Poli 348: Urban Politics & Policy Lab

Finally came the visit to a Syrian refugee school in Esenlor on March 4th. This school has been built for three years and has more than 1000 students from elementary to high school levels. One reason for Syrian children not attending Turkish school but a Syrian one, according to the staff, is that their parents don’t want them to lose their identity and that they hope to come back home once the crisis in Syria is ended. The school has got little help from the local government. Most of their funding comes from NGOs and private donation. Students there study a variety of subjects including chemistry, math, physics, Turkish, Arabic, and governmental courses on the current situation in Syria. In addition, there are some students who have to work to support their families, and come to school at weekends. The school also deducts or exempts tuition fees for students from low-income families. Overall, the school seems to be a great success.

During the meeting with the school staff, I asked questions about the so-called guest card issued to Syrian refugees (mentioned by Vice Mayor who received us yesterday). They said that the government did not provide much instruction on what kind of rights Syrian refugees enjoyed with such a card. However, they confirmed that Syrians could attend Turkish school for free, had access to health care, and had the right to work as normal Turkish people. Despite many criticisms to Turkey’s dealing with Syrian refugees, I personally think that the government is quite generous to Turkey’s Syrian neighbors in the aspect of the guest card. On the train back to the hotel this afternoon, I happened to talk with a person who lived in a boarder city and came to Istanbul for business. He said that in fact many companies are currently more interested in hiring Syrian refugees, because they are willing to work with lower payment than the Turkish.

Based on some news articles and the dialogue with the school staff, the situations of Syrian refugees seem mixed. Some Syrian refugees from middle and high classes integrate well in Turkey, and can make money by formal employment or doing some business. Others from lower classes face harsher situations.

Students are studying in class.

Dreams of some students are posted on this wall.

On March 3rd we attended a lecture given by Tuna Kuyucu in Bosporus University on construction projects in Turkey and had a meeting with Vice Mayor of Zeytinburnu municipality district. The former’s lecture provided an interesting perspective on construction projects in Turkey, while Vice Mayor’s talk did not touch on many details of policies of our interest but some general statements that did not seem very informative to me.

The title of Dr. Kuyucu’s lecture is interesting and related to the construction projects visited yesterday— “Has Turkey Turned into a ‘Cosntructoracy’?” Dr. Kuyucu argues that construction does not take much share of GDP in Turkey, although there is some change in construction projects overall. He states that there has been more and more public investment than private investment after the economic crisis in 2008. For example, many great projects such as the third highway ring and the third airport were passed in 2009. According to him, there are mainly three reasons for the government to initiate a great number of construction projects: to keep the economy afloat, to generate employment, and to maintain power via populist mechanisms. Another factor of significance is that the government and contractors can all financially benefit from these projects, and the Turkish government is indeed corrupt. He ends his lecture with the word “Gigantomania”, which demonstrates his critical view of these construction projects. Kuyucu’s analysis is compatible with mine in my previous post. As I noted early, many developing countries do similar things to develop the economy and maintain the appearance of its prosperity. This strategy may work in a short-term as long as the unemployment rate is kept on a certain level, and foreign, public or domestic investment keep flowing into the country. However, there is a probability that when the economy is heated too fast, there is no more interest can be gained through investment, and much capital may be transferred abroad.

In terms of my research topic on Syrian refugees, both Dr. Kuyucu and Vice Mayor of Zeytinburnu municipality district talked about this topic. It is interesting that Dr. Kuyucu mentioned that a failed urban renewal project housing called Sulukule currently hosts many Syrian refugees, and these refugees who are mostly wealthy help generate the economy in that decaying community. The Vice Mayor said that the Turkish people were always wiling to share what they had with Syrian refugees, which seemed to contradict with negative reports I read. I would like to further study how Syrian refugees integrate themselves into Istanbul, and if there is any government aid for them.

On March 2^nd, we have a guided bus tour of major development projects in Istanbul with Dr. Orhan Esen. He showed us the construction of the third airport in Istanbul, the third highway ring, and urban settlement in a community town. These projects are controversial particularly in terms of their location and necessity. It seems to me that the government’s goal is not to develop the economy with a careful plan, but to generate economic growth by construction projects, as well as to gain personal benefits from these projects through corruption and partnership with private contractors. Many developing countries use similar strategies, such as China, and I am in fact not optimistic about long-term sustainability of such strategies.

