Community In Istanbul Research Articles

An ecological study on the isoetes community in Istanbul, Turkiye

An ecological study on the isoetes community in Istanbul, Turkiye

AB-Türkiye İlişkileri Bağlamında Ermenilerin Kimlik İnşasına Yeniden Bakış

This article critically analyses the reconstruction of the Armenian identity in the context of reforms in Turkey's European Union (EU) accession process. Within the scope of the research, in order to understand the cultural, ethnic and religious identity construction processes of the Armenian community in Istanbul, the existing academic literature on Armenians in Turkey has been analysed in detail, and field research based on observation and in-depth interviews has been conducted. In line with the historical background ranging from the Ottoman millet system to the Republic's policies of creating a homogenous nation, from the democratisation movement to the EU accession process, the construction process of Armenian identity has been analysed in three stages in the light of the relevant theoretical debates. Firstly, the historical development of different legal statuses evolving from non-Muslims to minorities is analysed; secondly, the reform process brought about by the EU membership process is examined. While analysing this process, the basic dynamics that contributed to the formation of Armenian identity were first identified. Secondly the prominent changes in the legal, political, social and cultural fields that accelerated the reconstruction of the Armenian community's identity by the EU reform process were tried to be identified. Finally, the social dilemmas experienced in the aftermath of the reforms are analysed and the ongoing identity struggle of the Armenian community is outlined. While the EU membership process allows the Armenian community in Turkey to express their identities more openly and freely, social insecurity and dilemmas prevent this process from being fully realised. The study analyses the theoretical approaches to identity construction and the political, economic, social and cultural transformations experienced by the Armenian community in Turkey and offers suggestions on the processes of identity struggle. In particular, it is emphasised that overcoming social insecurities and dilemmas is critical for the sustainable survival of Armenian identity. In this context, it is concluded that more inclusive and supportive policies should be developed in order to preserve the Armenian identity and increase its social acceptance. Key Words: Identity, European Union, Türkiye, Armenian identity, minority

EXPLORING USER-PRODUCT INTERACTION IN CAR MODIFICATION PRACTICES

This study delves into the dynamic interaction between the creative activity of car modification and the qualitative aspects of modified car ownership and usage. The study aims to explore experiences and meaning generated in and through the material reproduction of cars. Employing a grounded theory approach, the research investigates car modification communities in Istanbul, Turkey. The findings are structured into two main sections: The Driver, which focuses on car owners' experiences derived from in-depth qualitative interviews, and The Car, which explores the material aspects of cars through the analysis of modifications. The study revealed that car modification transcends mere material reproduction. Rather, it unveils a complex interplay where cars are shaped by their owners, while simultaneously shaping their owners in diverse ways. By altering the materiality of their cars, individuals not only forge material relationships but also cultivate new amalgamations of sensual and social relations and experiences. Through altering the materiality of their cars, car owners tailor the experience of driving and give a concrete form to their social and personal identities.

Syrian ‘brokers of care’ and lived citizenship in Istanbul

ABSTRACT This article focuses on a group of refugee actors it refers to as ‘brokers of care’, who embody an array of skills, competencies, and acquired expertise that make them strategically positioned in their communities to be conduits of care and resources for others. Based on ethnographic research conducted in Istanbul in 2019, the article concentrates on the life story of one Syrian refugee, Iman, to demonstrate that while brokers of care are themselves refugees who live with all the economic precarities and political vulnerabilities that come with this fragile social position, they, nevertheless, play an essential role in the daily flow of life in the city. They mediate, linguistically and culturally, between different actors and institutions. Most importantly, the article argues, through these activities, Syrian brokers of care live out citizenship as an embodied experience while also facilitating the enactment of lived citizenship for others in their communities in Istanbul.

Повсякденна діяльність членів «Стамбульської платформи» упродовж 1929-35 рр.

