Forced from their homes
Amid a building boom in Istanbul, the gypsies of Sulukule are pushed out of their shantytowns.
ISTANBUL — They lived for almost 1,000 years around the remains of Istanbul's Byzantine walls. But when they were forced to leave, the gypsies of Sulukule only found out about their eviction from the journalists flocking to their shantytowns to cover the story.
"We heard from the media that the neighborhood would be destroyed to make way for luxury residential developments," Mehmet Asim Hallaq, 55, a spokesman for the ongoing campaign opposing the removal, told me in the summer of 2007. "This is a kind of aesthetic assimilation they're trying to impose on us."
It is all part of what locals call the "Dubaification of Istanbul." Kemal Ataturk’s secular Turkish republic has strived to put water between its Ottoman Empire precursor and the European vision it harbors of itself. With Turkey’s beaches beating Spain to second place as the holiday choice of Britons for the first time last summer, a real estate boom has swept across the country.
Istanbul's gypsies say they have inhabited Sulukule ever since the 11th century, when their Roma ancestors arrived in Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium.
Their presence is recorded in sources that describe how they lived in black tents, practicing fortune telling, playing music and dancing at the city's feasts. When Istanbul fell to the Ottoman conquerors in 1453, it was the Sulukule Gate that was first breached, while many of the Ottoman cannons and other artillery were forged by the contingents of Roma metal workers and smiths that were part of the Ottoman army.
Istanbul is in the throes of massive redevelopment, as Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, a former mayor of the city, seeks to transform it into a regional tourist and financial hub.
Massive commercial projects are springing up along Istanbul's coastline, with luxury residential apartments, a cruise docking area and an "Ottoman-style market" being constructed in one port area. In the financial district of Levent, United Arab Emirates construction companies are throwing up skyscrapers such as a controversial project called "Dubai Towers — Istanbul."
Solukule’s moneyless gypsies are the big losers. They sit in the smoky cafes of the out-of-town development where they have been relocated and fret about trading their cosy niche by the city walls for the wide open fields of Thrace and an uncertain future.
(Iason Athanasiadis is reporting from Turkey on a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.)
Recent on Turkey :
Istanbul marks Greek Orthodox holiday
Iason Athanasiadis - Turkey - January 14, 2010 06:55 ET
Turkey has own Santa movie
Nichole Sobecki - Turkey - December 23, 2009 06:43 ET
The first St. Nicholas was Turkish and now the predominantly Muslim country has a modern Santa film.
Dancers honor poet with a whirl
Nichole Sobecki - Turkey - December 18, 2009 07:13 ET
The Mevlevi religious order founded by the still-trendy poet Rumi celebrates his life 800 years on, with performances by Sufi whirling dervishes.
.jpg)
And then Allah created man
John Dyer - Turkey - December 14, 2009 06:42 ET
Religious scholar, shameless self-promoter or just plain crazy? Either way, Adnan Oktar has achieved cult status with his views on Islamic creationism.
Turkey's high court nixes pro-Kurd party, sparks turbulence
Nichole Sobecki - Turkey - December 12, 2009 14:09 ET
With Friday’s ruling DTP took the dubious honor of being the 25th political party closed down in Turkey since 1962.
Cappadocia — strange, beautiful, relevant
Nichole Sobecki - Turkey - December 10, 2009 09:31 ET
It’s not unusual to find “silent tourists” in this mountainous Turkish region — those who have run out of adjectives for what they see before them.
Opinion: Explaining Turkey’s high-risk activism
Ronald H. Linden - Worldview - December 7, 2009 14:37 ET
Turkey’s search for its own path is accompanied by significant risks.
Erdogan and Obama: much to discuss
Nichole Sobecki - Turkey - December 7, 2009 14:36 ET
Iran, Afghanistan and Israel are just three of the topics the U.S. and Turkish leaders must cover Monday at the White House.
Reviving Turkish baths
Nichole Sobecki - Turkey - December 5, 2009 11:19 ET
US vies for Turkey missile defense contract
Nichole Sobecki - Turkey - December 1, 2009 07:12 ET
As major powers bid to supply Turkey with missile defense, others question Ankara's motives.
Feast of Sacrifice meets the modern age.
Nichole Sobecki - Turkey - November 30, 2009 07:37 ET
There's more than one way to celebrate Eid al-Adha.
In food of Istanbul, echoes of the past
Nichole Sobecki - Turkey - November 29, 2009 11:48 ET
The bazaars and restaurants of modern Constantinople hold many delights for gourmets and students of history alike.
Opinion: Rejection of Turkey wouldn't be Europe's finest hour
HDS Greenway - Worldview - November 24, 2009 09:42 ET
EU membership looks unlikely for Turkey, with Herman van Rompuy at the helm.
In Turkey, criticism an expensive business
Nichole Sobecki - Turkey - November 23, 2009 21:08 ET
Tax delinquent, or target of a government running scared? Dogan Media Group thinks the latter.
Opinion: It's getting chilly between Turkey and Israel
HDS Greenway - Worldview - October 25, 2009 10:10 ET
As Turkey gets friendlier with Syria and Iraq, relations with Israel take a back seat.
In Kas, reminders of a gilded age
Nichole Sobecki - Turkey - October 20, 2009 15:54 ET
An ancient Turkish port town reluctantly offers itself up to the tourist trade.
Kas — city of ancient charms
Nichole Sobecki - Turkey - October 20, 2009 05:50 ET
Armenia and Turkey — not so fast
David L. Stern - Turkey - October 14, 2009 17:28 ET
Obstacles to reopening the two countries' border include Azerbaijan, parliamentary approval and the weight of history.
Normalizing Armenia-Turkey relations
Nichole Sobecki - Turkey - October 11, 2009 10:27 ET
The two sides have signed an historic — but shaky — accord re-establishing diplomatic ties.
Watch GlobalPost videos:
Reporter's Notebook
Assistant Editor Stephanie S. Garlow pitched in recently to cover the story of a New Englander who was taken hostage on the high seas by Somali...Read more >
Angelica Marin, a Californian, and Fulvio Paolocci, an Italian, recently moved to Rome and file regular dispatches and multimedia for...Read more >
Gavin Blair lives in Japan and writes regular dispatches for GlobalPost: Land of rising communism The curse of the colonel Analysis: Japan looks...Read more >
Featured: Special Projects
Oceans:
Assessing their health
After the Fall:
20 years since the Berlin Wall came down
Life, Death and the Taliban:
Videos and stories
Study Abroad:
Students report from the road
Living in the Shadows:
An intimate look at China's migrant workers
A World of Trouble:
The global economy in 20 hotspots
Comments:
No Comments.
Login or Register to post comments