned.
ill-fortune; however it was not that innocent it- Other supporters who werent part of this fanati-
self in this context either (see Demolition or the cal group formed mixed groups in the stands and
Warped City). The stadium was built on the his- supporters of different clubs often sat next to each
torical stables of the Dolmabahe Palace and the other. So the stylistic difference at nn Stadium
palace annexes. could only be observed through general social
status of the city or the country, not club sup-
After all this, we can claim that as a public portership or identity. Yet there was something
space the nn Stadium has further different, even more interesting: these groups which formed
more complicated characteristics than Brom- in the context of the styles of their social status
bergers observations regarding Western stadi- werent separated by clear lines. Those groups
ums. In the actual fact, the nn Stadium was were formed of fifty to a hundred people there and
more a public project in the Western sense rather then, and it was always possible for many groups
BECOMING ISTANBUL
of dissonant styles to get jammed into a narrow the terraces became we. The others were exiled
area in an unplanned way. This meant that status beyond the stadium walls and the sentence of the
styles and loyalty symbols had transformed the footballer pointing to the terraces became a must
public space formed in the nn Stadium into a of todays understanding of football.
space of transience. These groups were formed
of people who randomly came across each other From Open Pitches to Stadiums, Vefa and
on match day, who then randomly dispersed: a Eyp: Although pointing to the we in the ter-
random public. Thus this stadium was wholly a races, and speaking of collective emotions, homo-
space of transition where no social stratum, no geneous masses and solidarity is a sign of todays
identity and no symbol of loyalty dominated. understanding of football, this is in fact (as we have
stated before) the traditional stance of Turkish
Let us now return to the case at the beginning football. Turkish football is based on national iden-
of the article, the footballer pointing to the terraces tity, neighbourhood solidarity and competition
and saying, We would like to thank our amazing between communities, and the habit of declaring
supporters. If this player had said the same thing the stands a homogeneous we has always existed.
in the random and transient environment of nn Until the construction of the nn Stadium, foot-
Stadium it would have been laughable, and there ball was played on pitches claimed by neighbour-
would have been no one to understand the sen- hoods or districts. Later, some of these pitches were
tence. The sentence of the footballer became mean- developed into stadiums. Therefore games held
ingful only after the stadiums in Turkey began to here often had the air of competitions where na-
be rented out to clubs and the nn Stadium lost tional, neighbourhood or community identity and
its central position Because in the process of solidarity were expressed. For instance, the founda-
the transfer of stadiums to clubs, the clubs began tions of the Vefa Stadium, the Eyp Stadium and
(especially after the late 1990s) to allow only their the Fenerbahe kr Saracolu Stadium, which is
own supporters into the stadiums they had seized. today the most magnificent stadium in Turkey, are
Once the opportunity for opposition supporters the wide expanses of old neighbourhood pitches.
to come to the games was reduced to a minimum, And the history of these sites is full of incidents that
BECOMING ISTANBUL
took place around competitions between neigh- The youth of Karagmrk were of tough tem-
bourhoods, communities and nations. perament. They were in competition with Eyp,
an adjacent neighbourhood of strong solidarity.
The Vefa Stadium in the Karagmrk neigh- Like Karagmrk, Eyp is one of the oldest settle-
bourhood is within the premises of the Aetius Cis- ment areas in Istanbul and is on the shore of the
tern built during the era of the Byzantine Emperor Golden Horn. The young athletes of Eyp had
Theodosius II. The ground of this cistern built in established their football team as early as 1919 and
the 5th century rose with the silt deposited here by opened their pitch in an area close to the sea. How-
the brooks that supplied the water and it was used ever, Eyps pitch had to wait until 1976 to become
as a vegetable plantation in the Ottoman era. When a stadium. Today, there is a beautiful 3000-seat
the young sportsmen of Karagmrk founded their capacity stadium erected on the ground of that
own football team in 1926, they started to use this old football pitch and the rivalry between these
area as a football pitch. In 1940, the pitch was bought two historical neighbourhoods, Karagmrk and
by the Vefa Sports Club, made into a stadium and Eyp, continues to glisten like a steel wire. In this
its name was changed to Vefa Stadium. Vefa Sports sense, when the young players of Karagmrk
Club belonged to Vefa High School and Hasan li and Eyp turn their gaze from the pitch to the
Ycel, the Minister of National Education at the time terraces, they no doubt see what they call us.
and a graduate of this high school, had been very
influential in the purchase and name change of this Playing Football at the Palace, eref Stadium:
stadium. Although Vefa was among the stronger Founded in 1903, Beikta was one of the oldest
clubs of Istanbul for many years, it failed to keep clubs in Turkey, but didnt have a stadium where
up with the savage professional change in football it could regularly play its own games and experi-
and had to return to amateur status. Karagmrk ence the feeling of us. It is almost impossible
continues its professional life in the lower leagues. to play football in Turkey without experiencing
The cistern walls around the small but comfortable this feeling at home. With a share of 5000 liras
stadium used by these two teams and many amateur the club obtained from its stake in the Taksim
clubs in Istanbul are still preserved. Stadium, the team found a home here from 1929
BECOMING ISTANBUL
to 1933. But what they really wanted was to have shore of the Bosphorus. And it was named eref
a place in the Beikta neighbourhood. eref Bey, [Honour] Stadium. Beikta now had a stadium
the Football Director of the time, showed great ef- where it could hold its games and train; besides,
fort to find a plot of land that could be made into the pitch was also rented out for the games of other
a stadium for Beikta. As a result of these efforts, clubs, earning Beikta serious revenue.
he succeeded in 1932 in finding a suitable piece of
land in the Beikta neighbourhood and obtained The eref Stadium was a sympathetic sta-
permission for the construction of a stadium from dium. Its sea view would attract almost as much
the Ministry of Finance. attention as the football played on the pitch and
release the tension of the supporters. The burnt
The Beikta neighbourhood is an area of down remains of the adjacent palace would give
Istanbul where there are many palaces. Along the place a startling atmosphere. Still, it was a
the shore line of Beikta there are the Dolma- great pleasure to watch a game at this stadium on a
bahe Palace complex and raan Palace, and sunny day. But when the nn Stadium was com-
further inland Yldz Palace and many summer pleted and the games began to be played there,
palaces. The plot eref Bey found was the garden the importance of this stadium faded. It served
of raan Palace. This palace had been built in only for Beiktas training sessions, preparation
1871 by Sarkis Balyan, the imperial architect who games and amateur games. In the process, the
was also the architect of Dolmabahe Palace, but stadium was not kept up to scratch, the changing
in 1910 the palace had completely burned down rooms became unusable, and the stands fell into
and lay in ruins. This enabled eref Bey to rent ruin. For along time, though, the swimming pool
a highly suitable piece of land for the stadium preserved its indispensability for Istanbulites in
for 99 years for a symbolic monthly payment of the summer. However, as the stadium fell fur-
10 Turkish lira. The construction of the stadium ther into ruin, the sympathy felt for it increased.
was completed in 1940; and a structure including People came and went between the swimming
a covered and an open stand, modern changing pool and the stadium, which began to resemble a
rooms and a swimming pool rose right on the picnic area, refreshed themselves in the pool and
BECOMING ISTANBUL
then came to watch the games and kept chatting teams without a ground. Beikta had gone to the
as they gazed at the sea view. The unusable state eref Stadium and Fenerbahe had begun to use
of the changing rooms meant that the players the Fenerbahe Stadium in Kadky, solving the
went over to the remains of the palace, and play- problem for these two teams. But a stadium was
ers who dressed and undressed here looked like needed for the teams of the Beyolu neighbour-
zombies amidst the ruined walls, with their hood, including Galatasaray. The General Direc-
muddy strips and dusty bodies and hair. On the torate of Physical Education bought a plot of land
other hand, balls kicked into the sea by players in the Mecidiyeky neighbourhood and rented it
unable to restrain their strength had to be waited out to Galatasaray Club for the construction of a
for for minutes on end and the spectators in the stadium. Just like nn Stadium, the completion
stands began to listen to music from their tran- of this stadium was delayed. In the first place, the
sistor radios. Because, back then, a game had to construction could only begin late and, because
finish with the ball the game began with; it was of the material impossibilities of the Galatasaray
against the rules to change the ball during the Sports Club, the General Directorate intervened
game (unless it had burst). again to accelerate the work which had slowed.
The stadium was opened on 20 December 1964.
During the wave of transformation of almost
all public buildings into tourist establishments With its two closed and two goal stands,
that Istanbul has been suffering recently, the pal- the opening game in this stadium, named after the
ace which was in ruins was renovated and turned founder of the Galatasaray Sports Club and its no.
into a 5-star hotel, and the eref Stadium became 1 member, Ali Sami Yen, was held between Turkey
history in the year 1991, along with its pool. and Bulgaria. There was a reason for the selection of
Bulgaria for this game. The Turkish National Team
The Most Unrelenting Definition of the Con- had won its first official game many years ago against
cept of Us, The Ali Sami Yen Stadium: The de- Bulgaria and such an opening game would likely
molition of the Taksim Stadium and delays in the render this stadium a lucky stadium. However
construction of the nn Stadium had left many the expectation of hope had to give way as early as
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the first day to chagrin. The reason for this wasnt the to reflect the characteristics of clubs, the money in
goalless draw but the stampede caused by terrible the footballer transfer market creates many parallel
organisation which resulted in many spectators fall- sectors, and football is seen as the most suitable agent
ing from the terraces and getting injured. That day, in the transformation of practical life and cultural
the Ali Sami Yen Stadium literally turned into hell. spaces into a world of images. The overlapping
In later years the same word would overlap with the of consumption and the world of images directly
expectation of luck in this same stadium. Galatasa- benefits consumption and it is thus also important for
ray overcame the strongest teams in Europe at this the secure future of the current economic system
stadium and achieved the most brilliant success in
the history of Turkish football. The most important This naturally leads to a change in the ap-
international cup yet brought to Turkey, the UEFA pearance of stadiums It is possible to say that
Cup, was eventually won as a result of Galatasarays these structures no longer have pre-1980 plans,
victories at this stadium. Many banners put up in the and that for instance Brombergers observations
Ali Sami Yen Stadium declare Welcome to Hell and regarding the city-stadium relationship are now
supporters seek ways of transforming this hell into left behind in the distant past. The private suites
an even hotter experience for others. we increasingly come across in stadiums today (it
wouldnt be wrong to compare them to luxurious
Towards Hypermarket Stadiums, The Fener- time-share residences) and commodious media
bahe kr Saracolu Stadium: There is no way broadcast rooms are indispensable units in mod-
we are going to save football from the grip of savage ern plans. Stadiums also contain big restaurants,
capitalism. The global organisation of this system comfortable cafes and glittering stores market-
has mobilized all its means through football in such ing club products (these products form the most
a manner that the situation resembles wars created significant part of consumption). The increasing
by strong and aggressive nations to test out their new change in stadiums is obviously not related to the
weapons. The media bases its biggest undertakings bright ideas of architects or their boundless profes-
on football, the stock market encourages shares in sional creativity The source of change lies more in
football teams, goods for consumption are designed the logic of the hypermarket, first and strikingly
BECOMING ISTANBUL
explained by the French sociologist Baudrillard. bility, beauty and cheapness etc. of the product are
Although Baudrillards observations regarding of little relevance. With which image does the
the everyday social system and the life style it product re-include us in life, how does our social
imposes are exaggerated and lack the proposal of status change when we use it and in what kind of
an alternative, it is impossible to ignore the hy- atmosphere does it situate us? This is the issue
permarket world he claims we live in. Baudrillard There is a second-hand and carefully concealed
says the following: The hypermarket is already imposition here: the imposition of consumption
beyond the factory and traditional institutions of
capital, the model of all future forms of controlled The changing appearances of football and sta-
socialisation: retotalisation in a homogeneous diums can be explained as a result of the process
space-time of all the dispersed functions of the of transforming these stadiums into hypermarket
body and of social life. [Jean Baudrillard, Simu- buildings. This line of thought presents us with an-
lacra and Simulations, trans. Sheila Faria Glaser] other problematic: are stadiums thus returning to
The clear meaning of Baudrillards words is thus: the state of being a model of the city, as Bromberg-
the reorientation from a single centre of all vital er indicated for his own period? Perhaps Urban
activities in the city, like leisure, health, transpor- consumer strata released from common identities
tation, media and culture This is a centre, but or clichd actions may in the future choose stadi-
it never tries to impose its methods on the vital ums as spaces where they may express themselves
activities in the city. It organizes those activities in the best possible manner. However, such sta-
all urban strata may show an interest in, again diums would not be erected with a predefined or
according to their demands and tendencies. In publicly debated club identity; they would only
brief, it seeks to inform and convince them that reflect club identity as an insignificant aspect in the
it is beneficial. The word benefit here is im- articulation of consumer identity Meanwhile, let
portant. It conforms to the logic of advertising us not overlook the power of advertising: surpris-
A closer look reveals that no advertisement we ing manoeuvres, such that no one would manage
watch is interested in the physical qualities of the to work out how the trick was done, demonstrating
consumer goods it promotes. The function, dura- the insignificance of club identity in relation to the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
oh so significant consumer identity. The changing means an ignorance of urban planning, its complete
face of all stadiums does not fully reflect the speed replacement with the symbols of capital and the
of consumption yet, but progress in that direction flat declaration by these symbols of their sovereignty
can be sensed. In the future, we will be puzzled in the built city. A language that would bring plural
when we compare stadiums past and present (from identities together in something held in common or
a photograph or from memory), because the stadi- the old symbols of that language have now faded and
ums of the future will have turned into paradises disappeared. Besides, the failure clearly to perceive
of all types of scenes from life in which the game the features of identity and their transformation into
of football is allocated only a small part of their non-places is a further result of the era of mass
huge sites. However, there is still a possibility that culture. Defining the postmodern city, David Har-
we will go with love and a sense of loyalty towards vey speaks of an environment where the target is the
our club: would you like to watch the game from dollars the rich allocate for consumption; therefore
the stands or from one of the television halls right the particular pleasures and complicated aesthetic
beside them with giant screens? Or will the thing preferences of the customer stand out in urban de-
we call football turn into a result delivered from sign rather than principles of public space. Harveys
the digital displays fitted in the interior walls of claim fits in with Bourdieus concept of symbolic
stadiums? Just like the computer games of today capital: according to Bourdieu, this concept refers
to a collection of luxurious goods which may serve
The sources of the postmodern condition are as evidence of the distinction of the taste and social
found particularly in the process of the emancipa- position of the owner. If status symbols have begun
tion of capital. The unbridled movement of capital to gain prominence in society and if a connection
released from modernist public principles situates has begun to emerge between the power of capi-
its symbols in public spaces demonstrating disregard tal and respectability, then the reorganisation of
for all efforts at planning. It is no coincidence that public spaces according to this tendency wont be
the era known as postmodern revealed itself signifi- delayed. Now, in the light of this, it is easier for us to
cantly first in architecture and then in changes in give meaning to the changes in design stadiums have
urban planning. The stage of globalisation, in turn, exhibited as the public spaces of an era shaped by
BECOMING ISTANBUL
new conditions. What we observe today is a distribu- The Fenerbahe kr Saracolu Stadium was
tion of supporters based on the difference in ticket the first constructed taking into consideration the
prices. Besides, one can sense some groups being above. It is an intelligent building with the systems
erased from or pushed into a very narrow area of the of security, comfort and cash flow football requires
stands. This is a classification that emerges with the today. Yet that very curious situation arises here too:
stage of the emancipation of capital The fixing of during TV broadcasts from the pitch after the game,
ticket prices so that there are big differences between players point to the terraces and say the same thing:
sections of the stands show that clubs have learned We would like to thank our amazing supporters.
how to use status symbols and transform them into Who exactly is this we the footballer is talking
revenue. The meaning of luxury suites in the stands about? The we of the traditional neighbourhood,
can also be found in the logic of symbolic capital. community or national solidarity in the way it was
The stadium has now begun to carry a very different experienced in the old Fenerbahe football fields
content compared to a model of the social structure in the early 20th century, or the we of the current
of the city. The hierarchical structure of modernist economic system? The point is not clear.
society has lost the ability comfortably to represent
itself on the terraces. The owners of luxury boxes A Stillborn Stadium, The Atatrk Olympic
and the area surrounding them are the temporary Stadium: This stadium was built in the years 1999
members of the sharing of capital in the aftermath 2002 as a necessary part of the city of Istanbul
of modernism. These areas in the stands are often seeking to organize an Olympics. It is distant from
rented annually for big ready money and their the centres of the city, in the middle of a wide
customers vary according to the fluctuation of capi- chasm reminiscent of the moons surface, stand-
tal. Whats more, as commercial initiatives, there ing there with its 80,000 seat capacity. Equipped
is a clear danger of these places remaining empty. with modern technology, it waits on one hand for
Moreover, we must not forget that sections which the realisation of Istanbuls Olympic dream while
have now become status symbols take up a very large on the other it hosts the games of some mid-table
area in stadiums today. teams in the Turkey Super League. Although it is
something of a spectacular stadium, its planning
BECOMING ISTANBUL
is closer in general to modernist public principles. Have you ever been in an empty stadium? Try
Since the day of its opening it has hosted only it once. Stand in the middle of the pitch and listen.
two or three important games, and the stadium There is nothing sadder than an empty stadium,
had its finest hour with the European Champions and nothing more speechless than empty terraces.
League final between Milan and Liverpool; but on
that day it also witnessed a transport fiasco. All There are many other stadiums in Istanbul
the Italian and English supporters along with the than those mentioned in this article. The states
Turkish spectators either had to walk for kilome- concern for football and its aim to provide a
tres in darkness to return to the centre or they were football world for the masses has covered the
stuck in traffic jams in their cars on the motorway whole city in stadiums. Today, almost every neigh-
all night. The stadium is just a building, that is to bourhood has one regulation standard stadium,
say, it has neither transport routes or a crowd has a or more. Although these stadiums fill up for the
sense of belonging to it. Amidst the whistle of vio- games of the neighbourhood teams at weekends,
lent winds, it waits there both day and night and their stories dont go as far back as the stadiums
ponders whether that stupendous day of the final mentioned here, their witnessing of life isnt as
will ever again be repeated. One can guess it does deep, or they dont fully comply with the neces-
not harbour much hope for the future because not sities of the contemporary economic system. In
a single city dweller has an anecdote about it. The brief, they arent that interesting These stadi-
Atatrk Olympic Stadium is an empty stadium ums may only be deemed important in that they
in the full sense of the word. It doesnt offer up an reflect the quantity of stadiums in the city and
emotion in the context of a neighbourhood, a com- the states love of football.
munity or a nation, nor does it present a life in the
context of the contemporary economic system. It Emre Zeytinolu
presents a terribly sad view; it corresponds fully
to what the famous Uruguayan journalist Eduardo > Demolition or the Warped City, Minority,
Galeano wrote: Preservation Board
BECOMING ISTANBUL
STRAY DOGS Society], Taner Timur tells us that dogs worked

in the citys security, hygiene and cleaning sec-
AMONG THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SUFFERERS FROM THE tors. The bands of dogs in each neighbourhood
MOTIVE OF ACHIEVING A LOT IN A SHORT TIME. FROM
THE BEGINNING OF THE MOVEMENT FOR OTTOMAN assumed the guardianship of the neighbourhood
MODERNISATION TO THE PRESENT DAY, AN ANIMOSITY and, apart from some Europeans who didnt know
BETWEEN THE DOGS AND THE ADMINISTRATION, AT how to get along with stray dogs, they didnt
TIMES IN THE FORM OF CLASHES OVER LONG PERIODS
AND AT TIMES BASED ON INSTANT INTERVENTIONS, cause harm to strangers passing through as long
HAS CONTINUED ACROSS THE CITY. as they didnt exhibit threatening behaviour. They
also prevented an increase in problems of clean-
It is remarkable that the arguments related liness or hygiene since they fed on waste from
to dogs during the early stages of the pains of houses. However, although there was no reason
modernisation had nothing to do with hygiene or for them to be deported, there was an attempt in
public health. The fact that there wasnt a single the Mahmud II period to exile them to Hayrszada
case of rabies on record in Istanbul throughout [aka Oxia, one of the small islands near Istanbul,
the 19th century indicates that the variable urban literally the ill-omened island], however they
ecology did not permit the establishment of a managed to get away when the ship they had been
direct link between dogs and rabies. We can say loaded onto was forced back to land in the ensuing
that the mention of rabies in connection with storm. The job left undone was completed during
dogs, actually a disease more often seen in cattle, Abdlazizs reign. However, the thought that a fire
squirrels, bats and farm animals, is a relatively in the city was brought on by this atrocious exile
new phenomenon for Istanbul. led the exilers to release the dogs.
From the period of Mahmud II on, stray dogs, The increasingly violent hostility of the
notable for three important functions in the city, state to dogs resulted in another forced exile
were regularly destroyed en masse. In his article during the era of the infamous and notorious
titled Istanbul Dogs in the September 1993 is- ttihat ve Terakki Frkas [Committee of Union
sue of the journal Tarih ve Toplum [History and and Progress]. 5060,000 dogs were first ban-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ished to Hayrszada and, when they had been ceeded in some cases during the exile in 1910 or-
destroyed after starving, killing and eating each dered by Cemil Topuzlu, the mayor at that time.
other, their carcasses were exported as manure
and animal fodder by a French entrepreneur. The Turks should not be considered for the
tendency to top-down cleaning, at least when dogs rounding up of the dogs. This very profitable job
are in question, has not altered since the time of where fifteen franks were paid per dog was taken
Union and Progress; one could even claim it has up by the Gypsies, writes Colombani. Later in the
increased, step by step. The writer of these words text we understand that by Turks is meant the
saw a plastic bin full of cats and dogs murdered Muslim community. Indeed, we see that among
to please foreign visitors during the 1996 Habitat the Istanbul residents of the time Europeans in
Conference on settlement. particular support the solution of the dog prob-
lem. The poodle of the Pera Palace Hotel, one of
Just as in the case of the settlement infringe- the rare domestic dogs of the time and very popu-
ments carried out in the name of urban trans- lar among the foreign guests of the hotel, was
formation (see Urban Transformation) without sought in vain among other dogs, probably taken
consulting the neighbourhood under transforma- away with stray dogs during the exile.
tion and indeed on a basis of economic bargain-
ing, the administration seeks a solution for the However, it would be a mistake to generalize
relationship between the urbanite and the dog about Europeans ideas about dogs starting out
using top-down methods. However, it wouldnt be from consideration of negative cases. Dogs contin-
accurate to say the same thing for the relationship ued their existence in Pera, which was generally
between the urban-dweller and the dog. In his inhabited by Westerners, simultaneously with
article, Timur indicates that the public protested dogs in other neighbourhoods and they still do. Al-
against each intervention of the administration though he didnt like dogs in the West, Claude Far-
and he reports, based on quotes from Colombani, rre, who was in Istanbul in 19021904, respected
a teacher at a French school at the time, that the Istanbul dogs for their reasonable and pensive
public tried to save and release the dogs and suc- demeanour. Secondly, the desire to get rid of
BECOMING ISTANBUL
dogs shows that the idea of urban planning in the tions) and most die htere either from starvation or
Western sense, which was first implemented by because of harsh weather conditions. Therefore
the City Government of the 6th Bureau, concerned if there is an ethical side to the ongoing relation-
not only physical but also sociological relations, ship between the two types of Istanbul residents,
not that Europeans simply did not like dogs. this doesnt derive from reason as assumed by the
individual in possession of the universal mind
Today the stray dogs and people of Istanbul (spirit) constructed and outlined from Descartes
still inhabit the same urban ecology. To under- to Kant and analysed by philosophers like Singer,
stand better why policies of forced exile have not or from the behavioural theory based on it. (Let
gained operability in Istanbul, it might be useful us not move on from here without pointing out
to look at the relationship between Istanbul dogs that the debates in the West on general animal
and people from a nominalist point of view. rights have rapidly progressed but have failed to
change much in reality and that their analysis has
It does not appear possible to explain the rela- remained just that.) Istanbul residents are hand
tionship between the people and dogs of Istanbul in glove with dogs but they dont categorize them
via a Peter Singer-esque utilitarian ethical philoso- under general rules or within temporal extensive-
phy based on an objection to speciesism and the ness, perhaps acting indifferently towards them at
minimisation of suffering. It is difficult to speak of times, but without supporting their destruction.
such an absolutist ethical impulse in Istanbul resi-
dents. For instance, some domestic dogs which Although the unique texture of the city, with
are found boring by their owners after they have its green valleys and hills which continue to ex-
been purchased and some stray dogs which are ist along the Bosphorus despite the land plunder
unwanted in the neighbourhood are often exiled which has going on since the 1980s, the open spaces
to remote woody areas of the city or to the Princes between neighbourhoods which begin to stand out
Islands where it is impossible to return to the city towards the north and south of the city, and the
(though dogs which manage to think of getting land along ring roads and thoroughfares creates
on the ferry must be acknowledged here as excep- natural shelters and living spaces for dogs where
BECOMING ISTANBUL
they can, to a certain extent, retreat from humans, staff and residents of luxury apartment blocks,
since we can also see stray dogs in Beyolu, on the and in poorer neighbourhoods there are consid-
doormat in the entrance of an Ottoman restaurant erable numbers of dogs carrying out their role as
geared towards tourists, or around the luxury resi- guard, feeding off the waste and what the residents
dences in Badat Caddesi (see Badat Caddesi) and provide. However not all dogs act as guards, and
its environs, the wealthiest suburb of the country we often come across nomadic dogs wandering
since the construction of the Second Bridge and the streets with waste collectors or the homeless.
the general headquarters of consumer society, we
could say that urban texture has only a partial in- The love of dogs, attributed to the structure
fluence on the continuance of their existence. of the religion of Islam, is a claim that is difficult
to support either concretely or via Islamic Law;
Following from this last case, we should add and it also contains the danger of rendering the
that the existence of dogs in neighbourhoods metropolis too dependent on Islamic culture. In
does not only derive from class division. Yes, they the Istanbul Encyclopaedia, Reat Ekrem Kou
are most probably destroyed more frequently tells us that although Muslims do look after dogs,
in middle and upper class neighbourhoods like they ridicule Rum [Greeks] who go as far as to
Ataky, Suadiye or Nianta, differing in terms take them into their homes. So should we think
of nutrition standards radically from their fellow that the aforementioned dog lovers described by
creatures inhabiting the homes of these neigh- Western travellers as Turks include the Rum
bourhoods; yet it is almost always possible to as well? At any rate, it does not seem possible to
come across significant numbers of stray dogs. explain the past co-existence of the people and
dogs of Istanbul only with reference to religious
This close-knit life relatively independent motives. Taner Timur is cautious about some 19th
of class structure may be explained by the provi- century Western travellers tracing the relationship
sion of security requirements. There are dogs in of Turks and dogs back to Turkmenistan. After
wealthy neighbourhoods that have been semi-do- all, kumis [Central Asian fermented mares milk]
mesticated because they are adopted by car park is not among our current beverages.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The 2004 law no. 5199 For the Protection of same week they bothered a top bureaucrat is an
Animals ruled that stray animals be sterilized and example of this type of grudge match.
released. Since other health problems would also
be dealt with during the process, the possibil- The observations above on the relationship
ity of other diseases including rabies would also between stray dogs and people in Istanbul may not
be eliminated. However, we learn that there are provide a full answer as to how this relationship
serious problems in the implementation of the has managed to continue for centuries, but it does
law from non-governmental organisations such contain some clues. Besides, it does not seem meth-
as the Association for the Protection of Owner- odologically possible to present a single argument
less Animals or the Association for Homeless regarding the relationship between the city, dogs
Animals and Nature Conservation. For one thing, and people. A work of genealogy, not seeking an
because of the rapidly spread of the system of ultimate outcome, but bringing together intricate
subcontracting of recent times, this job has also power relations, the ethical codes they give rise
been assigned to a private company. It is enough to, the factor of chance, efforts at Westernisation,
for the company to show post-sterilisation or- the various stages of the individual, given, vari-
gans to receive payment from the municipality. able environmental conditions and many other
In other words, we dont have any information accidental phenomena will help us steer clear of a
regarding whether the animals have returned progressivist understanding of urban history. And
to their neighbourhoods, or whether they have we will bring at least a glimmer of an explanation as
been killed after this operation. The fate of the to how the culture of living together we have been
anti-rabies fund from the EU is unknown too. yearning for for so long has continued to struggle
However, every Istanbul resident occasionally on with our four-legged companions in existence.
comes across dogs poisoned with strychnine.
These operations sometimes aim to clean a Ulus Atayurt
neighbourhood (see Cleansing), and sometimes
are a result of personal grudges. The poisoning > Badat Caddesi, Cleansing,
of two dogs in Kuzguncuk last year within the Urban Transformation
BECOMING ISTANBUL
STREET ANIMALS the warm sun. The vast number of cats on the other
hand could easily make one think they are worship-
THE COMMUNITY OF STRAY ANIMALS WHO SHARE THE ped here. They rarely change their location as long
URBAN SPACE WITH HUMAN BEINGS. [ED.] as they are not looking for food or lovers. Protected
gardens between blocks of dwellings formed of con-
The Silent Millions (or street cats and dogs). The tiguous buildings in the old city texture or undefi-
number of Istanbuls non- human users, its cats ned spaces are places they often prefer in particular.
and dogs (see Stray Dogs), are far more than its vi- Dozens of cats live in the seaside caves along the
sitors especially if they are coming from the West CaddebostanKartal shore. The early hours of the
would expect to see. They have the opportunity morning after sunrise, when no one has yet left their
to circulate freely in the city without requiring any homes, is usually their time to search for food. They
legal document. They can be seen everywhere. In his exist in the city both with people and in the gaps of
writings from the end of the 19th century, Edmondo space and time where there are no people.
de Amicis mentions dogs as the second populati-
on of the city, less in numbers in terms of a crowd, The relationship of the urban dweller with
but no less strange. All the dogs together form a animals hosts contradictions and multiple poles.
gret republic of vagabonds, without collars, jobs, These poles contain transversal partnerships and
names, homes or law. They do not hesitate to curl oppositions. Destroyers and protectionists, indi-
up underfoot in the middle of the most crowded viduals and organisations sometimes come up
streets, but they sleep with one eye open, prepared against each other and sometimes end up on the
in advance for an intolerant walking stick or a kick. same side. Many Istanbul residents have vivid
They are easily accused of indolence and laziness memories of taking to the streets with yoghurt
because they are seen asleep during the day, yet the to administer first aid to dogs following the lay-
day is their resting time and the night their time to ing out of poisoned meat by municipality teams.
work. When they get tired of protecting their area There are also many stories of residents going
in bands, determining the levels of hierarchy and to the dog shelter to bring the dog of the neigh-
socializing, its time to abandon themselves under bourhood back after it has been taken away by
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the municipality following complaints. And be- sterilisation and the adaptation to an image of a
tween these poles, animals live the lives shaped human and civilised city.
by chance where they will be born-fed-get injured-
fall in love-give birth and die. Those who try to straighten things out are
always confronted with folding and creasing
There are both individual and organized elements. Stray animals survive in the niches
torturers and protectionists. The motivation of among those creases. The folds hosting these
those who act individually is nurtured by culture lives are sometimes explained by tolerance, some-
or personality traits, whereas the organized are times by indifference and sometimes by function
nurtured by ideas, with the common denominator (mouse catcher-cat/guard-dog). At this point it is
of both poles apparently a progressivist mindset. revealed that the two poles emerge not between
The destructive organisations have been in action those who try to protect animals and those who
since the rulers of the Tanzimat [Re-/Organisa- try to destroy them, but between a group perceiv-
tion]. The protectionists are more recent. Institu- ing the existence of animals in the city as a prob-
tions defending animal rights no doubt heal many lem and another: a group which can be brought
wounds and prevent maltreatment, but they also together along an axis of toleranceindifference
stand side by side with those who want to destroy and functionality. Can a city be imagined which
the animals. Both often try either to isolate ani- exists for animals as much as humans? Should
mals from urban space or regulate their existence the folds in places be out of the way and illegal?
withinit. While one uses destruction as a tool, the Cannot folds hosting niches of life be created will-
other uses animal shelters and campaigns, for ingly? Cant the city be designed and constructed
sterilisation and to find owners. In fact it seems for animals as much as humans?
possible to read the tensions caused by the de-
sire to modernize Istanbul via the regulation of Naln Bahekapl
stray animals. Stray dogs and cats will probably
be in trouble as long as modernisation in Istanbul > Stray Dogs
is understood as an inane non-placeification,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
STREET FOOD VENDOR of pedestrian traffic like ports, main stations and
squares. Different types of street food vendors
THE STREET FOOD VENDOR SELLS A DIVERSE can be found in skdar, Kadky, Eminn,
SELECTION OF FOODS INCLUDING RICE WITH
CHICKPEAS, RICE WITH CHICKEN, FISH SANDWICHES, Karaky and Beikta.
LIVER SANDWICHES, KFTE WRAPS, BAKED
POTATOES, SANDWICHES WITH CHEESE-EGG- The variety of food ranges from cooked food
TOMATO-PEPPER, SUCUK SANDWICHES, KFTE
SANDWICHES, STUFFED MUSSELS, KFTE [RAW kept warm to be served like rice with chickpeas,
MEATBALLS MADE WITH MINCEMEAT, POUNDED rice with chicken or stuffed mussels to other
WHEAT AND CHILLI POWDER] AND KOKORE [GRILLED food where the ingredients are kept prepared
SHEEPS INTESTINES] AT DIFFERENT HOURS OF THE
DAY IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. and cooked to order like kfte, sucuk and kokore.
Fried fish placed between half a loaf of bread is
Offering a stand-up dinner break proposal for a sold from fishermans boats in Eminn. In a
reasonable price in a traffic jam, during a match, similar manner, there are the sucuk-and-bread
while leaving a concert, such vendors someti- and kfte-and-bread stalls on the corner of the
mes chased by the municipal police force wan- Open Air Theatre or on the Bostanc shore, which
der around in the city or sometimes return to the are originally mobile but do not seem to budge
same spot, and are stationary enough for us all much through summer and winter. Gzleme [sa-
to get accustomed to them. Their mobility allows voury pancake] vendors add to the sucuk-and-
them to test different points of intensity to find bread and kfte-and-bread stalls after concerts.
the most suitable sales points.
The fully mobile vendors follow a predeter-
Their vehicles, depending on the type of mined roster so as to be in the same place at the
food and route they select, can be a fishermans same time every day, and this is how most of them
boat (see Fish Sandwich), a three-wheel bicycle form a regular customer base. Some, like Ali Bey
connected to a pushcart with a display coun- who for many years arrived in front of the entrance
ter or a pick-up truck that doubles as a counter. of Atlas Arcade after 6 oclock in the evening in his
Their locations cluster around the focal points white overcoat and sold ili kfte [bulgur meat-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
balls stuffed with mincemeat] he brought along in salted cucumbers in summer. In the summer
a basket covered with a cloth which had the word heat, and at later hours, better lasting and less
Sabrta [stone of patience] embroidered on it, treated foods appear on food vendor pushcarts.
have earned an important place in the memories The mobile food units, which also create tempo-
of those users of stiklal Caddesi (see stiklal Cad- rary points of social contact through short chats
desi or "Beyolu"). with the vendor, can also sell deserts like tulumba
[fried batter soaked in syrup] and burma [cake of
Like daily cleaners and baby sitters, as part filo pastry and nuts].
of the informal economy, the street food vendors
also carve out their own network of contacts in the Although it is not possible to categorize the
city. They determine their field of sovereignty ac- consumers of certain street foods according to
cording to these networks and create their internal class or age group, cotton candy did steal our
economic order. The majority of street food ven- hearts in our childhood; stuffed mussels with
dors carrying stuffed mussel trays who appear on lemon was eaten on the way back home on a boozy
stiklal Caddesi after 7 or 8 oclock in the evening night in our youth; and rice with chickpeas has
are from Mardin. The sucuk-and-bread you eat often been our lunch squeezed between two meet-
in Maka and Tahtakale wont be the same price, ings on a high-tempo workday.
while the ili kfte you eat on stiklal Caddesi is
quite a refined product for the street, on the other Evren Uzer
hand the cheese sandwich found in Eminn can
be produced without much knowledge or abil- > Fish Sandwich, stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu"
ity. Maintaining a standard of quality in the food
and accumulating regular customers secures the
lastingness of the street food vendor.
The content of the dish changes seasonally,