The daily activities of the members of the illegal residency of the UPR Central Committee in exile ‘Istanbul Platform’ during 1929-35 consisted of various aspects: domestic, social, and public. However, a red thread through the daily life of representatives of the Ukrainian political emigration in Istanbul was intelligence work, which still impresses researchers not only with the ambitiousness of intentions, plans, and tasks, but also with the professionalism and skill of their implementation. Especially given the fact that none of the members of the residency had previously been a professional intelligence officer and had no previous practical experience in the special services. Being under the close supervision of Soviet agents, without funding and the necessary means, without permanent and reliable channels of communication with their curators, members of the Istanbul Platform had to not only integrate into the life of the local community in Istanbul, establish their daily routine, and not cause discontent with the Turkish migration service, but also carry out intelligence, educational and propaganda activities. Every day, they resorted to new, creative methods; they used all available opportunities and skills in confronting Soviet agents.

Микола Забелло (1892-1967 рр.): персональна біографія агента ОДПУ «Надія»

The purpose of the article is to research, reconstruct and analyze the personal biography of Mykola Zabello – a representative of the Ukrainian emigrant community, an em- ployee of the illegal residency of SC of UPR in exile “Istanbul Platform” and, at the same time, an agent recruited by the OGPU under the pseudonym “Nadiia”. The research methodology. To reconstruct the personal biography of M. Zabello, the author used biographical, prosopographi- cal, and retrospective methods, as well as the methods of deduction, analysis, and synthesis. In the course of the study, the principles of historicism, criticality, and systematicity were used in combination with the method of systematization, historical-genetic, and synchronous methods. The method of periodization and the historical-comparative method were applied. A special methodological role is assigned to the method of verifi cation of the source base. Th e scientifi c novelty of the research lies in the fact that, for the fi rst time in Ukrainian historiography, in the context of the activities of the Ukrainian exile special services, in particular, the “Istanbul Platform”, an attempt has been made to reconstruct and analyze the biographical world of one of its employees, M. Zabello, who was also the co-head of the Ukrainian emigrant community in Istanbul, one of its prominent fi gures, and a recruited agent of the OGPU. Th rough the prism of the personal biography of the agent “Nadiia”, the author examines the negative factors that had an impact on the success of the Ukrainian exile special services. Conclusions. Th is article, operating with a biographical typology, represents a study and reconstruction of the personal bi- ography of an employee of “Istanbul Platform”, an agent of the OGPU M. Zabello. By reproduc- ing the personality map of the agent “Nadiia”, the author explores the life narratives that formed his biographical world: mental, social, and religious characteristics that formed his personality: family status, political views, idealism, natural inclinations, the ability to adapt to new circum- stances, the ability to integration into a new society and facing challenges.

Education and the Politics of Cultural Survival for Uyghur Immigrants in Turkey

ABSTRACT This paper explores the challenges of language and cultural maintenance through education among one immigrant ethnic group, the Uyghurs within Turkey, where the Uyghur population has grown in recent years. Uyghurs are a Turkic-speaking Muslim ethnic minority group of some 10 million people within China, originating from China’s northwest Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Data for the paper are based on ethnographic research conducted in Istanbul, where the Uyghur population in Turkey is the largest. The paper illustrates how the local and global environment impact how culture is constructed, and that identity construction and language maintenance projects are not ideologically neutral. It contributes to the understudied link between language, ethnicity, politics, and education by exploring the ways in which the Uyghur community in Istanbul uses non-formal education to maintain and transmit their language and cultural traditions in their host environment.

Lale’s un/veiling trajectory: shifting contours of pious citizenship in contemporary Turkey

ABSTRACT Based on long-term fieldwork among members of the formerly influential Sunni Muslim Hizmet community in Istanbul in 2015, this contribution traces the ‘un/veiling trajectory’ of a woman called Lale, referring to her shifting engagement with the headscarf over a period of almost three decades. Rather than exemplifying a fragmented religiosity, these shifts are understood as articulations of Lale’s aspiration to align her Islamic commitment with the secular boundary for public religiosity, which is defined – and frequently redefined – by the Turkish state. Drawing on the notion of ‘pious citizenship’, Lale’s un/veiling trajectory constitutes the ethnographic ground for unravelling how, in Turkey, the secular boundary for public religiosity has reshaped Islamic ethical practice in three different ways: through state-imposed restrictions, as citizenly self-discipline, and by animating contestation between different religious Muslim groups. The contribution thus argues that Lale’s shifting engagement with the headscarf articulates a mode of Islamic commitment that is intimately, yet uneasily, intertwined with secular discourses, aesthetics, and sensitivities. In so doing, it brings forth an interplay between Islam and secularism that is much more intricate than the image of a binary opposition allows.

