Streets of Memory (Paperback) product details page

In this study of Kuzguncuk, known as one of Istanbulrsquo;s historically most tolerant, multiethnic neighborhoods, Amy Mills is animated by a single question: what does it mean to live in a place that once wasmdash;but no longer ismdash;ethnically and religiously diverse? ldquo;Turkificationrdquo; drove out most of Kuzguncukrsquo;s minority Greeks, Armenians, and Jews in the mid-twentieth century, but they left behind potent vestiges of their presence in the cityscape. Mills analyzes these places in a street-by-street ethnographic tour. She looks at how memory is conveyed and contested in Kuzguncukrsquo;s built environment, whether through the popular television programs filmed on location there or in the cross-class alliance that sprung up to advocate the preservation of an old market garden. Overall, she finds that the neighborhoodrsquo;s landscape not only connotes feelings of ldquo;belonging and familiarityrdquo; connected to a ldquo;narrative of historic multiethnic harmonyrdquo;nbsp;but also makes these ideasnbsp;appear to be uncontestably real, or true. The resulting nostalgia bolsters a version of Turkish nationalism that seems cosmopolitan and benign. This study of memories of interethnic relationships in a local placenbsp;examines why the cultural memory of tolerance has become so popular and raises questions regarding the nature and meaning of cosmopolitanism in the contemporary Middle East. A major contribution to urban studies, human geography, and Middle East studies, Streets of Memory is imbued with a sense of genuine connection to Istanbul and the people who live there.