Tarlabaşı

Tarlabaşı Boulevard

Tarlabaşı is a neighbourhood in the Beyoğlu district in Istanbul, Turkey stretching from Taksim Square and in the north to [tr] in the south. It is bordered on the east side by the four-lane Tarlabaşı Bulvarı and by Dolapdere Caddesi on the west.

History[]

In the second half of 19th century, Tarlabaşı became a new residential area for the middle income and low-income class, while the other neighbourhoods around Tarlabaşı were the high-class residential area. Tarlabaşı was a place of non-Muslim people including Jews, Armenians and Greeks.^[1]

Gentrification[]

There have been threats to the local community, as the government is interested in "regeneration" projects, which may displace poor residents.^[2] Tarlabaşı is about 20,000 square metres, consisting of 9 blocks and 278 plots, in Tarlabaşı were declared a regeneration area by the government in February 2006 following a petition from the local municipality. The recently released renewal law for the Protection of Deteriorated Historic and Cultural Heritage through Renewal and Re-use, forms the basis of the renewal process in Tarlabaşı as well as in many other neighbourhoods within the historic city.^[3]

"Beyond and against the gentrification policies and the mainstream stigmatization rhetoric of Tarlabaşı, there is a plethora of less visible social relations, gatherings, and gestures of daily commoning practices as well as self-organized refugees’ and locals’ solidarity groups and community centers that claim the right to the center of the city and spatial justice" (Tsavdaroglou, 2020: 235).^[4]

Demographics[]

The neighborhood is primarily low-income, and it has been called "Istanbul's oldest slum."^[5] However, it is also a historic and diverse community, which is known for its Kurdish, Syrian,^[5] and Romani communities. In the 1990s, large numbers of Kurdish immigrants from southeastern Turkey moved into Tarlabaşı, mixing in with the local Romani population. More recently, it has become the home to many migrants from neighbouring countries and Africa.^[6] The neighborhood is home to a sizable transgender community as well.^[7]^[8]

Places of interest[]

On Tatlı Badem ("Sweet Almond') Street, there is a museum dedicated to the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz who died here of cholera in 1855. His body in 1855 was transported to France (Montmorency) and then - in 1890 - to Poland (Cracow), where he was finally buried. Currently the museum is closed.

On Sundays, the neighborhood hosts a popular bazaar with hundreds of vendors.^[9]