Neighborhood: CankurtaranLocation: Next to the Armada Hotel, on the back street of the shore, <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.mujdesign.co/?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Muj Design</a>.Narrator: Müjde Mısırlı ZotoSubject: To belong or not to belong to Cankurtaran&nbsp;<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">30 years ago, Kasım (my husband) was impressed by the vivacity of the neighborhood and wanted to open a hotel, and we have been here ever since. We lived in a wooden house at the end of the street for 15-16 years. Even though we've decided to move some time ago, we are still bonded to this neighborhood thanks to work. Cankurtaran is effervescent, with music coming from all the corners of the streets. Musicians keep you company on daily walks. In spring and summer, households take out dining tables on the sidewalk and dinners are eaten together on the street.<h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Monday tangos&nbsp;</h2>The opening of Armada Hotel set off a significant change. The 10-15 years after the beginning of the Armada Hotel the neighborhood came to life, and the streets became crowded. Cankurtaran became a common destination for Istanbulites and tourists. For example, tango has been practiced at the hotel every Monday for 30 years, so the audience that follows this has met and embraced Cankurtaran.&nbsp;<h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Not being a Cankurtaran local</h2>Over time, the hotel factor, which had been the driving force of the neighborhood, became the cause of Cankurtaran's demise as the neighborhood popularized. My neighbor of 15 years has to move in the upcoming days because their house was sold for the construction of a hotel. Nowadays instead of homes, you encounter colorful hostels every step of the way. A neighborhood is special because of the people who make it their home. When we force them to move, we erase its soul. Nevertheless, Cankurtaran has managed to preserve itself relatively well compared to other touristic places. I think the most important factor for this is that a place like Sultanahmet, which is visited by almost every tourist, is located below the neighborhood and therefore Cankurtaran does not attract as much attention.&nbsp;

Spring, 2023. 163 acres of land. In between Topkapı Palace and Sarayburnu. Green as far as the eye can see. But I feel blue. I am in the middle of one of the biggest parks in Istanbul: Gülhane. The witness of Tanzimat Edict, of the Spring and Flower Festival, of the Archeology Museum. Whose is it today?&nbsp;A couple, younger than the cedar trees, looking at the view where the trees sway in the sky like the arteries of the city. Long-bearded old men walking on the back of their shoes are in a hurry. Children calmly pass by. Some of them have bagels in their hands, handed to them by their parents and eaten without appetite. On one side are tourists with bags of Turkish delight and candy walking without knowing where they are going. A child holding a Turkish flag, questioning whether Atatürk spoke to the trees in the park.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2023/2/5/1678435023630.png" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="0.67" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">To Cankurtaran<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">"The number of foreign tourists coming to Istanbul in 2022 was 16 million 18 thousand 726, an increase of 77 percent compared to the previous year. Fatih hosted more than 29 million tourists in the first 8 months of last year." These things came to my mind while my eyes followed the hotel signs and my ears followed the hum of the tram and the crowd. Armada, Sumengen, Sultan, Avrasya, Blu. "When the data for 2021 is analyzed, we see that the highest number of overnight stays in Istanbul is Fatih with a number over 4 million." There are 2878 tourism facilities in Fatih. Or was it 278? I found the answer when I stopped in front of the market called "Discount", in English.&nbsp;Today, I passed one stop, a few centuries, and I don't know how many areas are occupied by touristic facilities. From Gülhane to Giritli, where hope and despair stand side by side waiting for tulip bulbs to bloom. I walked towards Ayşe’s (Şensılay) house, the heart of Cankurtaran which is one of 57 neighborhoods of the Fatih district, the furthest point of the Historical Peninsula. To reduce the noise of the madding crowd and listen to the sounds of the neighborhood. Loudly.From Gülhane to Giritli.Istanbul, March 9, 2023Elif

Istanbul based urban culture magazine documenting cities through their neighborhoods and communities. 