Duyusal şehircilik ve koku alanı: İstanbul'un kültürel mirasını belgeleme ve sergileme

This dissertation examines scent as a form of intangible heritage. Often overlooked, the sense of smell is a unique medium through which we can explore history, heritage, and place. A sensory approach serves as a catalyst for creating a greater awareness of the interaction between the body, the senses, memory, and the environment. Using Istanbul as a case study, this dissertation elucidates how smell can constitute a record of history, be a way to measure change, and how it can be used to access communal memories and heritage. This study focuses on smellscapes of the Spice Market and Eminönü, a historic marketplace and neighborhood of Istanbul. It utilizes oral history, mapping, historical research, and creative practice combined with research from psychology and neuroscience to help us better understand and value the sensory past. This dissertation project also resulted in the exhibit "Scent and the City," held at Koç University's Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations in Istanbul, Turkey from April 14 to June 8, 2016. "Scent and the City" invited visitors to explore history, modernization, and change in Turkey through scents and also to contribute to our sensory knowledge of Istanbul through interactive displays and conversations. This dissertation both analyzes "Scent and the City" and contextualizes it within the larger trajectory of museological practice. This dissertation provides new sensory data about the city of Istanbul and contributes to new methodologies of documenting, analyzing, and exhibiting sensory information. There is much to be gained as cultural heritage practitioners expand the notion of what constitutes intangible heritage. As this dissertation suggests, it must include smellscapes, as well as the other senses, and the spirit of embodiment.