Eyup toymaker tradition and traditional Eyup toymaker

Eyup Toys which emerged in Istanbul and can be traced back to the 17th century, is the first name of the toymaking tradition unique to Eyup district, produced with healthy and natural materials. In this study; The tradition of toy making, which has survived in one way or another since the 17th century and has a basis of almost 500 years, has been discussed with a folk-scientific point of view. In this study, first of all, in the context of the relationship between space and culture, it is focused on the reasons why the toy industry emerged in Eyüp, how it has historically gone through, and how the toy spirit spread throughout Anatolia. Eyup Toys, which is important not only for toy production but also for cultural transfer, became visible again in 2005 as a conservation model in the context of revitalization and was called Historical Eyup Toys. Another subject that is tried to be conveyed in the study is; The project that emerged with this name, the activities carried out, the widespread effect of toys both inside and outside the country, how toys take their place in the collective subconscious, how they live in the memory of the elderly. Another title included in the study is; With this project, not only the toy production but also the employment of unemployed women was taken into consideration, and the traditional Eyup Toymaker, opened by the entrepreneur named Şennur Ülker, who was employed here, further improved the education he received. It has been questioned whether this tradition is an invented tradition by conveying how traditional the works that emerged here are, and at what point the toys produced stand between folklore and fakelore. The experience opportunities in the museum-workshop where this tradition, which has entered the Intangible Cultural Heritage List of Istanbul, is kept alive, how the cultural transfer is guided by stories; the different and similar aspects of the toys recorded in the historical process and the toys produced here; The connection between toys and folklorism has been analyzed from different perspectives.