Urban memory spaces of Ankara in Nazlı Eray's works

The aim of this study is to examine the concept of urban memory, a sub-concept of social memory that focuses on the ways of transferring and reflecting the memory of urban space, in the works of Nazlı Eray (1945-). The study seeks to introduce this concept, which has not yet been extensively researched in Turkish literature, and to explore Nazlı Eray's understanding of the city, specifically Ankara. Nazlı Eray's works were chosen because she has produced mature examples of fantasy literature in Turkish literature and has provided some of the first examples of magical realism, using postmodern narrative techniques that blur the boundaries between dream and reality. The first part of the study covers Nazlı Eray's life, artistic career, and works. The second part discusses Ankara as a space of urban memory, including the concepts of social memory, the relationship between memory and space, and urban memory. In the third section, the memory places identified in Eray's works are analyzed. Using a sampling method to interpret the data, the study concludes that Nazlı Eray perceives the city in terms of social memory spaces, frequently drawing on her individual experiences. It was found that the city includes many functional and non-functional memory spaces. In line with the city's structure, which continuously gains new meanings, changes, and transforms, the meanings that the author attributes to her city are investigated through focuses such as urban image, memory, sign, body practices, experience, and creation. The study also determined that Nazlı Eray directly experienced Ankara and reflected the city's changes over the approximately fifty-year period during which she produced her works. Keywords Nazlı Eray, Ankara, Collective memory, urban memory, city image, Maurice Halbwachs.