HISTORY AND CULTURE-THEMED (!) KALEHAN ECDAT PARK

Abstract

In urban environments, it is important to provide various active and passive recreation facilities that people can use in order to improve quality of life. Theme parks that contain diverse active and passive recreation facilities contribute to improving qualty of life. Theme parks are spaces where activities based on a theme are performed so that people can have fun in their leisure time. In historical and cultural theme parks different cultures and historical periods have been determined as themes. These parks are establishments that provide significant economic returns. They are spaces of consumption where people buy experience in order to fill their spare time. For this reason, in historical and cultural theme parks, culture and period that are adopted as a theme are bottomed on and turned into images. Space as a commercialized object has been full of extravagance and imaginary elements in order to draw attention to history and culture have bottomed in order to appeal to everyone. Thus, this created spaces do not reference to culture and historical period that are wanted to be introduced anymore. Alternative reality created by undermining what it represents has turned aforementioned theme park into a simulation. The aim of this study is to analyze Kalehan Ecdat Park in the context of identity problems detected in the historical and cultural theme parks and devoloping suggestions by taking develoing theme park notions around the world and Turkey into account.