and a vendor may sell chestnuts in winter and
BECOMING ISTANBUL
STREET MARKET (I) like parking lots (see Parking Lot) or squares for
one or two days a week. Erected below awnings
AN ELEMENT OF URBAN TRADE WHICH HAS of white canvas from the early hours of the day
PRESERVED ITS EXISTENCE FOR CENTURIES,
ALTHOUGH ITS FUNCTION AND ECONOMIC MEANING until it gets dark, stands with the colourful goods
HAS RADICALLY CHANGED. [ED.] displayed on them provide for colourful zones of
trade.
Istanbul is a trade centre and it has a great vari- In the Istanbul of 2008, a total of 358 street
ety of shopping places. The word ar [market] markets are set up during the week; with 243 street
brings to mind areas of trade such as the historic markets on the European side, and 115 street mar-
commercial buildings like the Kapalar Covered kets on the Asian side. There are 43 different mar-
Bazaar, the Msr ars/Corn Bazaar and the kets on Monday, 48 on Tuesday, 57 on Wednesday,
hans, shops and arastas [rows of shops] affiliated 59 on Thursday, 54 on Friday, 52 on Saturday and
with mosques in their vicinity. In addition to this, 45 on Sunday, so it would be easy to find one ev-
the big, American-style shopping malls can also ery day.
be perceived as ar. Streets with rows of shops
on one or both sides, the Beyolu Fish Market or The size and number of stands varies accord-
the permanent public markets in various parts ing to the market but at each daily goods are gen-
of the city also fulfil the function of ar. The erally on sale. In addition to foodstuffs such as
common feature of these trade areas unique to vegetables, fruit, cheese, eggs, rice, dried nuts
Istanbul is that they are all permanent. However, and fish, the markets also have clothing, various
there are also other mobile, dynamic-temporary fabrics, bags, shoes, toys, smaller furniture items
ar, which dont actually have any special arc- and various tools and devices. Since they are set
hitectural features but whose presence changes up in the open air, weather conditions are taken
city space: street markets. into consideration. Without air-conditioning,
they just stretch out their awnings over head,
Street markets are set up often along streets and therefore these trading areas are ecological,
in a certain area, and in some cases in open areas environmentally-friendly places. Since trade is
BECOMING ISTANBUL
related to the weather, some goods are only avail- set up under one of the awnings or in a corner of
able at certain times, for instance fish isnt sold in the market and is immediately put into service.
summer. Although many vegetables are available In big markets like the Kadky Tuesday Market
throughout the year with produce coming from it is possible to see temporary food stalls where
greenhouses, the four seasons are always felt at small snacks like wraps are available.
street markets. The dynamism of markets changes
during religious holidays and on eves of holidays A visit to a street market is essential to get a
the crowds swell significantly. view of everyday Istanbul.
Since cars cant enter the streets on days when The lively scenes of the street market reflect
the markets are set up, a natural pedestrian area important characteristics of the city. In 1995
forms. In this pedestrian area vendors and buyers there were 321 street markets. This number has
can directly communicate face to face and a street increased by 37 in 13 years to reach 358. Of course,
that is calm for six days can suddenly come to life the population of the city has increased as well
for a day. For that day only, below these awnings, and there are now more areas of settlement in the
the voices of the sellers and the generally female city. However, one must not forget the increase in
customers mix and a cheerful crowd brings life the number of supermarkets and hypermarkets,
to the neighbourhood. which cripple small trade.
A number of mobile side services in tandem Street markets have enemies as well as regu-
with the dynamics of this mobile trade system lars. There are many people among those who
form spontaneously. In permanent markets cold live along the streets where the markets are set up
and hot beverage services are generally sup- who complain to the municipality that the street
plied from a teahouse or a tea range. If there is gets too crowded or it becomes difficult to go out.
a teahouse just next to the market place or on People are disturbed when they cant park their
one of the streets they erect their stands, market cars in front of their houses or by the noise of the
vendors use them. If not, a temporary tea range is crowd. There are also those who dont like such
BECOMING ISTANBUL
markets because the streets get dirty when they markets are set up. There are also markets which
are used by so many people. have designed and developed new systems where
special posts are used to attach the guide ropes on
To become a vendor in a street market one first the corners of the canvas so as to stretch out the aw-
has to register with the Istanbul Chamber of General ning without using the walls of the building along
Street Market Vendors, then an application is made the street and disturbing the residents.
to the municipal police of the street market where a
stall is requested. Rents vary according to the loca- In addition to neighbourhood markets sup-
tion of the stall and its surface area. A vendor erects ported by the municipality, there are also other
her/his stall, moving like a nomad from market to interesting, private initiative markets in Istanbul
market depending on the day of the week: the ven- which receive permission from the municipality.
dor may be in the centre of Kadky on Tuesday, in The Kastamonu market set up in Dolapdere on
the centre of Fatih on Wednesday, in Fndkzade Sundays is one of these. This is a market formed by
on Friday, in Bakrky rpc on Saturday and in villagers and garden fruit, vegetables, homemade
Beyolu Dolapdere on Sunday. The municipal police grape molasses and special bread are brought here
try to check on one market every day. These controls from Kastamonu and nebolu by truck, therefore
should not be perceived as aimed just at checking on migrants from Kastamonu and people living in
the vendors, but also as an effort to provide a com- the vicinity of the market gather early Sunday
fortable shopping atmosphere for customers. A line morning in the market place, forming a big crowd
is drawn on the surface of the street to determine waiting to buy the freshest produce. On Saturdays
the position of the stall, protecting the pedestrian the Ecological Public Market is opened on the
area for the customer. Streets around the market permanent market in ili, Feriky. Ecological
may also be organized for pedestrian passage on products are brought here from various regions of
the day of the market to provide comfortable access Turkey and are sold at far more affordable prices
for customers through streets around the market. than shops. This market, which was opened in
The municipal police are also trying to solve the June 2006 as the first 100% ecological market in
problems of people who live in the streets where the Turkey, is a pioneer in its field and should create
BECOMING ISTANBUL
an example for the inclusion of ecological prod- established locations, and merchants who do busi-
ucts in normal street markets at affordable prices. ness in five different locations a week. Intensifying
the open-space infrastructure of Istanbul, they
Street markets, which once a week bring sig- set-up in streets, open parking lots, watersheds,
nificant vitality to each neighbourhood of the city, but also occasionally establish permanent struc-
can continue their existence in the long termas tures. Residents of neighborhoods know the day
spaces which reveal a unique aspect of Istanbul and location of their local street market, as well as
as long as they continue to be pleasant spaces the time-honored specialty street markets (fish,
which consider the security of the neighbourhood organic, clothing, imported goods, etc.) disper-
residents, customers and the market vendors. sed throughout the city, typically in permanent
locations operating seven days a week.
Yoshiko Tsuruta
The focus of the street market is on the trans-
> Parking Lot formation of open-space infrastructure into
vibrant public spaces and the tectonic imper-
manence of their structures. What makes street
STREET MARKET (II) [PAZAR] markets unique from farmers markets elsewhere
is that they remain a primary supplier of perish-
STREET MARKETS ARE A HISTORIC URBAN ARCHETYPE
IN THE REGION, SET-UP WEEKLY FROM VILLAGE TO able goods for the diverse social cross-sections
VILLAGE AND DAILY FROM NEIGHBOURHOOD TO of Istanbuls society. Moreover, they represent an
NEIGHBOURHOOD IN MAJOR CITIES. THEY REMAIN incredible collaboration between merchants, who
A PRIMARY SOURCE OF SEASONAL VEGETABLES, FRUIT,
DAIRY PRODUCTS, GRAINS AND SIMPLE HOUSEHOLD come directly to each neighborhood and create a
ITEMS FOR LOCAL RESIDENTS. comprehensive covered structure that keeps the
sun, rain and snow off the goods and shoppers.
Although seemingly an informal network of pla-
ces, structures and merchants, street markets Two municipal districts in Istanbul were ob-
are in fact formalized with yearly rental fees, served to uncover urban spatial patterns and neigh-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
borhood zones, the pre-20th century district of Fatih throughout the municipalities). The ropes cre-
and the post-20th century Beikta, both on the Eu- ate a hybrid tension and kinetic structure. The
ropean side. Both municipalities host two street tension structural system connects to buildings,
markets on Monday and Tuesdays which range in vertical structures (trees, telephone poles, fences),
size from small (20100 merchants) to mega (over and merchant tables, while the kinetic dimension
1000). The mega street market is the only street of the system uses poles in friction with asphalt,
market located in a place designed for public use, concrete, dirt and rocks. Weights are also used
Fatih Klliye (an Ottoman civic complex); this is to hold their position against the forces of the
unique as street markets typically only occupy Is- tensioned tarps; and, we think, also used to keep
tanbuls urban open-space infrastructure and rarely people from tripping over the poles in the middle
use public-spaces like parks, squares, plazas or pe- of the aisles. In creating this structure, merchants
destrian streets. It is also important to note that borrow rope line space, canopy space, connection
some weekly street markets in the 20th century points and context to create the elaborate web of
had nestled into their locations for daily business the structure. The merchants take great pride in
with more permanent structures (steel frames with their ropes and tarps, placing a great value on their
nylon tarps that could be locked). But in the past quality and maintenance. Both natural materials
year in Beikta, the city has begun to remove these and synthetic materials are used for the ropes and
merchants and transformed those sites into plazas. tarps, while the poles are almost always made
from simple steel tube. Poles are also used on
Street markets are open for business year rainy days to poke at the tarps to drain the pud-
round with sophisticated, yet simple, means to dles collecting on their horizontal surfaces. The
create a shared canopy a whole to cope with tarps let light through, shade against harsh sun,
Istanbuls four distinct seasons. The shared can- and protect all from the rain and snow hence
opy is made from three basic parts: tarps, ropes different tarps are used during different seasons.
and poles. These parts are brought and owned
individually by the vendors (tables are rented The importance of the endurance of the
on-site as part of their annual rental fee fixed street market as a common urban archetype in
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the fabric of Istanbul is in its intensification of SUBURB

existing open-space resources, its impromptu
collaborative structures, and the rhythmic, yet THE TERM DESCRIBING NEIGHBOURHOODS ON
ephemeral animation of urban neighborhoods THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN IN FRENCH DESCRIBES
public spaces. Everything that is used to create ONLY PLANNED NEIGHBOURHOODS WHICH HAVE
BEEN ESTABLISHED WITH PLANNING PERMISSION.
the market-place for a day comes and then goes, UNPLANNED OLD GECEKONDU NEIGHBOURHOODS
for the duration of purpose. It generates value for BUILT WITHOUT PLANNING PERMISSION ARE TODAY
the city in social public-space, income and access CALLED VARO [GHETTO]. [ED.]
to affordable goods for the residents. It makes no

pretension to exclude different social classes nor 1871: the YedikuleKkekmece suburban line.
become permanent. Its structures are simple and 1872: connected to Sirkeci to become the Sirkeci
timeless, yet use sophisticated structural forces Kkekmece line. 1873: the HaydarpaaPendik
we are only now beginning to understand in the suburban line. Stations added in between and to
design of permanent structures. And, although the end of the line are in brackets. The Sirkeci and
there is no sign posting, flyers, or advertisement, Haydarpaa railway stations are built according
it relies on social networks and neighborhood to the Latin system, the train and the city are at
word-of-mouth to learn the locations, best ven- the same elevation. Intermediary stations are
dors, and the day of the event. The street market Germanic; the train travels above, the city or sett-
has not lost its relevance in the contemporary lement remains below. The vehicle the passenger
fabric of Istanbul and its minimalism delights boards is called the train according to custom,
our imaginations for other means to transform though sometimes also banliy [suburb/an] like
existing open-space infrastructure into theatri- some of the stops it passes through.
cal public-space. (In Turkish , the word Pazar
means both marketplace and Sunday). SRKEC Yedikule Bakrky Yeilky
KKEKMECE Yeilky Bakrky
Alexis anal and Murat anal YedikuleSRKEC
BECOMING ISTANBUL
HAYDARPAA Kzltoprak Feneryolu Yeilky Florya enlik (became Meneke)

Fenerbahe Gztepe (ErenkySuadiye ex- Kkekmece Souksu (KanaryaStation was
tension) Bostanc Maltepe Kartal PENDK added in between) HALKALI (Kanarya Station
(connected to TuzlaDarcaHerekeGebze) was added in between) Souksu Kkek-
PENDK Kartal Maltepe Bostanc (Eren- mece enlik (became Meneke) Florya Yeilky
kySuadiye extension) Gztepe Fenerbahe Yeilyurt Baruthane (was not constructed)
Feneryolu Kzltoprak HAYDARPAA Bakrky Yenimahalle Zeytinburnu Kazleme
Yedikule Samatya (became Kocamustafapaa)
1955: Sirkeci Souksu suburban line. It was Yenikap Kumkap CankurtaranSRKEC
extended to Halkal to become the SirkeciHalkal
line. The first electric train. The underlined are the 2012(?): the Marmaray line. Gebze
main stops (railway stations): Sirkeci, Bakrky, HaydarpaaSirkeciHalkal unite over one line.
Florya, Halkal. The two name changes of interme- The names of the stops in square brackets are not
diary stops, one built later, and one cancelled, are included in the new route. A question mark for
in brackets. The system is Germanic; train above, Haydarpaa. The underlined are the underground
city or settlement below. When the train acceler- stations (deep station); drawings presented to the
ates its lighting goes off for a few seconds. The public under the heading probable design are
vehicle is often called the banliy. The suburban without design (modelled before their architec-
arrives, the suburban departs, you catch the sub- tural design emerged). There is a tube passageway
urban, you miss the suburban. As the suburbans between the coloured printed Kazleme (sur-
boarded have become increasingly provincialized, face station) and Stleme~Ayrlkeme.
the suburbs lived in have become urbanized. There is only a faint possibility of the vehicle to be
boarded along these lines being called a train or
SRKEC Cankurtaran Kumkap Ye-nikap a suburban. The term may be taking the metro,
Samatya (became Kocamustafapaa) Yedikule with a metropolitan connotation. If its expressed
Kazleme Zeytinburnu Yenimahalle Bakrky as taking the Marmaray its translation will be
Baruthane (was not constructed) Yeilyurt easy, its global.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
GEBZE Osmangazi Fatih ayrova SUMMER RESORT

