JINHA

ISTANBUL – As Istanbul’s 136-year-old Narmanlı Khan building becomes targeted for profit and destruction, urban activist Begüm Özpınar stressed that the Turkish state’s urban transformation projects target not just a building alone, but the city’s cultural and historical memory.

Narmanlı Khan was built in 1833 as the Russian embassy in Istanbul, but from 1880 to 1914 was used as a Russian prison. In 1914, the building became the property of the Narmanlı family, when it became home to many well-known writers and artists. Now, the Narmanlı Khan, located in Istanbul’s central Beyoğlu district, is resisting against digging machines. Plans for a restoration of Narmanlı Khan began in 2015, approved by the regional council on cultural assets. On January 19, the first work on the restoration began.

“What will be created when all is said and done is a very elite venue, including restaurants,” said Begüm Özpınar, an activist with Beyoğlu City Defense. Begüm has also struggled against the planned urban transformation targeting Istanbul sites like Emek Cinema, Gezi Park, Anatolia Culture Center (AKM) and Tarlbaşı Boulevard. She said the state was targeting a rich multicultural way of life for gentrification.

“Because of the transformation projects being conducted in the places where we live, the working class and small shopkeepers, that is, people whose only capital is their labor, are forced to abandon their houses due to economic problems,” said Begüm.

Begüm noted that the Narmanlı Khan had been used since 1914 for studios and housing. Writers and artists including Aliye Berger, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Ruhi Su and Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu lived and worked in Narmanlı Khan. It was also home to Jamanak, an important Armenian newspaper. Since 1990, said Begüm, efforts have been ongoing to turn Narmanlı Khan into a hotel. Begüm called for the building to be turned instead into a museum and theatre that would protect its heritage while serving the people.

“We say, why shouldn’t the new generations produce people like the writers and artists who came out of Narmanlı Khan?” said Begüm. “Students, the people, workers and working people should be able to use Narmanlı Khan. But what’s being planned there is the production of a totally elite building that disregards the history of the khan.”

(dek/ck/fk/cm)