İskenderun'da kültürel karşılaşmalar:1920'lerden 1950'lere kadar sahil şeridi

This study attempts to examine and trace urban development, built environment, and material culture in İskenderun (Alexandretta) from 1920s to 1950s as the exceptional city of Turkey that experienced the change of ruling powers (Ottoman Empire, French Mandate, State of Hatay, Turkish Republic) in a few decades by focusing on the most vital part of the city, the coastline. Firstly, the terms of cultural diversity and collective memory are examined in order to constitute theoretical background of this thesis. These terms shed light to analysis since geopolitical and strategic location, cultural mosaic, and diversity of political administration and domination of different states in İskenderun set new orders/regulations/traditions that reflected to urban and architectural developments in the city in a few decades. Secondly, urban development, built environment, and material culture of İskenderun are scrutinized in order to understand how the urban planning (boulevards, streets, parks, quarters), public buildings (government buildings, schools, churches, mosques, synagogues, consulates), social and cultural institutions (restaurants, cafes), commerical buildings (banks) were formed, re-formed, used, adapted, and transformed in between 1920s-1950s. This thesis also attempts to understand to what extent the communities (Turks, French, Arabs, Armenians and so on) perceived and experienced urban space and built environment, in other words, how the city and buildings were formed, re-formed, adapted, transformed and legitimized in urban memory. Lastly, the coastline, most vital part of the city, is analyzed in detail by examining how this cosmopolitan region and cultural continuity was developed from 1920s to 1950s. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to assess urban development, built environment, and material culture of İskenderun in a network of relationships in line with ideological, political and cultural dynamics from 1920s to 1950s. Urban and architectural formation should be evaluated with reference to the multicultural context of İskenderun that was formed somewhere in between dualities; practical/ideological, eastern/western, traditional/modern, but in some ways as an original model that was hybridized in result of cultural encounter.