Tuzla meler Aydntepe Gzelyal Tersane
Kaynarca Pendik Yunus Kartal Baak RESIDENCE USED AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE YEAR
AND ESPECIALLY IN THE SUMMER, AND AN URBAN
Atalar Cevizli Maltepe Sreyya Plaj AREA WHERE THIS TYPE OF RESIDENCE FEATURES
dealtepe Kkyal Bostanc Suadiye PROMINENTLY.
Erenky Gztepe Feneryolu Stleme
~ Ayrlkeme [Haydarpaa?] skdar // In the context of Istanbul and in the interval from
SRKEC [CankurtaranKumkap] Yenikap the early 19th century to the first quarter of the
[Kocamustafapaa Yedikule] Kazleme 20th century, the word sayfiye [summer resort]
Zeytinburnu Yenimahalle Bakrky Ataky defined districts, and residences in these dist-
Yeilyurt Yeilky Florya [Meneke] ricts, which were within the borders of the city
Kkekmece Mustafa Kemal [Souksu but were visited often only in summer months
Kanarya] HALKALI [KanaryaSouksu] because of both transportation methods and the
Mustafa Kemal Kkekmece [Meneke] lifestyle they determined. With the creation of
Florya Yeilky Yeilyurt Ataky Bakrky new settlements, the pre-19th century tradition
Yenimahalle Zeytinburnu Kazleme of palace circles maintaining summer residences
[Yedikule Kocamustafapaa] Yenikap in distant localities of the city became no longer
[Kumkap Cankurtaran] SRKEC // skdar a reserved privilege reserved, spreading to the
[Haydarpaa?] Ayrlkeme~Stleme wealthy section of the public like top level burea-
Feneryolu Gztepe Erenky Suadiye ucrats and tradesmen who lived in the prestigious
Bostanc Kkyal dealtepe Sreyya Plaj parts of town.
Maltepe Cevizli Atalar Baak Kartal
Yunus Pendik Kaynarca Tersane Gzelyal The most important summer resort of Istan-
Aydntepe meler Tuzla ayrova Fatih bul in the early 19th century was the Bosphorus, a
Osmangazi GEBZE water route passing through the city with water-
side mansions (see Yal) lining both its opposing
Aydan Balamir shores. The existence of transportation solely
BECOMING ISTANBUL
dependent on the sea enabled the development of summer resorts continued almost until the first
the Bosphorus as a shore settlement. This summer quarter of the 20th century.
resort quality of the Bosphorus brought along a
unique lifestyle based on the sea and the seasons The summer resort tradition, which through-
(see Bathing/Swimming). The move to the Bos- out all periods allowed a short break from the dense
phorus in early summer, spending the summer and complex structure of Istanbul without travel-
months in the midst of nature and the return to ling too far away from the city, began to seek new
Istanbul in autumn, was a luxury and a ceremo- locations outside the city with the population in-
nial migration belonging to a privileged section crease and the shifting city borders after the 1950s.
of the city. Although the borders of Bosphorus And although it is also in continuous settlement
villages expanded with the reinforcement of sea today, the Princes Islands preserve their status
and land transportation in the second half of the as the only inner city summer resort in Istanbul.
19th century and the Bosphorus began to integrate
with the city and turn into a suburb (see Suburb), Yldz Salman
it didnt change the summer resort quality of the
waterside mansions shore. However, the profile > Bathing/Swimming, Isle, Suburb, Yal
of seasonal users and the cosmopolitan demo-
graphic structure influenced the development of
these Bosphorus villages. With the appearance of SURVEILLANCE
foreign embassies, the summer residences and
the wealthy non-Muslim population of the city, AN ACT OF CREATING SPACE, A SOCIAL AND
European lifestyles became widespread in these ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE.
neighbourhoods too. The Bosphorus was the chief
summer resort of Pera residents, but the Mar- The term surveillance brings to mind being
mara shores and the Princes Islands (see Isle) under surveillance. These two concepts are in-
also underwent similar development. The use terrelated. In the context of both physical and
of neighbourhoods like Yeilky and Erenky as spatial social control, the relationship between
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the individual and space is based on the dicho- dice which consists of security codes full of clich;
tomy of surveillance/being under surveillance whereas I think that it is a fairly secure location
and the concept of the Panopticon is based on the (just like many other similar neighbourhoods): a
control mechanism developed between these two modest place, about which myths are produced
concepts. In recent years, public space has been that legitimize alienation from the city for those
defined according to various mechanisms of this who choose to live in gated communities (see
relationship. Fundamentally, in every commu- Gated Housing Estate). Those myths whispered
nity, surveillance/being under surveillance are secretly among people on the streets across town
concepts which can influence both social struc- do not just follow us as we stroll around its streets;
ture and architecture in the organisation of cities they also form the prejudices which condition our
into neighbourhoods. Surveillance is the covert perception of our surroundings. When we posi-
monitoring and observation of the individuals tion ourselves within the city, our neighbour-
relationship with space (e.g. entrance to/exit from hood and the streets as a so-called resident, we
a location) by an/other subject/s. seek to determine our trajectory with these myths
and whispers. When we transform the distance
Stabbing, drugs, theft, the inner fear of the between us and the other into an architectural
other who we think is not one of us and all the un- environment, we nurture violence, urban fragmen-
canny situations we can imagine form the myths, tation and our social taboos, and we interrupt the
transmitted by word of mouth, on certain streets urban memory which makes for contact through
we live on and their surroundings. For example, association in public areas. In global cities, ethnic
Tophane with its mostly Arabic, Kurdish and Roma and social differences complement fragmentation;
inhabitants is very close to central cosmopolitan collective urban memory becomes inexpressible
and heterogeneous locations like Taksim, stiklal and unimaginable. Vague identifications regarding
and Tnel, the centre of the entertainment indus- space lead to urban discourses dominated by con-
try. But still the Tophane neighbourhood, regarded cepts such as anxiety, apprehension, security and
as uncanny and dangerous, is one of the others insecurity. Ghettoes, the urban periphery, gated
in the urban subconscious, surrounded by preju- housing estates or other urban zones with contrast-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ing socio-cultural and economic backgrounds are a community, targeting especially upper middle-
mythified by these urban discourses that are not class clients. The new upper middle class emerg-
based on real facts. Since the last century, concepts ing as a result of neo-liberal economic strategies
of the city and the metropolis have referred to after 1990 and the changes in housing legislations
heterogeneous utopias, the togetherness of diverse have played an active role in the development
communities and the access of masses to public of these gated communities. The anti-utopian
space. However, from 1990 onwards, we have wit- urban discourses used as part of the promotion
nessed the bankruptcy of urban utopias and of the of these residential areas describe the modern-
multi-cultural, privileged and modern urban resi- ism everyone longs for: security threats, a need
dent. After 9/11, discourses of security, terrorism for hygiene, fear of the earthquake, air pollution,
and emergency legitimized control mechanisms busy traffic and urban anxiety. Visual images and
in global cities. Virtual ID checks, hidden cameras the frequent use of English expressions in posters
in every corner of public space, restrictions for and publicity render an imaginary discourse real.
citizens whose IDs reveal their ethnic status and
the architectural environment reconstructed and In Perfectly Suited for You, a video installation
privatized accordingly constitute the variety of about gated housing estates in Istanbul by Solmaz
types of surveillance mechanisms. Shahbazi dated 2005, we listen to a lady living in
Kemer Country on one of the screens installation:
The increasing number of gated housing es- to this parent, who says that she ran away from the
tates in recent years leaving their imprint on sub- city centre in the name of a hygienic modernity, for
urbanism is one thing Istanbul has in common security and to provide a better education for her
with many global cities. Recently, the social and children, Istanbul is nothing but a wild, dangerous
cultural trajectory of urban fragmentation has forest. We can sense in the words of this Kemer
been determined by the gated housing estates Country resident who talks in detail about the new
built from 1995 onwards on the urban periphery, lifestyle she has adopted as part of this commu-
protected by all sorts of security systems, offer- nity that the desire to come together, to form a
ing a certain lifestyle and thus the formation of private cultural community is her motivation for
BECOMING ISTANBUL
moving, rather than ethnic, religious or economic ganisation of space using biopolitics transform
determining factors. On the other hand we observe our security and social rights in the city? Blent
that this artificial community redefines the oth- Dikens article describes gated communities as
ers in their outlook on the city. Departing from camps of yearning. Italian philosopher Giorgio
the phenomenon of gated housing estates, we see Agamben describes the concept of the camp as a
that concepts such as public space, privatisation, place where, in the bio-political context, a state of
security, identity and citizenship are reshaped. exception is established. According to Agamben,
Rather than a sense of belonging to a city, member- the camp is a space where the common rule of law
ship of a community defined through collective is suspended parallel to a crisis or abnormal situa-
living and property determines the identification tion in society. The legitimizing power of the state
between the city and us. At this point we witness of exception controls the individual and removes
a clash in the definition of the city and city dwell- her/his political rights. The camp, where different
ers (or citizens). On one hand the city hosts inter- modes of control are applied to the body is a form
related cultures and ethnic groups; on the other of space generating power and bio-political tools.
hand it takes up a strange new position against Diken compares physical control in camps (walls,
the right to access public space and the sharing of cameras, guards) and in gated communities with
urban space and against the definition of citizen- their panoptic surveillance systems and discusses
ship based on the discourse of the nation-state. In the desire to be under control, to be inside such
new global cities the description of citizenship is a camp, and the division between insiders and
established through norms, practices, mean- outsiders in terms of exercising or abandoning
ings and identities (cultural). What is the role, rights of citizenship (see Security). In this sense, he
in this context, of gated communities, which describes gated communities as camps of yearn-
have become progressively widespread in recent ing for panoptic surveillance space. The fact that
years and have gradually increased social frag- gated communities are surveillance areas equipped
mentation? How can we discuss this situation in with security, cameras and advanced technology
terms of spatial organisation and civil rights? How contrasts significantly with the idea of security in
do these urban discourses formed via the reor- a neighbourhood like Tophane. But we can still
BECOMING ISTANBUL
define the concept of security, not in terms of tech- Only a very few synagogues are noisy these days,
nology, but in terms of the relationship between save on special holidays, weddings, bar mitzvahs
various communities living in this neighbourhood. and the occasion of bomb attacks. Synagogues
Here the power of surveillance and the security of can be found all over the city, on the banks of the
a community or a neighbourhood do not consist Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, on the European
of physical elements such as high walls and tech- and Asian sides and on the citys islands, in the
nology; but, quite the opposite, of an ambiguous old economic heart of the city in Sirkeci and in
network of relationships. When we compare such the upmarket neighbourhoods further north.
opposed communities and physical spaces, neigh- Istanbuls synagogues tell many stories: about the
bourhoods or districts, in terms of these relational historically changing socio-spatial distribution
networks and everyday living practices, we renew of the citys Jewish communities (see Ethnicity,
the analysis concerning the debate about public Minority), about the origins of the communities
space and rights of citizenship within the city. that built these temples and worshiped in them
and about the profound presence of Jewish life in
Pelin Tan the spatial and historical layers of the city.
> Gated Housing Estate, Security There are the medieval Jewish quarters on
the Golden Horn, hosting the 16th century Ah-
rida Synagogue in Balat, built by Jews from Ohrid
SYNAGOGUE [Macedonia] and the Yanbol Synagogue, estab-
lished by immigrants from the Bulgarian city of
HAVRA IS A SLIGHTLY DEROGATORY TERM FOR the same name. Only a very few Jews remain in
SYNAGOGUE [SNAGOG] IN TURKISH, ALSO INDICATING these quarters, mostly in the home for the elderly
A NOISY AND MESSY PLACE. CLOSELY RELATED TO THE and the Or Ahayim hospital maintained by the
TERM IFIT ARISI OR JEWISH MARKET, ANOTHER
SLIGHTLY DEROGATORY SYNONYM FOR A CHAOTIC Chief Rabbinate.
STATE OF AFFAIRS.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The 19th century extensions of Istanbuls wards towards the modern residential areas of
Jewish spaces reach out over much of what is ili in the early twentieth century. Today, it is one
today the central city. In Galata in Beyolu, there of the most important Jewish temples of Istanbul
is an Italian Synagogue and the Ashkenazi Syna- and its slightly less than 20,000 Jews. Also on
gogue, one of the formerly three temples of Istan- the islands the synagogues are very much a 20th
buls Ashkenasim, always a minor group within century phenomenon: Hesed Le Avraam named
the proud and powerful Sephardic community. after its benefactor Avram Fresko is the oldest
Ironically, the many Jewish temples of Galata are synagogue there, built in 1904. Two other temples
located close to the Teutonia, the German com- were added as late as the 1950s for the families
munity house now part of the Goethe Institute, who spend their summer holidays on Burgaz and
where in the 1940s, German agents and local col- Heybeliada (see Isle).
laborators were busy disseminating propaganda
material to instil into the Turkish public a sense On the Anatolian side, most synagogues were
of Germanic anti-Semitism. This German under- built in the late 19th century, especially in Kuzgun-
taking, however, only achieved partial success, at cuk, where only a very few Jews remain. Kadkys
least back then. Hemdat Israel (The Mercy of the Sons of Israel)
remains a splendid piece of religious architecture
The Zulfaris Synagogue is now the Jewish in the otherwise rapidly transforming residential
Museum, operated by the Quincentennial Foun- quarter of Yeldeirmeni. Caddebostan Synagogue
dation that somehow missed out on the fact that is set amidst the concrete blocks and shopping
Istanbuls Jewish life did not start with Sultan centres of Badat Caddesi (see Badat Caddesi)
Bayazits invitation to the hard-pressed Jews of in the Asian sides most established upper middle
Reconquista Spain, but actually predates the Ot- class neighbourhood. It is the centre of commu-
toman state by almost a thousand years. nity life on the Asian side.
The Bet Israel is a symbol of Istanbuls grow- Yet, the synagogue that most deserves the
ing Jewish bourgeoisie and its movement north- accusation of mess and chaos, if not of its own
BECOMING ISTANBUL
making, is the Neve Shalom, the citys largest and for means of transport between the shores of the
most important synagogue with the now hollow Bosphorus. On the other hand, boats which didnt
sounding name Valley of Peace. It was attacked provide travel security and meet the requirements
in 6 September 1986 and on 15 November 2003 by of public transport vehicles, failed to meet the
Islamist terrorists, and in both cases more than increasing inner-city transport demand. The ne-
twenty people died. ed for a systematic ferry operation arose in such
an environment. Described by chronicler Ahmet
Kerem ktem Ltfi Efendi as a ferry company, the foundation
of the irket-i Hayriye is considered an important
> Badat Caddesi, Ethnicity, Isle, Minority
achievement in the field of transport. Cevdet and
Fuat Pasha, who took the first step towards the
foundation of the irket-i Hayriye, in 1850 pen-
RKET- HAYRYE CITY ned the bill outlining the importance of a ferry
MARITIME LINES company in view of the increasing demand for
transportation along the Bosphorus and the need
FOUNDED IN 1851, THE FIRST PUBLIC TRANSPORT for such a company. The subject was assessed and
COMPANY IN ISTANBUL USING MOTOR VEHICLES. [ED.]
an official report was published to announce that
neither the number nor the schedule of the ferri-
In Istanbul, a city of water, the only vehicles of es run by the Tersane-i mire (see Golden Horn
sea transportation until the mid-19th century Dockyards) were enough to meet the demand for
were caques [skiff-type boats]. The running of transport between Istanbul, the Princes Islands
boats was an organized profession within specific (see Isle) and the Bosphorus. Following the official
regulations determined by law. The development report announcing the foundation of the irket-i
and popularisation of the custom of visiting sum- Hayriye, the legal foundation of the company was
mer resorts (see Summer Resort) parallel to the completed by decree of the sultan. This decree
change in the 19th century in Ottoman social and dated 1851 permitted the foundation of a company
economic structure increased the requirement with privileges to provide transport services for
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the people of Istanbul across the Bosphorus in a the irket-i Hayriye, the ferries didnt actually
comfortable and secure manner for a duration dock but unloaded the passengers on to boats
of 25 years. to take them ashore. In view of this situation, a
project was designed for the construction of ports
The first action of the company, which would suitable for the docking of the ferries operated by
run steamboats carrying passengers along the the irket-i Hayriye and for shelters to allow pas-
Bosphorus, was to order 6 ferries from England. sengers to wait for the ferries, especially in bad
The ferries arriving from England were numbered weather. In this context, the decision was taken
using a system that would become a custom in the to build ports and shelters along the Bosphorus
future, and were named Rumeli, Tarabya, Gksu, in Beikta, Ortaky, Kurueme, Arnavutky, Be-
Beylerbeyi, Tophane and Beikta. The first joint bek, Rumelihisar, Baltaliman, Emirgan, stinye,
stock company of the Ottoman State, irket-i Hay- Yeniky, Tarabya, Bykdere and Saryer on the
riye carried passengers between Istanbul and the European side and in skdar, Kuzguncuk, Beyler-
Bosphorus with ferries until it was bought by the beyi, engelky, Kandilli, Anadoluhisar, Kanlca
government in 1945, becoming the ehir Hatlar and Beykoz on the Asian side. At first, there were
[City Maritime Lines]. This system of transporta- no closed waiting areas at the ports. By 1914, there
tion led to increased permanent residence and de- were closed waiting halls in almost every port.
velopment along the Bosphorus, which had been
more of a summer resort until then. Therefore, it irket-i Hayriye Dockyards: the irket-i Hayri-
can be said that the irket-i Hayriye accelerated ye company founded its own dockyards in Hasky
the process of the Bosphoruss integration with Is- in 1861 for the repair and maintenance of city
tanbul and added a new dimension to the process. line ferries and the construction of small vessels.
The irket-i Hayriye dockyards were developed
Ports: Until the irket-i Hayriye began to op- into the mid-20th century with various additions
erate, there were no ports along the Bosphorus such as slipways and stands. The dockyards were
suitable for ships to dock or to load and unload transferred to the State Maritime Lines and Har-
passengers and cargo. During the earliest era of bours General Directorate in 1945 and the Mari-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
time Bank in 1952; in 1984 they were assigned to past of the settlement here as an area of gardens
Turkey Shipping Ltd. The Dockyards, officially and groves, which thins out towards the old ce-
registered by the Preservation Board (see Pres- metery fields in the north. The part of the street
ervation Board) in 1995, were purchased by the included in 19th century maps is this section, the
Rahmi M. Ko Museology and Culture Founda- whole of the street only appearing in maps from
tion, the production plant in 1996 and a plot to the early 20th century. Along this track aiming
the west in 2001. The renovated dockyards and north from Tophane, hospital buildings are the
surroundings were opened on 10 July 2001 as a first landmarks to attract attention: the Italian,
section of the Rahmi M. Ko Industrial Museum. then the German hospitals, and the Municipality
Hospital (today the First Aid Hospital) across the
Gl Kksal street. In the early 20th century we see the Rum
foundation buildings, the Zapyon school built
> Golden Horn Dockyards, Isle, by Konstantinos Zappas in 1885, the adjacent
Preservation Board, Summer Resort Aya Triada Church and the properties of the we-
althy Ottoman elite on the north end of the street,
among which were the villas of the vizier brot-
TAKSM SQUARE hers Necip and Selim Melhame, demolished in
the 50s and transformed first into the Dilson and
THE HOLE IN THE HEART OF THE CITY. then the Keban Hotel, and the villa of one of the
important figures of the Ottoman Foreign Office,
Veins: Sraselviler Street starts out in the south, Noradunkyan Efendi. The street was transformed
from Firuzaa Mosque. This section of the street, after the 30s into a narrow urban corridor with
which connects to Cihangir and the neighbourho- multistorey apartments, commercial buildings
ods in the south, was known as Firuzaa Street in and hotels, and opens onto the square at the point
the 1900s, continues on as the Tozkoparan (also where the Aya Triada is now and the old Melhame
known as the Italian) Slope downhill to Tophane villas used to be located.
and the port. The name Sraselviler points to the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The end of Kazanc Hill (see Slope) which Street, or Gmsuyu Street to use its previous
opens onto the square used to be called Ahr [Sta- name; the connection between the palaces on the
ble] Street; the name probably derives from the shore, the barracks on the hill and the neighbour-
stables of the old Artillery Barracks which used to hoods which formed in between; the old Ayaspaa
be located here. The slope has no continuity as a Road which climbs a steep topography not by
road; it takes a bend at the small neighbourhood branching through neighbourhood side streets
mosque down towards the Fndkl shore follow- like the Kazanc Slope, but across an empty area,
ing the old bed of the stream, and is now called with a shallow incline harmonious with the nature
Fndkl Dere [Stream] Street. This short-cut be- of the terrain, or to use its even older name, the
tween the shore and the square, just like the adja- Aa Dibi [Bottom of the Tree] Road. The terrain
cent Mezarlk [Cemetery] Street is an aggregate of looking out to the Bosphorus used to be a grove,
side streets branching out along the slopes of the becoming in the 17th century a cemetery, while in
neighbourhood rather than an axis with structural the 19th century barracks were built to the north
and spatial integrity. The old and majestic villa and west of the route, with houses and villas to the
between the openings of the two streets onto the south in the Ayaspaa neighbourhood, and after
square was the residence of Sir Edwin Pears, the the 1930s with apartments sprouting up on both
English director of the Ottoman Bank, today The sides of the Gmsuyu road. Important build-
Marmara Hotel is on this site. Pearss villa used to ings here towards Taksim from the 19th century
look out onto the old Artillery Barracks and the on include the Gmsuyu Barracks, today used
buildings in front of it, whereas the Taksim Gezi as the Technical University, the Military Hospi-
Park (see Parks and Gardens) which was built in tal, the Japanese Embassy (later Consulate) built
the gap left by the demolished barracks and the in the early 20th century as the villa of another
increasing number of hotels form the horizon of director of the Ottoman Bank, Pangiris Bey, the
the hotel which replaced it. German Embassy, the Hariciye [Foreign Affairs]
Villa built in place of the former Italian Embassy.
Another track which leads from the sea, this This structure first became the Miramar Hotel af-
time from Dolmabahe, to the square is nn ter the fire, and then Park Hotel (see Park Hotel),
BECOMING ISTANBUL
after which it was demolished and a huge, vulgar A second connection, parallel to Mete Street,
hotel building was planned in its place, the con- where traffic never gets congested, and the prom-
struction of which now stands as a carcass of a enade, Cumhuriyet Street has an entirely different
building with its upper stories cut out. The street history and identity. It continues the Sraselviler
ends with the Atatrk Cultural Centre (AKM) at axis but it actually has assumed a spinal function
its opening onto the square, where the lodgings of connecting stiklal Street and the flow from the
of the French director of the Electrical Company historic peninsula to the areas of development
used to stand until the 1940s. This is the point areas in the north. It has a long history as a road
where Mete Street begins. passing through cemeteries, orchards and sparse
settlements extending to northern villages and
Mete Street today is a short road featuring hunting areas. Its importance increased with the
a line of apartments looking out on to the park development of the ili, Nianta, Tevikiye,
area in front of it, the open space which used to Maka, Tatavla (today Kurtulu) and Pangalt
be behind the old Barracks on the site of the Tak- neighbourhoods in the 19th century. Its name in
sim Promenade, and on to an earth road. It didnt the 1930s was Pangalt Street. Previously known
have a name until then either; it is referred to as as Kla [Barracks] Street, the road became a bou-
road no.5 in the Prost Plan. During the time in of- levard with a line of trees running through its
fice of Mayor Ltfi Krdar, the road was covered middle in 1869, and a tram operated here after the
with asphalt while the Taksim Esplanade was 1860s. The opening of the Military Academy in the
being designed, and extended to Takla in the mid-19th century and the granting of the right to
north, connecting to the roads around Takla own property to the non-Muslim population with
to increase its fluidity. The short street which has the Tanzimat [Re-/Organisation] Firman brought
a line of apartments on one side and the park on life to the street; Christian schools, foundation
the other is separated from the park area by an institutions, hospitals and villas were constructed.
elevation of a few steps, but the pedestrians often Movement stirred further with the Prost Plan and
dont use the park and stick to the pavement. the development operations of Mayor Ltfi Krdar.
The Radio House and the Sports and Exhibition
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Palace were built on the site of the Surp Agop Ar- we see today opening as part of Mayor Bedrettin
menian Cemetery and later big hotel buildings Dalans development activities after the demoli-
were constructed on green areas beginning with tion of 350 old buildings. The Galatasaray and
the Hilton. The training ground of the Artillery ihane section of the street contains prestigious
Barracks became the Talimhane neighbourhood buildings like the old English Embassy, the exis-
from this period on, a district that used to be an tence of which in the city has been continuous
area of refined apartments, and today is a partially since 1596, further on the USA Consulate General
pedestrianized (see Pedestrianisation) hotel area. until its recent move to its new and highly pro-
Pangalt Street became Cumhuriyet Street, protected building in the north, the Pera Palace and
gressing between the apartments of Talimhane Etap Marmara Hotels, and a constantly increasing
and the shops of the Taksim Esplanade from the number of museums and cultural centres; while
Elmada intersection on to join with the square; the eastern section, subject to demolition and
its extension in the opposite direction continues widening (see Demolition or the Warped City),
to be the main artery of the citys constant devel- and in particular the northern section of the street
opment towards the north, under different names, has become a slum area where marginality and
widths and formats. poverty dominate. A poverty of substance lives
hand in hand with the poverty of the space and,
The point where Cumhuriyet Street meets since its opening, the Tarlaba Boulevard has
the square is the point where it intersects with failed to establish an identity either in the urban
Tarlaba Boulevard. The street which runs landscape or in an architectural sense. There is
parallel to stiklal Street towards Galatasaray a a metre between the levels of the carriageways
branches at ihane Square and connects Galata, making up the road separated by a small centre
Kasmpaa, the Golden Horn and, via the Atatrk strip, with pedestrians having to negotiate ac-
Bridge, the area within the city walls to the north. robatically the broken down steps here, while
It was conceived in plans devised in the 19th cen- pavement widths also constantly change. Build-
tury after the Pera Fire, re-proposed in the Prost ings which have been partially demolished and
Plan, between 1986 and 1988, with the wide street for some reason have not been replaced either
BECOMING ISTANBUL
stand there in their partially demolished states, This formation, which developed on the
or their street faades are given tedious make- ground of the Pera orchards of old, progressed
overs. The eastern end of the street, supposedly north via La Grande Rue de Pra (see stiklal Cad-
the reason it is called a boulevard, meets the desi or "Beyolu") or the Cadde-i Kebir [Grand
square in this dishevelled state. The two small Street], its Ottoman name, and crowds, activities,
streets of the Talimhane neighbourhood, ehit horse-drawn and electrical trams and automobiles
Muhtar Street and Abdlhak Hamit Street open followed this axis flowing to the plain where the,
on to the square at this same point in the same the water reservoir distributing water to a certain
spatially undefined state. part of the city, was located, or in other words, to
Taksim Square. On one side of the opening of the
stiklal Caddesi has always had a privileged street onto the square was todays French Consul-
place among all the roads opening onto the square. ate, and, across from that, the Aya Triada Greek
The street begins from the Galata walls and the Orthodox Church and its annexes built in 1887.
tower, connects the harbour from Karaky via
Yksekkaldrm, and even further on, via the Heart: All these main veins and arteries lead
Galata Bridge, the historic peninsula and the old to the same plain. They are joined by invisible
administrative and trade areas to the north. Gala- ones, coming from vestibules under ground. One
ta Tower, the Mevlevihane [the Mevlevi dervish of the busiest stations of the metro dreamt of by
lodge], the embassies, Galatasaray High School, the metropolis some hundred-odd years ago but
churches and religious missions contributed to somehow never completed is here too and, in the
the rising importance of the street from the end future, the force striking the surface from these
of the 18th century on, and this importance con- underground veins will increase further.
tinued throughout the 19th century and in certain
periods of the 20th century with new buildings, Taksim is a vertex on the Beyolu side of
apartments, arcades, trade and entertainment the city. Water brought on the orders of Sultan
zones, hotels, cinemas and cultural institutions. Mahmud I from the Belgrade Forest in 1731 was
distributed from the Maksem here to Beikta,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Ortaky, Beyolu and Kasmpaa using the natu- However, this heart does not comply with the
ral incline of the terrain. And the roads climb known standards and tenets of being a square, in
the same slopes to reach the square. Apart from fact, this place is a windy, exposed and fluid cavity,
stiklal Caddesi, none of these roads feeding the loose in terms of its spatial definitions and weak
most important square of the city can be said to be in terms of its architectural identity.
important pedestrian areas and this is a contradic-
tion in terms of the identity of the square. But one For a point which remained outside the long
comes here from long distances: buses, dolmu, history of the city until the last century and which
private vehicles, the small tram of stiklal Caddesi, furthermore displayed no architectural identity
the funicular line which connects Kabata and the and refinement to take on the identity of a centre
sea and tramway lines which terminate there to in both functional and symbolic senses is not a
Taksim, tourist buses, school, business, airport phenomenon one often comes across in a historic
service vehicles and the underground bring their city. For instance, in the 15th century, when the
passengers to Taksim. Taksim, with its hilltop po- heart of the city was beating within the walls of
sition, is the meeting point from two directions, Istanbul, Taksim was a point where a country road
of Bosphorus connections via Dolmabahe and leading out of Galata arrived at a plain covered
Fndkl from the east and the harbour and Golden with trees and orchards. The development of Pera
Horn connections via Karaky and Kasmpaa and the hills of the Bosphorus and the settlement
in the south. Further, moving on from this meet- areas in the north transformed this plain into an
ing point, it is the most important node in the expansive area of cemeteries: Ayaspaa, Tarlaba,
citys increasing northerly growth formed from Elmada and Harbiye were covered with Muslim,
concentrated development on the sites of groves, Armenian, Rum [Greek], Protestant and European
orchards, cemeteries and sparser settlements, cemeteries. In the mid-19th century, a section of
making for the legitimate basis of its perception this big cemetery zone, the Grand Champs des
as a centre on the urban and, gradually, coun- Morts, and especially the Latin Cemetery, was
try scale. For Istanbulites, for those who know gradually moved towards the north, to the Feriky
Istanbul and for visitors, it is the heart of the city. area; institutional buildings and then the neigh-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
bourhoods and the square were built on the old [Royal Military Band] Barracks in Gmsuyu
city of the dead. and on the opposite hill the Maka Arsenal and
some annexes which have now been demolished
The first important building was Maksem, were also constructed. The old cemetery site op-
the building which lent the square its name. This posite the Artillery Barracks became the parade
building of hydraulic engineering with its faade ground of soldiers; today it is the Talimhane [Pa-
of 44 metres forms the first border of the cavity rade Ground] neighbourhood. From 1807 on, the
that is todays square from its construction in 1731. date it was constructed, the barracks became the
In the 18th century the Ottoman palace began its site of some important events in late Ottoman
move from Topkap to the Bosphorus. The settle- history: the scene of the Kabak Mutiny in 1807;
ment of the palace along the Bosphorus meant the clash between the Hareket Ordusu (the army
the urbanisation of Bosphorus villages and their which came to Istanbul from Thrace to subdue the
hills, and at the same time the establishment of anti-constitutional rebellion) and the rebels after
modern military institutions protecting the pal- the 31st March uprising in 1909; bombarded and
ace like barracks, schools and hospitals in the burned out, it became the shelter of soldiers from
same region. The plain where the Maksem was French Senegal during the years of occupation,
located and its surroundings were now an area of then losing its function and abandoned. After 1921
military facilities, and with the removal of a sec- it was used for a while as the first stadium of Istan-
tion of the cemetery on the site where the Taksim bul, its courtyard used as a football pitch when it
Esplanade is today during the Selim III period was known as the Taksim Stadium; the first game
(17891807), the construction of the Artillery Bar- of the Turkish national team was held here (see
racks was completed in 1806. In the mid-19th cen- Stadium). In some of its buildings, annexes and
tury, in Harbiye, the Mekteb-i Umum-u Harbiye additional buildings some of which exhibit char-
[Military Academy], today the Military Museum acteristics of gecekondu (see Gecekondu), there are
today, Takla [Stone Barracks] which was allo- agencies, shops, coffee shops, a casino, a tavern,
cated as a hospital for French soldiers during the a parking lot and even residences.
Crimean War (18531856), the Mzka-i Hmayun
BECOMING ISTANBUL
A consequence of the barracks loss of func- most important buildings the Aya Triada Church
tion was the opening of the parade ground for and the Kristal Casino. The stables of the barracks
development. Apartments were built on this site and the Maksem wall completed the space. The bar-
from the end of the 1920s on. The Republic Monu- racks, its stables and annexes, the police station,
ment, the work of sculptor Canonica, was erected which is no longer, the developing neighbourhood
in 1928 right beside the Maksem in Taksim, as a of Talimhane, the apartments of Gmsuyu
symbol of the new regime in this old capital; and Ayaspaa and their extensions in the eastern and
later the surrounding area was landscaped in a southern elevations of todays square defined the
circular design emphasizing the central identity thoroughfares delimited by these series of build-
of the monument. The square became Taksim ings. However, from this point, the modernist
Republic Square. The three-storey Kristal Casino, imagination inclined to create wide urban spaces
its arcaded faade standing at a curvilinear angle will not comply with this congested texture. In the
to the monument, was built at the end of the new Prost Plan approved in 1939, the barracks have been
Talimhane neighbourhood between ehit Muhtar replaced by a park surrounded by apartments and
and Abdlhak Hamit streets and demolished in public buildings. In the Krdar era, this scheme was
the early 1970s. In the 1920s, the Majik Cinema applied though with amendments: first the stables
was located at the point where Sraselviler Street and annexes, then the barracks themselves were
opened onto the square; its name was changed demolished and the nn Esplanade was land-
to Vens later, and it then became the Maksim scaped as an elevated and axial green area without
Casino, in line with the new tendencies of the the surrounding blocks projected by Prost. The
entertainment industry. plan also foresaw a statue of smet Paa designed
by Belling on the square end of the esplanade and
The Taksim of the 1930s comprised a small a line of grandstands for parades: each political era
square including the monument, buildings sur- wants to see its own symbols in Taksim, and the
rounding the circular space around it and the roads plinth of the statue was installed but the change in
leading out from this centre. The central pillar of government meant that the erection of the statue
the space and its centre was the monument; the was not permitted, the plinth remaining in place for
BECOMING ISTANBUL
years though eventually being removed. The 1950 The most important building defining the
change in government also meant that the nn new and expanded square space is the AKM, stand-
Esplanade was changed to the Taksim Esplanade. ing some 140 metres across from the Maksem. In
the years when the Prost Plan was being drawn
Taksim was an excursion spot in the past too. up, another important French architect, Auguste
There was a garden within the Gmsuyu grave- Perret worked on an opera building that would
yards which is depicted in old engravings and in the be located here, which project after the war years
19th century there was another garden closed to the was taken over by the Ministry of Public Works
Muslim population to the north of the barracks at and Settlement. The building designed by Hayati
the entrance of the Surp Agop cemetery. The Prost Tabanlolu was first opened as the Istanbul Pal-
Plan and the Krdar Reorganisation transformed ace of Culture in 1969. Following the fire it suf-
this English-style garden where tea dances and balls fered a short time after its inauguration, it was
were held into the Taksim Municipal Nightclub reopened in 1978 as the AKM we know today. The
and the new modern building was inaugurated in second important building of the square is that
1939, providing the location of Republican Balls, of the Marmara Hotel, which opened as the In-
weddings of the national bourgeoisie and the new tercontinental Hotel in 1975 exactly opposite the
elite of Istanbul, New Year celebrations and official esplanade in place of the former residence of the
meetings, as well as a decent chess club on the up- director of the Ottoman Bank which was later
per hall. Opposite it was the building of the Tennis, used as the Istanbul Club, at the point where a
Fencing and Mountaineering Club (TED). The build- viewing terrace was projected to be created as an
ings within the green area projected to extend from extension of the promenade.
Taksim to Maka in the Prost Plan didnt survive.
The Hilton Hotel rose within the park area in 1955. Cosmetics and symbolics: With all these
The Night Club was demolished and the Sheraton changes taking place in a very condensed histori-
Hotel was built in its place, and in place of the de- cal period, Taksim became a constantly chang-
molished TED Club building, the Hyatt Regency ing space with no fixed periphery, dimension,
Hotel was opened in the 1990s. geometry or scale; it expands, narrows and then
BECOMING ISTANBUL
re-expands The barracks are constructed in the square without a temple. Aya Triada continues
middle of the gap where the gardens and cem- its dominance over the square as an overly large
eteries once were; when the Barracks complex is Christian building although it has lost its congre-
demolished the square expands; when the parade gation. The mosque they want to build behind
area opposite the Barracks are developed the scale (or on top of) the Maksem in turn draws the re-
of the gap is narrowed again; and then the demo- action of the secularist children of the Republic:
litions in the Tarlaba direction enlarge the gap the symbol of reactionism defying the AKM! The
once more. When the barracks were demolished, tragicomic story of the nn Statue also becomes
the square integrated with the esplanade area, the battlefield of the symbolic imaginations of
and then a hotel block was erected on one end changing governments. Although strange pa-
of the square. The esplanade never managed to vilions and artistic work were erected in place
become what it name refers to. Membranes dis- of the removed plinth, none of them managed to
solve where streets opening onto the square join catch on and all were destroyed, with Ramadan
it; the perspective widens, becomes indistinct, tents occasionally installed where they used to
and lines fade and disappear. be. The symbol of the revolution erected in the
middle of the square after the 27th May coup dtat
This short history is not only the history of featuring the combination of book, bayonet and
buildings constructed and demolished, but al- laurel branch remained in place for many years,
so the history of symbols, unrealized dreams, perhaps owing its removal to the construction
contentment and compromise. The Republic de- work for the underground station. It seems as if
molishes the Ottoman barracks to build its own no one finds the appearance of gecekondu, the
monument. The modernity it designs seeks to ugly telephone and Akbil counters (see Akbil),
produce the space of the new regime, its cere- the stations, the service booths and the irregular
monialism, its political identity and lifestyle: a pile-ups of buses in the most important square of
square designed with grandstands and parades, the city strange; most of these occupy the place of
and an adjacent modern club to host Republi- the demolished stables and the annex buildings
can balls Muslim conservatives dont want a which were unlicensed in their own time. The
BECOMING ISTANBUL
space is not defined by architecture but by routes its surrounding buildings and ceremonialism.
and uses which change every day. The square is What was constructed in its place has been a green
transitory and makeshift in its nature in fact, vacuum preserving the external dimensions and
the city is. geometry of the design. The International Urban
Design Competition held in 1987 is now an almost-
Therefore, advertising hoardings and illumi- forgotten document of the architectural archive
nated news screens which flash in the night suit with its proposals of esteemed parties. The urban
the vacuum of Taksim and add more meaning to rehabilitation competition held in 1989 in order
the square than the architecture of the styleless to heal the urban wound (see Wound) caused by
and featureless buildings surrounding it. It is pos- the Tarlaba demolition faced a similar demise.
sible to relate the failure of integrated design for Today, in 2008, urban transformation projects
Taksim and its environment to this quality. It is aiming to socially and functionally change the
not difficult to understand this in a social environ- same slum area and reshape urban edifices are
ment given restricted economic resources and a produced and are known more for the polemics
modern city and urban design culture strongly they trigger rather than their content. Indecision
emulated since the 19th century despite being between urban surgery and cosmetics continues.
so poorly adapted to be so. The proposal for the
urban metro system to extend along the current Body and meaning: If the heart nurtured by
route out to Kilyos was originally made in the the veins is a vacuum difficult to define as a space,
19th century by Eugne Henri Gavand, the en- if its borders, hardware, architecture and aesthet-
gineer of Tnel (see Tunnel). The opening of the ics fall short but if this place is yet to become the
Tarlaba Boulevard, moreover within a modern heart of the city, receiving social approval, we have
urban design format, can be observed in plans to understand what may fill the vacuum. We have
made in the same century after the Pera Fire. The already mentioned that the urban geography of
classic-modernist and axial Taksim Esplanade Taksim Square and its position within the rationale
designed by Prost proposed a disciplined urban- of urban development is the first data required in
ism overlapping with the ideology of the era with order to understand any such ratification. This also
BECOMING ISTANBUL
explains use value as the second data: the struc- 60s and 70s, the Bloody Sunday on the occasion
tures and institutions here and their functions. of the protest of the 6th Fleet, bloody May Day
demonstrations And civil meetings: New Year
This space is a centre of gravity and energy, celebrations, public concerts, excitement, curios-
not only for those who exist in it, but also for those ity, banality and disorderly expressions extend-
who are in its close vicinity and along the veins that ing to sexual harassment Taksim is the space
nurture it: AKM, the other cultural centres in the where these also take place. As in all big harbour
neighbourhood, hotels, universities, cinemas and towns known as Gateway Cities, the identity of
theatres, Asmalmescit and Nevizade streets and the centre/square (see Centre) which cannot be
the taverns, restaurants, cafes and coffee houses separated from the harbour and the geographical
around them, the destitute joints in the nooks and correlation with the harbour, the energy and its
crannies of Tarlaba, the spaces of post-90s alter- various manifestations are all nourished by such
native cultures, the stops of all the transportation a geographical position and its dynamics.
systems reaching the square and their routes, their
arrival points and their users Then, all the func- The mundane image in Nazmi Ziyas painting
tions Taksim assumes, supported by its position, which documents the years when the monument
the dimensions of the vacuum and the functional was opened blends here into the sight of believ-
and transportation possibilities: state ceremonies, ers spreading their prayer rugs out on the slops
military parades, Republican Day celebrations, from the public toilet in front of the wretched
wreathlaying rituals beneath the monument, gecekondu mosque with a stubby tin minaret and
observations of one-minutes of silence, in other the resigned, tired looks of the elderly, loyal fol-
words, acts which cannot be carried out in Sulta- lowers who have come to watch the approved art
nahmet and Bayazt anymore Then, dissenting at the AKM on Saturday mornings. Punks, trans-
voices, demonstrations, protests: uprisings since vestites, poor Africans coming up from the depths
the 31st March event; the Wagon-Lits demonstra- of Kalyoncu Kulluu, the well-dressed regulars
tion, the demonstration which initiated the events of Caf Opera and the lobby-bar of the hotel on
of 6th7th September, the bloody protests of the the upper floor, the elderly musician gentlemen
BECOMING ISTANBUL
of the bar orchestra and the tourists who get out Within its indefinability, ambiguity, carelessness
of their hotels and pile into their buses do not and unkemptness, Taksim is a freedom station a
find each others existence strange; or the police gap which belongs to no one and therefore is used
officers who form barricades with their synthetic by all individuals in the huge metropolis without
transparent shields in front of the Maksem and the any ease, albeit for short periods of time. While
monument, the pirate cassette and book sellers the street and place names around it are changed,
beyond them or the Romany flower vendors even Prtela becoming Ylmaztrk, and Abanoz be-
further on. Taksim is a shared area with many coming Halas, and where symbols compete with
actors. each other, Taksim belongs to everyone. This is
the reason why it became the coalition site for
This is the place where one gets off a vehicle and cemeteries, barracks, monuments, Bloody Sunday
gets on to another. One meets in front of the AKM and its perpetrators, the pimps of Eftalapos Coffee
or French Culture [French Cultural Centre] and Shop, religionist and secularist rituals and other
goes to another, more special place, and this is the contradictory existences.
place from which one departs later. One comes here,
one departs here, and one has to pass from here Differentiation in time, ambiguity of borders,
even if it happens underground. It always exists as mediocrity of architecture and the inconvenience of
a name in mind, a place to which one returns. weather on winter days are the components of this
democratic entity. This is not a Place de ltoile
Social and political hygiene has always tried where grandiose boulevards meet, or a Times
to clean up this careless, unkempt, sloppy and Square where the flood of people and vehicles flows
incongruous identity of Taksim Taksim is ac- and intersects along narrow street spaces, or a San
tually always a symbol, it is PeraBeyolu and Marco Square which filters and transmits all the
Istanbul itself but it never succeeds. The secret traces and riches of a pre-modern world or a Red
of the success of this huge area in becoming a Square where grandeur, ideology and pompous,
place without ever becoming a square or a space frightening parades pass by. But this place man-
lies, to a great extent, in this uninspected state. ages, each day and each night, to reproduce itself
BECOMING ISTANBUL
as a slightly fictive concept-space or rather as a measured as a dimension of place. Istanbul hi-