We also had a chance to see the Black Sea. To me, as a history major, I am most interested in history of the Black Sea, as Turkey’s proximity of the Black Sea once had a great impact on its development and diplomatic relationships. Dr. Esen who happens to study history as well told the whole story of the Black Sea. In ancient times, the Black Sea supplied Europe with various resources including gold, silver, fish, and timber. Its importance in international trade between Europe and Asia was not fully established until the Medieval Age, and much area along the coast began to be colonized. In the late 15^th century, the Ottoman Empire controlled trade on the Black Sea by controlling the land routes from Asia to the Black Sea. In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, Russia and Europe disputed over Turkish territory, because the controlling of the Black Sea influenced their imports and exports. After the World War I, the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits was signed. It gives Turkey control of the Bosporus Straits and regulates the transit of naval warships. It guarantees the free passage of civilian vessels in peacetime, while restricts the passage of naval ships not belonging to Black Sea states. The Ukraine crisis two years ago also involved the Black Sea, as Russia wanted to have control of the coastal areas by conquering some territory of Ukraine. I am excited that I have seen the historically important Black Sea in person, and got to know it more comprehensively.

A couple days ago, we crossed to the Asian side of Turkey, to Üsküdar, and visited the massive mosque being built on Çamlıca. This mosque is planned to be of Ottoman architecture, but many people are asking, “Why?” Why this location for a mosque? And why Ottoman style? With the large size of the mosque, it is anticipated that this will be a significant structure- possibly, even, to draw in tourists. Firstly, we need to understand that it seems most people who oppose of this construction are not opposed to the religion; they’re opposed to the possible ramifications of this building. The location of the mosque is not easily accessible, which I personally witnessed. If from the European side, we had to cross a body of water. Even if not from the European side, we took a taxi ride, climbed a number of steep hills and traversed numerous upwards-heading winding roads to reach it. Also, because the Çamlıca mosque is to be of huge importance, people don’t understand why it has to be Ottoman style. Walking through Istanbul, one would see that most mosques, from the smallest to largest, oldest to newer, are Ottoman-inspired. Interestingly, the plans show six minarets, similarly to the only mosque currently displaying six, The Blue Mosque.

According to an August 2013 Today’s Zaman report, the government hopes to create an Islamic symbol for all with this mosque.

“The mosque, which will occupy a nearly 15,000-square-meter plot and will hold approximately 30,000 people, has been designed to be visible from every corner of İstanbul, and plans include cultural and social facilities in its vicinity. Additional facilities will be constructed in a total area of 57,511 square meters, including the mosque, a tourist area with cafés and restaurants, a recreation area, a children’s park and facilities where courses on Ottoman calligraphy, gilding and ebru (paper marbling) will be offered.”

The correspondent from from Today’s Zaman expressed the same sentiments, that President Erdogan “appeals to the people’s emotions,” and that she, as a Muslim, is opposed to this mosque because of the businesses that would come with it.

This connects to my project exploring the recent revival of Ottoman culture and it’s implications in urban planning. Here, we see the government advertising the erecting of the mosque as an homage to their history, which caused them to clear a hill, use green space, as well as possibly will cause them to build more around the mosque. Because of its inaccessibility, transportation may also be considered to be built.

Overall, this was an informative trip, and the meeting with the Today’s Zaman correspondent richly added to the trip.

On March 4th, I rode the Metrobüs during the morning rush from Şişli-Mecidiyeköy stop to Zeytinburnu stop.  Although the ride covered a lot of distance, the bus, at least during this portion, has its own lane so the ride itself was not that long comparatively; it lasted approximately an hour. While on the bus, I observed the ratio of female to male passengers as well as the presence of more secular women than visibly religious women.   However overall, most of the cars were extremely male-dominated.   Although the bus ride was relatively quick given the distance covered, a lot of the cars were extremely packed, so I can understand why some people, religious or otherwise, would rather avoid the public transit.

After riding the bus, I attended a meeting with Sevgi Akarcesme, a journalist from the English-language newspaper Today’s Zaman.  She spoke to the group  about her opinions and viewpoint about media restrictions currently occurring within Turkey.  For example, she stressed the growing opinion that President Erdoğan seems to be using his office to establish what she called an “arbitocracy”, or a system in which everything is dependent on the arbitrary decisions of one man.”  However, none of her answers emphasized gender issues.  She did note the use of discouraging rhetoric in regards to gender and feminist.  When prompted, she identified domestic violence as an important issue for women, but this seemed like a relatively general answer rather than one super-specific to Turkey.  After the meeting, I began to question how much recognition women receive as a separate, independent group of constituents and voters with the power to prompt change.

Welcome to the Website for

Poli 349: Urban Lab Istanbul

                                                              *Applications for 2015 Now Being Accepted*

Applications are reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis. Space is limited, so apply early to secure your place.

Urban Lab Istanbul is celebrating its 5th Anniversary in 2015! This site contains information about the Urban Lab Istanbul program. It also contains applications for the the Poli 349 Lab course.

Urban Lab Istanbul  (Poli 349) is a 1-credit, academic lab course that is attached to Poli 464/362: Comparative Urban Politics and Policy. You must be take Poli 464/362 and one of the three lab courses. For Spring 2015, Urban Lab courses are: Istanbul (Poli 349), Buenos Aires (Poli 348) and Shanghai (Poli 347).

 2014 Istanbul Lab Students

To read more:

“Urban Lab Istanbul Student Reflections – 2013“