Rescuing the Muslim collective self: the Nur case in light of the Modern Muslim Subjectivities Project

AbstractThere is a tendency in the literature to emphasise how contemporary Islamic movements promote ways of living a pious Muslim life alternative to those proposed by secular liberal modernity. For this reason, the domains of religious and civic engagement have often been thought of as opposed to each other. In counterpoint to this tendency, the paper explores the intertwining of national views about mass education and modern citizenship with a renewed Islamic emphasis on the need for moral and ethical reform of society within the Nur movement in modern Turkey. Methodologically, the paper draws upon ethnographic material from research conducted in 2010 on theSuffacommunity in Istanbul, as well as on an account of the life and projects of the leader of the movement, Said Nursi, mainly drawn from secondary sources. This case is explored in light of the theories of successive modernities that inspired the analytical framework for the Modern Muslim Subjectivities Project applied in this special issue. In so doing, it illustrates the complex nexus that Nursi established between long-standing views of Islamic ethics and modern perspectives on education and civic engagement in response to the emergence of the modern nation-state in the first half of the 20th century.

Residential satisfaction assessment of a 1970s modernist housing community in Istanbul: searching for the reasons behind the preservation of a housing community’s current architectural status against the urban transformation movements affecting the entire city

Residential satisfaction assessment of a 1970s modernist housing community in Istanbul: searching for the reasons behind the preservation of a housing community’s current architectural status against the urban transformation movements affecting the entire city

Sultan Mehmed Reşad Döneminde İstanbul’daki Bulgar Cemaati: Nüfus, Yerleşim ve Ekonomi

In the middle of the 19th century the Bulgarian community began to take on an important position in the economic life of Istanbul. The Bulgarian community increased in number through the engagement of more and more Bulgarians as merchants, shopkeepers and textile workers, and the Bulgarians in Istanbul became the protagonists of the Bulgarian Church Movement. In 1870 Sultan Abdulaziz issued the establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate and the Bulgarians became a new Orthodox millet. They established their millet organizations and institutions and started to be registered as a separate group in the official Ottoman population registers. Although there are a few studies about the population structure and economic activities of this community, the Ottoman archival sources have not yet been utilized properly. This study aims to present the population structure,the settlement areas, as well as the professions and cultural organizations of the Bulgarian community in Istanbul at the beginning of the 20th century by utilizing Ottoman population registers and other archival documents. In this way, the estimated figures and information about Bulgarians in Istanbul taken from memoirs, will be corrected with more precise figures taken from archival registers and consequently a more realistic picture will be given. Moreover, the paper also tries to evaluate the general role of the Bulgarian community in the social and economic life of the capital of the Empire.

Cruising in-between immunity and community: A virtual ethnography of cruising in Istanbul

This article revisits the concept of (virtual) cruising with the purpose of uncovering an often-disregarded fact in queer theory: that cruising is equally about rejecting as it is about welcoming others/otherness. With the help of two critical conceptual tools, community and immunity, that I borrow from Italian philosopher Roberto Esposito, this paper discusses how a particular Geosocial Networking Application, Hornet, both enables and undermines the emergence of a virtual community in Istanbul, Turkey. While defying heteronormativity, Hornet reproduces violence in the shape of homonormativity, endangering what it claims to offer originally: community. By addressing cruising in relation not only to community but also immunity, this article makes an intervention in queer theory’s tendency to reduce cruising to a universal welcoming of otherness. This paper aims to revisit both the communitarian potentials and immunitarian risks of cruising in the light of a rather politicized analysis grounded in the everyday experiences of ordinary people.