space of uses, meanings and spiritual-bodily flux. des time in the relationship between the nature
of constructed space-time and nature itself, in
Despite itself and all its weaknesses and its aura.
contradictions, all the ideologies and projects
of architects, urbanists and city administrators, The aura of the city comes from the sea rather
Taksim exists alone as the unrivalled focal point than land. As events, people and spaces move
of the city. away from the sea, the time of Istanbul is also
removed from being time in Istanbul. Real-time
Atilla Ycel and Hlya Hatipolu measurement systems reveal that the population
of the city has been intensifying with increasing
> Akbil, Centre, Demolition or the Warped
acceleration and, in parallel to this, that it is re-
City, Gecekondu, stiklal Caddesi or
treating from the sea. As the intensity and occu-
"Beyolu", Park Hotel, Parks and Gardens,
pancy of space increases, space-time consumption
Pedestrianisation, Slope, Stadium, Wound
increases too, leading to a decrease in time. People
increasingly begin to live in moments. Since real-
time systems now operating in the city begin to
TIME
realign the borders of space for each individual
and to define interfaces between the individual
A VEHICLE OF THOUGHT TO REVIEW THE INTENSE
AND INTERCONNECTED METRIC SPACE IN URBAN and nature, the borders and dimensions defining
EVERYDAY LIFE IN ISTANBUL; A DIMENSION. place become invisible to the individual. As s/he
carries on experiencing such interfaces, the indi-
The city shelters this dimension in its physiog- vidual is subjected to global amnesia regarding
nomy. Measured according to standard real-time Istanbul. Yet time can only be a vehicle of thought
systems, however, time in Istanbul is no diffe- to access and understand the invisible when it is
rent from other places; though this time is in fact slowed down by the individual, when its consump-
not the time of Istanbul, because it has not been tion is reduced and when it is produced; only then
BECOMING ISTANBUL
can the individual escape amnesia. To see only things and people who do not fit into roles assig-
the visible as shown by real-time devices, to read ned to humans their age: student, friend, lover,
and express only what is signified is not enough clown, family man, apprentice to the butcher,
to understand the time of Istanbul and time in coiffeur.
Istanbul. We cannot discover time as a dimen-
sion of place on this path, where we continue to No one migrates to the city to become a tiner-
experience isolated moments. It is necessary at ci, but it is a side effect of that journey for a better
once to swerve. life made from provinces and hinterlands. There
is a romantic tinerci more in line with the street
Senem Deviren urchin type and there is a violent tinerci that is
the symbol of all that is wrong with society and is
fuel for the arguments about uncontrolled popula-
TNERC tion growth, deteriorating social ties, bad political
parties, worse education, failing officials
AN ISTANBULITE. [ED.]
Tinerci boys should be distinguished from

Walk the square in Taksim or other places where ballyci boys who prefer the comfort of glue spread
the city circulates and when the whiff of solvent into plastic bags, a more mellow bunch compared
reaches your senses you turn around and see the to the solvent boys who claim to be more alert
boy, startled, expectant, dazed. Often his hand but not alert enough to feel the shame of begging
reaches out in a gesture of begging they call sinyal for money and food or the bone chill of the city
ekmek (signalling) and the media often report winter. Tinercis claim they are better fighters than
their violence to passers-by. Protecting and advo- glue-sniffers.
cating them as sokak ocuklar (street children)
has become a way for urban folk to express a desire The circulation of tinerci in the urban land-
for alternative communities. ss are perceived as scape is one yardstick for urban moral decline,
matter out of place; they are in the category of population without control. Now they are chil-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
dren people say, but they will grow up to be men transferred from the Byzantine Empire to the
who not only sniff solvent but also do other dan- Ottoman is surprisingly low. Therefore, the city
gerous things. Tinercis are societys impending must have experienced a significant change or
problems wrapped in a solvent dripping tissue. transformation in the post-1453 period. Toponyms
Their violence to passers-by punctuates some city with Rum [Greek] origins among all place names
paths, while many tinercis try to join the ranks of in the foundation charters extant since the era of
passers-by. Mehmed II are limited to Langa (Greek: Vlanga),
Samatya (Greek: Psammetia) and Vlaherna (Greek:
The paint solvent solves the world for them Blakherna) (and maybe Altmermer) in the his-
by thinning the barriers, blurring the lines, smear- toric peninsula. skdar, Galata, Makriky (to-
ing the faces of those who shoo them away from day Bakrky), Tarabya, Pendik and Kartal may
the entrance to restaurants and hotels. The solvent be added to these from greater Istanbul within
melts away the cold and dirt, erases memory and the boundaries of todays Metropolitan Council.
boundaries. On the urban canvas they are painted Toponymic accumulation, which was already
with a different brush. very restricted by the end of the 15th century, also
reveals which areas had been settled in the Late
Meltem Trkz Byzantine period in the city and its close vicinity,
because there is no evidence of insistence or the
use of force concerning a change of toponyms
TOPONYMS after the conquest.
DISCUSSING ISTANBULS URBAN TOPONYMY The designation system applied in the city
MEANS EXAMINING AN ABUNDANT FIELD WHERE
DATA ILLUMINATING PROCESSES OF URBAN from the beginning of the Ottoman period un-
TRANSFORMATION CAN BE COMPILED. til the 18th century appears very determined. Its
most significant feature is the non-designation
This is probably one of the most striking of histo- of transportation arteries. Apart from rare excep-
rical determinations: the number of place names tions main streets and side streets have no name.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Urban toponymy is restricted to the designation names related to important buildings in particu-
of neighbourhoods, districts and city gates. Gates lar areas. Examples include the Ayasofya Camii
along inland city walls are sometimes named ac- [Hagia Sophia Mosque], Can Alc Kenisas [Can
cording to the city they lead to. Important gates Alc Church], Bodrum Camii [Bodrum Mosque],
such as Edirnekap, Silivrikap and Belgratkap atal eme [atal Fountain], Krk eme [Forty
are among these. However, there are some inter- Fountains] and Kum Kaps [Sand Gate] neigh-
esting names too. For example, the area of the bourhoods.
sizeable breach opened in the city walls during
the siege of Istanbul was known as the Canon People whom neighbourhoods have been
Wreck Neighbourhood [Top Yk Mahallesi]; named after are often related to the three groups
the name was later reduced to Topkap, and the forming the Ottoman bureaucratic elite, the il-
former name of the neighbourhood was forgot- miye (religious bureaucracy) and the kl ve kalem
ten. On the other hand, the name Cracked Gate erbab (military and civil bureaucracy). They have
[atlad Kap] is related to a person called atlad either lived in these neighbourhoods or had the
Kasm who was granted a few plots of property mesjid frequented by the residents of the neigh-
during that era. Neighbourhood names are often bourhood constructed. Toponyms which have
related to the name of the person who defines lasted the longest in that they were used in later
the neighbourhoods, who has had the mesjid at centuries are often related to buildings which
the heart of the neighbourhood constructed, like have been constructed by highest ranking ad-
Avc Bey Mescidi Mahallesi, akr Aa Mescidi ministrators which bear their name, which are
mahallesi, Defterdar Sinan Mahallesi, Hac Halil often mosques. Almost all of these place names
Mescidi Mahallesi, Hac Timurta Mescidi Mahal- include the title Paa [Pasha] and a significant part
lesi. Another group of neighbourhoods indicate of them are in use today. These include Mahmut
the commercial or productive activities in the Paa, Mesih Paa, Koca Mustafa Paa, Cerrah
area. For instance the Demirciler [Blacksmiths], Paa, Hekimolu Ali Paa, Haydar Paa, Sinan
Balk Pazar [Fish Market] and Debbagin [Tanners] Paa, Davut Paa District and neighbourhood
neighbourhoods are like this. There are also many names bearing the names of religious nobility
BECOMING ISTANBUL
(like Eyp Sultan), or religious figures (like eyh As in all other areas, the 18th century brought
[Sheikh] Vefa and Molla Grani) form a large group radical changes in toponymy as well. The new
too. A group of toponyms which are durable as names introduced in the Tulip Period are poetic
these but are wider in terms of urban distribu- terms and phrases like Sadabad, Neatabad, Mi-
tion may be added: that is, the names of build- hrabad, Hmayunabad, Hsrevabad and raan,
ings and building complexes financed by sultans which have almost no political connotations.
and their dynasties. The latter are used as district A significant proportion of these names were
names rather than neighbourhood names. The forgotten in the next century. Their disappear-
Fatih district bears Mehmed Is name, the Beyazt ance can be explained by the difficulty of their
district Bayezid IIs, Sleymaniye Suleiman Is, pronunciation in everyday Turkish due to their
Sultan Selim Selim Is and Sultanahmet Ahmed Arabic and Persian origins. Others were forgot-
IIs. This designation system means that the urban ten after the building or building complex they
layout was named almost entirely by reference to belonged to was demolished. But probably the
the representatives of the central administration most important reason for their disappearance
and in fact in a directly hierarchic manner. There was their incongruity in relation to the customary
are very few areas on the urban layout which do toponymic tendencies of the city, since they were
not refer to the sultan, the dynasty and the ad- names coined by the ruling elite when things were
ministrative elite via a toponym or some concrete founded. In previous centuries names were not
evocation. The same tendency can be observed in designated officially and were formed within the
the two previous Ottoman capitals, Edirne and community as part of everyday practice accord-
Bursa, however Istanbul is an exemplary apex ing to the tendencies defined above. However,
in the world of Islam and Turkey for such terms. although many early examples of official desig-
Toponymy in this city must be considered an nation were forgotten, such a practice of naming
instrument of political manipulation per se, or was itself to become the rule in later centuries.
the capital is a microcosm in the context of the
imperial system. Although the Tanzimat [Re-/Organisation]
brought about important political and social
BECOMING ISTANBUL
changes, it did not at first significantly contrib- of 1908 gifted the Hrriyet-i Ebediye [Eternal Lib-
ute to the place names of Istanbul. However, by erty Hill] to the city. In other words, the practice
the 19th century the old traditions of designation of giving names directly referring to political ide-
were dissolving. On the one hand, Greek toponyms ology which had begun to be forgotten with the
began to appear on the fringes of the city which Tanzimat reappeared on the agenda under a dif-
didnt exist before. Tatavla and Ayastefanos are ferent guise. This practice exercised an absolute
such cases. On the other hand, urban dwellers of sovereignty in the urban area in the Republican
European origins (Levantines) took part in the period.
practice of designation. For instance, the neigh-
bourhood known as Taksim today (and back then However, old toponyms related to the citys
among Turks) became Champ de Mars, and the Ottoman bureaucratic elite were not changed in
main street of Beyolu was Grand rue du Pera. the Republican period. The only change was a re-
Names of individuals came to be used as toponyms duction in the number of neighbourhoods in the
also. Pancaldi, an Italian who had a store in the city according to a new plan implemented in 1934.
area, lent his name to the Pangalt neighbourhood. Old neighbourhoods were merged. Therefore,
The really comprehensive change took place in tens of old neighbourhood names were rapidly
new neighbourhoods inhabited by Turks. Offi- forgotten. A comprehensive program implement-
cial names related to a fundamentally different ed in the 2nd Constitutional Monarchy period
approach to designation emerged, like Tevikiye, (after 1908) and in the Republican period aimed
cadiye, Suadiye and Harbiye. Tevikiye (from at designating all squares, main streets and side
tevik, meaning encouragement) announced streets that did not have names and/or werent
that settlement in this newly established neigh- named officially. Some of these names repeated
bourhood was being encouraged. cadiye (from old district and neighbourhood names. The vast
icat meaning invention) indicated the newly majority of these were named with reference to the
invented plan of the neighbourhood. Harbiye, The pantheon of Turkish heroes and notables
also the name of the Military College, was related formed within the framework of the new nation-
to this institution. The Constitutional Monarchy alist ideological structure. At least one toponym
BECOMING ISTANBUL
corresponded to a notable of Ottoman and Repub- be forgotten to the largest satellite city founded
lican history. The majority of such notables were in 1958 was named Ataky.
of a military and administrative background. All
other examples of different identities indicate the Despite some fluctuations, the urban topon-
presence of a mechanism of ideological selection. ymy of Istanbul was generally stable in the period
This means that there are scores of main streets from 1923 to 1985. One can at most speak of some
and side streets bearing names like Atatrk, Ata, trivial changes brought on by the 1960 and 1980
Mustafa Kemal, Namk Kemal, Mimar Sinan and military coups. For instance, Beyazt Meydan was
Barbaros in contemporary Istanbul. However, renamed Hurriyet Meydan [Square of Indepen-
there is only one Nazm Hikmet Street, for exam- dence] following the 1960 coup. However, after
ple. The most important streets will evoke recent 1985, a new element was added to the practice of
history, as with stiklal Caddesi [Independence naming although previous ideological engage-
Street], Cumhuriyet Caddesi [Republic Street] ments were not forgotten: words began to be bor-
Despite the effort to establish a link between main rowed from Western languages. Beginning with
street and side street names and ideologically the first suburban housing estate Kemer County,
approved historical personalities, events or con- newly constructed residential areas outside the city
cepts, these would never be enough for such a were given names in this style. There are scores of
huge metropolis, and many streets carry neutral new residential areas whose names end with terms
or non-referential names like Asl, Ceylan [Ga- like County, City, Residences. This type of
zelle], Aslan [Lion], Gl [Rose], Cennet [Paradise], name immediately refer to the high standard of
nar [Sycamore], elik [Steel], idem [Crocus] life to be experienced there, and to the disconnec-
and Mutlu [Happy]. It would be difficult to claim tion from the tendencies of the city in general and
randomness for these names too. However, it is class-cultural preferences. Such new settlements
possible to observe a relative decline in ideologi- declare how different they are from the majority of
cal strees in urban toponymy in the 1950s. District the city with their names too. The same approach
names like deal Tepe [Ideal Hill] and Bahelievler to naming can be observed in the names of shop-
[Gardened Houses] appear. However, it should not ping centres, which have gradually come to define
BECOMING ISTANBUL
important centres in urban toponymy. Their for- of the city to a certain extent seems to nullify and
eign names indicate the high quality of the facility. erode the ideological enforcements of the last
century. This may lead us to make another deter-
In the meantime, old place names within the mination unrelated to the insistence of ideological
city are being rapidly eroded. While, especially designation: Istanbulites even today define them-
in the older areas of the city, for centuries the selves not by an individualistic location identifier
name of the neighbourhood used to change at signified by street name and number, but by a
almost every 50 metres, this distance began gradu- community (Gemeinschaft) they exist in, which
ally to increase. This change may be related to also signifies a geographical location. People here
the replacement of pedestrian traffic, which was (or at least a significant portion of Istanbulites)
dominant for centuries, with vehicular traffic, do not only live at an address belonging to them,
and also to street names being used in place of but within a community they share with others
neighbourhood names. However, the use of street within urban topography. The name of the district
names has not spread to all areas of everyday prac- or the neighbourhood sd the embodiment of this
tice. For instance, no taxi driver in Istanbul can understanding in a particular geography is still
take the customer to an address defined by street more significant than a regular address (composed
name and number. Taxi drivers still require the of the street name and number and the post code).
name of the neighbourhood first and, once there,
instructions for the location of the street and the Uur Tanyeli
building. Therefore, what has been for almost a
century regarding the naming of main streets and
side streets are valid, for instance, for postmen, TOURISM
couriers and suppliers serving homes (generally
the postal system), but it remains inoperative for TOURISM WILL BE USED IN TWO DIFFERENT SENSES
the residents of these areas. Very few people know OR FRAMES HERE. IN THE WIDER SENSE, WHEN I USE
THE WORD TOURISM (SET IN REGULAR TYPE) I WILL
street names in their close environment apart MEAN THE TEMPORARY PRESENCE IN THE CITY OF
from the street they live on. The everyday reality PEOPLE WHO ARENT REGULAR RESIDENTS OF THE
BECOMING ISTANBUL
CITY IN ALL MANNERS AND CONTEXTS. IN THE SECOND in a very restricted manner before now. Although
OR NARROWER SENSE, I WILL USE THE WORD TOURISM
(SET IN ITALICS) TO INDICATE A SPECIAL FORM OF THE the industry sees this as a problem, it is not such
FIRST: THIS NARROWER TOURISM IS THE ACTIVITY a bad thing. There are reasons which make one
CREATED BY THOSE BUYING READY PRODUCT think it is fortunate that they havent (couldnt)
PACKAGES (TRANSPORTATION/ACCOMMODATION/
TOUR-GUIDE SERVICES) FROM THE SECTOR FORMED design such plans.
FOR THIS PURPOSE. WHEN I USE THE WORD TOURISM
IN THE WIDER SENSE I WILL GENERALLY ALSO BE Instead of planned policies, two phenomena
REFERRING TO AND INCLUDING THE SECOND AS WELL.
which have until now belonged to the city, that
is culture and suitcase tourism, have cre-
1. Tourism in Istanbul/Two options in a self- ated and marketed themselves in a relatively
service restaurant: A short observation as intro- independent manner. Istanbul-style self-service
duction: when tourism is mentioned in Istanbul, tourism is formed of these two packages which
one expects tourism to be understood and topics are rather unrelated on appearance: they have a
regarding tourism in the professional sense to certain natural buyer potential in the first place,
be discussed, as a general tendency. Lets say the and this potential will be, and is, attracted to the
words tourism and problem have perchance city even if extra effort isnt shown.
come together, and the topic is suddenly narro-
wed down to the problems of tourism operators. In the last ten years, urban actors added an
Tourism in Istanbul is the business of those who intentional contribution to these with conscious
do business in tourism; they are in charge of it. effort and planning: that is, the space they call the
This sentence which appears to be a tautology Congress Valley and projects carried out within it.
roughly summarizes the situation. However, it
is also a part of the problem. Self service menu 1/The Basic Cultural Monu-
ments package: The first package is the histori-
Tourism as a designed and planned activity cal/cultural/natural tourism package including
for which policies have been produced and imple- Topkap/Hagia Sophia/Sultanahmet/The Covered
mented or tourism has existed in Istanbul only Bazaar/the Bosphorus and five more items at most.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
This package includes these few item monu- over time is roughly that anyway. Tourism in Is-
ments which have by chance managed to scrape tanbul basically survives thanks to this package;
through from the citys rather more comprehensive and at the same time it is aware of the restriction
permanent monument stock. So much so that of the package and complains constantly about
one may think that they have arrived here by some the situation. It is not possible to increase tourism
form of natural selection or mutation. This selec- profits by using the current package.
tive cultural monuments basic kit has formed its
own myth over the centuries, and has, so to say, The desire to expand and enlarge the package
marketed itself. No one can easily answer the ques- and to get it to make a qualitative and quantitative
tion whether this condition (being included in this leap is some kind of fixed idea within the industry;
basic kit) that has befallen them is a chance or a on the other hand it is near impossible to achieve
serious misfortune for these cultural monuments. this task with the current city. Hiding the despera-
tion, and increasingly the anger felt concerning this
This main package also draws the borders of situation strains the tourism operator. Therefore
the generally accepted perception of tourism in the main strategy of tourism has increasingly been
Istanbul. One shouldnt expect the effort by cur- positioned against or in spite of the current city;
rent generations to expand this kit to produce there is no end to the pursuit of correcting the city,
any significant effect: expanding the stock will re-conquering it and reshaping it to suit oneself.
first and foremost require the establishment of a
non-problematic relationship with the citys Byz- Self service menu 2/Suitcase tourism: The
antine, multi-ethnic Ottoman and early modern second package is determined by the area in Is-
pasts; and the impossibility of this in the current tanbul where cheaply produced goods of con-
socio-political conjuncture, and therefore the feint sumption and especially textiles are marketed.
possibility of it becoming convincing are obvious. This package sprouted up of its own accord as a
result of the perfect harmonisation between the
The expiry period of the selective package is labour-intensive and informal industrial city and
roughly 1 to 3 days; and the average tourist stop- the post-Cold War Eastern European landmass.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Although it may seem more cyclical than the first, These two tourisms (selective culture and
it has in a short time managed to produce itself suitcase) try to fit in quite a small part of greater
as an urban area, which has constantly renewed Istanbul (almost 1000 square kilometres of de-
and increasingly stabilized and institutionalized velopment), a part of the historic peninsula and
itself. The new global South, the landmass of Af- the Galataport geography (an insignificant area
rica/Asia/the Middle East has also found its place of 10, or at most 20 square kilometres), competing
within this formation. with each other over this land.
This second package differs fundamentally 2. Tourism in Istanbul/A strategy of tension:

