Changes in Beyoğlu

In Istanbul, I lived in the district of Beyoğlu. This is often known as the heart of European Istanbul, with tons of bars, outdoor cafes, shops and flocks of tourists. I lived very near to the 'dangerous' neighborhood of Tarlabaşı. Turks were often shocked to find out where I lived, because this is where the prostitutes, gypsies and transvestites lived, and therefore a place I shouldn't go. However, it was one of my favorite places in Istanbul. Its narrow streets were full of food sellers, beautiful decrepit buildings, women shouting to each other out the windows and kids playing soccer. During Ramadan, my neighborhood was one of the few that still had a man walk around drumming at 3 am, waking people up for pre-dawn breakfast. I took many wandering walks through the congested streets and never got tired of the sights. There was always something new to see - a woman walking a lamb on a leash, soccer fans waving scarves and singing team songs, women dumping dishwater out the windows and men praying in the corner of their convenience stores and women lowering baskets out their window to buy vegetables from street salesmen. Here is how wikipedia describes it: 

Historically, Tarlabaşı was home to a large Greek population; the neighbourhood's most prominent building is still a Greek Orthodox church from the 19th century. The city's oldest and largest Syriac Orthodox church is also found here. In the 1990s, large numbers of Kurdish immigrants from eastern Turkey moved into Tarlabaşı mixing in with the local Roma population. More recently, it has become the home to many migrants from neighbouring countries and Africa.

I was much happier living in a neighborhood like this than I would have been in one of the bohemian areas full of expats, international grocery stores and trendy restaurants. Now, following recent elections, government officials are working to beautify the city (an urban renewal project) and are evicting the poorer people from Tarlabaşı.


EurasiaNet has a few great articles on the subject: here, here and most recently here. This is a great blog in English about happenings in the neighborhood.  It will be a real loss to Turkish culture if Tarlabaşı's traditional buildings are torn down. There are enough places in Istanbul that are modern and Western. Officials should be working to preserve these old neighborhoods rather than destroying them.


In other sad Istanbul news, officials have been shutting down all outdoor seating in restaurants in bars. Istanbul Eats looks at how this has affected these locales here. One of the best parts about Istanbul in warm weather was the number of places with outdoor seating. The alleys off of İstiklal got narrower with tables, the Turkish men enticing you into their restaurant appeared more than ever and there was a wonderful atmosphere that filled these lively streets. The energy was infectious and I could have spent every night walking up and down these streets, people watching. It will not be the same if everyone sits inside. Will the Beyoğlu I see in November be the same one I fell in love with two years ago?