Mediterranean Style Gated Communities around the World: Architecture, Globalization, and Transnational Elites

Mediterranean style houses, mansions, and villas are found in elite enclaves around the world. There is a large literature on gated communities. However, the ubiquity of this Mediterranean style as a global and cross–cultural phenomenon has been underexamined. Enclaves in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East often look the same suggesting the global commodification of this aesthetic ideal. Examining the Toskana Vadisi, or Tuscan Valley gated community in Istanbul, Turkey, this article argues such spaces represent global cultural processes, as well the habitus of transnational elites in aspiring global cities. Also, by focusing on a non–Western city, I am able to analyze how aesthetic ideals are linked to city–building, in an increasingly competitive world, where cities seek world–class status by developing amenities for transnational elites.

Fear of Foreignness as a Factor of Uncertainty In The Insecure World: An Evaluation of Closed Settlements in Istanbul

Neoliberal belirsizliklerin yükseldiği dünyada artık 'istikrarsızlık' kalıcı bir hayat standardı haline gelmektedir. Bu uğurda toplumsal birlikteliğe dair istikrar vaadi olan her şey bir bir geçersiz hale geldikçe, müşterek ortaklıklara dair anlatılar da giderek değersizleşmeye başlamaktadır. Bu süreçte yükselen radikal bireysellikler, bir güvenlik stratejisi olarak, özel hayat saplantılı kentleşme tarzlarını ortaya çıkarmaktadır. Bauman'ın vurguladığı gibi; "geleneksel kenti var eden pek çok dinamik, yeni koşullar karşısında bir kent belirsizliğine ve hatta korkusuna dönüşmüş durumdadır". Böylesi gerçeklikler etrafında şekillenen kentte yükselen 'yabancı korkusu' giderek de bir gündelik hayat gerçekliğine dönüşmektedir. Ortaya çıkan mevcut koşullar (tarihsel akışın aksine), şehri içeriden bölen yeni bir kentsel güvenlik stratejisi üretmektedir. Kentin ontolojik anlamdaki temellerinin tersine bir şekilde yükselen bu yeni hayat tarzı, güvenlik göstergesi olarak da neoliberalleşen kentin ilişki sistemlerini belirleyen temel faktör haline gelmektedir. Vurgusu yapılan noktanın en önemli örneklerini güvenlikli siteler özelinde şekillenen yaşamlarda görmekteyiz. 'Yabancı korkusu' bağlamında kurgulanan bu türden yaşam alanlarını artık Türkiye'de de (bilhassa İstanbul'da) yoğunlukla görmekteyiz. Bu çalışmanın amacı İstanbul metropolitan alanında yükselen söz konusu yerleşimlerin 'zenofobik' ve 'miksofobik' içerimlerinin nasıl işlediğini anlamaya çalışmaktır. Ortaya konulan saptamalar ışığında giderek yükselmekte olan yeni kentleşme tarzının, geleneksel kentin değerleri karşısındaki içeriklerinin neler olduğunu açığa çıkarmayı amaçlamaktayız. Araştırma İstanbul'daki güvenlikli sitelerde oturan 57 kişiyle yapılan derinlemesine mülakatlar çerçevesinde derlenen, yaklaşık 50 saatlik ses kaydı üzerinden irdelenmiş ve veriler analiz edilirken söylem analizi kullanılmıştır.

The composition of woody plants in the cemeteries of various religious communities in Istanbul-Turkey