from the first. Its urban/geographical volume and Tourism in Istanbul is first and foremost a north/
total number of participants are far greater than the south problematic (see Northern Istanbulite).
first, like the younger surpassing the elder. Apart
from small exceptions and of course accommoda- Tourism in Istanbul is an activity in which
tion services, it is not often a focus of the tourism a segment of society which probably lives in the
industry, in fact, it could be added that it has gradu- northern and peripheral regions of the city and
ally developed a considerable resistance against it. works in offices along the TaksimLevent axis
It derives its knowledge of the city directly via its tries to market an area of the city which lies most-
interaction with the city, doesnt use intermediar- ly in the southern part of the city and has been
ies, refuses in not-so-polite terms the offer of value completely segregated from spaces where the
added service by the industry: it has learned to find life of average Istanbulites takes place; it is as if
its own way in the city. Many dont even consider it has been imagined around the hypothesis that
the activity mentioned here as tourism or its area the tourist will only end up here once in her/his
a tourist area, the pejorative suitcase tag added lifetime. Indeed, if the goods are restricted to
before it used to constantly rub its nose in differ- Topkap/Hagia Sophia/Sultanahmet/The Covered
ence and inferiority; and its seepage into this article Bazaar, if they are not to be diversified, there is
on tourism will probably be deemed unacceptable no reason why anyone, as long as they are not
by a substantial percentage of readers. mad or obsessed, should exhibit demand for a
BECOMING ISTANBUL
second or third time to this ghetto full of hotels, have washed onto Istanbul shores are, let alone
restaurants, bars and shopping centres which being considered worthy of the multicultural mo-
only serve tourists. saic, at best turned a blind eye to.
Tourism in Istanbul is guerrilla warfare car- Tourism in Istanbul is the area of sovereignty
ried out by the industry with a hit-and-run strat- of Turkish grammar. The urban knowledge of Is-
egy. The marketing of Istanbul by a tourism tanbul, which claims to be a global space, is inac-
industry, dominated by a middle class which has cessible to those who arent competent in Turkish.
an aestheticizing and exclusive view of its own (The situation is only very slightly better for those
urban reality and has not managed to adopt any who are.) For instance, there is not even a single
other discourse than describing the current city practical city map on the market. Each page of
as irregular, is no different from thinking you can thick books claiming to be exactly that is full of
win a game by scoring an own goal. The touris- misleading factual errors. Existing maps do not
tic discourse, which finds descriptions like the refer to transportation systems. If the Istanbulite
capital of tolerance suitable for Istanbul, con- is not a tourism professional, the city map of the
stantly reproduces the myth that this place is a Istanbulite and the city map of the tourist do not
harmonious mosaic of cultures. As the Ottoman overlap. The map distributed to tourists contains
heritage of a society and space of parallel-cultures only the area within the city walls. Because of the
is vulgarly scythed down in a process which still dimensions of this segment, a bit of Beyolu and
continues with all its violence and extends from a bit of skdar enter the frame too. Sometimes
Citizen Speak Turkish campaigns to slogans of a tourist has to abandon her/his map and make a
Love It or Leave It, the industry either acts as journey along the TEM with a ghetto-view to get
if these values still exist, or suffers convulsions to Saryer where for instance s/he will get on the
of pathological nostalgia. The new residents of boat for a Bosphorus tour. Tourist routes within
the city, the migrant population from the south the city are drawn out according to the principle
east, eastern Europe, Asia and Africa which new of avoiding unnecessary scenery as far as pos-
national and global waves of violence and poverty sible. The first brief given to the novice guide by
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the industry is on as far as possible not letting ing the leadership and competence of the industry
the tourist see these monstrosities. which establishes her/his relationship with the
place and the industrys activities and representa-
Existence as a tourist in Istanbul is ultimately tives, never asking unnecessary questions, never
based on a relationship of dependency with those taking up critical stances, never declaring views on
who have practical knowledge of the space, or the the ominous topics of current politics and playing
fear of the wolf capturing the stray sheep. The the institutional dependency game until the end.
tourist visiting the city should not have the chance The customer is desirable as long as s/he fits this
to contact people other than those who earn their profile; the further s/he moves away from the ideal
dough from tourism. The system has been founded definition, the more s/he should expect surprises.
on the full time siege of the tourist by trustworthy
professionals: only when s/he is tired should the There is a serious problem of plausibility in
tourist retreat to her/his hotel room to be alone. the discourses of the tourism professional regard-
ing the current state of the city, s/he appears that
From the moment s/he lands at the airport, s/he will abandon the place at the first opportunity
her/his access to normal forms of existence in once s/he markets this place as far as it goes and
public space has been restricted; s/he has to make s/he fills the coffers.
a special effort to receive information about these.
These observations no doubt pertain not only
Customer profile: The industry also has very to the tourism industry, but they are a historical
clear preferences regarding customer profile. It is problem of the cultural and financial elites of the
customary to express these preferences frankly city of which this industry is a part.
during shop-talk. The preferred customer profile
is from the Global North, white and wealthy. S/he Domestic tourism: Top-selling daily newspa-
is well-educated, however a particular dimension pers have weekly travel supplements; they some-
of education is desirable: s/he must be well-trained times report on topics about Istanbul and prepare
in visitor etiquette. Which means: never question- serial articles. The way the city is taken up in these
BECOMING ISTANBUL
publications is no different than exotic desti- ditional problems produced by the central-unitary
nations, like for instance Thailand. The same state structure add insult to the injury caused by
orientalist discourse, the same format, the same other current ones. All tourism assets must be
visual material and caption use For the target shown to be as such and their suitability to rel-
audience, the relationship with the destination evant laws and regulations must be registered.
is formed from the same distance and using the The authority which carries out the registration
same mental templates. and necessary inspection is an external actor, the
ministry of culture AND tourism which resides
These serials tell us that there is a desire for in Ankara, the capital of the central state. The mar-
tourism professionals who go beyond the Golden riage of these two functions within the structure
Horn and into the tourist area to introduce this of the same ministry after constant ebbing and
practice to north Istanbulites who do not have flowing is revealing in terms of the view of the
such a habit or need and to lead them in this ven- centre: culture finds its meaning insofar as it is
ture; we are informed of the deficiencies and the marketed in the context of tourism; our culture is
preparations to overcome them. useful insofar as it can be converted into revenue.
Left to our own devices, it is probably surplus to
Under the current circumstances, the historic requirements, and can be considered a luxury.
peninsula is an area, a non-place which is passed
through in one go or in transit via the Menderes Ankara bases its reasoning on this main as-
or Dalan Boulevards. Crossing the Golden Horn sumption: Istanbuls tourism and the relation-
and deviating from the main transit arteries to ships and activities which develop around it are
enter the inside will mean, for the Northerner, potential problem makers. However, the environ-
becoming a tourist, where s/he will always remain ment which produces these problems, i.e. Istan-
slightly European. bul, does not have the capacity and ability to solve
these problems on its own. Therefore, potential
The Ankara factor: The tension-field that is fields of mistakes must be regularly inspected by
tourism is not restricted to inner city factors. Ad- the higher agency.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
The most significant, inevitable mistake is Let us take a look at an example: Tourists from
the failure to transfer a sufficient amount of the Istanbul are touring the Balat-Fener area. When
revenue accrued to the central vault in Ankara. the group comes upon a desolated Kantakuzenos
Istanbuls tourism whets the appetite of Ankara House, voices are heard: Oh, this would have been
bureaucrats. On the other hand, Istanbul is not such a beautiful small hotel No, no, a gourmet
happy being seen as the milk cow of the central restaurant would suit this spot far better
vault.
North Istanbulites have set out on a mission
3. Placing tourism on the agenda in Istanbul: to re-conquer, on a basis of safe islets, the historic
Was it such a bad thing that tourism didnt suc- peninsula they deserted from 1850 on and Pera
ceed in becoming effective as a conscious project which they deserted from 1950 on to create enclaves
of its actors? No, its probably more appealing as where they can give meaning according to their
it is. Tourism has been increasingly included on patterns of behaviour, consumption and aesthet-
the agenda recently; however, there are no signs ics and exist along with their own kind (see Gated
that the more intense, deeper interventions of the Housing Estate). These islets have formed around
actors with their current state of consciousness and in the vicinity of historical cultural properties.
will produce more reasonable results. Two things However, northerners have not been entirely per-
can be deduced from the project: first, the more suaded to resettle in these areas in the full sense
effective, more striking marketing of Istanbul as and to reside here, and the reasons are diverse.
a destination; and second, the reproduction or
restructuring of the urban space in a manner more At this point, the meaning of the tourism
compatible with tourism. This results in the tense project becomes clearer: the tourist (as long as
situations caused by the historical matters men- s/he complies as much as possible with the ideal
tioned above. Tourism becomes the prop for the profile outlined above), by its temporary use, has
re-conquest (re-conquista) of the south of the to hold the space on behalf of the north and in the
city, which has unfortunately failed to become gen- name of the northerners. The tourist in Istanbul
trified, or for the extension of the northern area. does not (cannot) exist for herself/himself, s/he
BECOMING ISTANBUL
has ended up in the middle of an arduous struggle In this perspective, tourism has to transform:
which cannot allow that. Although s/he may not it cannot continue with hand-me-down methods.
be aware of it at all, the tourist is charged with In a city where the field of tourism is expanding
a task during her/his time in Istanbul: Her/his and becoming invisible in everyday experience,
mission is to push away the Other and clear the it is no longer possible to create added value us-
way for the re-conquest using her/his existence, ing old methods and legitimacy. Tourism has to
the demand s/he creates, the space s/he uses and be creative, to accept the current metropolis as a
her/his patterns of consumption and existence. fact, to observe it well and to learn how to stand
on its own feet with unique and creative products
Eliminating Tourism: The reasonable solution with a high added value.
to the problem of tourism in Istanbul is to elimi-
nate tourism as a segregated area and to dissolve Istanbul has sufficient experience to disman-
tourism in the everyday life of the city, in particu- tle tourisms status as a strategy of tension and to
lar, to dissolve tourism within tourism. A strategy
channel it into a bed of normalisation, this experi-
of normalisation is required. Not the production of
ence has formed: the space branded and dispar-
new tourism advertisement projects or tourism in-
aged as suitcase tourism, points to the practice
vestment areas or privatised space constructions.
of forming a regular relationship with everyday,
regular forms of the city. An intelligent policy of
The task is to bring together the visitor and
tourism has a lot to learn from this experience,
the host in relation to the common denominator,
which insisted in forming a direct relationship
opening the doors so as to allow everyone to utilize
with the present city.
the rich potential of a genuinely unique metropo-
lis. Producing projects not only for tourists but
for all manner of permanent/temporary urban Orhan Esen
dwellers, making urban knowledge accessible to
all and translating knowledge for those who arent > Northern Istanbulite, Gated Housing Estate
competent in the local language.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
TRAM primarily facilitated the transportation of the po-

orer section of the citys population and also sup-
A TRANSPORT VEHICLE WHICH ENTERED USE IN ported the development of neighbourhoods along
THE 19TH CENTURY TO MEET THE INCREASING the planned lines. Within this framework, the
TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS OF CITIES. TODAY,
A PARTIALLY NOSTALGIC PART OF THE SCENERY (IN
AzapkapOrtaky, EminnAksaray, Aksaray
BEYOLU). IN THE REST OF THE CITY, A RAIL VEHICLE Yedikule, AksarayTopkap and Taksimili lines
SLIGHTLY SMALLER THAN A TRAIN THAT SEEKS were the first to be introduced into service. The
REFUGE IN THE LEGITIMACY OF THE WORD TRAM.
arrival of the tram not only facilitated transpor-
tation, but also enabled the renovation of street
The transportation network holds an important paving and the water and sewage system of the
place in the efforts to upgrade to European stan- city along the lines so that they could be laid.
dards the rapidly accelerating city in the second
half of the 19th century. The network, as a first step Horses used in transportation sold to the
introducing public transport into city life within army because of the Balkan War, which broke
the scope of planning work after the fire (see Fire), out just before the First World War, resulted in
is one of the most important components of the the city being left without trams for more than
urban transformation Istanbul experienced in a year and the idea that the electric tram, which
the second half of the 19th century (see Urban was already being used in America and Europe,
Transformation). Six horse-drawn trams were was now indispensable for Istanbul had become
added to the transportation system of the city in widespread. With the completion of the construc-
the 1870s to facilitate transportation to the new tion of the Silahtaraa Power Station in 1914, elec-
neighbourhoods which developed both in the tricity was provided first to the Tnelili line
inner regions of the historic peninsula and the and then to all Istanbul tramways. The first tram
Marmara shoreline, and from the hills of Galata waiting to travel from Karaky to Eminn also
towards ili and on to neighbourhoods along connected the two sides of the Golden Horn for
the Bosphorus which were experiencing a rise the first time (see Golden Horn). The tramway
in population. This first public transport service lines developed and increased considerably from
BECOMING ISTANBUL
1914 to 1950, however they began to fall from grace have their own unique faces, too. Often they have
within the framework of development projects more than one; or they are revealed in contrast to
beginning in the mid-1950s and were replaced by one another. Therefore, we can say that all cities
buses. The return of the tram began 30 years later are two-faced. Istanbul is the most two-faced city
in the early 1990s on the TnelTaksim line as a among all the cities on earth. The main features
nostalgic urban element (see Nostalgia) rather of this face are determined by topography and
than a transport vehicle. Then it reappeared on architecture. This situation harbours a dilemma
the agenda as a solution to the citys transport in its own right; two faces, one immortal, the other
problem. mortal This two-faced situation revealing the
permanence of topography and the transience of
Yldz Salman humanity (architecture) is brought into sharp focus
in the recklessly demolished and renewed Istanbul.
> Fire, Golden Horn, Nostalgia, Urban
Transformation Variety and contradictions reveal numer-
ous other faces in Istanbuls architecture. From
gecekondu (see Gecekondu) to multi-storey plazas,
TWO-FACEDNESS (I) and neighbourhood markets to shopping centres
(see Shopping Centre), these reflect the changing
THE REGULAR STATE OF ALL METROPOLISES. [ED.] phases of the faces.
The face is the layer between the inner and the The two sides of the city present a state where
outer. The more abstract, hazy and shapeless emo- this two-facedness reaches its pinnacle: the Eu-
tions, thoughts and even lifestyles are transformed ropean side and the Anatolian side. These two
into a visual and concrete expression on reaching faces of Istanbul, stood facing each other, are the
the surface of the face. The state of having a number cause of many sociological and physical trau-
of such manifestations or expressions that cont- mas. See-sawing between being half-western and
rast with each other is called two-facedness. Cities half-eastern brings about a continuous ebb and
BECOMING ISTANBUL
flow of the emotional and physical, where the almost two-faced structure through the illusion
greatest physical trauma appear as a traffic jam. it creates. The object seen in the mirror appe-
This is a type of two-facedness that is difficult to ars to be distant but it is actually quite close, in
tolerate; which is why the two faces of the city fact, it is almost inside the subject looking in the
constantly face attempts to bring them together. mirror. Efforts of legitimisation in cities that are
Hence bridges, underwater tunnels symbols of power in the age of globalisation like
Istanbul contain this kind of two-facedness. It is
Istanbul, the city where everything is har- natural that the reason the city has a special place
boured along with its opposite. It delivers you into in disputes of legitimisation is the centuries old,
a crowd when you are lonely, into captivity when customary, land-based understanding of sovere-
you are free; and when you are about to leave it ignty. The people of the city demand participation
has you stay; and when in love, it has you hate. in all decisions regarding the territory of the city
in the name of democracy, and especially archi-
Senem Akay tects, planners or engineers whose professions
are directly intertwined with the city. But the real
> Gecekondu, Shopping Centre reason they do not express things directly but
know deep down is the effort required to become
decision makers, that is to say, to be in power.
TWO-FACEDNESS (II)
Changes in urban policies especially in recent
THAT FORM OF TRYING TO ESTABLISH POWER OVER years given the effect of globalisation and the
THE CITY BY SEEKING SUPPORT FROM ETHICS AND reflections of these changes upon Istanbul have
LAW. triggered significant debates among the inhabit-
ants of the city. The struggle against the construc-
The mirror in the sentence Baudrillard quotes in tion of high-rise hotel buildings that change the
his book America, Caution: objects in this mir- Istanbul silhouette (see Silhouette), and its conse-
ror may be closer than they appear! presents an quences, have been closely followed by the public
BECOMING ISTANBUL
too. Park Hotel (see Park Hotel) and Gkkafes, two being symbols, and the dread of living in these
important cases which resulted in the victory concrete and steel sarcophagi emphasizing how
of residents opposed to these buildings, added an they actually became the most beautiful global
utterly different dimension to their positions in structure through their destruction. Although the
the city with the legal penalties they received. Park court decree has not been implemented yet, if new
Hotel, the first case, was deserted in the middle and different solution proposals free of the con-
of Taksim by its contractor who gave up on the cern for power are not formed for the demolition
investment and perhaps lost his head in the of the second, Gkkafes, it may not be possible to
battle along the way after the implementation solve the economic, urban and most significantly,
of the decision to demolish a large proportion of environmental problems to come in Istanbul, in
its floors. The lifeless body that remains is today fact, it may not be possible to know who the win-
a structure used by the car park mafia and has be- ner is in this struggle. Especially when we dont
come a cemetery in the middle of the city with the know, or dont want to know what we see when
victory of the dissidents. A fetishist step was taken we look in the mirror.
towards power without discussing the strate-
gies to prevent this type of building being built, Zhre Szeri
without questioning the structure, without pro-
posing different solutions and without calculating
> Park Hotel, Silhouette
the economic-environmental damage the demoli-
tion will cause. Thanks to this punished, lifeless
structure, dissident urbanites legitimised their
2010
own power with great two-facedness, by turn-
ing a blind eye to the damage they caused to the THERE ARE STORIES DESCRIBED AS UTOPIAS BECAUSE
city and focusing only on winning the argument. NO ONE BELIEVES THEY CAN COME TRUE, ALTHOUGH
Baudrillard perhaps in order to shatter a similar THEY WOULD LIKE THEM TO; AND THERE ARE DATES
ASCRIBED TO THOSE STORIES. FOR ISTANBUL, 2010 IS A
two-facedness does not distinguish between the NEW TIME CODE THAT HAS APPEARED FROM BEYOND
dread of dying in the twin towers, targeted for THOSE UTOPIAN YEARS.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Istanbul has always been a city of fates it could cording to the extent of its relation with the mar-
not choose. All it has managed to do is to submit ket, the hills of Istanbul were dwarfed by newly
to its fate with no resistance However, Istanbul erected buildings while the high tower of culture
has always succeeded in maintaining the right began to descend too. As concepts like fashion,
attitude towards its fate, both when it realized the media, communication, image, cinema, music
utopias of the present in the past, and when the and lifestyle came down to the eye-level of capital,
weight of the past was lifted from its shoulders. culture also became part of the market. Along with
consumption, images, signs and codes that were
Istanbul did not choose the fate of becoming rewritten every day began to spread across the
the 2010 European Capital of Culture either, just entire field of everyday life. The city and its urban
like all the other epithets it has been labelled with, areas received their share in this process and be-
or all the titles taken away from it gan to be defined through images and meanings.
It would perhaps be wiser to challenge the In the 80s consumption went beyond being
conceptual transformation which made the epi- a stage of economic relations and achieved new
thet of capital of culture appropriate for Istanbul meaning as a spare time activity, a status sym-
rather than the urban transformation which led bol and a lifestyle, with images and spectacles of
to Istanbul being identified with that epithet. consumption becoming a part of culture. Con-
sumption was internalized within culture. Con-
When concepts and actions, which did not sequently, the market took control over culture,
have industrial value during capitalisms infancy and created different cultures and perceptions
and development, and could not link up with the from different patterns of consumption in order
market, sought shelter in the high tower of cul- to profit from them. In a de-differentiated world
ture to look down on capital from the seven hills drowned in the same unequal conditions, the
of Istanbul, everything was different, but equal. same catastrophes and cloned images, the em-
However, during the 60s and 70s when everything phasis on difference began to increase. As culture
was commodified and began to take on value ac- became a marketable commodity within the mar-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ket, it also became a tool in the marketing of any The emphasis is on the fact that injustice, which
type of goods. The city received its share in this seeks shelter behind culture when differences are
development, and became a commodity marketed questioned, cannot be changed or overcome but
using values, concepts and culture. only be tolerated.
In addition to the natural flow of history, in As a result, two concepts, the culturalisation
actuality behind Istanbuls shift from political of politics and the clash of civilisations, are articu-
capital to cultural capital lies this variable posi- lated one to another. That is to say, the concept
tioning of culture in time. This change in the of the bridge, which enabled the meeting of
perception of culture is based on politics itself civilisations Istanbul hosts, and is presented as
being loaded with a cultural meaning. In a pe- a solution to the clash of civilisations, in actual
riod when differences on an individual and social fact only manages to underline differences. Yet it
basis come into prominence, politics also shifts produces no solutions to problems that have been
away from class and nation towards ethnicity conceded as insurmountable in the first place.
and culture.
The concept of the Capital of Culture con-
Local and international inequalities created tains contradictions within itself. One of the most
by the capitalist economic structure emerging important elements highlighted in the process
within historical processes, injustice between of membership to the European Union is cul-
global classes and further political differences tural differences, but the frame of the European
are now being internalized and normalized as Capital of Culture is defined only by the concept
cultural differences. Seen as the hereditary ge- of Europeanness. That is to say, differences are
netic code of societies, culture is never questioned considered acceptable only insofar as they fit a
and, since it is not questioned, the codes of its certain frame. In this context, the hand that draws
perception cannot be changed. This is the reason the frame accepts and imposes the supremacy of
why certain differences based on economic and its own jurisdiction from the start. A superstruc-
political origin are rendered insurmountable. ture claiming to promote an understanding that
BECOMING ISTANBUL
defends heterogeneity stands close to cultural And the culture of what? Which of the civili-
relativity and adopts pluralism, contradicting sations which have always failed to meet does
itself by aligning with the concept of the capital Istanbul serve as capital?
of culture and ending up merely emphasizing its
own superiority. Behind the title of cultural capital and the
meeting of civilisations there actually lies an
Besides, the display-window city of a country emphasis on the clash of civilisations, on differ-
which has not been considered politically Euro- ence and the impossibility of ever getting together.
pean for years for having a different culture is Thus, Istanbul does not deserve to be defined as
ironically presented to cultural imperialism as a a bridge connecting the two sides but failing to
capital. So is there an Istanbul suitable for con- bring and join them together. For the bridge car-
sumption as a cultural commodity even though ries, despite its connective function and through
outside the political entity of Europe and out- its very existence, a constant emphasis on the
side the Wild West of Turkey? Or is the empha- failure to unite through its existence on differ-
sis on a country grounded in European culture ent sides. The bridge exists where the two sides
and economics but left out of its politics, whose cant meet, othering the other side. That is to say,
existence does not go beyond a notion of some it goes against its purpose and begins to serve as
Turkish delight? a thick rigid line underlining separatism rather
than unification. It stresses that the other side that
While Europeanness as defined by multi- is never this side can also never be this side.
cultural Europe still remains a great mystery, two As long as the shores do not unite to render the
questions arise when Istanbul, a city economically gap between meaningless, the bridge only serves
and culturally divided within itself, aims to evolve separation.
towards this complex concept under the epithet
European Capital of Culture and chooses to seek Besides, the geographically and culturally
a new vision for the future within the framework unifying nature of Turkey did not achieve rel-
of this concept: Which Istanbul? Which Europe? evance only with Istanbul. Long before the un-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
derstanding which stubbornly plants one foot In this context, we may also consider how to app-
on egocentric Istanbul, Anatolia was kneading roach Istanbul folklore or the folklore of Istanbul.
and bringing together the children of this world, The majority of studies on Istanbul and folklore
without depending on definitions or receiving that often approach the subject from a histori-
funds from the European Union. Whereas now, cal point of view focus on the founding legends
the attempt to solve the trauma caused by sepa- of the city and beliefs concerning certain sites.
ratist lines drawn by rulers in a land which has Folklore de Constantinople published by Henry
not known borders since ancient times and the Carnoy and Jean Nicolads in 1894 and Stefanos
failure of the discourse of an artificial syndrome Yerasimoss Constantinople and Hagia Sophia
of reunification emphasizing differences by build- Legends in Turkish Texts (1993) are important
ing bridges is proving abortive. Because building sources on Istanbuls historical folklore. In anot-
bridges, even if it does increase transitivity, can- her field where a historical view of Istanbul and
not produce any other result than an emphasis folklore is adopted, we find studies on the cultural
on differences and the state of permanent non- expressions of the citys social life. Mehmet Halit
unification. Bayrs Istanbul Folklore (1972), Samiha Ayverdis
brahim Efendi Kona [The Mansion of brahim
Ahenk Dereli Effendi] (1964) and Adnan zyalner and Sennur
Sezers Bir Zamanlarn stanbulu: Eski stanbul
Yaay ve Folkloru [Istanbul of Times Gone By:
URBAN FOLKLORE Living and Folklore in Old Istanbul] (2005) are
studies that focus more on 19th century Istanbul
FOR THOSE WHO LIMIT THE CONCEPT OF FOLKLORE social life and perhaps detail a cultural presenta-
TO A GENERAL FRAME OF ANONYMITY, RURAL AREAS
AND ORAL COMMUNICATION THE TERM URBAN tion of a period we today call old Istanbul. (see
FOLKLORE IS ALMOST A CONTRADICTION IN ITSELF. Istanbulite) However, contemporary urban folk-
TO THINK OF FOLKLORE AS A ZONE OF PRESENTATION lore comprises both material cultural changes
AND AN EXPRESSION OF SOCIAL MEMORY WILL OPEN
CERTAIN DOORS BEFORE US WHEN THINKING OF and all manner of forms of oral communication
URBAN FOLKLORE. produced by social group structures within this
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ethnographic context. For instance, todays urban The city, urbanisation and becoming-citizen are
folklore appears in many aspects, from the interior three important concepts outlining the urban
decoration of minibuses to stories told on wom- process. Cities are entering a new process before
ens days, from the planning of various gecekondu properly completing the process of urbanisation
neighbourhoods in terms of public architecture and becoming-citizen. The name for this con-
to narratives concerning stories of public bus, temporary process is urban transformation. We
minibus and taxi drivers, purse-snatching and explained the process we experienced from the
burglary. The area of folklore known as urban 1960s to the 1980s with the concepts of urbani-
legends on the other hand comprises legendary sation and becoming-citizen. But the process we
narratives produced regarding various places, have experienced since the second half of the
actors and social groups in the city. Some form 1980s was a renewal process in line with plans
of connection between tradition and the pres- for renovation and improvement of gecekondu
ent can still be seen in Istanbul in visitor areas in areas accompanied by intense demolition and
trbe [mausoleums]. In this sense, urban folklore reconstruction. Risks in terms of structure and qu-
includes the manners of expression and artistic ality of life which appeared following this process
communication of all types of social groups. promoted the concept of urban transformation,
especially in the aftermath of the 1999 Marmara
Arzu ztrkmen Earthquake (see Earthquake), to the head of the
> Istanbulite agenda of the urbanisation industry.
A strategic action planning process contain-

URBAN TRANSFORMATION ing spatial, social and economic dimensions has
now begun to replace the classic development
A SLEEK NAME GIVEN TO THE APPROACH OF THOSE planning process in the solution of urban prob-
WHO WANT TO INSPECT AND DISCIPLINE THE ACTIONS lems in areas of settlement where urban risks are
IN A LIVING CITY TRANSFORMING ON ITS OWN
ACCORDING TO THE MISSION THEY IMAGINE IT TO high.
HAVE. [ED.]
BECOMING ISTANBUL
In the new process, urban transformation ex- and vision focused urban transformation with
hibits the necessity of the establishment of a holis- a consensus between public, private and civil or-
tic planning network system. This system will be ganisations.
in line with the three basic principles of sustain-
able development: Economy, which enables the Therefore, urban transformation projects
development of local economies, Equality, which must be comprehensive projects where a collab-
takes into consideration everyones equal access orative environment is formed between public
to public resources and Ecology which especially and private sector and non-governmental organ-
protects environmental and cultural values (3E); isations affected by the projects, where the project
it will adopt three approaches, the Urban [Kent- scenario is jointly prepared and the created values
sel] approach, in view of the spatial structuring are shared collectively and broad participation to
of cities, the Cultural [Kltrel] approach from project decisions is ensured.
the standpoint of societys cultural diversity and
wealth and the Institutional [Kurumsal] approach Faruk Gksu
within the framework of the collaboration and
participation of administrations with all partners > Earthquake
of the city (3K) and will cover the three critical
stages of strategic planning in Planning, Program-
ming and Project (3P).
VARO (I)
Risks in terms of structure and quality of NEIGHBOURHOOD ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN
life have forced Istanbul to re-enter a process of DEFINED IN CLASS TERMS. [ED.]
transformation and therefore the urban transfor-
mation process must be reconsidered within the From the Slavic var (castle), and Hungarian va-
framework of the basic principles and systematic ros for city, in Turkey the term varo was used
of 3E-3K-3P. The enforceability of these principles to designate an extra-muros urban quarter, and
is closely related to the formation of a human in many ways it still is. It is just that the walls in
BECOMING ISTANBUL
question do not belong to historical castles but to and probably a majority of Istanbulites live there.
upper-middle class gated communities. Out in the These quarters might be at different stages of full
suburbs, such gated communities site (see Gated integration into the citys formal structures, yet all
Housing Estate) whether ensembles of high-rise of them are on their way eventually to become a
apartments or villas have landscaped gardens, part of Istanbuls share in the amenities of middle
artificial lakes and well-groomed public spaces. It class life.
is not exactly Florida, but it would like to be. The
fact that the villas are often identicallooking and For the socio-spatial antagonism between
the high-rises a variation on a theme underlines the upper-middle class site and the immigrant
the lack of imagination of a whole chain of actors, varo to develop fully and for the term to take on
from investors to architects, municipal officers and the notion of imminent threat it has among the
buyers. Beyond the walls are often other gated com- urban upper-middle classes, another ingredient
munities, but eventually, there is something else. is indispensable: violence, both structural and
actual. The rupture that marked the nadir of both
This something else could be mistaken for and established the varo as a symbol for the dan-
urban wasteland: motorways, industrial estates, gers of urban chaos and uncontrolled immigration
car dealers, outlet centres. Yet in between traf- came in 1995, when police killed seventeen Alevi
fic infrastructure and places of production and rioters in the neighbourhood of Gazi. Most were
consumption there are large patches of densely young men, demonstrating against a whole set
populated urban space: narrow streets, high-rise of discriminatory policies, ranging from limited
apartments blocking each others access to light access to municipality services to racial prejudice
and air, sparse green spaces and insufficient chil- in public agencies and arbitrary arrest by security
drens playgrounds. Grand mosques that have lost forces.
all decency in terms of proportion and dimension,
and even Cemevi, the new temples for Istanbuls While the negative connotation of the term
large and increasingly self-confident, yet still rela- was established by the Gazi events, it has taken
tively poor Alevi communities. This is the varo, on additional loads of symbolic baggage recently
BECOMING ISTANBUL
that help some members of the upper middle- of local wines. They are secular, cosmopolitan and
classes to distinguish themselves from their dark proud of their high Istanbul Turkish. The women
and dirty others. If it is the concrete walls and are emancipated and self-confident. They vote for
security guards that police the border between the parties who struggle to get beyond the 10 percent
varo and the site, the discursive walls between threshold of the Parliament.
white and dark Istanbulites are controlled by
opinion-leaders who mistake their sense of exag- Residents of the city of light are angered
gerated self-importance for cultural supremacy. when they learn that many Germans label Turks
In this dichotomous world, the residents of the in exactly the same terms as they themselves see
varo are black-haired, dark-skinned and unso- their unseemly neighbours living in the varo
phisticated. They work in menial jobs, eat meat next door.
when they can afford it, they are hairy and smell
of sweat. When they go to the citys recently re- Kerem ktem
opened municipality-run beaches, they swim in
white underwear, while their women in heads- > Gated Housing Estate
carves look on and prepare the barbecue. They
beat their wives, often cannot even speak Turk-
ish properly especially if they are Kurds and VARO (II)
are generally a nuisance. They also vote for the
wrong parties, because they do not know what is THE TERM BORROWED FROM HUNGARIAN IN THE 16TH
good for them. CENTURY TO DESCRIBE THE NEIGHBOURHOODS ON
THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN, BEGAN AFTER THE 1990S
TO DEFINE THE SEGMENT OF CITIES WHICH DIDNT
The white residents who live in their out- INITIALLY HAVE PLANNING PERMISSION BUT WERE
posts of the city of light are neat and clean, they LATER MOSTLY LEGITIMIZED. [ED.]
smell of perfume, and they are well-educated.

