Spatial and Temporal Returns to/in Beyoğlu: Bir Üretim Mekanı Olarak: Beyoğlu Düşerse

Abstract

Beyoğlu, which continues to be one of the places that both shapes and reflects Istanbul's urban culture, is of critical importance for understanding cultural policies in Turkey. In this article, I discuss the contribution of Ebru Pelvanoğlu's book, Bir Üretim Mekanı Olarak: Beyoğlu Düşerse [If Beyoğlu Falls as a Place of Production], published in 2022, to the literature of cultural policies and its deficiencies. The article begins with the discussions on the subjectivity of historiography and on the concept of nostalgia. Then, the book's relationship with the sociopolitical context is reviewed and, together with the discussions on the “Beyoğlu Culture Road,” the cultural and artistic transformations in Beyoğlu are evaluated temporally and spatially. When yearning for the past of Beyoğlu, it is common to recall different periods from the past positively or negatively and to instrumentalize the culture of Beyoğlu, to exalt or vilify different social groups. In relation with this nostalgic perspective evoked for Beyoğlu, the sociopolitical context of the issues that this nostalgia sets out to transform in Beyoğlu is emphasized once again. Consequently, the question of whether it is possible to construct “ironic nostalgia” is discussed.