ABSTRACT
The conception of the Turkish Republic in 1923 as a secular, modern nation-state, distant from the preceding Ottoman Empire, heralded a seminal period of radical reform that saw the adoption of western attitudes, styles and institutions most conspicuously in the spheres of politics, education and law and, importantly in this context, social and cultural life. As a result, this modernist project of social engineering and cultural change laid the foundations for a new Turkish national identity. Bringing men and women into close proximity in new public spaces worked to destabilise the Islamic tradition of gender segregation, while the places themselves allowed people to practise their new Turkish identities and imbue them with nationalism. The new Turkish state saw Culture Parks as supporting cultural enlightenment for its modern citizens. Earlier, in an attempt to encourage growth and prosperity, Mustafa Kemal had suggested that Izmir become a 'city of trade fairs'.