They prefer sophisticated meals of seafood and When you jump in a dolmu (see Dolmu) and
vegetables, which they consume with a selection go to mraniye, Dudullu or Sargazi, or the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
neighbourhoods between the Esenler coach sta- emergence of the gecekondu-ification period (see
tion and Merter, when you go right behind the Gecekondu, Post-gecekondu), many varo have
business towers in Levent or walk a few streets suffered from pressure from profiteering mafia
downhill from the cosmopolitan stiklal Caddesi and state security forces. Settlements which for-
(see stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu"), you arrive in ne- med on the outskirts of cities with the migration
ighbourhoods which have clearly been restricted wave from Anatolia and gecekondu-ification after
and separated, perhaps not spatially but socio-cul- the 1950s transformed into islets within and on
turally. The varo includes neighbourhoods where the outskirts of the city with the transformation
not only the economically lower class lives, but into apart-kondu [uneven development of apart-
also urban strata which have been excluded from ment buildings] and full articulation in economic
elitist modern urban culture. These neighbourho- terms to the service industry in the 1990s, with
ods may also correspond to distinctive religious, various cultural identities experiencing social
sect-based or ethnic communities, networks of polarisation and forced migration. The link of
relationships and political identities. The interna- varo to the economy of the city via cheap labour
tionally adopted term for these neighbourhoods, and informal economy preserve many traditional,
although it isnt a complete equivalent, is ghetto. conservative social and community characteris-
According to the definition of the modern city, tics. They sustained their contact with their ho-
they are the regions and neighbourhoods formed metown in Anatolia via links of relationship and
due to the effects of migration (see Migration) they continue to do so. In the 1970s, Arabesque
and identity assimilation on the periphery of the music (see Arabesque) reflected the social prob-
city or in contemporary mega-cities like Istanbul lems of migration from the village to the city and
where the periphery and the centre have mer- spoke of the non-urban downtrodden who were
ged. Urban poverty and the visible struggle on crushed under the economic and social conditi-
the social surface of political-cultural identity ons of the city. In the 2000s, a variety of hip-hop
to articulate itself to shared urban culture and which has developed parallel to the culture of
life necessitates the definition of varo as social urban consumption almost under the domination
phenomena rather than physical spaces. With the of big shopping centres which are the subjects of
BECOMING ISTANBUL
populist cultures of spectacle and a certain type varo. Under the guise of urban transformation
of Kral TV Pop music reflect the perspective of and improvement projects (see Beautification,
the varo youth regarding the city and how they Cleansing, Urban Transformation), not only pri-
connect to it. vate investors, but also TOK [Turkish Housing
Development Administration], a state institution,
In Tophane (the settlement between Kum- uses these discourses to support the rent market
barac Yokuu and Boazkesen Caddesi), the and legitimize transformations. Therefore, varo
neighbourhood I live in, there are Romany, Ar- are instrumentalized both in the legitimisation of
abs from Siirt and a small number of Kurds. This political-cultural identity assimilation and the fa-
neighbourhood, which I will call a small varo area cilitation of its control and in short-term profiteer-
in the city centre, is more romantic compared to ing in the economic context. Varo of the future?
the varos on the outskirts of Merter or other varo Unfortunately I believe that in the aftermath of
in terms of keeping street culture alive. Security is projects urban transformation projects, housing
provided via community relationships and con- estates will become varo-centres. This will en-
sumption is cheap, the neighbourhood is right in able city centres to be privatized, sterilized and
the centre of the city and it is a comfortable neigh- completely transformed into objects of consump-
bourhood to live in for the urbanite who feels s/ tion, and saved from the varo and its problems.
he doesnt belong in urban culture imposed from
above. On the other hand, Tophane is a place the Pelin Tan
elitist urbanite wouldnt have the courage to live
in and would describe as uninhabitable because > Arabesque, Beautification, Cleansing, Dolmu,
of drugs, theft and prostitution. In Istanbul, varo Gecekondu, stiklal Caddesi or "Beyolu",
are still places which legitimize uncanny and ur- Migration, Post-gecekondu, Urban Transformation
ban fears for modernist, elite urban residents.

Theft, murder, prostitution, drugs, radical leftist
tendencies and terror are the discursive codes
the state and the media use to criminalize the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
VIADUCT after the conqueror of the city, the Ottoman Sul-

tan Mehmed II the Conqueror (see Fatih Sultan
A ROAD-BRIDGE BUILT ON ABUTMENTS TO TRAVERSE
VALLEYS. Mehmet), and the longest viaduct providing access
to it was named after his teacher, Akemsettin. They
Viaducts are especially built on roads where ve- act as intermediary for the adaptation over the hills
hicles travel at high speed, like motorways. They and valleys of Istanbul of motorways which con-
are designed to reduce the angle of ramps and the nect two distant ends of the city via the Bosphorus
sharpness of bends so that vehicles can travel abo- bridges and bring space closer by accelerating time.
ve a certain speed without reducing speed going
up and down ramps and on slopes and bends. Like The viaduct divides the world in two: the ones
its predecessor the aqueduct that brought water who watch from above and the ones who pass
to the city, the viaduct enables the flow of vehicles beneath. There is a dichotomy, a discontinuity
to take place on the most energy-efficient route as wide as the span the viaduct covers, between
in this case, the route with minimum gradient the life in the valley where falls the shadow of
variation. The difference between a viaduct and the motorway body, almost flying on abutments
a bridge is that it divides a wide span into smaller from one hill to another, and the 130-kilometres-
spans with huge weight-bearing abutments. an-hour-on average-experience on the motorway
itself. As the everyday hullabaloo of a city district
In a linear city like Istanbul, which is develop- continues in a relatively calmer manner, turmoil
ing along an eastwest axis on both sides of the aimed at swallowing up long distances as fast
Bosphorus, viaducts help the far ends of the city to as possible takes place between the abutments
become closer by means of speedways. In particu- of the Sadabad or Ortaky viaduct. The gigantic
lar, they have been used frequently for the approach abutments of the viaduct, planted above the slow-
routes to the Bosphorus bridges. The relationship paced time of Sadabad, once the summer resort
between the Bosphorus Bridge and viaducts must of the sultans, signify how big, how manifold and
have been sensed by the administrators of the time how fast the city is (see Summer Resort). The bot-
when the second Bosphorus bridge was named tom of the viaduct body is a unique place where
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the great contradictions of the citys times and The imagined body of the city takes shape in her/
dimensions are instinctively sensed. The images his mind, an integrated relationship with an ex-
reflected by the viaducts, which were not specifi- panded image of the city is launched. From the
cally designed but shaped according to transport interval of possibility created by the hills and val-
and topographical dynamics on lives in valleys leys of the citys topography, the individual can fit
distant from Istanbuls shores, the silhouette they wide expanses of the city into the single moment
create (see Silhouette), the space they form be- of a glance. As time accelerates and shrinks on the
tween their abutments where their shadows fall, viaduct, space expands and the spatial volume of
describes a particularly special and exceptional a moments experience increases.
experience, which is directly related to, and which
would not have formed if not for, the city, despite Saitali Kknar
its spontaneous formation left to its own devices.
> Fatih Sultan Mehmet, Panorama, Silhouette,
The moment one passes over a viaduct as one Summer Resort
speeds down the motorway is perhaps one of the
rare occasions when anyone can today experience
that mixture of desires like curiosity, alienation, VIEW
immunity, transcendence, observation, learning,
documentation which one would feel when passing RATHER THAN AN INDIVIDUAL DISCOVERY, IT IS A
over a different civilisation on a different planet. STEREOTYPICAL URBAN VALUE IN ISTANBUL. [ED.]
The user of the city, as s/he travels over the tracks of

his own mesh of life reflected on the city, assembles Anything which attracts the gaze, or the attention.
from the panoramic expanse (see Panorama) the You wouldnt have believed the view I saw in the
viaduct creates, fragments, images from urban middle of the street./(Istanbul) The silhouette of
segments that s/he may never make contact with, Istanbul formed of the Bosphorus, the Historical
which may never become a part of her/his experi- Peninsula, the Maidens Tower and the Princes
ence, possible traces from distant ways of living. Islands. Dont miss this house, its got a great view.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
A house with a view: the type of house which Photograph of a view: in the context of Istan-
is only possible on hills facing the Bosphorus. bul, again, a photograph of the city containing
The ideal house with a view (see My Ideal Home) all the points mentioned above. Ferry, seagull,
must see the composition including all the com- a man fishing and a girl looking out into the dis-
ponents of the view listed above. Houses with tance are among the components that complete
views that only look out upon the Bosphorus can this genre. The concept is one of the first lessons
be found as one goes further north in Istanbul. in photography courses and trips are organized
Some of these houses are in residential areas of for the taking of these photographs.
planned development, whereas the great majority
is in housing areas that have been built on forest To sit/to drink tea facing a view: an activity
land where there is no construction or housing which people of Istanbul (see Istanbulite) who dont
permission. The value of a house with a view (es- live in neighbourhoods where there are houses
pecially if the house happens to be on or close to with views may opt for at the weekend. A thermos
the seaside) is much higher than a house in the flask can be brought from home for a picnic at the
same district but without it. It has been witnessed seaside, or one may sit in a teahouse. There are ac-
that some landlords or estate agents try to market counts that associate the emergence of this term
houses as houses with views where if you stretch with the Pierre Loti Coffee House in Eyp.
out of the window or climb a ladder, you see the
sea from afar. Living in a house with a view in To put up a view: the act of television compa-
Istanbul is an important sign of prestige. Clichs nies consisting of putting up various photographs
like, If your home doesnt have a view of the sea, of views to fill in the interval when the television
youre not actually living in Istanbul, do exist. broadcast is unexpectedly interrupted. The Rock
Considering the breadth of the citys borders and Crystal Pitcher and waterfalls are among the popu-
the low level of average income, it could be seen lar television views.
as a concept that draws attention to the scale of
lkay Bali
social injustice.
> Istanbulite, My Ideal Home
BECOMING ISTANBUL
WATER of tsunami scenarios often claimed to form after

the earthquake (see Earthquake) which hasnt yet
A STATE OF ISTANBUL. managed to hit; the othered children of the city
cool off in decorative pools, other children fall
Water makes Istanbul what it is; it is the only into wells and manholes when their lids are left
thing that doesnt change. Here, for sure, the un- open; and, finally, it is again the same water in
paralleled views the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn, the infrastructural networks traversing the whole
the Gksu River and the Marmara Sea present the city. Yet, in the face of never fully internalized
city with, the immersion of the Istanbul silhouette change in Istanbul, people always get nostalgic
in water and the culture of water the city enables (see Nostalgia) and cant help but say, it wasnt
on diverse scales are of extraordinary importance. like this in the past.
However water also finds its counterpart in urban
life by means of other concepts we experience in
Ayen Ciravolu
our everyday life. For instance, the curiosity Orhan
Pamuk provokes in his novel The Black Book for
> Earthquake, Nostalgia
a situation that would emerge if the waters of
the Bosphorus were to subside could be traced
through the transmission of themes of leakages
WEDDING TOPOGRAPHIES
of water in the city. Therefore, Istanbuls change/
transformation can also be read in various states
A COMPONENT OF ISTANBULS CULTURAL
of water like rain, puddles, traffic, floods, tsunami, TOPOGRAPHY. [ED.]
decorative fountains, wells, manholes, water ba-
sins and water shortage. Its absence triggers water The marriage service and wedding ceremony, fo-
shortage, even the slightest drop of rain causes unding elements of the social body, is positioned
traffic jams and when it insists on pouring down somewhere between private sand public space,
settlements on valley floors are flooded; it hides personal and citizen fantasy, personal desire and
beneath dislodged pavement stones, or is the hero collective approval. An experimental and critical
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ethnographic work realized within the framework by a single viewpoint or perspective, broken and
of the exhibition De-Regulation with the work fragmented images gain visibility, does not only
of Kutlu Ataman conceptualized and curated problematize the narratives we produce and ca-
by Irit Rogoff, my departure point in the project tegories we define for Istanbul and in the name of
Wedding Topographies of Istanbul was that the Istanbul, it also overturns the simple hierarchies
marriage service and wedding ceremony with the- and dualistic oppositions reflected by the Wests
ir performative dimension enable us to examine gaze. Essentialist oppositions like East versus
the relationship of private and collective identity West, Islam versus Christianity are overthrown;
and to contemplate the forms of production of categories like Turk, Muslim, Eastern and
race, gender and social reality. For the research exotic are not only rendered powerless but also
project titled Istanbul Skin of the City carried out invalid. The field of representation for currently
within the scope of the De-Regulation exhibition existing photographic material insinuates that
shown at the MuHKA (Museum of Contemporary recognition may actually be misrecognition or
Art Antwerp) in 2005 and the Herzliya Museum inadequate recognition and often provocatively
in 2006, I collected marriage service and wedding contains the potential to create unexpected en-
photographs of different social groups, ethnic counters with differences.
communities (Kurds, Romany, Alevis, Circassians
etc.) and minorities (Greeks, Armenians, Jews In the wedding topographies of Istanbul, we
and Syriacs) of Istanbul (see Minority, Ethnicity). encounter body images outside or contrary to
In addition to this archival material, I took pho- the imagined anatomy of the city. The marriage
tographs of the display windows of photography ceremonies of Greeks, Armenians, Jews or Syriacs
studios and wedding dress shops. All this photog- disturb the representation of the city as a homo-
raphic material, which constitutes the subjective/ geneous space and the dynamics of the search for
urban landscape of Istanbul and forms its social ethnic or religious unity. In contrast to state ideol-
and cultural memory, maps the multiple-space ogy which suppresses differences and insists on an
and multiple-identity topography of the city. This ostracizing representation of the nation-state in
topography in which, instead of images provided the public sphere, the rich wedding culture of Is-
BECOMING ISTANBUL
tanbul enables us to see that Istanbul has multiple are revealed in the exaggeration and surrounding
and diverse cultural identities, lifestyles, forms of residue and excess displayed in the poses of brides
using public space and becoming visible there. As and grooms in the wedding photographs adorn-
in Kurdish or Romany weddings, those who can- ing the display windows of photography studios
not be seen in a totalizing or homogeneous public in Istanbul which prove that fantasy as directly
sphere, those who cannot make their voice heard related to desire is an exceedingly significant part
there, temporarily take over the space, put pressure of social life. The operations of fantasy, which are
on the present structure and push it towards its considered marginal, in actual fact structure our
own borders. The residents of stigmatized and op- identity; they lie at the centre of our perceptions,
pressed neighbourhoods like Tarlaba or the Gazi beliefs, behaviour and actions. Whether sexual
neighbourhood celebrate their weddings raptur- or racial, they visualize the fact that we wear our
ously, bringing their visibility to the space; urban identity as bride or groom like an item of clothing.
space is used in different forms to the determined This also means that identifications are moving,
and organized forms. In the wedding topographies flexible and temporary.
of Istanbul, where one encounters the intricate web
the city carries within itself and its unexpected The point I wanted to arrive at by bringing
sources of experience and knowledge, the tension together this archival material was that identifica-
is removed and the city is transformed into a frag- tions realized along the culturally produced lines
mented, fluid and constantly changing landmass. of race, ethnicity, class, gender, religion or citizen-
ship are not valid or effective political strategies.
The place where the marriage service and It is necessary today to realize the transition from
wedding is held is also the site of identifications a politics of identity to the politics of relational
with conscious or subconscious dynamics, which identities. This is where the concept or metaphor
are political choices as much as they are personal; of the Skin of the City becomes relevant. The
and identifications are spaces of assignment con- physical topography brought on by weddings
stantly open to the influence, order and jurisdic- opens the city onto desire. The concept of the
tion of fantasy. The dynamics of identification Skin of the City means that it is no longer possible
BECOMING ISTANBUL
to speak of walls, barriers, inside and outside. phies of Istanbul enables us to see and know the
The borders of the city are leaky, fragmented and transitivity and relationality between the intense
broken; it is not possible to draw a border between strata of the urban space.
inside and outside, between the I and the other.
The information provided by the skin covering Nermin Saybal
the body, the surface of the body, is internal and

external, private and public. In the same man- > Ethnicity, Minority
ner that the life story of the individual is written

by the body and via the body, urban topography
bears the history of encounters, transformations WOUND
and changes. The marriage service and wedding
EACH INSTANCE OF SOCIAL PSYCHOSIS, TRAUMA AND
ceremony are inscribed in the social space of the PAIN ISTANBUL AND THE ISTANBULITE SUFFER FROM.
city as lived experiences. The skin of Istanbul [ED.]
incorporates concentrated strata formed of the
opposition between modernity and tradition, the The oldest wound of Istanbul originates from its
taste and wishes of different social groups and dwellers feeling of failure to own the city (see
new urban residents who have relocated due to Istanbulite). The residents of the city are never
internal migration or forced migration, demands at ease. Imagine that they still organize parades
of suppressed ethnic groups for social and politi- commemorating the conquest of Istanbul 550
cal recognition, the memory and presence of the years after the occupation to celebrate their own
minority population displaced or migrated as a image (see Fatih Sultan Mehmet). It is plain to
result of various historical events which devel- see that they still cant believe Istanbul has been
oped following the foundation of the Republic of captured. Are you mine? Are you still thinking
Turkey and which were aimed at creating ethnic of your ex? Do you think of him/her when you
and religious homogeneity in society, and the close your eyes when making love to me? A pain,
diversity and difference of desires. The visual an affliction, a suspicion, a wound Istanbul can
experience presented by the wedding topogra- never be sure of.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
A grand Istanbulite looks carefully at his on, the argument eventually gets tied up at a point
wifes hesitation as she takes the tea off the stove that may be summarized by the axiom the more
to understand whether her mind is still on her recent Istanbulite is definitely the ruder. They
old lover. 550 odd glorious years have passed, both claim to be the deeper -rooted inhabitant of
but when Istanbul looks into the distance, the Istanbul. Finally, the woman somehow says she
Istanbulite still becomes suspicious, raves and is from a family which is by far the older, in fact
rants, goes for her, demonstrates in disturbance the oldest Istanbulites. Upon which the gentle-
and hoists the flag. At such moments, it is pos- man tells her, Then you are Rum! [Greek] The
sible to think that there are no Istanbulites in whole bus freezes.
Istanbul. Looking at its views (see View) shared
out between eyes set on the distance and at the Seyyan Hanm responds, from the oldest
resentment condemned by nature to abortion or Turkish Tango: The past is a wound in my heart/
passing through the city at a leisurely pace and My fate is darker than my hair.
sweating profusely, the various throbbings of the
same wound recur. Do you recall, a few years ago there was this
interesting case in Istanbul in which the mother,
I will have to share with you an entertaining who had lost her mentally disabled child when he
argument I witnessed on a public bus in Istanbul was only five, had first checked his wounds when
to explain my point. A crowded Istanbul bus. We he was found thirty years later and had recognized
were progressing at a leisurely pace through the her child from his wounds? In tears.
city, sweating profusely. A gentleman who looks
to be in his fifties is having an argument with a These were not the wounds in his heart but
lady. The lady claims the gentleman has been rude the wounds on his body. Those who have seen
for a reason I cant recall now and the gentleman Istanbul naked know of the wounds on its body.
refuses to accept the accusation of rudeness. The Since it lost its mother who washed and cared
argument over the definition of rudeness and for it years ago, only those who have made love
politeness has begun. As words elbow each other to Istanbul can know of the wounds on its body.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
I have just recalled that, in an interview, Sub- baked dough with spicy meat topping] house adds
comandante Marcos of the Zapatistas spoke about the wounds of Palestine to its spice mix. And the
a Mexican villager who had ten children but had hope brought from the Middle East by pigeons is
never seen his wife naked. The distant relatives of stirred by Nimet Abla into the dust.
that Mexican in Istanbul might think the vagina
a wound if they were to see it. In fact, the vagina Kadky, on the other hand, is the republic.
might have become a wound for not having been When you get on the ferry from Eminn Square
seen and looked at for so long. and arrive in Kadky Square, you change strata.
People occasionally smile in Kadky too. They
Oh these genderisations, this patriarchal may read a piece of paper they have picked up
imagination, where do you come and find me from the floor, wondering what it is. The only
from They tortured Grdal Duyars Beautiful wound of Kadky is not being Istanbul. The only
Istanbul monument so much, and is that why thing in this life which stings Kadky inside is
no other monument can be imagined when one Istanbul being another place. We could say that
thinks of Istanbul? Perhaps those who go down to if Kadky was in Istanbul, it would have had no
Karaky Square still continue to see that female problems. But it clearly understands that it isnt
figure with her head thrown back and her hands Istanbul as the evening falls. I suspect this is the
chained uprooted from its pedestal reason they placed that hot-air balloon in Kadky.
So the people of Kadky could rise and watch
Looking across the Bosphorus to the other Istanbul from a hill. But this is not one of the hills
side I realized I had to say: its an established truth of Istanbul, but rather a balloon-hill. This reality,
that the historic peninsula doesnt smile. Its as this balloon, wont leave Kadky alone.
if it is wounded on the inside. And the republic
never arrived there. If you fall over in Eminn But is Beyolu like that? Beyolu doesnt
Square you get an Ottoman smell from the ground. even care where Istanbul is. It has countless
Eminn also has a quality of Middle Easternness. secret passageways which lead to where it wants
For instance, the Arafat lahmacun [thin round them to
BECOMING ISTANBUL
I was born, and I grew up in Fatih. The reason There are three ways of looking at the wound-
for the biggest wound in Fatih is sleeping with a zones of the city. The first is the specialist-eye.
colossal corpse. You snuggle up fearlessly to the The specialist-eye is sometimes purely scientific;
huge walls lining the road they call Fevzi Paa it categorizes wounds, places them in test tubes,
Caddesi, which turns into Macar Kardeler Cad- measures their pain, underlines their continuity
desi if you open its lid from one end, and you hear and monitors the volume of bleeding per second.
the snoring of the corpse. And sometimes, the specialist-eye is a manager; it
calculates the influence of wounds on the econo-
The historico-political map of Istanbul has my, makes the necessary arrangements, empha-
not been drawn up yet. We are not able to follow sizes planning and compares treatment costs.
Istanbuls political history apartment by apart- Another option is to look with the curious-eye.
ment, street by street, and day by day. Where did The curious-eye is often the artists eye. It is curi-
each upheaval begin, where was each revolution- ous about how life is around here. About rhythm,
ary shot, where did each assassination take place entertainment, the humour. It tries to catch the
and where did each demonstration begin? rituals, the fleeting stories drifting away. It learns
their language, sings along to their songs. Another
I know that when one speaks of wounds, one way is to look at wounds with the wounded-eye.
has to speak of the sociological wound zones of What does the wounded-eye see when it turns to
the city. Social problems, sites of constant bleed- looks at the wound?
ing. Economic and cultural wound-zones with
their gecekondu, poor people and peripheral ex- Sometimes the last thing a wound wants is
istences (see Gecekondu, Post-gecekondu). Neigh- dressing.
bourhoods dominated by streets which lead to
nowhere (see Neighbourhood), all those with the Taking into consideration the transforma-
unmentionable names of hundreds of streets tions of Istanbul, one might be expected to ask if
named in a day at a single office Istanbuls wounds are healing, or if new wounds
are being opened. Its as if Istanbul knows the
BECOMING ISTANBUL
formula to heal its ancient wounds but doesnt the right day of Ramadan and the right street to
tell. Beautiful but wounded. Annabel Lee before blow through
her death. The beautiful woman who is not dead
but wounded. Wounded beauty. This is Istanbuls Daisy-like Istanbul tangos are famous. Those
constant seduction. who look at Istanbul and sigh as they feel a sophis-
ticated blues and a fading melancholy know them
The Bosphorus is always a mirage. You run well (see Nostalgia). And of course there is the
towards the Bosphorus and fall into Istanbul. rebetiko of Istanbul minibuses, and the fado of tea
Ramadan tents wound Istanbul too. Everything gardens where beer is drunk from cans wrapped
is rendered unconvincing. Istanbul has neigh- in newspaper. There are neighbourhoods where
bourhoods which havent written a single word the tango is danced with a razor blade.
in their lifetime. Their stories always get caught
up in the clamour. Today, there are no sculptures for its wounds.
There are sculptures of its wound-makers in its
Workers blown up in an illegal workshop, squares.
pulled to pieces at dockyards; the human being
has no value in the below-stairs of Istanbul. The Sreyyya Evren
city feeds off those it shoots down there, below-
stairs. A sociological reading of vampirism is made > Fatih Sultan Mehmet, Gecekondu, Istanbulite,
in the shadow of the taller-than-tall flagpoles Neighbourhood, Nostalgia, Post-gecekondu, View
wounding the Istanbul sky.
Even drinking a single beer can get you

wounded in Istanbul. You turn around and the
act of drinking itself has been coded as defeatist.
Not even that, even smoking a single cigarette
can get you wounded. If the smoke has chosen
BECOMING ISTANBUL
YALI yal with a flexibility enabling maximum access

to the environment, sea, flora and the sun. The
RESIDENCE BUILT ON THE WATERFRONT
fact that there was nothing between the yal and
the sea apart from a narrow, private embank-
In the context of Istanbul, the yal appeared as a
ment and the big gardens at the back created
type of traditional housing architecture unique to
the unique formation of this shore settlement
the Bosphorus at the end of the 17th century. The
between the hills and the sea, bringing together
construction of yal, which accelerated in the 18th
water and greenery.
century, continued throughout the 19th century to
create a pattern of settlement and lifestyle unique
In addition to the Bosphorus being a place
to the Bosphorus. Until the second half of the 19th
far from the city one goes to enjoy and live with
century, the yal were differentiated from other
nature, the fact that the yal were status symbols
traditional residences in terms of architectural
located in the most prestigious place of the city
characteristics in the organisation of the ground
determined the quality of the pattern of settle-
floors as living areas, which in other styles inclu-
ment. These buildings lining the shores of the
ded service areas and were closed to the outside.
Rumeli [European] and Anatolian sides were
commissioned by palace circles, including first
The yal emerged as a sultans residence built
and foremost the sultan and his wives, but also
within the premises of the sultans private gardens
the viziers, pashas, the trade bourgeoisie formed
along the shores of the Bosphorus and it always
of a Christian minority and wealthy tradesmen.
remained the abode of a wealthy and exclusive
The summer-resort characteristic (see Summer
section of society. The area of use extending from
Resort) of the Bosphorus and the relationship to
the shore to the elevation of the hills connected
the sea created a unique lifestyle. The move in
yal with the sea on one side and the forest on the
early summer to the Bosphorus and the return in
other. The typology of the plan of wooden housing
autumn to Istanbul took the shape of a migration
architecture developing around a central space
with long preparations and defined a life deter-
created the foundation of the formation of the
mined by seasons.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Since transportation was largely restricted By the 1980s, the Bosphorus, with its pres-
to the sea route until the second half of the 19th tigious position in the city, emerged, on the one
century, the presence of a boathouse below yal hand, as a leading site of attraction amidst the
was almost obligatory. The ground floor which uncontrolled expansion of Istanbul and the usual
contained a paved courtyard and a pool would profiteering struggles in the city, and on the other,
open onto a wide garden at the back. Access to the the protection of the historical and architectural
grove stretching out to the rise of the hills and to identity of this special area became an urgent
outhouses would be provided for by a bridge if a issue. The restrictions implemented in this at-
road did not exist. mosphere of opposition and the new attempts to
violate these restrictions led to the inevitable res-
Although work in the second half of the 19th toration of the yal and therefore the Bosphorus.
century to regulate inner city sea transport with However, the restoration in mind (see Restora-
the aim of integrating the Bosphorus with the city tion) here was more an act of reconstruction rather
increased the contact of yal inhabitants with it, than the repair of existing structures. Apartment
the seasonal use of yal continued almost until yal, yal apartments, 18th and 19th century yal
the first half of the 20th century. bearing more recent dates and fattened up yal
reborn from their ashes appeared as new building
The fact that the yal was a status symbol types on the urban scene.
above and beyond that of a regular residence
brought together the outstanding examples of Yldz Salman
the architectural styles of various periods on the
two shores of this water route. The wooden Art > Restoration, Summer Resort
Nouveau yal unique to Istanbul from the early
20th century and examples of Sedat Hakk Eldems
new traditionalist residential typology from the
1960s took their place among the lineage of yal.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
YELAM ourselves, like a chewing gum brand we knew to

be bad up to then, or a make of car we made fun
THE STREET ONCE CLAIMED BY ALL FILM PRODUCTION of for being rotten. We too had a novelty in our
COMPANIES. [ED.]
past to be laughed at or marvelled at or to love like
one loves a disabled child the semi mythical, se-
This street parallel to stiklal Caddesi (see stiklal
mi-real street and its extensions which produced
Caddesi or "Beyolu") used once to be, more than
those films. It seemed as if Turkish cinema, which
anything else (more than the snatch-and-run film
we thought was something other than Yeilam,
companies clustered around there, the extras and
would become sturdier somehow if we perceived
patched up dreams), the symbol of and a scape-
Yeilam like this (see Cinema). However, it did
goat for something we did not approve of about
not help to regard Yeilam as the negative of a
Turkish cinema and therefore ourselves and made
photograph, as we always do when it comes to
sure we damned. Yeilam was a direct expres-
cultural issues. Today, despite our old Yeilam
sion of vulgarity, of commonness (a duty later
awareness, we have a cinema whose economic
assumed by arabesque) (see Arabesque) and, had
relationships are still like the street vendor eco-
using nouns as adjectives in the practice of pop
nomy cinema produced by that street. Perhaps
sociology been as fashionable as it is today, we
more importantly, we do not possess any real love
would have spurned many a thing exclaiming, so
for Yeilam either.
Yeilam! Yet in those moralizing times Yeilam
was like that well-known love that dare not spe-
Fatih zgven
ak its name; it was damned and a cloud settled
above the oblivious masses who consumed it with
> Arabesque, Cinema, stiklal Caddesi or
relish. Some kind of elitism, some kind of class
"Beyolu"
consciousness, some kind of progressivism used
to walk strangely hand in hand in this attempt at
high culturedness. After the eighties, Yeilam
became the name of something we discovered for
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ZEPPELIN
It hovers over Galata hoping to come across
ETERNALLY UNDECIDED BETWEEN STAYING ON Hezarfen Ahmet elebi here in Istanbul. For soci-
AND LEAVING | ILLUMINATED ALL OF A SUDDEN AT
A MOMENT YOU NEVER SAW COMING | YOU TOO WILL eties seeking their future in the sky, it is surely not
SURELY ONE DAY COME TO LOVE FERHFEZ* ATTLA a good sign to see the zeppelin in flight. But after
LHAN all, it is not with the applause of the community
that this zeppelin, this pumped up foreign inven-
In Istanbul, the zeppelin moves in the ferhfez tion, is inflated. While it is from the east that the
mode. It is distant to the hill, the wall, the garden, sun rises in Istanbul, it is towards the west that
the bay window, the rooftop as soon as you have the zeppelin is bound.
you stepped out on to it to every street. It is fa-
miliar with the water and the bridge; however it It waves its compliments to a few rooftops
doesnt recognize the Golden Horn. (see Golden and pulls away.
Horn) It is not of the land, it is alien to society.
The zeppelin does not belong to those who march *A compound mode in Ottoman music.
forward with eyes fixed on the horizon or those
who have the sun set and rise behind the hills. It Hakan Tzn engn
is too frivolous even for Berlin or Paris.
> Golden Horn
There are skywatching stations in Istanbul.
However, the zeppelin seeks stations suitable to its
temperament in the high and dense New York sky.
Stuck between leaving and staying on, free from
the trouble of going around the world in eighty
days, this apocalyptic object of the catastrophic
metropolis appears to seek to construct a home
in the sky.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
BIOGRAPHIES

