(Lived) Spaces of Belonging, Culture, and Gender: Spatial Practices of Home for Syrian Women in Istanbul

Abstract

Combining architectural and cultural anthropological approaches, this study explores the domestic lived spaces of Syrian women in Istanbul to understand how they create belonging in a new social and architectural setting and perform gender roles. We analyze data gathered from several types of dwellings according to the concept of spatial practice of Henri Lefebvre to explore how women’s daily life praxis fosters feelings of contentment and safety, and how they reflect on their previous homes in Syria through a lens of nostalgia. At the same time, we explore how houses in Syria are remembered via reflections on spatial changes. Methodologically, we rely on semi-structured interviews and mental map drawings of houses in Istanbul and reminisced houses from Syria. Ultimately, this research provides a fine-grained portrait of the (lived) space of Syrian women, showing how they reconstruct domestic lives through past/Syrian and current/Turkish spatial practices.