Cemeteries harbor and protect the diversity of forest species in urban areas. Inventories of species contribute to a valuable understanding of the indigenous biodiversity within the cemeteries. The goal of this study was to compare the composition of tree and shrub species in cemeteries belonging to the Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities in Istanbul, Turkey. Five cemeteries (Karacaahmet - Muslim; Zincirlikuyu - Muslim; Şişli - Greek Orthodox; Balıklı - Armenian; Hasköy - Jewish) were analyzed to identify and interpret similarities in the density of floral species. The importance of preserving some of these species due to their rarity or threat level was established. Effects of management practices among the selected cemeteries were also encountered. Abies nordmanniana subsp. bornmuelleriana, Viburnum tinus, Fraxinus ornus Cerasus mahaleb, Euonymus latifolius and Liquidambar orientalis were important threatened species. Each of the five cemeteries exhibit different vegetation characteristics and species important to the individual religious traditions. The most widespread species at Karacaahmet were Cupressus spp. (46%) and Pistacia terebinthus (15%). At Zincirlikuyu, tree species were almost identical to those at Karacaahmet and included Cupressus spp. (34%) and Pinus spp. (18%). Tree species identified at Şişli included Cupressus spp. (43%) and Buxus sempervirens (16%). At Balıklı, Rosa spp. (46%) was widespread over the entire site. Cupressus spp. (19%) and Euonymus japonica (15%) were the most widespread tree species at Balıklı. Finally, the most prevalent species at Hasköy were Ligustrum lucidium (35%), and Euonymus japonica (18%). The Karacaahmet and Zincirlikuyu exhibited the diversity of plant species. They were followed by Balıklı, Şişli, and Hasköy, respectively. The density of plant species was highest at Zincirlikuyu, followed by Karacaahmet, Hasköy, Şişli, and Balıklı. A centralized system of management that recognizes and respects the differences in religious beliefs, cultures, and site conditions could be beneficial for the Istanbul cemeteries which are natural and cultural heritage bridges from the past to the future.

The transformation of the political position of the Armenian community in Istanbul vis-à-vis the declaration of the Republic of Turkey

ABSTRACTThis article analyzes the transformation of the political position of the Ottoman Armenian community by focusing on the community’s reactions vis-à-vis a major turning point in modern Turkish history: the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey. The article demonstrates how and why the Ottoman Armenian community reacted as it did when the status of the state as a Republic was proclaimed by the Grand National Assembly in October 1923. The major argument the article puts forward is that following the results of the Turkish-Armenian War in the Caucasus, the Greco-Turkish War in Western Anatolia, and the retreat of the French from the Cilicia region, the majority of the Ottoman Armenian community which remained within the borders of ‘New Turkey’ shifted its political position to accommodate the policies of the ruling power in order to protect their physical and cultural existence during this period of political turmoil. Benefiting from primary sources, including Ottoman Armenian and Ottoman Turkish newspapers, archival documents, and parliamentary minutes, this article focuses on the position of Ottoman Armenians following the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey, and thus contributes to the historiography on the Armistice period.

THE BULGARIAN ORTHODOX COMMUNITY IN ISTANBUL: HISTORY AND PERSPECTIVES

In comparison to the other Bulgarian colonies around the world, that of Istanbul is a special case. If one compares it with those in America, Australia and Canada, it is small in size, but an important part of the complicated Bulgarian-Turkish relationship. What makes it different are the history of its creation, the role it played during the Bulgarian National Revival and the conditions in which it found itself during the years leading to the present day.The Revival is the period when, in the capital of the Ottoman Empire, the Bulgarians consolidated themselves as an ethnic community in the name of the struggle for ecclesiastical independence. With its multiple donors and the support of the Bulgarian State, the Bulgarian Exarchate bought many properties and built Bulgarian spiritual centres on the territory of present-day Turkey—churches, schools, community centres, bookstores, and other representative buildings. According to contemporary Turkish law, the Bulgarian colony, which now numbers 500 people, cares for the few remaining buildings from the Revival era in Istanbul, with the assistance of the Bulgarian Government.By now, hardly any representatives of the Bulgarian colony remain, and it is being revived by Bulgarians, mostly from Aegean Macedonia, who have never lived inside the boundaries of the Bulgarian state.Since the First World War (from Kemal Atatürk) until now (to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan), the colony has survived within a regime of constant discrimination. The colony does not boast any distinct personalities, it does not publish any printed publications, and has no active political and social life.Its ecclesiastical status introduces additional difficulties to its representatives. As a result of historical circumstances, the focus of our ecclesiastical struggle is concentrated on the Diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which even now spiritually favours the descendants of those who fought against it.Throughout the years, with different intensity, and subject to many external factors, the colony’s struggle to preserve Bulgarian national self-awareness and the Bulgarian spirit has continued to this day. The community members retain the generic memory of their Bulgarian roots and identify themselves as Bulgarians.The members of the colony were particularly tested during the period of the “Process of Rebirth” and the years of the anti-Bulgarian campaign, when they found themselves socially isolated and suffered the negative aspects of the politics of the Communist Bulgarian government.Throughout the majority of its existence, the Bulgarian community in Istanbul was hostage to contemporaneous Bulgarian-Turkish relationships. However, today it can become one of the elements for the strengthening and development of good relations between the Republics of Turkey and Bulgaria.

