ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the radical transformation of Istanbul's landscape by massive urban demolitions as well as change of population by the migration in and out of the city turning the capital from a cosmopolitan center into a more homogenous and Turkish one. It aims to show that Istanbul's radical transformation was a convergence of three factors: the immigration–emigration processes, physical reconstruction and its representation, all of which reshaped the multi-faith and multi-linguistic cosmopolitan urban identity, and brought about the Turkification of Istanbul. The new opinions on Turkish nationalism suggest some new arguments about the possible ideological links between the urban demolitions and the Turkification project. The chapter presents an archival investigation on the story of Turkification by massive urban demolitions. In the presence of complexity of economic and political structures, Istanbul became the theatrical stage for the Democrat Parties populist policies.