AHENK DEREL ALAN DUBEN

zmir, 1982 New York, 1943
Graduated from the Department of Economics of Anthropologist, and professor in the Department
Middle Eastern Technical University. Completed a of Sociology at Istanbul Bilgi University. He has
minor in Sociology and her masters degree in the done extensive research and writing on both con-
field of International Management and Law. She temporary and historical Istanbul and on urbani-
has taken part in various international student sation in Turkey. His best known work, Istanbul
programmes and research projects, producing Households: Marriage, Family and Fertility 1880-
academic work on European Union institutions 1940 (Cambridge University Press) deals with the
within the framework of the masters program she household as a demographic, social and cultural
undertook in Belgium and Denmark. She has wor- phenomenon in the city and in Turkish society in
ked in the fields of advertising and journalism and general. His work is interdisciplinary in nature,
is interested in social and economic development, relying heavily on approaches and materials of
urban transformation, cultural studies and politi- social history, anthropology, and demography.
cal economy. She also works as a copywriter. Since
the year 2000, she has lived in the USA, Denmark > Household
and Belgium, travelling in Turkey, Europe, North
and South America and North Africa. She is cur-
rently employed on a promotional project of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
> 2010; Advertisement
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ALEXIS ANAL ARZU ZTRKMEN

Los Angeles, 1974 Beirut, 1965
Architect. She received her bachelors degree Completed her secondary education at Notre
in architecture from SCIArc, and her masters Dame de Sion in Istanbul and her higher educa-
degree in city planning from MIT. Her vision of tion at the Department of Management, Faculty
a streamlined relationship between people and of Economic and Administrative Sciences of
the design of their environments is manifested Boazii University. The PhD thesis she wrote at
in her academic and professional pursuits. She Pennsylvania University was published in Turkey
worked in various innovative architectural of- in 1998 under the title Folklore and Nationalism
fices in Los Angeles before moving to Istanbul in Turkey. Lecturer at Boazii University History
in 2002. Most recently, she has been exploring a Department since 1994 where she teaches History
series of projects looking at the future potentials of Performing Arts, Oral History and Research
of location-aware computing aimed at blending Methods in History. Has published folklore re-
digital environments intelligently with the physi- search, various articles and book reviews on the
cal environment. She was a visiting fellow at the halkevleri community centres, national holidays
University of Queensland teaching design studio and the history of dance. Co-edited Celebration,
in 2007 and continues to do research with MIT on Entertainment and Theater in the Ottoman
digital cities. World (2014, with Suraiya Faroqhi) and Medieval
and Early Modern Performance in the Eastern
> Street Market (Pazar) (II) with Murat anal Mediterranean (2014, with Evelyn Birge Vitz). Her
book Raksdan Oyuna: Trkiyede Dansn Modern
Halleri will be published by Boazii Universitys
BUPRESS in 2014.
> Bakkal; Beach; Dolmu; Dress; Holidays;

Slope; Urban Folklore
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ATLLA YCEL AYDA AREL

Istanbul, 1942 Istanbul, 1936
Architect. Completed his high school and uni- Studied history of art at Istanbul University and
versity education in Istanbul. Continues his University of Michigan, served in history of art
architectural practice and academic activities and architecture faculties at Istanbul Technical
parallel to this in Istanbul. Lecturer at Istanbul University, Karadeniz Technical University and
Technical University until 2003 and at Istanbul Dokuz Eyll University. Upon her early retire-
Bilgi University since 2004. Urban-scale projects ment worked at Yldz Technical University, IFEA
and restoration projects has formed the major (Istanbul French Anatolian Studies) and briefly
part of his design experience since 1983. His the- at Eastern Mediterranean University in Cyprus.
oretical work on Istanbul began with 19th cen- Published on the Western Anatolian Principalities
tury urban and housing texture research in the period, 18th century Istanbul architecture and tra-
1970s, and was developed within the framework of ditional Ottoman residences. Due to unforeseen
Habitat II, United Nations Conference on Human reasons publication of her research on the arc-
Settlements (1996) programme, publications and hitecture of the Aegean is delayed. A relatively
independent publications. He continues his the- old Istanbulite, who is not fond of seeing the city
oretical work at Cypress International University. defeated to the loss of memory and consciousness.
> Badat Caddesi (I) with Hlya Hatipolus > Kanyon

contribution; Eroticism; Main Street;
Taksim Square with Hlya Hatipolu
BECOMING ISTANBUL
AYDAN BALAMR women from former socialist bloc countries who

Denizli, 1953 work in the sector of domestic work in Turkey.
Architect, lecturer. Teaches design studio, history > Post-Soviet Union Migrant
and theory at the Department of Architecture,
Middle Eastern Technical University. Sat on the
administrative, editorial and selective boards of AYE AVDAR
professional institutions. Organized various ex- (Ankara, 1975)
hibitions, edited the 1988-2004 catalogue of the
National Architecture Exhibition and Awards. Graduated from the Department of Journalism,
Member of Ministry of Culture Preservation Faculty of Communication, Ankara University.
Boards since 1997. Carried out architectural pro- Completed her masters degree at the Department
jects and implementation for housing and edu- of History, Boazii University. Worked as a jour-
cational buildings. Her publications focus on nalist at various media outlets including Yeni , ,
modern architectural history and its criticism, Yeni Yzyl, Nokta, Atlas and Radyo 92.3 and as a
architectural education and cities. public relations officer at the History Foundation.
Since 2003 she has worked as a researcher on va-
> Palimpsest (I); Suburb rious documentary film projects. Published in
various magazines and lectures on journalism in
several universities.
AYE AKALIN
Istanbul, 1975 > McDonalds
Sociologist. Continues to work on her PhD in so-

ciology at the Graduate Center of City University
of New York and works as part-time lecturer at
Istanbul Technical University. Her PhD is on
BECOMING ISTANBUL
AYE EREK education, architectural design, architectural

Istanbul, 1973 criticism and the environment. Her fields of in-
depth research include the development of the
Art historian. Published articles on visual culture, informal aspect of architectural education, the
urban culture and contemporary art; acted on critique of the architectural milieu via environ-
the publishing board of magazine. Managed the mental debates and the relationship of urban ac-
project entitled City Image and Art in Istanbul tivism and place.
and Berlin at Berlin Humboldt University.
Faculty member, Department of History, Yeditepe > Park Hotel; Skyscraper; Water
University.
> Screen BAAK SANA TANRIVERD

Ankara, 1976
AYEN CRAVOLU Chef. First entered the kitchen professionally at

Istanbul, 1977 Swissotel in 1996; she worked on World Cuisine,
Banquets, Cold Cuisine and Far Eastern Cuisine.
Architect. Teaches and carries out research in She later continued her work on caf cuisine at
the field of architectural design at the Faculty Dulcinea and on French-Ottoman fusion cuisi-
of Architecture, Yldz Technical University. She ne as sous-chef at the Armada Hotels Alafranga
sits on the editorial board of the Mimarlk and Restaurant. She was part of the founding staff
mimar.ist journals published by the Chamber of Hai Sushi! at the Divan Hotel. She worked as
of Architects. She is also a member of the admi- chef-de-partie at Erenky Divan Pub and Divan
nistrative board of the Architectural Education Food and Drink General Directorate Cafeteria.
Association. She carries out numerous formal and She founded her own business after working as
informal activities concerning design and the city; the Food and Drink Director and Executive Chef
her publications mainly focus on architectural at the Gezi Hotel. At Ume, her pop-style Japanese
BECOMING ISTANBUL
fast-food venue, she built a reputation particularly BEYHAN SLAM

with her delicious sushi. Since 2003, she has been a Istanbul, 1976
part of Coccolats teaching staff and has taught on
Sushi, Chinese Cuisine, Mexican Food, Snack and Architect. Prepared and presented a radio prog-
Invitation Cuisine, Ottoman Cuisine and French ramme entitled Istanbul Istanbul for Radyo 92.3
Cuisine. Since 2013 she has been the manager of from 2001 to 2003 with various actors carrying
the Hotel Arcadia Blue. out work on Istanbul (writers, municipality rep-
resentatives, non-governmental organisations,
> Fish sociologists, architects, artists) taking part as gu-
ests. She illustrates children books and researches
into children and alternative education systems.
BENG GLDOAN
Diyarbakr, 1985 > Gated Housing Estate
Student at the Department of Architecture,

Faculty of Architecture, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts BURAK MADRAN
University. Founding member of the Difzyon/ Ankara, 1970
Diffusion group, an amateur initiative which
organizes design activities aiming to create a plat- Graduated from the Department of Industrial
form for the definition of the unique values of the Design, Middle Eastern Technical University.
Istanbul design circle and the establishment of Completed her graduate studies in Archaeology
productive relationships between various fields and History of Art and a masters degree in
of design. Mediterranean cultural properties at Provence
University in France. Continues to work on
> Parks and Gardens her PhD in history on museology in Turkey at
EHESS in France. She has taught at the Museum
Studies Graduate Program at Yldz Technical
BECOMING ISTANBUL
University since 1997. From 1999 to 2006 she wor- BLENT TANJU
ked as a part-time and full-time lecturer at the Istanbul, 1964
Arts Management programme of the same uni-
versity. Since 2000 she has presented seminars on After receiving his bachelors degree in archi-
exhibition techniques at the Design Culture and tecture from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University,
Management Certificate programme of Istanbul Blent Tanju completed his PhD 1908-1946 A
Bilgi University. Besides museology, she works in Conceptual Framework of Turkish Architecture
the conception and design of museum and tem- in Architectural History, stanbul Technical
porary exhibitions. She has published articles on University in 1999. He was awarded the Aa Han
museology, history of museums and exhibition Islamic Architecture Programme scholarship and
techniques in domestic and foreign periodicals. participated in the Department of Architecture,
MIT as a guest lecturer in 2002. His writings have
> Museum been published in several journals and books,
including Arredamento Architecture. Tanju works
BURAK ZLDL extensively on modern art and architecture, 19th
Ar, 1975 and 20th century Turkish architecture and mo-
dern cultural problems. He currently works as a
Architect. Graduated from the Department of faculty member at Mardin Artuklu University in
Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Mimar the Department of Architecture.
Sinan Fine Arts University and completed her
masters degree at the Architectural History > Arabesque; Demolition or the Warped City;
and Theory programme of Istanbul Technical Identity; Orientalism; Public Space (I)
University. From 2002 on she worked for four years

as the editor of Arredamento Mimarlk magazine.
Continues to work on her PhD in the USA.
> Hybrid-ising/isation; Migration
BECOMING ISTANBUL
BLENT USTA CAN ALTAY

Istanbul, 1973 Ankara, 1975
Writer. Graduated from the Department of Completed his higher education in Interior
Anthropology, Faculty of Literature, Istanbul Architecture and Environmental Design at Bilkent
University and completed his masters degree University in 1997. During his postgraduate stu-
at the Forensic Medicine Institute, Istanbul dies he studied both at this department and in
University. He is among the founders and edi- Contemporary Art and Philosophy of Art. Completed
tors of the magazine Siyah and the editor of the the Critical Studies programme at the Malm Art
poetry journal Yasakmeyve and the short story Academy at Lund University in Sweden. Received
journal Eik Cini. He has edited numerous books, his PhD from the Art, Design and Architecture
mostly in the field of poetry and he continues to Institute of Bilkent University. Taught and wor-
publish articles in various magazines and news- ked as researcher and visiting professor in Sweden,
paper supplements. He writes articles on current England and Germany. He is currently associate
events and new books in his column Karlamalar professor at Istanbul Bilgi University Faculty of
[encounters] in the culture-art section of Birgn Architecture. Works on architecture, structural
newspaper, which are constructed as imaginary environment, urban social-economic-political
encounters with writers or protagonists of no- phenomena. Produces spatial installations con-
vels. His novel entitled Karnca Hastanesi [Ant taining text, photography and video. His work has
Hospital] was published by Versus books in been exhibited at large-scale exhibitions such as the
January 2008. International Istanbul Biennial, Havana Biennial
and the Busan Biennial, and at museums and galleri-
> Car Ferry; Gecekondu; Shoeshiner es such as the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), ZKM
(Karlsruhe), PS.1 MoMA (New York) and Platform
Garanti Contemporary Art Centre (Istanbul).
> Papermen
BECOMING ISTANBUL
CEM AKA established his own architecture firm Architectural

Mannheim, 1968 Studio. During this period, the studio realized
many projects most of which were published in
Studied chemical engineering at Boazii various architectural magazines. Completed his
University. Began his graduate studies in politi- masters degree at Yldz Technical University.
cal sciences at the same university and completed Since 2000, he has continued his architecture
them at Columbia University, New York; retur- practice at his co-owned studio MarS-Architects,
ned to Boazii University to complete his PhD and taught at various universities from 2002.
in Turkish political history. Founded the journal
Son Kiot [The Last Quichote] with Cenk Koyuncu. > Gentrification (I); Palimpsest (II)
Presented the programme Okuduka [As One
Reads] he prepared with Enis Batur on TRT-2.
Worked as part-time editor at Yap Kredi publica- DENZ AKTAN KK
tions from 1992-2004, later executive editor and Zonguldak, 1980
publication consultant. Taught creative writing
at Sabanc University. Worked as freelance editor Academician. After graduating from the
and translator. Founded the g publishing group Department of Philosophy, Boazii University,
in 2005. Has published many books since 1990. she continued her studies in the Department of
Turkish Language and Literature at the same uni-
> Sparrow versity. She currently works on literary criticism
and the relationship between the city and litera-
ture at the department where she also works as a
CEM YCEL research assistant.
Istanbul, 1972
> Flanuerie; Literature
Architect. After graduating from Faculty of
Architecture, Istanbul Technical University, he
BECOMING ISTANBUL
DDEM DANI of City and Regional Planning, Istanbul Technical

Istanbul, 1973 University. After university she began to prepare the
monthly independent music, cinema, art and cul-
Graduated from the Departments of Political ture magazine Bant with her friends. She has been
Science and Sociology, Boazii University and the editor of Bant since 2004. She also continues her
completed her masters degree in sociology at musical activities in the band Kim Ki O she formed
Middle Eastern Technical University. Worked as a with Berna Gl in summer 2006. This synthesizer-
research assistant at the Department of Sociology, bass duo, adopting the do-it-yourself ethos, has pla-
Istanbul Bilgi University from 1998 to 2002. She yed live in Istanbul, Ankara and Eskiehir in Turkey
has been working as a lecturer at the Department and in Amsterdam, Munich, Frankfurt, Nijmegen
of Sociology, Galatasaray University since 2005. and Stockholm abroad.
The PhD thesis she is working on at EHESS in
Paris focuses on the social relationship networks > Music Piracy
of Iraqi transit migrants in Turkey, transnational
flows and the relationship between religious ins-
titutions and the nation-state. She also works on ELA L
urban transformation and social decomposition
in Istanbul. Academician, architect. Graduated and completed
her masters degree at the Faculty of Architecture,
> Crimean Church; Iraqi Immigrants Yldz Technical University and received her PhD
from Michigan University. Worked as a research
assistant at Yldz Technical University. She cur-
EKN SANA rently teaches at the zmir Advanced Technology
Istanbul, 1982 University. Her work focuses on the association
of diverse readings of space.
Following her graduation from American Academy,
she continued her education at the Department > Pavement with Hlya Hatipolu
BECOMING ISTANBUL
EMRE AYVAZ Contemporary Art, History of Thought, and Art of

Bursa, 1980 Globalisation at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University
and Yeditepe University.
Graduated from the Department of Political
Science and International Relations, Boazii > Stadium
University and attended the masters program at
the Department of Sociology of the same univer-
sity; completed his thesis on Reat Ekrem Kous
Istanbul Encyclopaedia in 2007. His articles ha- ERSN ALTIN
ve been published in journals including Kitap- Krklareli, 1978
lk, Kagar, Sanat Dnyamz, Kitap Zaman and
Toplumbilim. Graduated from the Department of Architecture,
Anadolu University. Received his masters degree
> Fatih Sultan Mehmet from the Architectural History and Theory prog-
ramme of Yldz Technical University. Worked as
managing editor of Arredamento Mimarlk
EMRE ZEYTNOLU magazine from 2002 to 2006. Continues his PhD
Istanbul, 1955 work in the USA.
Publishes articles and books on art and organizes > Anarchy (I); Minority (I); Neighbourhood
exhibitions. He has realized radio programmes
on art; and is currently producing a weekly te-
levision program on the historical and cultural EVREN UZER
landmarks of Istanbul and surrounding cities. Ankara, 1977
He has published many articles and a book on the
sociological and political extensions of football. Urban planner, researcher and PhD candidate at
He also teaches Sociology of Art, Art and Criticism, the Department of City and Regional Planning,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Istanbul Technical University. Since 2001 she has management method to bring together groups
worked as a research assistant at the ITU Housing affected by the projects. He has published many
Research and Education Centre and at the ITU articles on urbanisation and urban transforma-
Housing and Earthquake masters programme. tion. He is a part-time lecturer at Mimar Sinan
Her PhD thesis focuses on cultural heritage and Fine Arts University where he teaches urban
risk and her further areas of research include post- transformation.
disaster shelter, participation and interventions in
public space. She has been holding post-disaster > Emergency Action Plan; Urban Transformation
shelter workshops at the Bergen Architectural
School since 2005. Since 2004 she has been direc-
ting the roomservices initiative with designer Otto FATH ZGVEN
von Busch where they work on urban research, Istanbul, 1957
applied socio-geography, design and social art.
Writer, film critic, translator. Writes film reviews
> Caretaker; Earthquake; Street Food Vendor for the daily Radikal newspaper and teaches at the
Department of Cinema and Television, Istanbul
Bilgi University. He has published two short story
compilations entitled Bir ey Oldu [Something
FARUK GKSU Happens] and Hi Niyetim Yoktu [I Never Meant
Ankara, 1958 To] and a compilation of essays Yerstnden
Notlar [Notes from Above Ground]. He is inte-
Urban Planner. Undertaken many urban trans- rested in everything about the city.
formation projects which brought together the
public and private sectors and local organisati- > ATM; Beautification (I); stiklal Caddesi or
ons. Presents strategies, innovative models and Beyolu; Shopping Centre (I); Simit Saray
proposals in urban development and transforma- (I); Yeilam
tion, realizes projects. Adopts the compromise
BECOMING ISTANBUL
FUNDA UZ Completed her masters degree in journalism and

Konya, 1974 public relations. Began working at Hrriyet news-
paper in 1982. Worked as world news sub- editor
Architect. She is a research assistant in the from 1990 to 1994 and world news editor from 1994
Department of Architecture, Istanbul Technical to 2000. She has been a columnist at the same
University where she completed her PhD thesis en- newspaper since 2000.
titled Reading the Urban Discourse of 80s Istanbul
from Popular Print Media. She worked as a guest re- > Barge
searcher at the Cambridge University Department of
Architecture in academic year 2004-05. She has pub-
lished papers and articles internationally and has GKHAN ZGN
organized workshops. She was a member of the or- Ardahan, 1962
ganisation and executive council of the Architecture
and Philosophy Symposium and also an editor of Writer. Worked as an advertising copywriter and
the books published following the symposium tit- consultant following his economics and philo-
led Ethics-Aesthetics and Time-Space. Her fields of sophy education. Taught advertising at Istanbul
work include popular culture, discourse, memory, Bilgi University. Worked as a political columnist
modernism and architectural education. at Radikal newspaper for a year.
> Cake Shop; Language > Centre; Democracy
GLA BENMAYOR GL KKSAL

Graduated from the Department of English Architect, preservation specialist and lecturer
Language and Literature, Istanbul University. at the Department of Architecture, Division of
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Restoration, Faculty of Architecture and Design, She is a member of ICOMOS Turkey National
Kocaeli University. Her masters thesis was on the Committee and DoCoMoMo_Tr. Tanyeli works
Golden Horn Dockyards and her PhD thesis on the particularly on the history of technology and has
preservation and reuse of the industrial heritage recently focused on industrial archaeological si-
of Istanbul, and she follows developments and tes. She is a member of the Demirky-Samakovcuk
work in this field closely. Her professional and Ottoman Iron Foundry Research excavation team,
scientific activities mostly focus on architectural a Turkish History of Science Society project.
and restoration projects and writing.
> Gas Works
> Electricity; Golden Horn; Golden Horn
Dockyards; irket-i Hayriye City Maritime
Lines
HAKAN TZN ENGN
Ankara, 1971
GLSN TANYEL Graduated from the Department of Architecture,

Kean, 1957 Istanbul Technical University and completed his
masters education in the History of Architecture
Completed her graduate studies at the Department division of the same institution with his thesis en-
of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University in titled The Problem of Belonging in Contemporary
1979, undertaking her masters and PhD studies at Turkish Architecture. He was a member of the
the same institution. She has worked at the ITU design teams of award-winning projects like the
Faculty of Architecture since 1984. She worked ATK Lodgings, the Museum and Guest Centre,
at the Adana Cultural and National Properties and the B2 House. His proposal Zeppelinized
Preservation Board from 1994 to 2002, in 2005 was printed on the cover of Domus no. 893 af-
she was appointed as a member of the Nevehir ter he took part in the consultation opened by
Cultural and National Properties Regional Board. Domus magazine for the functional redefinition of
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Ryugyong Hotel and was exhibited at the Milano and his article The Ideology of the Spatial
Architecture Triennial. Participated in interna- Organisation of Consumption was published in
tional events like the 1998 Anytime Conference, the book Architecture and Consumption by Boyut
the 2004 Global Architect and Media Event, the Publishers. He acted as the editor of the Turkey
2005 Kassel-Kunsthalle Collective Creativity group at the exhibition Capitalist Metastasis orga-
exhibition and the 10th International Istanbul nized as part of the 2005 Rotterdam Architecture
Biennial. He works on the phenomenology of Biennial. He has published various articles, wor-
architectural structure and the interface of city ked as an editor, designed architectural projects
and structure. Continues work on his PhD the- and taken part in architectural competitions.
sis as a research assistant at the Department of
Architectural Design, Faculty of Architecture, > Reservoir Water Levels; Simit Saray (II);
Istanbul Technical University. Shopping Centre (II)
> Zeppelin
HLYA HATPOLU
Osmaniye, 1966
HAKKI YIRTICI
Adana, 1969 Editor, urban designer. Received her graduate
and masters degrees from the Department of
Architect. Lecturer at the Department of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University. After
Architecture, Istanbul Kltr University. Teaches working as a research assistant at Yldz Technical
courses on design, design theory, modernity and University, she worked as publication coordinator
cinema. His work focuses on modernisation and and editor at Istanbul Bilgi University, the History
modernism, the economic politics of space, every- Foundation and Cultural Publications.
day life, cinema and architecture. His book The
Spatial Organisation of Contemporary Capitalism > Pavement with Ela il; Taksim Square with
was published by Istanbul Bilgi University Press Atilla Ycel
BECOMING ISTANBUL
LKAY BAL architecture, the city and politics. She continues

Istanbul, 1979 to supervise masters and PhD theses, gives lec-
tures and organizes national and international
Studied City and Regional Planning at Yldz workshops and conferences on these subjects.
Technical University. Completed her masters
degree at the Department of Sociology, Boazii > Beautification (II); Expropriation;
University. Works as a freelance editor. My Ideal Home
> Alienation; Bakkal Sandwich; Cleansing;

Foreigner; View IIL BAYSAN SERM
Ankara, 1967
PEK YADA AKPINAR Architect, PhD candidate and lecturer at the

Istanbul, 1973 Department of Architecture, Yeditepe University.
Her work focuses on how cinematographic tech-
Architect. Lecturer at the Department of nologies transform and shape architectural epis-
Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Istanbul temology and ontology, and in particular define
Technical University. Guest lecturer at the Faculty design and spatial policies. She organizes various
of Architecture, Eastern Mediterranean University. workshops and presents seminars under the title
Regional editor of The Journal of Architecture. sinetopia at national and international levels
Following her graduate and masters education at various academic institutions and culture, art
at the Faculty of Architecture, Istanbul Technical and architectural institutes. Publishes writings,
University, she completed her PhD at the Bartlett articles and interviews in journals and newspa-
School, University of London. She has published pers active in the interdisciplinary field.
articles on architectural education, architectu-
ral and urban design, urban culture, spatial po- > Cinema
licies, Istanbul and the relationships between
BECOMING ISTANBUL
SMET ELF KILI Geist Im Glas and Kaluza, and also has his own
Istanbul, 1979 music projects, Oak and TSU!
Graduated from the Department of Architecture, > Peyote Stage

Istanbul Technical University in 2002. After ha-
ving worked at the MArS-Mimarlar as an architect
from 2003 to 2009, she researched into the prac- KATHRIN WILDNER
tices of archiving architecture at Garanti Gallery Essen, 1965
in 2009-2010. Currently she works as an architect
in the Eczacba Holding company. Urban Anthropologist. She has done fieldwork
in New York, Mexico City, Havana, Istanbul and
> Headphones other urban agglomerations. In her researches
she focuses on the constitution of public space,
constructions of urban identities, and ethnog-
raphic methodology in urban research. With the
JAMES HAKAN DEDEOLU ethnographic study on the Zcalo of Mexico City
Istanbul, 1980 the historical main square and symbolic center
of the contemporary metropolis she received
Graduated from the Department of Spanish her PhD from Hamburg University. As a freelance
Language and Literature, Istanbul University. urban scholar she works in international contexts,
He has been the editor-in-chief of Bant magazine lectures, publishes, and participates in exposi-
since 2004. An amateur short story writer, his tions. Currently she is assistant professor at the
work has been published in magazines including European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder),
Trendsetter, Rolling Stone, Basatap, Aktel, Blue Germany.
Jean and stanbul. With Aylin Gngr, he produces
the programme Trtllar [Caterpillars] on Ak > Public Space (II)
Radyo. He has played guitar in the bands Ricochet,
BECOMING ISTANBUL
KEREM KTEM communications. In Turkish, he is the author of

