Istanbul razes historic Gypsy neighborhoods

Iason Athanasiadis - Special to GlobalPost February 28, 2009 15:36 ET

Related Dispatches:

Forced from their homes

Amid a building boom in Istanbul, the gypsies of Sulukule are pushed out of their shantytowns.

By Iason Athanasiadis - Special to GlobalPost
Published: March 2, 2009 11:55 ET
Updated: March 3, 2009 14:21 ET

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...

Recent on General:

Welcome to Argentina's Holy Land

Anil Mundra - General - October 15, 2009 11:04 ET

Video: The world's first religious theme park tries to recreate ancient Jerusalem.

How to party in Borneo

Michael Switow - General - August 31, 2009 07:16 ET

Rainforest music festival highlights the sounds of cello-beating, hurdy gurdies and mouth organs.

Ford's long road in India

Mark Scheffler - General - July 16, 2009 07:11 ET

Michael Jackson: A global bizarre

News Desk - General - June 26, 2009 10:11 ET

The King of Pop is dead. Here's a look at his global life.

Tehranis riot, claiming flawed poll result

Cameron Abadi - General - June 14, 2009 08:10 ET

Riot police use tear gas on protesters in the capital after Ahmadinejad claims presidency; Mousavi — absent, feared arrested — may be planning next move.

Living in the shadow of a volcano

Francisco Negroni - General - June 11, 2009 12:08 ET

Footloose in Hanoi

Matt Steinglass - General - May 12, 2009 20:50 ET

High style in the Congo

Finbarr O'Reilly - General - May 7, 2009 12:05 ET

The ayahuasca experience

John Otis - General - May 7, 2009 11:50 ET

Outside the UN racism conference in Geneva

William Dowell - General - April 21, 2009 15:57 ET

Khmer Rouge trial begins

Reuters - General - April 15, 2009 12:57 ET

Swaziland aims for democracy

Paul Ames - General - April 4, 2009 12:41 ET

Farm to city to curbside

Matt Steinglass - General - April 4, 2009 09:54 ET

Marching with the legions

Fulvio Paolocci - General - April 3, 2009 12:02 ET

An idle, but not ideal, lifestyle

Ben Gilbert - General - April 3, 2009 08:23 ET

India's tigers

Jason Overdorf - General - April 2, 2009 12:22 ET

Pineapple farms spark controversy

Alex Leff - General - April 1, 2009 09:53 ET

The changing face of Bollywood

Saritha Rai - General - March 31, 2009 16:50 ET