THE BULGARIAN ORTHODOX COMMUNITY IN ISTANBUL: HISTORY AND PERSPECTIVES

In comparison to the other Bulgarian colonies around the world, that of Istanbul is a special case. If one compares it with those in America, Australia and Canada, it is small in size, but an important part of the complicated Bulgarian-Turkish relationship. What makes it different are the history of its creation, the role it played during the Bulgarian National Revival and the conditions in which it found itself during the years leading to the present day.The Revival is the period when, in the capital of the Ottoman Empire, the Bulgarians consolidated themselves as an ethnic community in the name of the struggle for ecclesiastical independence. With its multiple donors and the support of the Bulgarian State, the Bulgarian Exarchate bought many properties and built Bulgarian spiritual centres on the territory of present-day Turkey—churches, schools, community centres, bookstores, and other representative buildings. According to contemporary Turkish law, the Bulgarian colony, which now numbers 500 people, cares for the few remaining buildings from the Revival era in Istanbul, with the assistance of the Bulgarian Government.By now, hardly any representatives of the Bulgarian colony remain, and it is being revived by Bulgarians, mostly from Aegean Macedonia, who have never lived inside the boundaries of the Bulgarian state.Since the First World War (from Kemal Atatürk) until now (to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan), the colony has survived within a regime of constant discrimination. The colony does not boast any distinct personalities, it does not publish any printed publications, and has no active political and social life.Its ecclesiastical status introduces additional difficulties to its representatives. As a result of historical circumstances, the focus of our ecclesiastical struggle is concentrated on the Diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which even now spiritually favours the descendants of those who fought against it.Throughout the years, with different intensity, and subject to many external factors, the colony’s struggle to preserve Bulgarian national self-awareness and the Bulgarian spirit has continued to this day. The community members retain the generic memory of their Bulgarian roots and identify themselves as Bulgarians.The members of the colony were particularly tested during the period of the “Process of Rebirth” and the years of the anti-Bulgarian campaign, when they found themselves socially isolated and suffered the negative aspects of the politics of the Communist Bulgarian government.Throughout the majority of its existence, the Bulgarian community in Istanbul was hostage to contemporaneous Bulgarian-Turkish relationships. However, today it can become one of the elements for the strengthening and development of good relations between the Republics of Turkey and Bulgaria.

Between Science and Religion: Spiritism in the Ottoman Empire (1850s-1910s)

Abstract Spiritism reached the Ottoman Empire very quickly via the European and Levantine communities in Istanbul in the 1850s. At the outset of 1910, spiritism had become a very popular topic in the press. Spiritist publishing burst in Ottoman Turkish is connected to the environment of a more or less liberal press in the aftermath of the Young Turk revolution of 1908. As was the case in the history of spiritism elsewhere, in the Ottoman Empire reactions against spiritism came mainly from two intellectual circles: the positivistic (or scientific and materialist) ones and the non-positivistic (or religious-spiritual and anti-materialist) ones. Besides, all this spiritist, para-spiritist and anti-spiritist publishing activity involved a respective translation activity into Ottoman Turkish, which enhanced cultural transfer processes.

The Hellenic Literary Society of Constantinople (HLSC), 1861-1922

Despite an increasing interest in historical accounts regarding the Greek community of Istanbul, research on the Hellenic Literary Society of Constantinople (HLSC - Ο Ελληνικός Φιλολογικός Σύλλογος Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) had been sparse (Stavrou 1967, Svolopoulos 1992)3 until the late 1990s. It was not until that period, with the future prospects of the dwindling Greek community in Istanbul being imminently bleak, that the history of its cultural institutions began to attract the attention of scholars (Sarioglou 2003). This paper attempts to present a brief account of the activities of the Hellenic Literary Society of Constantinople, from its establishment in 1861 to the cessation of its function, in 1922, when all its property was confiscated by the Turkish state.