Gelsenkirchen, 1969 and (with David Morley) Kimlik Mekanlar, both
published by Ayrnt.
Senior Researcher at the European Studies Centre
and the programme for South East European > Flag
Studies, University of Oxford. He studied Urban
Planning in Istanbul and at the TU Hamburg-
Harburg and worked at architecture offices in Berlin,
before returning to academia at the University of LEVENT ENTRK
Oxford, reading in Modern Middle Eastern Studies. Eskiehir, 1974
He received his D. Phil in 2006 for his doctoral thesis
on the spatial dimensions of Turkish nationalism. Architect. Teaches at the Department of
He works on contemporary Turkey, minority poli- Architecture, Eskiehir Osmangazi University.
cies and issues of historical memory and publishes Completed his PhD thesis entitled The Body of the
regularly in Middle East Report Online. His book Modulor in the division of Architectural History
Angry Nation Turkey since 1989 is scheduled for and Theory of Istanbul Technical University in 2007.
publication by Zed Books in Spring 2009. Since 1997 his articles have been published in jour-
nals including Mimarlk, Arredamento Mimarlk,
> Ethnicity; Minibus; Minority (II); Synagogue; Sanat Dnyamz, Cogito, Kitap-lk, RH+ and Doxa.
Varo (I) He has published books aretname ve ntermezzo
[Book of Signs and Intermezzo] (YKY, 1998), Doxa
Yazlar [Doxa Writings] (YKY, 2003), Yerdeitirmeler
KEVIN ROBINS Sekisi [Anthology of Translocations] (YKY, 2004)
and Lilliput Masallar [Lilliput Tales] (Sel, 2004)
Kevin Robins is working in the Faculty of which are products of his interest in fields such
Communications at Baheehir University. He as experimental literature, architectural design,
is presently writing a book on transnational architectural criticism and art. He has directed
BECOMING ISTANBUL
the architectural studio Pomi (Studio for Potential its book with Zafer Yenal, Hikayemi Dinler misin?
Architecture) since 2002. Tanklklarla Trkiyede Haklar ve Sivil Toplum,
(History Foundation, 2004). Her book Radyonun
> Scaffolding Sihirli Kaps: Garbiyatlk ve Politik was publis-
hed in 2005 by Metis Publications, appearing in
English as Occidentalism in Turkey: Questions of
Modernity and National Identity in Turkish Radio
MELTEM AHISKA Broadcasting (I.B. Tauris, London).
Ankara, 1958
> Badat Caddesi (II)
Currently teaching as Associate Professor in the
Department of Sociology, Boazii University.
She has presented papers in several national and MELTEM TRKZ
international conferences, on Occidentalism,
social memory, gender and related issues; her Lecturer at the Department of Human and Social
articles have appeared in journals including The Sciences, Ik University. Completed her gradu-
South Atlantic Quarterly, New Perspectives on ate studies in visual arts and creative writing
Turkey, Toplum ve Bilim, and Defter. She has been at Sarah Lawrence College, New York. Received
part of the editorial collectives of Turkish jour- her masters degree at the Creative Writing and
nals such as Akntya Kar, Zemin, Defter and Literature Program at the University of Houston.
Pazartesi. She curated an exhibition entitled The Worked as a journalist at the Turkish Daily News
person you have called cannot be reached at the from 1989 to 1993. Collaborated with members of
moment: Representations of Life Styles in Turkey, the Street Children Association she met during
1980-2005, and wrote a book with the same title this period. She organized a writing workshop
(with Zafer Yenal, Ottoman Bank Archives and in Sefaky with children as part of this and hel-
Research Centre, 2006). She also co-curated a tra- ped them publish a photocopy newspaper titled
velling exhibition on human rights and co-edited Bizim Sokak [Our Street]. She completed her PhD
BECOMING ISTANBUL
in folklore at the University of Pennsylvania from from UCLA. His professional efforts focus on rais-
1995 to 2003. She is currently compiling a book ba- ing the quality of built environments in the con-
sed on her PhD thesis on narratives, memoirs and text within which they are constructed. He began
documents regarding the Turkish Surname Law. his career working in leading architectural design
firms in Colorado and Los Angeles. During that
> Tinerci time he explored the implication of regionalism
and sustainable systems. While at the design firm
Moore Ruble Yudell, he worked on distinguished
MER NER international projects such as the Sydney Pyrmont
Ankara, 1979 Housing Development as well as UCSC Physical
Science Lab Building. In 2000, he returned to
Architect. Associate director of research and Istanbul. He currently teaches studio as a vis-
programs at SALT since 2010, she focuses on the iting instructor at Yldz Technical University
built environment, architecture, and design of and continues his commitment to develop robust
the second half of the twentieth century as a pri- design-processes to ensure design as a force for
mary tool for social research and discussion. She architectural excellence.
presents her research in forms of exhibitions,
publications and talks. > Street Market (Pazar) (II) with Alexis anal
> Akbil; Mosque; Parking Lot NALN BAHEKAPILI

el, 1973
MURAT ANAL Completed her architectural education at Mimar

Istanbul, 1969 Sinan Fine Arts University. Her articles have been
published in magazines including Arredamento
Architect. Received his bachelors degree from Mimarlk, Milliyet Sanat, XXI and Varlk. Worked
Yldz Technical University and masters degree as a research assistant at Yeditepe University. PhD
BECOMING ISTANBUL
candidate in the Architectural History and Theory Completed his masters degree in Continental
programme at Yldz Technical University. Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy,
University of Warwick. He translates works on
> Performative Traffic; Street Animals culture, art and literature; translated Vladimir
Nabokov and Flannery OConnor into Turkish,
and Orhan Pamuk and Hrant Dink into English.
NAMIK ERKAL
Since 2007 he has taught at the Departments
Ankara, 1969
of Visual Communication Design and Arts and
Cultural Management at Istanbul Bilgi University.
Architect, architectural historian. Lecturer in
He is currently teaching the Cultural Management
the Department of Architecture, Middle Eastern
masters class Art and Opposition.
Technical University. His research concentrates
on the spatial history of the city border, harbour
architecture and especially the historical deve-
NERMN SAYBAILI
lopment of the Istanbul harbour front and kapan
Mersin, 1974
buildings. His architectural design work focuses
on the transformation of historical buildings into
Faculty member in the Department of History of
museums (Istanbul Sakp Sabanc Museum).
Art, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. Received
her PhD degree from the Department of Visual
> Filled Ground; Kapan Weighing Office;
Cultures at London University Goldsmiths College
Panorama
and went on to teach in the same department.
She taught at the Department of Architecture at
NAZIM HKMET RICHARD DKBA Edinburgh University. She has presented in in-
Leeds, 1973 ternational conferences on the problematics of
visibilities/invisibilities in the regime of vision,
Translator, artist, academician. Graduated from the use of sound (human sound, sounds that are
the Department of Sociology, Istanbul University. neither language nor music) in installations and
BECOMING ISTANBUL
video works, mobility and counter-geographies, NORA EN

urban space and migration. She has participated Istanbul
in art projects such as De-Regulation with the Work
of Kutlu Ataman and e-flux video rental (EVR). Historian, economist, urbanist. Attended high
In addition to a number of catalogue texts, she school at Notre Dame de Sion. Following her
has published articles in magazines including economics education in France she became lec-
Third Text, n.paradoxa, Architecture &, Journal turer at the Department of Urbanism at Paris 8
of Visual Art Practice, Toplum ve Bilim; written University. Her fields of specialisation include
sections in Art, City and Politics In An Expanding 19th century Istanbul, contemporary cultural
World: Writings From The 9th International policies and the city, patronage, philanthropy
Istanbul Biennial (IKSV, 2005); Voice: Vocal and non-profit cultural organisations. She has
Aesthetics in Digital Arts and Media (MIT Press, published numerous articles on these subjects.
2010); Globalization and Contemporary Art She compiled the translation of her articles on
(Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), Mobility and Fantasy in Istanbul in the book Seni Unutursam stanbul
Visual Culture (Routledge, 2014) and Uncommon [Istanbul If I Dare Forget You] (Kitap Publishers,
Grounds: New Media and Critical Practices in 2008). Her books which have been translated into
North Africa and the Middle East (I. B. Tauris and Turkish include Marie ve Marie [Marie and Marie];
braaz Publishing, forthcoming). Saybal edited Konstantiniyede bir mevsim, 1856-1858 [A season
a special issue on Visual Culture for Toplumbilim in Constantinople, 1856-1858] (im 1999; 2004),
magazine and published Snrlar ve Hayaletler: Camondolar, bir hanedann [The Camondos,
Grsel Kltrde G Hareketleri [Borders and the fall of a dynasty] (with Sophie Le Tarnec, im,
Ghosts: Migration Movements in Visual Culture] 2001). The translation of her book Les Inventeurs
(Metis, 2011). de la Philanthropie juive will be published by Yap
Kredi Publications in autumn 2008. In January
> Wedding Topographies 2008 she organized an international symposium
in Istanbul entitled Philanthropy and Patrons
in the City: Towards a Contemporary Urban and
BECOMING ISTANBUL
Cultural Policy. She is also a documentary film Understanding and intervening in dynamics of ur-
producer. ban change are his primary concern. He published
the book Istanbul: self service city with Stephan
> Ottoman Neighbourhood Lanz in 2005 in Berlin, which he considers his
second city.
ORHAN ESEN > Northern Istanbulite; Post-gecekondu; Simit;

Istanbul Tourism
Independent urban researcher, writer, guide. He is

interested in the performance of the city he lives in OSMAN CENK DEMROLU
the fields of shelter, transportation, environment Istanbul, 1980
and identity formation etc., or, in brief, letting its
dwellers live in reasonable conditions. Studied Geographer and tourismologist, board member for
social and economic history and later history of the Association of Professional Tourism Writers,
art and architecture in Istanbul and Vienna. As Journalists and Editors, member of Adalar Kltr
a guide, he finds it important to let his guests Dernei [Adalar Cultural Foundation], faculty
perceive Istanbul with its mediocrities beyond member of Department of Tourism Management
its monumental building stock and his field of Boazii University. He completed his PhD at the
interest extends from the historical to the existent. Department of Geography, Istanbul University,
He believes that the activity of showing and sha- during which he resided in Sweden, Norway and
ring the city is a good teacher and that it develops Slovakia under various scholarships for five ye-
spatial awareness. He makes an effort to become ars. He publishes extensively on sustainability
a vigilant, active and participant resident of the and other tourism-related topics and situations.
city. He works with various civilian, academic, With the project he proposed for the rejuvenati-
artistic and political platforms, writes, speaks; on of Prinkipo Palace in the context of cultural
produces and organizes projects to achieve this. heritage and sustainable tourism, he received
BECOMING ISTANBUL
a mention prize at the Barlas Kntay Tourism programme of the same institution. After wor-
Research Awards of the Turkish Tourism Investors king for 14 years in her architectural practice on
Association. projects of various types and dimensions ranging
from urban inventory projects to spatial and ob-
> Isle ject design, she focused on the cultural production
aspect of architecture. While working as the direc-
tor of Garanti Gallery, Istanbul (an institution con-
ZGE AIKKOL cerned with urbanism, architecture and design)
Istanbul, 1976 realized exhibitions and other parallel events and
publications (2005-2010). Some of the publications
Member of Oda Projesi [the Room Project], a pro- she contributed to are: Becoming Istanbul (ed.);
ject based in Istanbul which began to operate in Tracing Istanbul [from the air]; Mapping Istanbul
2000, develops ideas on the functions of spaces (ed.); Istanbul para-doxa: Conversations on the
and has participated in various international ex- City and Architecture (ed.); Made in : On Istanbul,
hibitions and projects. Works as an editor and Small-scale Production, and Design (ed.). Some of
translator in various publication projects. the institutions that she collaborated are SALT (to-
gether with Gkhan Karaku she took part in foun-
> Gentrification (III); Irregular Urbanisation ding and developing the Architecture and Design
Archive Turkey, and co-curated Performance of
Modernity: Atatrk Kltr Merkezi, 1946-1977
PELN DERV exhibition); VitrA (coordinator of the exhibitions
Ankara, 1967 in the VitrA Contemporary Architecture Series);
Istanbul Modern (coordinator of YAP Istanbul
Architect. Lives and works in Istanbul as an in- Modern: Young Architects Program, 2013 which
dependent editor and curator. Graduated from is realized in partnership with The Museum of
Istanbul Technical University, completing her Modern Art, MoMA and MoMA PS1). She is the
masters degree in the History of Architecture project coordinator of the Pavilion of Turkeys
BECOMING ISTANBUL
exhibition Places of Memory (curated by Murat 1st Istanbul Design Biennial, Tan co-curated the
Tabanlolu) at the 14th International Architecture Proje15 (2015) urban research exhibition at the
Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia. The docu- Bordeaux Architecture Centre with Joseph Grima.
mentation of modern architectural production Tan and Anton Vidokles film works on utopian
in Turkey, and the contemporary urban issues of future art institutions 2084 is featured in Bergen
Istanbul are her fields of interest. Assembly, Montreal Biennial and Guangzhou
Time Museum.
PELN TAN
(Hilden, 1974) > Biennial; District Villas; Surveillance;
Varo (II)
Studied sociology and history of art. Completed
her PhD on the concept of locality in socially
engaged art practices in urban space in the PETER TAYLOR
Department of History of Art, Istanbul Technical Tring, 1944
University; and her post-doc on artistic research
at the Faculty of Architecture, MIT. Receiving Professor of Geography at Loughborough
her associate professorship in contemporary art, University and Director of the GaWC (Globalization
Tan is a faculty member in the Department of and World Cities) Research Network, a leading
Architecture, Mardin Artuklu University. She is world-wide think-tank on cities and globalisation.
co-editor of Mstesna Hali [Extraordinary State He is a world-systems analyst who has applied
of the Exceptional City] (Sel, 2013). She has pub- his research to political geography and urban
lished books entitled Unconditional Hospitality studies. He is the founding editor of two interna-
and Threshold Architecture, Ethics of Locality: tional journals, Political Geography and Review of
Urban Commons (dpr-Barcelona, 2014), Arazi/ International Political Economy. He is the author
Territory (Sternberg Press, 2015). Assistant cu- of many publications. He enjoys walking cities
rator to the Adhocracy (2012) exhibition of the and turning academic ideas upside down. He was
BECOMING ISTANBUL
a member of the Gulbenkian Commission on the on the history of the Istanbul Latin Community.
Future of the Social Sciences, is an Academician He was appointed Chevalier de lordre de Saint-
of the Academy of Social Sciences (UK), has been Grgoire le Grand by the Vatican.
awarded Distinguished Scholarship Honors
by the Association of American Geographers, > Levantines and Neo-Levantines
and is a Fellow of the British Academy. He has
recently been awarded honorary doctorates by
the Universities of Oulu and Ghent. SAADET ZEN
Istanbul, 1972
> Globalisation
Archaeologist, translator, writes on literature and
history for various magazines and newspapers,
RNALDO MARMARA carries out research for documentary works. Her
Istanbul, 1949 book Witness of 150 Years: Notre Dame de Sion
was published in 2006. Currently preparing her
Received his PhD degree at the Montpellier Paul masters thesis at the Department of History at
Valery University in France with his PhD the- Boazii University. Her fields of interest include
sis entitled From the Byzantine Empire to the urban history, institutions within urban history,
Republic of Turkey: The emergence, rise and col- historical processes and nostalgia, the destructi-
lapse of the Istanbul Levantine Community. Its on nostalgia causes to the image of the city and
influence on modern Greek as cultural heritage. reading everyday history via literature.
He has written articles and books on the last of
the Levantine neighbourhoods, Pangalt and the > Nostalgia
history of Istanbul, and has prepared a dictio-
nary on the etymology of Greek words of Turkish
and Ottoman origin published by the Republic of
Turkey Ministry of Culture. He continues his work
BECOMING ISTANBUL
SATAL KKNAR SENEM AKAY

Istanbul, 1973 Ankara, 1979
After graduating from Galatasaray High School, he Graduated from Ko Private High School as
completed his architectural education at Istanbul International Bachelor in 1997 and Department
Technical University from 1992 to 1996 with his of Architecture, Yldz Technical University in
final project, which won the Archiprix award. 2006. She worked with Ertu Uar and Mehmet
While he was a student he actively took part in the Ktkolu at Teet Mimarlk from 2005 to 2011.
Turkey Architecture Students Meetings, which la- She completed her masters degree with her rese-
ter received the National Architecture Exhibition arch on a design guide for the Historic Peninsula
Contribution to the Profession Award. Completed at the Department of Restoration, Yldz Technical
his masters degree at the Structural Design University. With illustrator Sadi Gran and mu-
Division of the Architecture programme of the ITU sician Deniz Cuylan, she published Netame in
Science Institute. Worked at various architectural 2007, a graphic novel incorporating a music al-
practices from 1996 to 2001, participated in many bum and considered a first in Turkey. Her projects
competitions and won two awards. Worked as a include Restoration of the Sleymaniye Complex,
founding partner with Ahmet and Hayriye Szen Museum of Topkap Palace Kitchens and Design
from 2001 to 2006 at Mono Architectural Designs. Guide for the zmir Shore prepared to aid the or-
Continues his PhD work on Design Tools at the ganisation of urban and public spaces. She conti-
Building Design programme of the ITU Faculty nues practice at her office Tamirhane; Mimarlk
of Architecture by writing for and working as a established in 2012.
consultant at various architectural publications.
> Two-facedness (I); Sewage
> Pedestrianisation; Viaduct
BECOMING ISTANBUL
SENEM DEVREN University. Continues to work on her PhD thesis

Antakya, 1973 entitled Development in Istanbul in the Early
Republican Period (1928-1950) at the Architectural
Architect. She is Assistant Professor in the History and Theory Graduate programme at the
Department of Landscape Architecture at Istanbul Science Institute at Yldz Technical University.
Technical University. Took her PhD in 2001 from Her work focuses on urban history, architecture
ITU with her thesis entitled Place in Architecture: in Turkey in the period of modernisation, housing
Conceptualization of the Relation Between Site research and international world fairs.
and Building. As a Visiting Assistant Professor
at Texas A&M University she has coordinated four > Cemetery
design studios and participated in undergraduate
and graduate studio reviews as an invited jury
member. She teaches at Department of Landscape STEFAN HIBBELER
Architecture and on the Interdisciplinary Urban Detmold, 1963
Design MSc programme at ITU. Her research focu-
ses on place theory and design, conceptualisation Translator and journalist. Founder and editor
in design, inter-scale design approaches, design of the weekly internet newspaper Istanbul Post
strategy development and energy efficient design. which reports from Turkey in German. Has a
PhD in social psychology. Works as a translator
> The Other Side; Shore Road; Silhouette; Time in addition to his work in the field of journalism.
In addition to everyday political and economic
developments, his translation work also covers
SILA DURHAN history, urbanism and philosophy.
Balkesir, 1974
Graduated from the Department of Architecture,

Architecture Faculty, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts
BECOMING ISTANBUL
EBNEM KER AKAPAR Focussing on city, migration and social move-

Denizli, 1968 ments, Aslan has published the books 1 Mays
Mahallesi, 1980den Toplumsal Mcadeleler ve
Social and cultural anthropologist. Adjunct Kent [1 Mays Neighbourhood, Social Struggle
Professor at the Center for German and Before 1980s and the City] ( Publishers, 2004),
European Studies, Georgetown University and Kent Sosyolojik Dnceler [Sociological
a visiting scholar at the Institute for the Study of Thoughts on the City] ( Mhendisleri Odas, 2007),
International Migration. She teaches a compara- Herkesin BildiiDersim [The Secret Everybody
tive graduate course on Muslim immigrants in Knows: Dersim] ( Publishers, 2010), Dersim 38i
Europe and in the Unites States. Her research Hatrlamak [Remembering Dersim 38] (with
interests include forced migration, irregular mi- Blent Bilmez and Glay Kayacan, Tarih Vakf,
gration in Turkey, feminisation of migration, 2011), Dersimi Parantezden [Removing Dersim
interreligious marriages, gender and Islam, im- From the Parenthesis] (with Zeliha Hepkon and
migrant organisations and political representa- Songl Aydn, Publishers, 2013); and in France
tion of immigrants. Les quartiers populaires et la ville [Working Class
Neighbourhoods and the City] (with Mustafa
> Iranian Immigrants Poyraz and Loc Gandais, LHarmattan, 2010). Still
a full time lecturer in the Department of Sociology
at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Aslan has
KR ASLAN published extensive on the city, migration, eth-
Tunceli, 1959 nicity and population sociology in academic and
political media.
Associate Professor Aslan is a graduate of the
Department of Sociology, Mimar Sinan Fine > Political Space
Arts University. He completed his masters de-
gree on Urban Informal Sectors, and his PhD on
Social Struggles and the City at the same school.
BECOMING ISTANBUL
SREYYYA EVREN TOLGA SLAM

Writer, editor of the journal Siyah. His work fo- Faculty member in the Department of City and
cuses on the fields of literature, contemporary Regional Planning, Yldz Technical University,.
art and political theory. He has published novels, He researches into the transformation and gentri-
short story compilations, anthologies and essay fication processes taking place in Istanbul. slams
compilations. works are available via tolgaislam.com.
> Anarchy (II); Wound > Gentrification (II)
TANGR TAN UUR TANYEL

Langenfeld, 1975 Ankara, 1952
Graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture of Ege Graduated from the Department of Architecture
University. Worked as a professional chef. Studied at the State Fine Arts Academy. Began work as an
gastronomy for 3 years in Italy following his ca- assistant researcher in the division of the History
reer as a chef. Participated in many international of Art of the same institution. Resigned in 1982
conferences and workshops. Continues to work to work at the divison of History of Art, Faculty
in Istanbul as a consultant in the food and drink of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University.
sector and is Turkey coordinator of Slow Food. Taught as visiting lecturer at the University
Has contributed to publications like the magazine of Michigan during the 1989-90 academic ye-
Yemek&Klt [Food&Culture] and Slow Food. ar. Appointed associate professor at Anadolu
University in 1992. He worked in the division of
> Fish Sandwich the History of Art, Faculty of Architecture, Yldz
Technical University from 1998 to 2011. He has
BECOMING ISTANBUL
served as Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at magazines and newspapers on shelter, real esta-
Mardin Artuklu University since 2011. He has al- te speculation, victims of urban transformation,
so been the publication coordinator of the ma- alternative initiatives, minorities and workers.
gazine Arredamento Mimarlk since 1989. His Collaborates with independent initiatives in
works focus on Ottoman Architecture and the Istanbul in order to render urban problems visible
Era of Modernisation in Turkey. His published using various tools (documentaries, mappings
books include stanbul 1900-2000, Konutu ve etc.).
Modernlemeyi Metropolden Okumak [Istanbul
1900-2000, Reading Housing and Modernisation > Security; Stray Dogs
from the Metropolis] (2004), Mimarln Aktrleri:
Trkiye 1900-2000 [Actors in Architecture: Turkey
1900-2000] (2007). In 2007 he prepared the exhi-
bition and book titled Turgut Cansever: Thinker YILDIZ SALMAN
and Architect with Atilla Ycel and in 2008 the Istanbul, 1968
exhibition and book titled Sedad Hakk Eldem I:
Early Years with Edhem Eldem and Uur Tanyeli. Architect and restorator. Lecturer in the Faculty
of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University.
> Ascent; Becoming Istanbul; Byzantium; Her field of interest includes topics such as ur-
Contractor; Istanbulite; Pornography; ban transformation, urban preservation and the
Toponyms preservation of modern architectural heritage,
preservation theory and concepts. She has parti-
cipated in various international working groups
ULUS ATAYURT on preservation.
Istanbul, 1973
> Fire; Hotel; Preservation Board; Restoration;
Works as an editor at the magazines stanbul, Summer Resort; Tram; Yal
Express and Bant. Writes articles for various
BECOMING ISTANBUL
YOSHIKO TSURUTA in Istanbul with her students to help disseminate

Tokyo, 1969 knowledge of architectural history.
Lecturer in the Department of Architectural and > Bathing/Swimming; Bicycle; Hamam

Urban Planning, Tokyo Showa Womens University.
She continues her academic work on the use of mar-
kets and street markets and their urban impact in ZEYNEP MENNAN
Turkey which she has visited regularly since 1995. Ankara, 1964
She has also collaborated with Turkish universities
Architect, theorist and design critic. She has re-
on projects in smaller-scale settlements outside
searched, published and lectured on history and
Istanbul like Mudurnu and Gynk. She develops
theory in Europe, USA, and Australia. She did
various projects with designers to contribute to the
post doc research with Antony Vidler in UCLA,
sustainability of street markets in Istanbul.
where she was on a Fulbright scholarship in 2002.
She was the associate curator of the Architectures
> Street Market (I)
Non Standard exhibition at the Centre Georges
Pompidou (2003-2004) as well as the co-editor of
the catalogue and designer of the exhibition. Since
ZEYNEP KUBAN
2004 she has lectured on architectural theory,
Istanbul, 1964
epistemology, architectural research and digital
design in undergraduate, graduate and PhD cours-
An archaeology graduate and architectural his-
es in the Department of Architecture at Middle
torian in the division of History of Architecture,
East Technical University. She researches into
Faculty of Architecture, Istanbul Technical
theoretical, historical and epistemological map-
University. She continues her archaeological work
ping of digital design research as well as the im-
as she also carries out research into and teaches
plications of morphogenetic researches on form.
about the historical layers of Istanbul. She also
carries out projects with primary school children > Gestalt Collapse; Junk Economy
BECOMING ISTANBUL
ZHRE SZER
Istanbul, 1972
Architect, researcher. Teaches as guest lecturer at

various universities and writes articles on archi-
tecture and the city. In addition to her academic
work, she actively contributes to the projects and
events organized by the Eurasian Art Collective
ASK, of which she is a founding member. She pro-
duces work on the reproduction of the concept
of architecture through local relationships and a
collective-collaborative structure via the proxim-
ity of performing arts and architecture. Her recent
work is on natural/artificial lake environments
and their sphere of influence undergoing various
problems regarding water, focusing particularly
on the area within the triangle formed by Bafa,
Antep and Istanbul.
> Han; Moat/Pit; Sewer; Two-facedness (II)
BECOMING ISTANBUL
2015 SALT/Garanti Kltr A (stanbul)

ISBN: 978-9944-731-44-7
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial -

No Derivative Works 3.0. This license allows the downloading of works and
sharing them with others as long as you credit the creator or the licensor, but
you cant change them in any way or use them commercially.
First published as a book by Garanti Galeri, stanbul in 2008.
Editors: Pelin Dervi, Blent Tanju, Uur Tanyeli

Coordinator: Meri ner
Translation: Nazm Hikmet Richard Dikba
Proofreading: Emre Ayvaz, lkay Bali
Biographies of authors who responded to the call by SALT are updated.
Translation consultancy and copy editing: Lewis Johnson

Proofreading: Meri ner (SALT Research and Programs)
Design: Project Projects
Artwork: zgr ahin
Send us your comments

and suggestions:
eyayin@saltonline.org
SALT
Bankalar Caddesi 11
Karaky 34420 stanbul
saltonline.org

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RABIH MROU

PELN DERV BLENT TANJU UUR TANYEL

authoritarianism. Moreover, during these activi-

Pelin Dervi, Blent Tanju, Uur Tanyeli

The transformation into spectacle of the > Urban Transformation

emphasized by the image is the urban transfor-

ANARCHY (II) People who blame the emergence of chaos in

This old Byzantine trail, the road to Niko-

played in attractive shop-windows, well-groomed Istanbul is being rediscovered. Some neighbour-

behind the glass display where the deli products BARGE

Everything from construction material to There would be watermelons sliced in to on

Red and green. BATHING/SWIMMING

Imagine a slice of watermelon. A CHILDHOOD FAIRYTALE.

RENOVATION, SANITISATION AND SOMETIMES A gradual improvement in local services can

BIENNIAL manent, created by the juxtaposition of projects,

tanbul facilitates their existence in the city in a CEMETERY

CENTRE the sitting room. Strangers, in other words, guests,

which is still seen as an object of entertainment-

conditions have to be improved. This area will CONTRACTOR

CRIMEAN CHURCH to Sri Lanka, an ex-British colony and the scene of

in Istanbul, facilitates the adaptation of the mi- DEMOCRACY

Ankara: Stop arguing you two. We cant sleep

And it cant either.

are, no doubt, another very important platform EARTHQUAKE

ELECTRICITY generated by this station was first provided to

The first condition of reinforcing Istanbul in EROTICISM

models regarding the clearance and reconstruc-

ETHNICITY The second largest ethnic group, at least since

un-remember. Even if few of the young speak the EXPROPRIATION

of town (when heard there, it sounds almost like

FIRE ing point in terms of the urban transformation of

The pickled or brined fish dishes Byzantine

Culture for 2010. Istanbul with its proliferating and

The most important headlines in 19th century

in Istanbul is the history of the proof that techni-

GECEKONDU facing urban reality, experiencing cultural dep-

As the term makes clear, gentrification is in the aforementioned Istanbul neighbourhoods

began to be transformed building-by-building on the Preservation by Renovation and Utilisa-

Block scale: The final chain in third wave gen-

> Alienation, Beautification, Migration, Gestalt principles of visual organisation are

The Golden Horn encouraged a multicultural

HAN the city itself, the nourishment of the city. Citing

HOLIDAYS way national holidays have been celebrated in

but of the same religious faith, would be inter- HYBRID-ISING/ISATION

tional social obligations that cut across class lines

Probably this undefined mainstream in Istan-

the need for a transhistorical essence rendering IRANIAN IMMIGRANTS

and conditionings and their consequences can-

Turkish neighbourhoods. The prospect of having a IRAQI IMMIGRANTS

For Iraqi Christians, Istanbul corresponds IRREGULAR URBANISATION

> Urban Transformation Physically close-by, but spiritually isolated

being unable to care for herself, and torn by years,

year witnessed the events in Cyprus and the in-

the Istanbulite enabled the return of this me-

Though diametrically opposed in their defini- Not-yet-junk is an in-between category which

bul is that distinctions between the three catego-

Economic border structures established at a miniature of these commercial flows, provid-

LANGUAGE are the linguistic expressions of the image of the

The document approved by Emperor Alexios

MCDONALDS side this category but, unnaturally, street buffets

MINIBUS bought whatever vehicle they could find and start-

Today, the minibus as gecekondu on wheels Kerem ktem

MOAT/PIT especially across the city: producing a paranoid